Best of the Maldives: Dried Fruit – Sun Siyam Vilu Reef

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Sun Siyam Vilu Reef - dried fruit

A major acid test for me indicating the luxury level of a resort are the nibbles they serve with drinks. A little bit of savory snacks make the cocktails all the most delectable and allow us to linger longer without getting too pecking for dinner. The most basic resorts don’t offer anything, the 4-stars offer the staples of crisps and peanuts, but a luxury 5-star really needs a distinctive goodies. And Sun Siyam Vilu Reef offered us one of our favourite snacks – dried fruits. We have received various dried fruits at other resorts, but Vilu Reef and an unprecedented assortment. It turns out that they have their own food drier on premises (see photo below) so that can create dried versions of just about anything. We enjoyed the dried apples, oranges, pears, coconut with out very welcome ‘welcome drink’.

Sun Siyam Iru Veli - dried fruit

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Best of the Maldives: Sand Bank Breakfast – Sun Siyam Iru Veli

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World Food Day today. And the best place in in the world to eat any food was an experience we finally enjoyed at Sun Siyam Iru Veli this summer. We’ve fantasized about dining on a plot of sand ever since we first started visiting the Maldives two and a half decades ago. It epitomised the “plot of sand with a palm tree” isolation caricature. We’ve seen many of (exorbitant) dinners and even lunches such remote venues, but never a breakfast.

A breakfast is actually a great way to enjoy this sandbank location. Unlike a dinner which tends to have courses, the breakfast is more casual with more finger food (eg. pastries, fruit, pots of yogurt) that you can take in hand for a stroll around or wade into the sea to enjoy the sea-life nearby or the dappled azure vista beyond. And the morning has a particularly peaceful vibe to it which suits this indolent sliver of interruption to the gently surrounding waters.

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Best of the Maldives: Garudhiya – Milaidhoo

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Miladhoo - Garudhiva

One of the local Maldivian delicacies which delighted Tom Chesshyre in his book Tom Chesshyre “Misadventures in the Real Maldives” was “garudhiva”. It turns out that Milaidhoo features the dish in its “five must-try dishes at ‘Ba’theli by the Reef’ Restaurant” on Milaidhoo island

  • “Garudhiya is a famous soup of the Maldives. It is a clear broth of poached fresh skipjack tuna, perfumed with pandanus (screwpine) heart and curry leaves. For a memorable blend of tropical island flavours, Kiru Garudhiya is one of the best foods in the Maldives. It consists of fresh island coconut milk, poached fish and shellfish in a soup flavoured with island spices and curry leaves.”
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Best of the Maldives: Low Carbon Cocktail – Patina Maldives

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Patina - low carbon cocktails

Planet wellness is more about low-carbon than low carbs, and The Patina features a range of low carbon concoctions for your Earth-friendly enjoyment:

  • “Every cocktail and spirit served at Patina Maldives, including the Fari Beach Club, will eliminate 30 grams of carbon emissions in comparison to drinks crafted at beverage outlets with conventional labels. This is thanks to the world’s first low carbon, low waste spirits distribution technology.”
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Best of the Maldives: Wellness Cocktails – Amilla

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Amilla - wellness cocktails 1

We’ve long joked in our family about the “medicinal” benefits of various alcoholic beverages, but Amilla Maldives has seriously concocted a range of “wellness cocktails” that let people enjoy drinking well. The example above is their “Orange Sky” (Hendricks gin, fresh orange, orange shrub, honey, lime, and egg white):

  • “We integrate wellness into all of our menus while ensuring the flavour and fun remains. Many of our cocktails are made using Homemade@Amilla ingredients including our range of kombucha and other probiotic drinks, bitter, infused spirits and shrubs (drinking vinegars).”

Here’s to your health!

Amilla - wellness cocktails 2

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Best of the Maldives: Medical Therapy – Velaa

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Velaa - medical consultation

Many wellness products and spa “treatments” are couched in all sorts of medical lingo to make them sound more clinical, but Velaa is taking “wellness” quite seriously with a licensed medical doctor offering consultations for things such as:

  • Blood testing (Samsung Labgeo, HC10, PT10)
  • IV therapy
  • Food intolerance profile
  • Osteopathy
  • Blood Pressure
  • In Body Composition
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Best of the Maldives: Bioresonance Assessment – Joali Being

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While guests might come to the Maldives to check out the bioluminescence of the plankton in the Maldivian waters, they acan also check out their own bioresonance at Joali Being. The “Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby” episode about the Maldives hopped over to Joali’s latest property to see the latest tech for diagnosis and informing wellbeing. The host Monica Galetti visits its Areka Wellbeing Center to try out its “bio-resonance device which reads the energy produced by the living cells in her body.”

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Best of the Maldives: Operations Documentary–Joali / Joali Being

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World Tourism Day today! And one of the best portrayals of the world of Maldivian tourism is BBC’s “Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby” series (available on iPlayer in the UK for another year) hosted by Joali and Joali Being resorts. Yes, the show does have much of the contrived, shilling lifestyle porn vibe to it. But what makes it distinctive is its “peek behind the scenes”. And while the “work” that the two bubbly hosts roll their sleeves up to do is also a bit contrived (Monica Galetti less so then tv personality Rob Rinder because Monica is an actual chef), it is still a lovely portrayal of the efforts made by the staff to keep the property running smoothly. And I must say that the tour of Joali’s staff area was most impressive and surely one of the finest areas in the Maldives. Stay tuned for some added posts about a few distinctive aspect’s of Joali’s operations revealed by the show.

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Best of the Maldives: Hologram Experience – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

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Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru - hologram experience

To enjoy the underwater experience without getting your hair wet, Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru offers land-lubbers a 3D-VR way to experience the aquatic wonderland around them:

  • “The Maldives’ first Hologram Room, recently opened at Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru, offers a magical “underwater” manta experience for the whole family, where no one gets wet. Unique hologram programs, based on real manta rays seen in the surrounding waters of the Baa Atoll UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, offer an extraordinary opportunity to virtually “swim” with manta rays, as well as other creatures such as the humpback whale, seahorse and mimic octopus. Two daily sessions of 30 to 45 minutes are hosted at the Resort’s on-site Marine Discovery Centre, offering guests of all ages colourful interactive opportunities to explore a life-size underwater wonderland.”
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Best of the Maldives: Diving AI – Sun Siyam Iru Veli

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Sun Siyam Iru Veli - diving

All-inclusive is becoming very de rigeur in the Maldives these days. But not the “AI” with cheap, constrain your budget, drink off-brand booze to your heart’s content stereotype, but “luxury AI” where the quality of the property and the “inclusions” are high. And in the luxury destination of the Maldives, the 5-star properties are regularly including everything under the sunshine to make the package even more appealing. Sun Siyam Iru Veli has gone beyond just “everything under the sun” to include under the water too with 3 dives included in its AI offering:

  • “Within the premium all-inclusive package offered by Sun Siyam Iru Veli, up to three dives per person per week are included for certified divers as an alternative to spa credit. Guests must present a valid diving license and medical record if applicable. Boat charges and equipment hire fees do apply.”
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