Cool Women

Cool Women

Happy Mothers Day!

Mothers Day is celebrated on whole range of days in different countries around the world, but it is celebrated on the ‘India Sub-Continent’ today (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka). The holiday has roots in the Roman festival of Hilaria where the ‘Earth Goddess’ was celebrated on the final day of the vernal equinox festival (spring finally sprung!).

It is also celebrated in the USA today where my own mother lives. The ‘traditional’ American ritual includes breakfasts in bed, homemade cards and a break from traditional chores as children (and husbands) try to chip to give Mom a break for one 24 hour period.

It seemed appropriate to post on ‘Cool Women’, which was created for International Women’s Day earlier this year, on this more traditional day of honouring women. My mother, Marjorie Lynn, is also a ‘Cool Woman’ in very much the spirit of the video. She ran a YWCA which provided support programmes for women including a women’s shelter and a number of outreach and community initiatives. Mom has always been a rather outspoken activist for well-being and capabilities of women with all the strength of Aemii Musko’s wave (see above). 

Best of the Maldives: Surround Decking – Adaaran Club Rannalhi

Club Rannalhi Water Villa deck

 

A lot of Trip Advisor queries ask about the best villas and the best sides of a resort (watch this space). Does one want an eastward facing villa for glorious morning sunshine or a westward facing villa for sunset pina coladas?

You do have to choose because most Maldive resorts line up the water villas next to each other with a distinct outward facing aspects. Some stand alone, but the deck is only on one or maybe two sides of the villa. But Club Rannalhi has 360 degree decking all around its water villas. Sunrise AND Sunset views. Or if the sun is getting a bit strong at in the afternoon, just slide your deck chair around to the shaded side. You can choose between windward side for a cool breeze on a hot day or leeward side to shelter from a particularly strong breeze. Short of renting a palatial water villa suite at some of the super top end resorts, the 360 degree Club Rannalhi is relatively unique.

Best of the Maldives: Sea Plane – Beach House at Manafaru

Beach House at Manafaru Sea Plane interior

Donald Trump personifies the super-premium jet-setting crowd. He’s in the headlines a lot these few weeks with both his potential challenge to President Obama in 2012 and his ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ reality TV show now in full flow. Nearly all of the shots of him show him in him in his private Trump helicopter or Trump private plane.

If you want to travel in Trump-quality style, the Beach House at Manafaru this year launches a customised sea plane that looks like it has been taken straight off the set of an Apprentice victory reward.

One of the real treats to a Maldives visit is the view from above. I always try to get a window seat for my outbound journey so that when we approach the northernmost atolls I get a front row seat to all the dazzling colours and shapes. It really is the closest thing to feeling that you have arrived at another planet. A sea plane transfer is an added treat with a flight altitude even lower so you get an even better view. Charming though it is, the seaplane ‘air taxis’ are not big on the creature comforts. But Beach House has a remedy for that. Here is an excerpt from the Beach House announcement…

“A DeHavilland Twin Otter seaplane will be fitted out for the ultimate in aviation with comfy leather seats; custom-made tables and furnishings; and an utterly desirable amenities bag that includes an iPad and Bose noise cancelling headphones. The exterior of the plane will be painted a stylishly elegant white, gray and black livery.”

“Frederic Lebegue, General Manager of Beach House Maldives, A Waldorf Astoria Resort commented, “With the launch of our customised seaplane into the Maldivian skies, we’re putting the glamour back into travel, ensuring that our guests can begin their Maldivian holiday from the moment they reach the airport. The seaplane flight offers a ‘private jet’ experience making this an inimitable way to travel with picture postcard aerial views of the islands below.”

“All guests travelling to the ultra-elegant resort will be welcomed at Male International Airport, whisked through to a private lounge where spa treatments, refreshments and air conditioned comfort await them before transferring to the resort’s own seaplane for the one hour’s flight to the tropical retreat. To while away the time, guests on board will have a customised iPad, Bose noise cancelling headphones, a pair of binoculars, fan and pampering pack that includes face fresheners and hand wipes. The seaplane can be booked privately by individuals wishing to travel in complete privacy, and will also be used to transfer groups of guests to the resort from Male International Airport.”

“Beach House Maldives, a Waldorf Astoria Resort is the only resort in the atoll to offer seaplane transfers to its guests. Set in the far north of the country, Haa Alifu Atoll is usually reached by a domestic flight followed by a boat trip. The seaplane transfer reduces travelling time by half ensuring that guests can enjoy more time on the beach.”

I definitely wouldn’t miss the tiny hard seats of the conventional ‘air taxi’, but I do hope they keep the tradition of barefoot pilots. No shoes luxury is the Maldives.

Beach House at Manafaru Sea Plane exterior

Best of Maldives Online – Jobs: Job-Maldives.com

Job-Maldives

 

 

Happy International Workers Day. ‘May Day’ is celebrated all over the world to recognize workers (though America has its ‘Labor Day’ on 10th October). And this year, the Maldives joins that community adding 1st May to its official public holidays.

If all this talk and celebration of working has you interested in going to the Maldives for a bit longer stay than a fortnight’s holiday, then Job-Maldives is the place to go. It is the comprehensive source for employment posting on resorts for all sorts of positions and welcome applications from all over the world.

Best of the Maldives: Spa Romance – Kuramathi

Kuramathi spa for couples


The Royal couple of WIlliam and Katherine are now married and the honeymoon beckons. No word yet on the destination, but the Maldives are one of the world’s top honeymoon destinations. With everywhere being such romantically tropical paradise, how does one choose the most quintessentially romantic spot. There are lots of criteria to consider, but if the ultimate chill-out after the manic wedding build-up is called for, then I know of no more romantic spa treatment than
Kuramathi’s couple’s massage.

The couples massage experience is a fairly standard offering across the Maldives. Throw two tables in a room instead of just one and, voila, a treat you share ‘together’ rather than queing up after each other or retiring to separate quarters.

But Kuramathi have gone that creative step further. After your resplendent couple’s massage, the two of you are taken to another treatment room where a gigantic bathtub is filled with a bubbles, sprinkled with flower petals and accompanied by not only glasses of sparkling wine, but also a chocolate fountain with tropical fruits. The couple are then given the key to the room so they can lock the door from the inside and they can enjoy a further hour at the spa in sumptuous privacy.

Friends of ours recently returned from their honeymoon, which we had helped them to research, and told us all about their magical afternoon at the spa. Genius.

Best of the Maldives: Bed Art – Kuramathi

Kuramathi towel bed

Bed decoration has been a delightful service in many tropical resorts and it seems particularly popular in the Maldives. You often feel a tinge of sadness to leave the outdoor paradise for your indoor lodging, but arriving to such an artistic treat is like a bit of paradise indoors.

I’ve already featured a piece on bed decoration after culling through hundred of examples where a Meeru example came out the most exquisite. But now I’m alerted to a whole new genre of bed decoration pioneered by Kuramathi with stunning impact – towel sculpture. Check out the charming examples above from Vicky Kafala.

Kuramathi is no slouch in the bed decorating department either as the photo below testifies. I think they have taken this whole tradition beyond simple decorating to an art form in its own right.

For some cutting edge hotel room ‘bed art’, check out MSNBC’s report on the creations of Bert Kreischer, host of the Travel Channel’s “Bert the Conqueror” television show.

 

Kuramathi flower bed

Best of the Maldives Online: Reef Regeneration – Seamarc

Gapingvoid Hugh MacLeod Earth Day 2011

Happy Earth Day 2011!

Maldives have always been on the vanguard of promoting the thoughtful stewardship of the planet. In the spirit of the day, I thought I would highlight Seamarc who has been pioneering ‘reefscaping’ and ‘coral regeneration’ projects across the Maldives. Resorts using their reef grafting frames include Kandooma, Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru, Beach House at Manafaru, Island Hideaway at Dhonakulhi, Reethi Rah, and Four Seasons Kuda Huraa,

“Seamarc’s unique propagation techniques; whereby broken or threatened corals are harvested, attached to portable Coral Trays and put back into the warm Maldivian waters, mean that branching corals grow faster, rapidly creating new and replenishing old habitats. The project also provides alternative employment to residents of nearby B. Fulhadhoo Island who build the structures.”

The illustration above comes from my friend and social media pioneer Hugh MacLeod. I especially like his tagline about ‘changing lives’. The more we do that for the better, the easier it will be to get everyone to agree to some difficult decisions to take care of our planet.

Best of the Maldives: Innovation – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

Queens Award for Innovation

Happy Birthday Your Majesty! And thank you for the very kind mention on your special day of ‘Piero’ (the company I manage) as an exemplar of British innovation. My day job is stewardship of a small software developer that provides sport broadcast graphical tools called Piero and today Her Majesty The Queen announced that we had been awarded The 2011 Queen’s Award for Innovation.

On a far less majestic scale, if I had to give out an award for Innovation in general to Maldive resorts, it would go to Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru. They not only innovate with a range of creative touches (many of which I haven’t had the opportunity to post yet), but they also must be the most technology rich resort. They have embraced ‘reefscaping’ more extensively than any other. Their Marine Discovery Center sponsors and conducts research in innovation for marine bio-sustainability.

A brilliant example of both service innovation and using technology is their ‘Manta On-Call’ service. One of the givens to nature is it unpredictability and that is especially true with many of its most beguiling and intriguing creatures. While it is part of the territory that there is no guarantee what you might see when you venture into the wild (as we learned on our Hammerhead excursion while visiting Kuramathi’s not-so-eponymous Hammerhead Point that day), it is nonetheless frustrating when you have so little time during your visit. While the lovely water and general aquatic flora and fauna always provide excellent consolation, it can be a bit disappointing heading out on a number of excursions hoping to see something as dramatic as manta rays but come back unsuccessful. To help increase the chances of seeing mantas, Landaa has a service called ‘Manta On-Call’. The reception gives you your own mobile phone and keeps in touch with the dive trips and snorkel excursions throughout the day. If a group of mantas is spotted, they telephone you wherever you are on the island and arrange an excursion to take you out so you can see them as soon as feasible.

Hat’s off to Landaa, congratulations to Piero, and Happy Birthday to Her Majesty the Queen.

Best of the Maldives: Sore Feet Dining – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru Blu pool dining

Ooohhh…sore feet. Whether it yesterday’s marathon or tenderness from overly hot sand, Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru has the pedi-treatment for you.

Their Blu restaurant is a lovely place with a rustic, understated elegance fashioned from unpolished concrete and distressed wood. To extend the soothing comfort of its Italian delicacies, it also offers diner in the pool. Many resorts have ‘pool-side’ bars, but Landaa is the first ‘pool-in’ dining. I thought that the sensation of warm sand between my toes during dinner was distinctive, but warm water soaking my feet while a crisp Sauvignon soaks my palette is sublime.

Landaa’s piscinary gourmet uniqueness may be somewhat short-lived, however, as the upcoming Ayada resort has a published designs which show even more extensive catering to this no-shoes style of dining.

A final note to add an inspiring follow up to my post-script of the last post. Mark Deakin not only completed the London Marathon, but started a new life marathon at the same time as he stopped at the Tower Bridge to propose to his girlfriend, Ilona. So Landaa’s pool dining can not only soothe Mark’s weary feet, but also provide the perfectly romantic celebration to their new life together. Maybe this post should be ‘Best Post-Marathon Marriage Proposal Romantic Dinner’.

Mark and Ilona proposal 1  Mark and Ilona proposal 2  Mark and Ilona proposal 3

Best of the Maldives: Running – Shangri-La

running on beach

The epic London Marathon takes place tomorrow so which resort is the best place for entrants to get their training in. Once you have carbo-loaded at Kuramathi, head to Shangri-La Vilingili for your training runs. Most Maldive islands would have you running laps being little larger than your typical running track in circumference anyway. Vilingili has 3 jogging trails for a total of a four kilometre route. A luxuriously long patch of ground in the terrain challenged Maldives.

Soneva Fushi also offers ‘hidden’ jogging trails and is a much larger island, but Villingili offers an eight-minute speedboat ride away ‘a 17-kilometre road, which is the longest in the Maldives’ which connects 5 neighbouring islands.

Good luck to my friend Mark Deakin who will be one of the 6000+ runners and he is raising money for the Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital if you want to lend support.