Mud Pack Day! Yes, I’m not messing with you…it really is. So a skin-soothing shout out to Taj Exotica who have one of the most extensive mud pack treatment on offer at its Jiva Grande Spa. Something dirty to pack into your next Maldivian holiday.
Best of the Maldives: Lagoon – Taj Exotica
I’ve lauded the Taj Exotica lagoon in my tour piece (“Turquoise Extremica”), but I do think it is worthy of a special “Best of the Maldives” commendation. Theirs is one of the biggest lagoons in the entire Maldives at over 200 acres. It is the biggest we have seen since Velassaru and LUX South Ari Atoll (bigger than Velassaru and more sheltered than LUX).
But Taj Exotica doesn’t just rest on its lagoon laurels, but instead has invested in it extensively to maximise the lagoon experience. As such, it is probably the most accessorised lagoon we have come across. I already highlighted their extensive coral frame initiative (see photo bottom). It includes not only the obligatory lagoon hammock, but also a lagoon swing (see photo above). The resort also has built special over water pavilions (see below) both attached (below) and detached (above) from the island. And it has even dressed up its beach preserving groynes (see below).
The horizon to horizon stretch of cyan scenery is not just something to gaze at, but also something to immerse yourself in, ever if you don’t want to get wet.
Maldives Tour 2016 – Day 6: Taj Exotica
“Taj Exotica”…more like “Turquoise Extremica”.
Taj Exotica is imbued with an Indian aesthetic and enveloped in an expanse of cyan shallows.
The subcontinent vibe permeates throughout the décor like the silhouette lanterns hanging from the trees. It prevails with Indian inspired best-ofs like Ayurveda treatments, and yoga courses. But iit really comes alive in its restaurants. One of the best Indian dishes I have ever eaten was the recommended Chef’s Special Butter Chicken that tenderly melted in your mouth with just the right aromatic glow of piquant spices. All restaurants cater strongly to vegetarians offering a range of Jain, vegan and other alternatives to many dishes. They even serve Indian wine (Fratelli Chardonnay).
An aquamarine landscape frames the entire resort. Not just a large lagoon, but one that seems to stretch from horizon to horizon on both sides of the island. In fact, it actually covers over 200 acres in all. One of the largest lagoons in the Maldives. And Taj has built on this asset extensively. It has an unmatched array of lagoon accessories including lagoon swing and lagoon hammock, a lagoon pavilion, and a lagoon private jetty. One f the downsides to the shallow and sandy lagoons is that they are no very conducive to coral growth, but Taj has addressed this issue by investing in 206 coral frames in the past 4 years as a part of an ongoing reef generation project. And the resort provides regular boat trips to a nearby coral reef free of charge.
Taj Exotic provides a truly affordable taste of luxury for people who want to immerse themselves in the unique blue seascape of the Maldives.
Best of the Maldives: Pizza – Taj Exotica
Friday night is pizza night (and a tub of Haagen Dazs). And a pizza that just sizzles with Seth Godin’s “remarkability” factor is Taj Exotica’s “$200 pizza”…
“Inspired by the thousand dollar New York Pizza, Chef Kermani came up with the brilliant idea of the two hundred dollar pizza, which became a famous sensation within the whole Taj Exotica culinary experience. This pizza has captured the hearts of so many guests; people have blogged, photographed and written about it. This four quarters, fifteen inches pizza is filled with the best ingredients hand picked from around the world. The base of this pizza is completely covered with Philadelphia cream cheese with one quarter topped only with waygu beef carpaccio and kalamata olives. Second quarter of the pizza is topped with roasted French duck and Foie Gras with Italian truffles. Another quarter is topped with Italian Porchinis, white parma ham, completely covered with parmesan cheese. The last quarter of the pizza is topped with jumbo lobster medallions with Iranian caviar topped with a finishing touch of 24-karat edible gold leaves. This pizza is served personally by the executive chef, Kermani, sprinkled with thirty years old balsamic, trickled right in front of the guest. This is followed by two glasses of champagne and a photograph with the chef. This photograph is gifted to the guests upon their departure as a part of the memorable two hundred dollar pizza experience.”
In Godin’s “Purple Cow”, he describes how “remarkability” is literally the ability to get people to “remark” about your product. The way you would ‘remark’ to your friends if you passed a purple cow in the field, “Guess what I saw?…”
In the ever escalating arms-race of the super deluxe Maldives resorts, I often challenge them to ask themselves, “What is the story that your guest is going to tell on the golf course or at the Mah Jong table?” It won’t be the pina coladas, sunsets or palm trees. For the multi-millionaire set, these things are rather pedestrian. The “$200 Pizza” does pass that test though. I don’t care how rich you are, not many folks have had a “$200 Pizza”. It is a form of metonymy where a small part of the luxurious experience encapsulates the lavish extravagance of the whole holiday. And in this age of Instagram, where unless you take a picture of it and post then it didn’t happen, bling pizza is ideal Instagram fodder.
The pizza also provides a good illustration in “impact” gift giving. The price of a gift is governed by two variables – 1. the general expense of the item, and 2. how high is quality of the version you got. If you want to give a great gift, focus on #2….
- Determine your budget
- Divide by 10
- Identify items that generally cost that amount (the one-tenth)
- Find a version of the item that costs 10x the norm
The pizza is great example. A typical pizza costs around $20 in many places in the world. So the $200 Pizza is a 10x (order of magnitude) more expensive version. Another good example is a Christmas gift Lori got me. I needed collar stays (the little pieces that you put in nice shirts to stiffen the collars). I like nice shirts and so Lori got special collar stays. The regular brass ones normally sell for about $5 or so, but Lori bought me lovely silver ones with mother-of-pearl. They cost $50 (the 10x rule). The exceptional versions that she found made the gift special (and when I am going to special occasions, I always use them…no one can see them, but I know I’m wearing them).
The problem is that many people focus on #1. They want to give an impressive class of item (like a watch or a TV), but then can only afford to get a crappy version to fit their budget). No one if happy with a crappy watch, even if it is a watch.
Lori was able to get something exceptional without breaking the budget because she got a simple type of item. Not all people can afford the $1,000 cognac and $10,000 suite, but many Maldives visitors can splash out on a $200 pizza and enjoy having a slice (yes, pun intended) of world-class extravagant luxury.
And finally, a lobster pizza in Maldives!!
Exotic(a) pizza with extra bling!
8 Out-Standing Dining Rooms
One of my favourite dining themes is over the water (if not IN the water). The Maldives offers diver menu of in-ocean dining. Now, I’m not talking about mere “over water” dining. Just about every self-respective 5-star resort has one of those. I’m talking about surrounded-by-water dining. In fact, NIYAMA’s “Subsix” (see above) goes so far as to be both in the ocean and “IN” the ocean with its underwater dining room.
For an outstanding meal out standing in the middle of the ocean, here’s the full list…
1. NIYAMA – Subsix
2. TAJ EXOTICA – Ocean Pavilion
3. BAREFOOT – Black Pearl
4. JUMEIRAH DHEVANAFUSHI – Johara
5. BAROS – Piano Bar
6. ANGSANA VELAVARU – Azzurro
7. KANDOLHU – Sunset Pavilion
8. GILI LANKANFUSHI – Wedding Pavilion
Best of the Maldives: Lobster Burger – Taj Exotica
Something that you won’t find on any all-inclusive package, in fact you won’t find hardly any where else that I know of in the Maldives, is a Lobster Burger.
How my New England raised palette loves a good lobster culinary concoction. Apparently so does global celebrity Shilpa Shetty. Who engaged in a bit of lifestyle food blogging of her own during her visit to Taj Exotica…
“We tried the biggest lobster burger available in Maldives and licked it clean,”
Best of the Maldives: Pavilion – Taj Exotica
(Photo included with permission from Sakis)
Dreaming of Maldives, another of Sakis creations both inspired another ‘Best of’ selection as well as a bit of a treasure hunt to figure out exactly where it was (see the comments section on his site).
Many resorts offer some exclusive pavilion for a special or romantic meal. Of course, for that ultimate in secluded romance there is the off shore, on a sand-spit BBQ that some resorts can arrange for you as a special excursion. But if you want that off shore remoteness with the comfort and solidity of your own little pavilion, then you need to go to Taj Exotica.
Sally Rushbrooke reviews…
- “If you want your Maldives holiday to be particularly romantic, you can arrange a meal for two at the Ocean Pavilion. The Pavilion is a stand alone wooden deck in the middle of the Indian Ocean and located a mile off shore. The deck is only reachable by boat and if you decide that you want to treat a loved one to this experience, then staff will sail you to the venue by boat and leave you with a mobile phone, so that you can call them when you wish to be collected. Due to the location, all the food served is chilled lobster, caviar and chilled champagne all feature on the set menu. The Pavilion is decorated with comfortable cushions, candles, lanterns and flowers which all serve to make the venue that little more romantic.”
If you can believe it, you can go to the Google Map on the Taj Exotica profile and see it for yourself.