Best of the Maldives: Whiskey – Island Hideaway

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Island Hideaway Meeru Bar whiskey

“Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o’ the puddin-race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace
As lang’s my arm.”

– Robert Burns, Address to a Hagis

Scots at heart around the world will be raising a wee dram in honour of ‘Rabbie Burrrns’ tonight. And if you are in the Maldives, then the best place for a Burns Supper is Island Hideaway with its Meeru Bar which boasts “the largest malt whiskey selection in the Indian Ocean.”  Indeed, they serve up 60 different types of whiskey including Macallan 25 Year and Handmade 1976 Vintage Bourbon. The bar manager tells me that Macallan and Glen Moray are the most popular.

If you are having difficulty deciding on which malt to fill your glass with such a baffling array of options, then I suggest the following handy guide – Single Malt Whiskey Flavour Map.

To the health of the women!

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Best of the Maldives: Seclusion – Island Hideaway

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Island Hideaway villas

 

On the other hand, if you escape to the Maldives seeking the ultimate in privacy and seclusion, with the demise (or dormancy) of Dhoni Island, the new prince of privacy and seclusion, belied in its very name, is Island Hideaway Dhonakulhi…

Comments the Private Islands Online…

“Nature and luxury blend harmoniously together at The Island Hideaway. The guest villa complexes are some of the largest of any resort in the Maldives. These majestic chalets are tucked into the lush greenery and scattered along the beach-line some 30 metres apart from one another, providing the ultimate in privacy.”

The sand spit for dining is pretty secluded too (see below)…

 

Island Hideaway sand spit

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Best of the Maldives Online: Reef Regeneration – Seamarc

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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.

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Best of the Maldives: Tub – Dhonakulhi

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Island Hideaway Tub 1

  

One popular feature that I do adore is the al fresco bathing. It is not an uncommon luxury feature of tropical resort, but they are typically secluded to a sheltered back garden. But if you want the experience with elegance, style, comfort and a view, the Island Hideaway at Dhonakulhi has really nailed it with their Hideaway Water Suite. The tub is perched right on the best view of the ocean.

It reminded me of our stay at Londolozi Game Lodge in South Africa where the designers had smartly put the elegant tub by a big window overlooking the river down below. You could watch the elephants bathing while you had your own scrub.

And if you can’t or don’t want to spring for the posh Water Suite, you still can partake of a lagoon-vista’ed soak at their Mandara Spa (see below).

Dhonakulhi Island Hideaway Mandara Spa

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Best of the Maldives: Biggest Suite – Island Hideaway

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Island Hideaway Suite

At 1420 square metres, the largest suite in the diminutive Maldivian isles is the “Hideaway Palace” at the Island Hideaway resort at Dhonakhuli: “The Hideaway Palace comprises of five exclusive individual Villas which sit on top of a beautiful timber deck and are surrounded by a number of private Infinity Swimming Pools.”

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