Best of the Maldives: Tandem Bicycle – Jumeirah Vittaveli

Jumeirah Vittaveli tendem bicycle

Give me your answer true
Will you let me peddle along with you
When you and I go cruisin’
You’ll thank me for choosin’
You to come and have some fun
On a bicycle built for two

I’m half crazy for the love of the Maldives and the distinctive touches each resort brings to enhance this paradise. A number of resorts offer bicycles as a leisurely way to explore the island. And given the Maldives romantic ambience it’s a bit surprising that no resort has offered this earlier – a tandem bicycle. Jumeirah Vittaveli introduced their doublemint fun just recently describing…

“A tandem bicycle – made for two – will allow newlyweds to explore the winding lanes of the island, which mirror the aesthetic of a traditional Maldivian village.”

Buddy biking!

Best of the Maldives: Wedding Proposal – One & Only Reethi Rah

One and Only Reethi Rah - fire wedding proposal

 

Will you be my Valentine?

Or will be be mine forever? Both are popular questions being asked today. But few with more bright light and fervid heat than Nick Candy’s proposal to firey Strictly contestant and actress Holly Valance.

“The 38-year-old property tycoon got down on one knee on a beach in the Maldives with the words 'Will you marry me' written in fire when he popped the question.”

None of the reports divulged the resort where it took place, but the tell tale give-away was the Reethi Rah pool shown in the picture she tweeted.

Not only is Valentines Day an iconic occasion to start a brothel, but the Maldives is also THE dream location to conclude it with your honeymoon according to the latest Agoda survey.

Happy Valentines to the romantically inspired everywhere.

Best of the Maldives: Concave Shoreline – One & Only Reethi Rah

One and Only Reethi Rah aerial

 

 

One & Only Reethi Rah inverts the one of the most classic landscapes of the Maldives. The archipelago is renowned for its pointilistic array of white sand dots punctuated by green centres strewn across an aquatic tapestry of variegated blues. Those “dots” mean that nearly all the shorelines are convex, ie. outer curves. These shapes protrude the beach comber out toward the ocean with limited shoreline in view as it wraps behind him. But Reethi’s shorelines are terraformed into a collection of cosy coves. These convex harbours provide a completely different ambience which amplifies the sheltered sensation of the shallow lagoons surrounding the island.

Best of the Maldives: Black Sand – Conrad Rangali

Conrad Rangali - black sand

Admire the black volcanic sand imported from New Zealand on the floor, which gives a stylish counterpoint to the white sand floors throughout the rest of the resort.”

The place to celebrate New Zealand Waitangi Day today is in the Maldives is Conrad Rangali. Their distinctive plot of sand is as black as the Maldives beaches are white. The juxtaposition is sort of a geological circle of life. The black sand comes from relatively recent volcanic eruptions while the Maldives themselves are anciently defunct volcanoes.

Their marketing manager Katherine Anthony elaborates…

“Yes, the black sand in the Cheese and Wine Bar (the only place we have it) is volcanic sand from New Zealand. We liked the contrast with the white sand that we have everywhere else throughout the resort.”

Best of the Maldives: Cold Sorbet – Iru Fushi

Coco Palm Dhuni Kholu sorbet

One of the few things you do want kept freezing cold on your Maldives holiday is your ice cream dessert. A challenge to savouring ice cream is to enjoy it in hot weather when it is more “ice” than “cream”. Iru Fushi finesses this with their own dive into the cold

The sorbet is served in a double cup (glass).. a round one with ice cubes to keep the temperature and a small conic one fitting in.” (thanks Paola)