Best of the Maldives: Wheelchair – Baros

Baros beach wheelchair

Nighttime arrivals aren’t the only difficult and awkward movements in the Maldives. For many disabled or mobility challenged guests, the ubiquitous sand only makes footing and moving around problematic. Not at Baros though where the resort offers the latest in beach mobility. The Daily Mail covered it in its piece “Meals by moonlight, diving with sharks and rolling on Beach Wheels in the mazy Maldives

“My eyes also fell on another device that looked as if it had been lifted from a Nasa lunar project. Beach Wheels was an aquatic wheelchair, an Australian invention with huge tyres that allowed someone like me to glide smoothly over the sand or be dumped neatly into the sea.”

How people use the beach wheel chair? 

“Disabled guests who asks for the wheel chair are provided with our Beach wheel chair. It has big air filled wheels and therefore is easy to manoeuvre on sand, even on the most soft one. One person has always to be there to push the chair.”

What people have said about it?

“People are really happy about it, as it is incredible convenient for them. We offer it also sometimes to guest, who have problems to walk or are injured – they are really impressed by this service.”

Anything surprise you about its use when you got it?

“Not really surprising but interestingly – even if it was not built for that usage – guests tell us, that they feel like being able to float in the water. It is made of very strong material like fibre glass, and therefore does not rust at all.”

Best of the Maldives: Bean Bags–Velassaru / Baros

Velssaru bean bags

If you don’t want to sit on a gigantic beach towel, then Velassaru has the biggest beach beanbags I have ever come across…”Fatboys”. Bean bags are becoming more an more popular in the Maldives as a cozy seating. We saw them at Kurumba and Kandooma. But ‘Fatboys’ are the Cadillac, or should I say ‘Hummers’ of the genre.

According to a Daily Mail feature, the Fat Boys are also at nearby sister Universal resort of Baros as well…

  • “With a flourish, Jihad threw open the door to our villa and our children-squeezed past us, ignoring the emperor-sized bed, the teak decor, flatscreen TV, iPod charger and the Moet et Chandon on ice, and instead headed straight for the dazzling beach beyond the veranda. ‘Mummy! Daddy!’ they cried, ‘they’ve got a fat boy here!’ Amanda and I glanced at each other in horror; were we now about to face an outraged and indignant parent? Fortunately, the ‘fat boy’ turned out to be a Fatboy, a giant waterproof cushion, a sort of amphibious beanbag equally at home on the beach or in the water, and from then on it became the most heavily used piece of kit on the island.”

Best of the Maldives: Panoramic Dining – Baros

Baros Lighthouse

 

“Waiter…the best seat in the house please with a view. Make that the best seat in the world.”

The Maldives has a lot of stunning beauty and the resorts there put a lot of thought into how to experience that beauty most completely. The heart of the beauty is the distinctive ocean waters dappled with a crowded palette of blue hues. The best resort restaurants get the guests as close to the waters edge as possible with waterside beach dining a crowd favourite. Others have pushed out even further onto the water (with the dramatic instance of Congrad Rangali pushing ‘into’ the water) with pavilions. I have visited the water pavilion restaurants at Kuramathi, Rangali and Reeth Beach, and they are quite prevalent across the Maldives.

Other resorts are now moving to ‘altitude’ to enhance the vista for its diners even higher. Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru’s Moroccan restaurant ‘Al Barakat’, Adaaran Vadoo’s main bar, Anantara Kihava’s upcoming Sky-Fire-Salt-Sea restaurant concept all elevate the dining to a second story for a broader perspective on the surrounding maritime spectacle. But Sakis makes a dazzling case (and photos as expected) for Baros’ Lighthouse restaurant calling out the distinguished architecture and menu in the increasingly competitive category of panoramic pavilions.

“Its singular architecture can not be forgotten. And if by chance, you have already spent your holidays in North Male Atoll, you might have seen it at the horizon, brightly shining under the Sun, reminding you a lighthouse in the far end… Signature, highlight and landmark of the Luxury Hotel Baros Maldives, the Lighthouse was built on the lagoon and stands as a culinary reference by proposing an elaborated, innovative and fine A La Carte dining menu. Flavours are mainly based on Mediterranean and Asiatic Food, turning into a surprisingly taste experience when it also comes to the Fusion of both of them.”

 

Baros Lighthouse 2