Mari-time, Mar-itime…How does your garden grow? With help from a lucky aquatic gardener at Coco Palm Dhuniu Kolhu. The resort is advertising for a “coral reef gardener” to work for a three placement:
Working in an octopus’ garden has 12 May deadline for application.
Cone or Dish? Or both in one at Jumeirah Maldives’ no compromises Gelateria. I like using a spoon to eat my ice cream (rather than licking…especially in hot weather when it is hard to keep pace with the melting). But then I miss out on the tasty cookie coda to my cold dessert. Not during my stay at Jumeirah.
One doesn’t typically think about a “cold brew” first thing in the morning to start your day. But cold brew coffee is a made by using time rather than heat to coax the coffee flavour out of the beans. Using cold water can take between 18 and 24 hours, in fact! The result is a brew which is a bit lighter, more floral, less acidic and more caffeinated than hot brewed coffee.
Soneva Jani not only offers cold brew, but actually has a collection of cold brew concoctions:
Amilla not only sends you off to dreamland in style, but welcomes you back to the land of your dreams with equal distinction. In particular, it has completed mastered the “Indian Ocean” breakfast vittles’.
The heart here is Maldivian Mashuni. A light pancake, fresh tuna, chillies and coconut morning delicacy of the Maldives. Lori is a particular afficionado and has it at every resort that serves it (which is pretty much every resort). She declared that Amilla’s was definitely up there as one of the top execution.
Then, we move to another breakfast buffet standard – the breakfast curry. In most places, I’ve tried this dish out of curiosity and I do like a curry, but in more cases they just seem like re-heated leftovers from the previous dinner layout. Amilla’s version is light, fresh rendition which really suits the early hour and was especially tasty.
And to complete the Laccadive trifecta, they also serve a Sri Lankan Pani Pol Egg Hopper. A charmingly local (well, nearby) variation on the your morning eggs.
International Pillow Day today. Just the time to settle in for an extra special slumber. And to help you on your way, Amilla treats its guest to sleep pillow goodies. Each take pillow chockies to a new level made with ingredients meant to facilitate your dozing. Each one includes its own message with a sleep tip, eg. “Increase your exposure to natural light to help readjust your sleeping patterns.”. They include:
Sweet dreams!
The big advantage to being big in the Maldives is that you can introduce a wider, and more creative range of activities. The newly launched Siyam World has not only introduced an exciting collection of features (many of which will be featured here on the “Best of the Maldives” in coming weeks), but perhaps the most ambitious is the introduction of a horse ranch:
Some folks have questioned whether horses are truly authentic to the Maldives. Well, the Maldives resort experience long ago stopped being purely indigenous with the introduction of the now ubiquitous water villas (concept imported from Bali). Since then, the Maldivians have crafted a range of updated interpretations of their marine wonderland and tropical paradise to appeal to a range of guests. The Maldives is big enough (with 1900 islands) to accommodate a range of tastes and preferences for different fun-in-the-sun holidays.
A few have raised concern over the welfare of the horses. Some tourism horses riding (eg. notably the city horse-drawn carriages) are indeed often mistreated, but actually part of the inspiration for the offering is Mr. Siyam’s personal affection for horses so he has kitted out facilities for them as top standard as the resort overall. Someone raised a concern over having horses in such a hot climate without appreciating that many breeds are indigenous to hot, sandy areas. Most famously the Arabian horse. The resort has selected breeds who native to hot climates so they feel right at home in their surroundings.
And if you are speaking of iconic images, right up there would be riding a horse along the water’s edge. So much so that it was the climax of the famous Old Spice “Smell Like a Man, Man” advertisement presenting a catalogue of romantic fantasy culminates with the protagonist on a horse on a tropical beach.
“I’m on a horse.”
(photo of Siyam PR Angie Sloan with Lori and myself courtesy of Dafydd Jones)
Our virtual Maldives excursion carried on with a transfer cross-town to the Century Club where Siyam World celebrated its UK launch. Deepak Booneady, Commercial Vice President Siyam Resorts, shared updates of all the resorts in the Siyam collection, ie. Olhuveli, Vilu Reef, Iruveli.
But the star of the evening was the newly inaugurated Siyam World. He shared the fascinating odyssey of the founder Ahmed Siyam Mohamed who started as a butler at one of the first resorts back in the 80s, parlayed his understanding of the business and his guests’ interests into a travel agency which then grew into being a resort company itself. Booneady described Siyam’s ethos reflecting this heritage with great people making great experiences for guests.
The expansive island affords an expansive vison of amenities an activities while still preserving plenty of wide open space and tranquil areas. The property boasts quite a number of firsts in the Maldives to stay tuned for “Best of the Maldives” additions.
One of my many motivations for doing Maldives Complete is to be transported away from cold and less sunny England immersing myself in all things Maldivian for a several hours a week. While my escapism is usually digital, this week I was treated to some real bits of the Maldives live here in London. Amilla hosted an industry event to update its UK partners and friends on the latest and greatest at the resort.
Amilla announced its acceptance into the Small Luxury Hotels of the World collection among other enhancements and new features. It wasn’t just press release and presentation, but an actual taste of Amilla hosted at Michelin-trained Kirk Haworth’s “Plates” restaurant whose ethos of sustainable, healthy and yet decadently sumptuous culinary creations fit right into the Amilla vibe. So much so that Haworth was hosted by Amilla earlier in the year and is scheduled for a return residence in the coming months. We were treated to such Maldives-worthy delicacies as “carrot & yuzu bellini crumpet, smoked carrot, seaweed caviar, champagne jelly” and “BBQ potato with sea lettuce, aioli, pickled shallots, nori powder” and “organic cocao and lion’s mane sponge, whipped coconut, hibiscus sherbert.” And all of the dishes were accompanied by rainbow (white, red, rose and orange) of locally produced organic wines.
Other featured Amilla residencies joining the festivities included style guru Kat Farmer (see photo) who recently hoted a fashion show with a Maldivian designer there. And the parting gift was an herbal bath tea from Amilla’s own garden. But the quintessential touch of the Maldives itself were the leadership team which personifies appreciating, investing in and sharing the Maldives – Jason and Victoria Kruse.
The investment in sustainability by Maldives resorts keeps building to new highs, and Sirru Fen Fushi has recently introduced an ambitious Sustainability Lab to provide a range of activities and services for the island, its guests and the environment:
