If you want to get dressed up for Japan Day today, then Joali provides elegant his and hers kimonos in every room. Accompanied by matching rattan Japanese sandals, they were designed South African designer Admore.
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Best of the Maldives: Pool Ice Lollies – Dhigali
All you trick-or-treaters out there are having to trudge door to door to get your sweeties today, but at Dhigali the pool attendant comes by your lounge chair regularly throughout the day to deliver sweet ice lollies to each guest. No need for fancy dress as your swimming costume will be just fine.
Best of the Maldives: Largest Floating Solar System – LUX South Ari Atoll
LUX South Ari Atoll floating solar farm is using the sea to save the sea. Exploiting the expansive areas of sun-drenched waters, their floating solar system is the not just the Maldives’ largest, but the world’s largest:
- “This unique technology called SolarSea gathers solar energy directly on the ocean to power the island in an eco-friendly fashion. As part of the resort’s commitment to sustainability, LUX* South Ari Atoll has pledged to minimize carbon dioxide emissions. To achieve this goal, the five-star luxury resort partnered with the leading solar provider Swimsol, an Austrian-Maldivian company, which provided a solution to overcome the limited space available for solar panels on small tropical islands. Consequently, Swimsol developed the first and only patented floating solar system that is designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the waves, storms and saltwater…The resort is already using a rooftop system with the same solar company. Once all suitable roofs were covered with solar panels, the resort decided to expand beyond the shoreline with twelve SolarSea platforms. Thereby the solar capacity increased by 40% and reached 678 kWp, enough to power all guest villas with solar energy during the peak sun hours. The result is cheaper energy and a saving of more than 260,000 litres of diesel per year that previously were needed to produce the same amount of electricity with combustion engines.”
Sunny days to un-warm the ocean.
Best of the Maldives: Coral Reef Art – Sirru Fen Fushi
I rarely visit the same island twice (there’s just too much great stuff left to discover) much less write about the same feature twice. But islands get revamped and become entirely different properties which warrant taking an entirely fresh look. And the same is true with Sirru Fen Fushi’s “Corallarium” which started life as a surf-breaking art installation, but is now morphing into a reef regeneration project:
- “The Coralarium structure, and the sculptures within, act as an artificial reef, encouraging local marine life to make it a home. Up to 5m tall, each one of the soaring sculptures is constructed of more than 500 ceramic ‘starfish’ that have been specifically designed to attract a variety of fish and crustaceans – the hard shells catch and hold biomass, or ‘fish food’, which encourage coral larvae to attach and thrive, while nooks and dark cubbyholes in the structures provide a hiding place for a variety of fish and shellfish. Each sculpture is brought to life through its union with the life that attaches to it, transforming them from concrete to textured, living organisms.”
Great to see the second life to this installation giving the coral reef new life.
Best of the Maldives: Logo Villa Design – Faarufushi
Faarufushi logo design tops everything. Well, it tops all of its villas as the resort describes:
- “In the design of the WV roof, we had a bit of ‘wink’ to the FaaruFushi logo, and extended one edge of the roof to mimic the dipping ‘A’.“
A+ for thematic integrity.
Best of the Maldives: Rooftop Star Gazing – LUX North Male Atoll
One of our favourite activities in the Maldives is laying out a beach towel or dragging a lounger out of the palm canopy to the open beach to gaze up to the stars. But if you want even less sand on you and be that little bit close to the stars themselves, not to mention having a full 180 degree perspective, then LUX North Male Atoll’s villa rooftops are the apex of taking in the tropical astral lights of night time skies.
Best of the Maldives: Lights Out Event – Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru / Angsana Ihuru
Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru and Angsana Ihuru holds a monthly event to raise awareness of energy conservation to reduce carbon footprint by completely shutting off all electrical lights on the resort for 12 hours:
- “Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru and Angsana Ihuru launched a 12-hour lights-off event under the name ‘Connect to Earth from Dusk till Dawn’ on September 14. The monthly occurrence is scheduled for full moons in order to take advantage of natural luminescence while the two resorts switch off their lights from 1800 to 0600 hrs. Connect to Earth from Dusk Till Dawn is inspired by the Earth Hour Movement, an annual celebration marked by switching lights off for a one-hour period. ‘By switching off the lights for one hour, we can make a substantial difference in the energy consumption and we can help reduce the effect of global warming’, stated the General Manager of Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru and Angsana Ihuru, Hicham Najdi…During the event, dubbed 6to6, restaurants and bars will be candlelit and a special full moon in-villa dinner can be arranged for guests upon request. The Marine Lab Team will also organize an ‘Under the Full Moon Night Snorkel’ to provide a unique underwater experience to the guests.”
The initiative is not just eco-friendly but imparts an extra romantic tone to the evening with candlelit areas and meals. Furthermore, turning off the lights in one of the few electrified places in that part of the ocean reduces light pollution making star gazing all the more dazzling.
Best of the Maldives: Jetty Lights – Joali
You need some sort of lighting on the jetties to make sure people don’t wander into the ocean on the way to their villa, and resorts have tended to install a variety of basic fixtures along the path. Joali has extended its art immersion ethos to these simple finishes with a not just utilitarian lamps to light the way but specially carved globes. These balls provide a pleasing aesthetic detail to follow during the day, but in the night they bathe pathway with a constellation of light specs mirroring the celestial canopy overhead.
Best of the Maldives: Natural Running Track – Dhigali
For a more energetic experience enjoying the lush island Dhigali offers a 1.2 kilometre running track (sand paths) weaving around the island and marked with handy signs.
Best of the Maldives: Swing Park – Reethi Faru
For a more alfresco swinging selection, Reethi Fafu has created a swing park with a manicured garden surrounding an imposing banyan tree with a variety of swings hung from its branches.