At Soneva Gili, its ‘Private Reserve’ water villa, you can *be* the waterfall.
That’s a second item ticked off my ‘Not Seen Yet’ list.
Best of the Maldives: Waterfall – Sheraton Full Moon
Landaa’s Manta isn’t the only artistic artificial aquatic feature found on land. Sheraton Full Moon’s waterfall is the biggest in the Maldives. A towering drop with a little foot bridge over the subsequent stream that then trickles down a few other levels further. There is a shaded bench you can sit on as a lovely spot to sit and take in the ambience of a different sort for water lovers to enjoy.
Both the waterfall and the manta are examples of the latest new category that I have added to the ‘Best of Maldives’ (Infrastructure) page – ‘Art’ (including various forms of Décor).
Best of the Maldives: Flying Sculpture – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru
One resort can *guarantee* that you will be able to enjoy the spectacle of the soaring Manta. Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru is a major destination for Manta watching with their proximity to the manta favoured Hanifaru, their ‘Manta Ray Research Project’ and their special ‘Manta on call’ service. But even if all that falls through, you can always enjoy their manta masterpiece they commissioned for their Marine Discovery Centre.
The piece was created by British artist Scott Gleed who specialises in marine subjects like sharks and mantas. Finalist in the David Shepherd International Wildlife Artist of the year competition, you can find his work at the Paris Aquarium, Imperial War Museum and the House of Fraser. He also does commissions and private sale pieces if you wanted a memento of your own manta encounter.
Best of the Maldives: Indoor Overwater Lounge – Club Med Kani
Sometimes a ‘Best Of’ involves no particularly unique ingredient, just assembling the pieces in a distinctive way. That is how I felt about another lounge on the water, Club Med Kani’s ‘Manta Lounge’. It is part of their ‘5 Trident’ luxury water villas area.
On face value, there is not much there that you wouldn’t see in one form or another especially at the higher end resorts. But something about the execution impressed me so much that I imagined if I was staying at Kani (I was only there one day), then I would probably spend a fair amount of time at Manta.
Despite being enclosed, it has a nice, airy and open feel to it. But the enclosure has lots to appreciate…
- Shielding from the rays when you’ve had lots of sun.
- Air conditioning when you had lots of heat.
- Wide variety of seating when you’ve had lots of beach loungers.
- Wifi when you’ve had lots of time away from web surfing.
- Easy access to refreshments on offer when you have lots pangs of hunger and thirst.
Many resorts have enclosed lounges and libraries, but most of the time they are sequestered by reception with little view and buried in the main complex. Lots of resorts have sitting areas out on jetties, but most of the time, they are uncomfortable wooden bench with a modest palm canopy. The Manta Lounge was the best of the jetty rest areas combined with the best of the reception lounges.
As a bonus, they had the overwater hammocks which are lots of fun and comfy, but mostly I have seen them as features on private water villas and not available to the general guest population.
Best of the Maldives: Boat Deck – Shangri-La Vilingili
For a bigger sailing sunrise and cruise that is just as enjoyable in silence, Shangri-La Vilingili has one of the best bows I have seen for relaxing in the best seat in the house. Sofa on the foredeck. Brill.
Lori and I have done our fair share of boating from your brother-in-law’s 50 foot catamaran on the North Carolina Intercoastal waterway to sailing with various friends. One of the favourite places to settle down for the ride is the very bow of the boat. A la Titanic ‘king of the world’ style. The problem is that it never seems to be that comfortable up there. Anchor chains and other rigging get in the way of truly stretching out. While not at the tippy-tip of the prow, I nonetheless love the Villingili luxury yacht Horizon’s sofa situated on the foredeck for languid place to stretch out and truly enjoy the ride.
Sitting on the sofa at home watching Graham Norton somehow doesn’t compare with sitting here and watching the sunrise.
Best of the Maldives Online: Diving Signs – Scuba Hanna
In honor of Dhivehi Language Day yesterday, we feature a post on a universal language. One familiar to speakers of all languages who dive in the Maldives.
Diving is probably most people’s first introduction to actually using sign language. That is except for the hearing impaired, of course, for whom the underwater world is just as east to converse in as above water. Worldwide Dave and Sail offers a range of diving holidays for the deaf and this week takes them to the Maldives for a wide ranging itinerary including a stop at the Kuramathi house reef.
“Ever wanted to take the plunge, but you have been unable to take that giant leap because you are D/deaf or hard of hearing? Do you find it hard to understand instructors in big classes? FRUSTRATED?? Not anymore… Welcome to Worldwide Dive and Sail where your worries will disappear. We use a wide range of communication methods to ensure that everyone can understand and participate; these being: BSL, ASL, lip-speaking, gestures and fingerspelling. We aim to accommodate everyone, whatever their communication needs are! Please note, however, that all our trips will be a mix of D/deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people.”
The trip goes from 18-28 April and includes Male, Rasdhoo, Ari,Thaa, Nilhande and Laamu atolls.
If you would like to enhance your silent vocabulary of underwater words, then I highly recommend Scuba Hanna’s YouTube channel which is the most complete collection I have found. She does an entire 3 minute video on just different signs for different species of shark, and all sorts of fish I never knew the signals for like angel fish, and clown fish.
Best of the Maldives: Traditional Sailing Breakfast – Soneva Gili
If you want a traditional floating breakfast with even more traditional mode movement (and more natural and quiet), then you want Soneva Gili’s sailing breakfast (you can rinse your hands naturally too by just reaching over the side). For a price of $100 per person (exclusives of 10% service charge and 6% GST)…
“We offer Continental breakfast selection for this dining experience. The selection can be offered as per the guests choice and availability and feasibility to serve on the sailing boat.”
Best of the Maldives: Sanitizing – Kuredu
If your biggest health concern for your skin is germ-free rather than wrinkle-free, then the Kuredu has hand sanitizer dispensers set up all around the resort so people can have a quick clean. I guess I could also dub this one ‘Best for Hand Shaking’.
Best of the Maldives: Skin Service – Reethi Rah
There’s soft against the skin, and then there is soft skin itself. With the beating that the sun can give the epidermis, one needs a little help to keep it fresh and supple. Yes, great products, but to that Reethi Rah adds and exceptional service…
“The Sun Spa Esthederm is a unique service which will identify each guest's individual skin sun potential and advise them on the best skin care to maximise their full tanning potential. Institut Esthederm has developed more than 28 different sun care products, which allow all skin types to get the benefits of the sun safely. They also allow users to get the desired results under any kind of sunlight intensity. A full day service by the pool or the beach includes the services of a professional Sun Spa Esthederm therapist who will start by preparing the skin for the sun and then apply and reapply sun cream every hour or two and after swimming according to the guest's skin type and programme. At the end of the day, guests will enjoy an after sun treatment to sooth their skin and prolong their tan.”
It’s sort of like a ‘complexion butler’ or ‘skin crème sommelier’ (“Mademoiselle, we have a charming ‘Bain de Soleil 1973’ for a smooth body and a lingering fresh finish…”). The only downsides are that the only choices on the menu are from the ‘house’ of Institut Esthederm Paris, and the price is a vintage $200 per day.
Best of the Maldives: Towel Scuplture – Club Med Kani
Pin it!
I was inspired by the terry cloth creature above to take the plunge into the latest social media – Pinterest. Pinterest allows you to set up albums to share collections of photos. I’ve already featured room art a number of times including ‘Bed Decoration’ and ‘Bed Art’, but this particular piece (shared with permission from guest Vincent Benita) is by far the most elaborate and cheeky I have ever seen.
The piece made me realise that I regularly come across great examples of bed and room decorations and rather than constantly revising my ‘Best Of’ posts, it would be better to create an honour gallery where al my discoveries could be collected and showcased. I’m started with the following two ‘Boards’…
I was tempted to create a ‘Maldives Sunset’ Board since there are so many prize examples of those on the web, but I’m going to start with these first.