The Queen’s Birthday today. Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru’s palatial Landaa Estate features a truly regal Jacuzzi fit for a visiting queens with its Aegean brown marble. I also love the disappearing wall French doors to give bathing Maldivian monarchs a maritime view.
The paradise of the Maldives and their luxurious properties attracts the finest hospitality management from around the world. Maldives resort general managers hail from as many places around the globe as their illustrious clientele. But very often, they do their tour and then move onto some other corner of the planet. But one GM has settled into the Maldive life with an endurance as notable as the resort he manages. Though staying power is nothing new for Jason given his background in road racing (which he is just one of the skills he has found a way to bring with him to the Maldives).
Jason Kruse, General Manager of Kurumba, is a veteran among the ex-pat managers arriving 6 years ago this month (his tenure is just ahead of another prominent senior stay-man, Patrick Staerke, by a few months). Over that time, Jason and his team have revitalised Kurumba from a run-of-the-mill vintage property into a vibrant and innovative top choice. Kurumba ranks third on the Maldives Complete league table ahead of the super-premium properties twice (and more) its value price. It has 50 ‘Best of the Maldives’ recognitions (bested only by Soneva Fushi’s 73 and One & Only Reethi Rah’s 60) like yesterday’s post.
Jason is not just the leader of Kurumba, but also a real leader in the Maldives tourism industry. As I travel around the atolls, he is the one person more people have met or know than anyone else I have come across. He is a role model participant on TripAdvisor providing personal responses to both the resort reviews as well as the colourful and sometimes contentious Maldives Forum. Any GM or Marketing Manager wanting to better engage with TripAdvisor and its highly influential contributors would be advised to peruse Jason’s contributions and even buy him a drink to pick his brain his experience.
The key person on his Kurumba team is his scintillating wife Victoria. She has spearheaded her own initiatives on the island and in the Maldives including leading a venture to help resorts staff top talent. And her customer focus combined with her impeccable eye for fashion has produced one of the top resort boutiques in the Maldives.
Here is a chat with my friend (one of the very earliest supporters of Maldives Complete) and a real friend to all guests and host in the Maldives, Jason Kruse…
If you are inspired to be your own concoct your own cocktail creations, then arrival at Kurumba will start your holiday on the right foot. They provide all the fresh ingredients to make your own mojito precisely to your liking when you walk into your room. We loved the concept because it spurred us to indulge in a way we wouldn’t have otherwise done. When you arrive, it doesn’t feel appropriate to raid the mini-bar right off the bat. And if you did, all you can really do is have a simple drink like a beer, glass of wine or neat liquor. But the layout inspired us to create an especially refreshing and interesting drink to accompany our unpacking and settling in.
Cheers!
Researching yesterday’s croquet piece, I was struck by the curious terminology of the game much of which seemed like a menu for exotic cocktails – Super Shot, Dambuster, Dolly Rush, Mangler, Octuple Peel, Straight Triple. It brought me back to our Sun Siyam Irufushi visit and wiling away too many hours at their “Water’s Edge” bar.
Over 90% of cocktails there are custom recipes made by Anil. As our waiter commented, “No one wants to drink Coca Cola at the Maldives”.
While I tend to stick to my ritual pina coladas during my resort visits I nonetheless always appreciate inventiveness. And Lori always seems to be interested in trying an unconventional concoction. I’ll often sample hers and more often than not the cocktails are more oddball than highball.
But Irufushi was a truly refreshing change. Their “Shanghi #1” is a resort favourite which Lori tried (bracing with a bit of fizz and not too sweet). I had a “Login” which is like a tropical mojito”
If you want to indulge in the taste of the Maldives, Maldives Complete has scooped the recipes for their top three creations…
Today starts the Ascot Cup Croquet World Championship, but the undisputed Maldives croquet champ is One & Only Reethi Rah. They have their own built-to-purpose, manicured, regulation size croquet lawn at their appropriately named – “The Lawn Club”. It is kitted out with an elegant wooden mallet set (see below). So Reethi’s restaurants aren’t the only place to enjoy a special ‘bisque’, a chilly ‘crush’, or a handy ‘tea lady’.
สวัสดีปีใหม่
Happy Thai New Year! The Thai celebrations include a number of traditions typical in many cultures ringing in the calendar milestone – feasting, visiting families. One ritual distinctive to “Songkran” is cleansing. A bit reminiscent of the new beginnings and fresh starts embodied in New Year’s Resolutions. People go to Buddhist temples to wash away their sins and bad luck. The custom has grown quite lively with a now iconic water festival where people splash each other with water.
If you want to wash away your sins and bad luck, the best place in the Maldives is Velaa’s My Blend Spa by Clarins. This indulgent facility includes a number of innovative features from its snow room to its “cloud pod” to its steam room-with-a-view. But one of my favourites was the “Soaking 4 Ways” (my term). Quattro Fradicio.
In a single room, they offer 4 different soaks…
The “Bucket” seems to be the ultimate in drenching. Possibly the culmination of an ever intensifying trend. First there were “normal” showers. You turned them on…water came out. Then came the power showers and massage showers which pushed that spray a bit more firmly. Then, came the soaking “rain” showers. With twice as many and larger outlet holes, the water poured down on you sumptuously. The next obvious step was the “Waterfall” showers where the flow-impeding holes were done away with entirely. Now the “Bucket just drops the entire dose of water on you instantaneously.
No wood week can go without a nod to Soneva Fushi and its all natural aesthetic. One of my favourite features was this ligneous lave at its main restaurant restrooms.
The eco-chic natural look is becoming more and more in vogue in the Maldives. Especially with the recent launches of resorts like AaaVee and Drift Thelu Veliga. Maldives resort styling has gone through a number of style periods from the initial Spartan simplicity, to the more colonial rococo, to the modernistic swank, and now the artisanal natural look. Long before it became trendy, “Soneva” had embraced the aboriginal rustic vibe in its original properties – Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili (now re-launched as Gili Lankanfush).
Lori and I are big fans of natural wood. Our 18th century barn is packed with exposed ancient timbers and our furniture from our baby grand to our custom doll cabinet is made from burr wood. While Soneva Fushi is duly packed with natural design features, we were particularly captivated by Gili Lankanfushi’s. From artisan coat hangers to a bamboo bike and the drift wood furniture shown here (with Lori doing a bit of her own ex-tree hugging).
Water is the very essence of the Maldives. So it would seem that an ideal memento of one’s stay would be something one can enjoy when one is in the warm water relaxing. JA Manafaru’s bath buddy provide a few variants especially apropos to a Maldives stay. May favourite is the snorkel duck.
I’ve added a new tag for “Finally Seen” for those “Best of the Maldives” pieces featuring things I had called out in the “Not Yet Seen” series. In this case, #23 of this past Christmas’s post.
Absolutely ducky!
An even more authentically Maldivian water sport is Angsana Velavaru’s lagoon volleyball. Offered each day from 6:00 to 7:00 pm free of charge. Great for those ‘diving’ digs and pancakes.