“And oh that blowfish blow…” – Sebastian, “Under da Sea”, The Little Mermaid
Let’s start our recounting some of our favourite tour features with the distinctively Maldivian greeting welcoming us to our very first arrival, Ritz Carlton Maldives.
Best of the Maldives: “Camo” Shark – Amilla
International Shark Day today. A time to celebrate those wonderful elasmobranchs. And but Amilla features a particularly distinctive one. It appears to be its own species with a variegated skin patter, but as marine biologists have clarified that it is just an individual with a genetic skin condition. A bit like shark vitiligo.
Best of the Maldives: Outdoor Second Home – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru
One of our favourite aspects of visiting the Maldives is sitting al fresco in the (nearly) always temperate air with the equatorial warmth livened by the cool ocean breezes. A number of luxury resort feature outdoor cabanas. And other feature second buildings for children’s (or other guest’s) quarters. But Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru features an outdoor open-air “villa” that is so extensive that it is like an alternative “outdoor” residence. The two-story construction includes dining area, lounge seating as well as an area to just hang out and look out of the ocean. Also, an excellent segregated working area if you want to take your work away from and not disturb the rest of the family.
Best of the Maldives: Private Spa – JA Manafaru
When we first started visiting the Maldives, most resorts didn’t have spas and a few had resident massage therapists on contract who would do a treatment on a table tucked in some makeshift area in the inner part of the island. Eventually, the resorts matured to the point where pretty much every one had a dedicated spa facility. As the resorts grew increasingly luxurious, new spacious residences often featured spaces where guests could get treatments in the comfort of their own villa. But for those who want that much more privacy for their treatments (even from their own fellow guests), JA Manafaru’s Royal Island Suite (which is more like a compound than a villa) includes its very own spa building. The personal spa facility includes a steam room, sauna and massage treatment room.
Best of the Maldives: Perimenopause/Menopause Retreat – Amilla
Today is June’s New Moon and it fall right in the middle of Amilla’s newly introduced “moon” of it own. There are “honeymoons” for starting the chapter of your life with your “honey”, “babymoons” for starting the family one, and now Amilla has introduced the first ever Maldives “menomoon” for ladies embarking on that “The Big Change”. Which is an especially apt name as the root “meno-“ in “menopause” comes from the Greek word “menos” meaning “month”, and the word “month” comes from the Old Norse word “menon” meaning “moon” (which is itself, coincidentally, “meno”). So really, it is a “moonmoon”.
And if my experience with Lori going through that “certain age” is any indication, then if there is ever a time a women could use an idyllic retreat, it is then.
Amilla describes:
- “Even though it is a natural stage in life, many women find it daunting to navigate changes in their hormones during perimenopause and menopause, and all that comes with it – hot flushes, mood swings, lack of sleep, brain fog, weight gain around the middle, anxiety and dwindling confidence. But help is at hand! Amilla Maldives Resort and Residences is the first resort in the Maldives (and one of just a handful of resorts around the world) to have created a women’s perimenopause and menopause retreat…The three Perimenopause/Menopause Retreats at Amilla Maldives Resort will run between June 23rd to July 7th, 2022. It will be led by renowned naturopath and wellness coach, Claire O’Sullivan. The five-day journey has been developed to give women the tools they need to adapt to the changes in their bodies in a healthy and positive way, enabling them to tune into themselves rather than fight nature. With these tools, they will address physical, emotional and lifestyle issues, improving their habits and renewing their energy.”
Best of the Maldives: MediSpa – Heritance Aarah
The pandemic COVID testing has introduced at least medical testing procedures to most resorts, but Heritance Aarah has extended medical grade procedures to its spa menus with an innovative range of diagnostics (see photo at bottom) and treatments.
A few examples include:
- “Aesthetics – State of the art diagnostic scanning to pinpoint problems, allowing effective prescription of remedial medical aesthetic treatments. Reverse signs of ageing, reduce appearance of fine lines and resolve pigmentation problems. When you want to feel younger than the mirror is telling you, we have the solution.”
- “Medical Assessment – Unique predictive software provides the most comprehensive medical assessments test to detect current health conditions and evaluates future disease risk to drive prevention that will increase your health span, as well as your lifespan.”
Other procedures include “nanoneedling” and “microneedling” for facials as well as “HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound)” for skin conditioning (“HIFU” is indeed a medical technique and in one of my previous day jobs heading up a med-tech company, we worked with HIFU for prostate cancer ablation).
The “Non-Surgical Facelift and Contouring” is also distinguished as possibly being the most expensive spa treatment available in the Maldives:
- Upper Face Lift 60 min – $ 300.00
- Double Chin Reduction 60 mins – $ 500.00
- Mid Face Lift 90 mins – $ 800.00
- Full Face Lift 120 mins – $1000.00
- Full Face and Neck Lift 150 mins – $1500.00
Aarah is certainly putting the “treatment” into spa treatments.
Best of the Maldives: Highest Meditation Area – Soneva Jani
While the Maldives is renowned for its flatness, when a bit of elevation does poke its head into the air, the vistas are extra dramatic. Especially, with the destination’s signature tapestry of blues mottling the tranquil ocean below. Soneva Jani’s Soneva Soul Yoga Champa is perched above the palm tree canopy proving a breath-taking view for taking your Ujjayi breathes. Just the perfect place to channel your “yogi sitting on top of a mountain” spirit.
DiscoverSoneva’s Instagram feed has also shared its own panorama of this striking vista.
View this post on Instagram
Best of the Maldives: Beach Front Kids Club – SAii Lagoon
The Maldives have come a long way from when it was mostly a destination for divers and honeymooners neither of which brought along little ones. Now (except for a few resorts positioning themselves as “adult only” or “children restricted”), the vast majority of resorts not only welcome children, but cater to them with a range of treats and activities some of which make the adults envious. The centrepiece of family-friendliness is the pervasive “kids club”. These havens of youthful and safe play spaces include all sorts of exciting features, but even the most lavishly equipped and designed tend to be tucked away somewhere in the interior of the island. SAii Lagoon’s Koimala & Maalimi’s Junior Beach Club and Camp has treated its young guests to seaside venue as picturesque as the one their parent’s are enjoying with keenly savoured peace and quiet.
Best of the Maldives: Ocean Bound Plastic Items – Amilla
Some of Amilla’s complimentary items are a gift to the guest and the planet. They provide a variety Mon India bags for guests’ use and some for guests to even take home made out of plastics that would otherwise be destined to end up in the ocean that surrounds their visit:
- “We have started making bags and accessories out of Ocean Bound Plastic Recycled Fabric. We have developed an ethical supply chain, with our partners collecting plastic bottles and other kinds of plastic and preventing them from entering the seas and ocean. Recycling the collected plastic into fine polyester fabric. Once the fabric reaches us, we make Bags and accessories out of it.”
Amilla includes laundry bags, hairdryer bags, toilet roll bags, table covers and beach bags from Mon India for the guests’ use. And the kids get a welcome back pack (see below) inspired by the local star wildlife resident, the White Long-Tail.
Best of the Maldives: 24 Hour AI Bar – Siyam World
It’s not just location that has become flexible in the digital age, but time. People bemoan the 24×7 always-on culture of today’s high-powered business, but the problem is not the “24×7” part, but the “always-on” part. And it doesn’t have to be work that’s available 24-7. Siyam World offers a 24-hour bar Kulhivaru sports bar as a part of its all-inclusive package:
- “KulhiVaru for live sports, cask beers, bar bites and great company. All major national and international games are broadcasted, meaning you’ll stay up to date with all the latest scores.”
Especially great for catching those football matches being played back home in a different time zone.