Best of the Maldives: Beach Treehouse Restaurant – Viceroy

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Viceroy Treehouse

 

Things are looking up in the Maldives.

Another newcomer, Viceroy Maldives, introduces an elevated aesthetic to their resort (eg. Soneva Fushi) with the height of culinary distinction at their Treehouse restaurant…

“Our Treehouse is an Arabic lounge; perfect venue for pre or post dinner drinks, serving Shisha, Arabic sweets and traditional Arabic cuisine mezze style. It has a distinctive middle east feel at atmosphere, Arabic music plays in the evenings and the lounge seating is decorated with multiple cushions in a traditional Arabic way. The Treehouse lures guests with its exotic flavors of the Middle East and features a selection of hot or cold mezzes from the region. The Treehouse has an ideal location at the island's southernmost tip; generous cushions and loungers are artfully placed to allow guests to choose an intimate or livelier setting. While some will sip drinks before dinner during the drama of a Maldives sunset, others may choose to climb up for a more scenic seating overlooking the lagoon for an unparalleled view of the starry sky. The Treehouse is the perfect spot for pre and post dinner drinks, smoking a shisha, and savoring some sweet delights.”

Given more resorts offering this raised perspectives, I’ve gotten a bit more granular in my distinctions. They all seem worthy of mentions and all vary in some manner. Viceroy’s treehouse is located right near the water offering lovely views across the lagoon (see below). And it is a true tree-‘house’ with a sun (and elements) shielding roof.

 

Viceroy Treehouse perspective

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Best of the Maldives: Room Height – Paradise Island / The Haven

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Paradise Island - door

 

Check out the post the time on this entry. How cool is that?

Looking for something to mark this unique moment of ‘12’, I’ve chosen Paradise Island’s Haven Suite doors which are 12 feet tall. So are the showers. The drench showers do really feel like rain from heaven. In England, we moved to a converted barn just to get that vertical, cathedral-like spaciousness.

Big island means big stuff, The spaciousness is as vertical as it is horizontal in places especially The Haven Suites. Spa rooms were bigger than many gardens in the UK. And there were 15 of them. The spa seemed to go on for acres. And the spa entry itself had 3 distinct and distinctive water fountains with water cascading down.

I guess combined with their basketball supremacy and their super sized Haven Suites, Paradise Island is the also best for tall people.

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Best of the Maldives: Bread Dip – Mirihi

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Mirihi bread dip

One of my favourite mixes I have ever had in the Maldives wasn’t alcoholic. In fact, it wasn’t even a drink. It was Mirihi’s “Dukka” bread dip.

A mixture of crushed Macadamia nuts, Haelnuts, Pumpkin seeds, Sun Flower Seeds, Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds, Fennel seeds, Sesame seeds, Black Pepper Corn, Cinnamon, Cayenne, Bread crumbs and sea salt. It was served with virgin olive oil and freshly baked bread. It was the first time my wife and I have asked for a recipe (though we did clone a dish of mango chicken salad we adored at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhi). When we asked for it, it was all printed out for us by the end of our meal.

One of the subtle touches that distinguishes different star categories is the ‘treats’, specifically, (a) the bar accompaniments, and (b) the Welcome treat. But, I would add the pre-dinner treats to the list. Any 5-star worthy of the grade needs to offer some sort of curious and tasty amuse bouche. But just as important is to treat the obligatory bread basket as a delicacy and not an after-thought. This over sight was one I experienced at the otherwise distinctive, Michelin-starred ‘Mistral’ restaurant at the hotel Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy. Creative and remarkable dishes introduced with a pedestrian table ornament of lacklustre bread. 5-stars really need to have fresh, warm bread, but the super-premiums (5+*) really need to add some sort of equally appetising accompaniment like a tasty tapenade…or Mirihi’s special dip.

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Best of the Maldives: Mixology Legacy – Constance Halaveli

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Constance Halaveli cocktails

Ruby anniversary of the Maldives tourism industry continue through the year with the latest tribute being a fine piece by my friend and fellow Maldive chronicler Adrian in the Telegraph – “The History of Tourism in the Maldives”.

Adrian is always a good source of new ‘Best of the Maldives’ candidates and I often run suggestions by him as a double check. His article featured another resort distinction of Constance Halaveli’s cocktail trailblazing…

“Rooms became villas, food became cuisine. Soneva Fushi put in the first wine cellar (quite a feat in shallow coral sand) and soon all the top resorts had sommeliers. Now they have mixologists, too (the Constance Halaveli resort was the first).”

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Best of the Maldives: 24 Hour Restaurant – Holiday Island

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Holiday Island restaurant

 

 

From every space dimension to every point on the time dimension. One of Holiday Island’s restaurants is open 24 hours. Many resorts will offer 24 hour room service, but proper dining establishments are quite rarely open round the clock. Kept open so you can stroll in on a late night, wee hours whim and dine at a proper table in the open air.

All of Holiday Island’s sister ‘Villa’ resorts also offer a 24 hour café, but Holiday Island’s impressed for a few added reasons. Despite being dubbed the ‘Coffee Shop’, it offers a proper full menu, not just café nibbles. You can even have Lobster Thermidor ($79). It’s also good value for money. You can get a plate of chips for those midnight munchies and it will only cost $4.

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Best of the Maldives: Coursing Courses – Anantara Kihava

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Anantara Kihavah Villas - Sky Salt Fire Sea

Thai National Day today brings us to Anantara for inspiration. On special occasions, meals can be all the more elegant by actually taking place in different venues. A starter in the parlour, a main at a dining table, dessert in the lounge, afters on the deck.

It’s are to find a resort with an elevated deck for eating (though getting more common). Even more rare, obviously, are few exquisite underwater venues. Anantara Kihavah Villas offers boths of these and more in one unified, over-water, themed dining experience – ‘Sea. Fire. Salt. Sky’…

“Guests at Anantara Kihavah Villas will be spoilt for choice when it comes to dining, with six restaurants and bars each offering a distinctive setting, menu and ambience. Highlighting the resort’s idyllic location in the dazzling Indian Ocean is the exclusive Sea. Fire. Salt. Sky. signature dining experience. This unique under and over water gastronomic concept features four remarkable venues, each offering a different type of cuisine that is as unique as the perspective. Ascend to the rooftop ‘Sky’ bar to sample Champagne and succulent cuisine presented on tempting skewers whilst taking in the awe-inspiring view of the Baa Atoll island archipelago. As a golden sunset unfolds an ambience of mellow music invites guests to unwind with exotic cocktails in the refreshing evening sea breeze. At ‘Fire’ diners’ visual and taste senses are astounded with dramatic Teppanyaki cooking displays as chefs prepare fresh local rock lobster, Wagyu beef or the catch of the day. ‘Salt’ offers unique depth and complexity of flavours as a Red Snapper infused with lemongrass, ginger and coarse black pepper is baked to perfection in front of diners on a Himalayan salt brick. Here a simple request to ‘pass the salt’ gets a new meaning as a Salt Sommelier helps diners to pair their food with the perfect seasoning.”

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Best of the Maldives: Canopy Entrance – Four Season Landaa Giraavaru

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Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru grand entrance

The arrival jetty is a just one step of an august procession of anticipation when arriving at a Maldives resort. It starts with spying the first splotch of turquoise out your airplane window. It continues boarding your transfer boat/seaplane where you spy a few colourful fish frolicking around the jetty. Your heartbeat picks up when you see the green dot of an island emerge on the horizon. You pull up to the resort jetty welcomed by cool scented cloth, refreshing tropical concoctions and warm smiles. Then you make tke the long walk down the jetty towards reception seeing even more lively and colourful fish circling beneath you.

At most resorts, the reception greets you at the end of the jetty. But a Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru, the expectation builds further as you first arrive to their entrance boulevard. A grand avenue of coconut tress planted by the previous Maldivian owner leading into the island interior. Dubbed ‘Coconut Corridor’, it adds even more buil up to the big arrival. Along with Club Med Kani, one of the great palm corridors of the Maldives.

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Best of the Maldives: Greeting Facility – Sheraton Full Moon

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Sheraton Full Moon greeting

Advent has arrived and with it the arrival of yuletide holiday greetings. Greetings are a big deal in the Maldives with each resort often providing their own little touches and twists. Sheraton Full Moon’s welcome centre is as grand and elaborate as many resort receptions (Full Moon also has a full reception further in the island). The facility comes with a air conditioned waiting area and other amenities.

As with other resorts, many of the staff come out to greet the guest both coming a leaving. A lovely gesture, but we were particularly impressed when about a haf dozen staff came out at 5:00 in the morning (we had an early seaplane to catch) simply to wave good-bye to us.

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Best of the Maldives: Bird Nest Chairs – Lily Beach

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Lily Beach - birds nest seat

I’m always intrigued by the inviting perches found on Maldives resorts for sitting and chilling in the warm ocean breezes. The most classic is the ‘hammock’ which has even found its way out to the middle of the lagoon. Swings off more elaborate styles and designs are a regular feature.

I was particular taken by the stylish ‘birds nest’ seats on Lily Beach. Dangling from a single line, gives is a 360 degree motion (versus conventional swings and hammocks that a limited to side-to-side action). Crammed with soft pillows, the seat swing was a place I could definitely spend hours on end.

The ‘bird’ modelling here is the gracious sales manager Agata Sobczak who welcomed me on our visit.

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