Some people like a pool for a refreshing dip while others just enjoy sitting around the soothing water feature. Dhigali’s two-tier pool has something for both. Especially, if you are a part of a family where you like a bit of relaxing lounging while your young one wants to splash in some shallow water. Double pleasure, double fun.
The pool is one of the most central components of a Maldives resort. The Maldives Complete website’s earliest origins were a spreadsheet I assembled from research about which resorts had pools and which didn’t because our kids loving playing in the pool all day (and Lori and I could lounge comfortably on the sides while they did). Yes, Maldives islands are surrounded by one big giant natural pool called “the ocean”, and it’s lovely, but sometimes the salt, sand and sun (it’s easier to get protective parasols closer the water with a pool than the sea) just can just a bit too much.
If you want the comforts of a pool with the added bonus of a natural feel, then Dreamland Unique has topped its unique water feature with a unique “Biotop” model:
The inventor, Biotop, describes the construction:
At Dreamland you can have the natural seafront at the beach and the sensation of lakefront by the pool.
Lifting you higher is Soneva Fushi’s Villa 37 with its 11 metre tall viewing tower and Moonlight Table. Just one prominent example of its “Elevation” distinction.
Part of the fun of having visited the Maldives for two decades and written about them for over a decade is seeing the dramatic changes. As someone who studied development economics at university and first cut his teeth in travel writing posted in Togo, West Africa who were trying to build their economy with tourism dollars, the Maldives has been a brilliant and diverse case study of this evolution. For example, I first encountered the charming “Birds Nest” swing at Lily Beach years ago. In a matter of years, it seemed like standard fittings for the luxury properties. Now Waldorf Ithaafushi has pushed even higher (literally) with elaborate birds nest lounges for people to sip their sundowners in while enjoying an elevated vista over the ocean.
It takes more than a leap to get to the top of the coconut tree, but instead traditional climbing as featured by Fushifaru’s Coconut Climbing Competition. Maldives Insider reported…
Prizes included a cash award for first and free nights at Fushifaru for second and third.
Top stuff!
Another way to perk yourself up in the morning is a bit of sunrise salutation. But why trudge all the over to the fitness centre, jetty or beach where the resort is leading a session when you can have do your own practice in the privacy and convenience of your own villa. That is why Joali provides personal yoga mats in each of its villas for guests to use. Complete with carrying strap if you want to take them to some special spot on the island you spied ad thought it would be particular soothing and inspiring.
For short lattes or long, LUX South Ari Atoll offers eco-friendly coffee cups that allow you to have your coffee and take it away too…
I love the creativity with which the resort welcome (and also bid farewell sometimes) to their guests as they arrive to the island’s shore. The latest addition to the cavalcade of cordial choreography is Kudafushi’s fish and wave greeting. A rendition opens their video holiday greeting the staff filmed.
One of the myths about the Maldives is that there is nothing to do there. One glance at the sheer scale of the Best of the Maldives “Activity” listing dispels that notion. There is a big difference between “you can do nothing” and “you have to do nothing”.
When you do decide you feel like a bit of stimulating action, there’s no better place than the picturesque surroundings of this tropical utopia. Where else can you play a few games of tennis framed by the dazzling ocean? LUX North Male Atoll’s uniquely positioned seaside court even features blue playing surface for the full azure effect.
In the Instagram era, if you don’t get your social snaps, then did you even go on holiday. Now nearly every resort offers a photo point (motivated by the free publicity as they almost always have the name of the resort plastered prominently on them. But no one has more than You & Me with its five different points:
The snappiest resort in the Maldives.
