Best of the Maldives: Ornamental Garden – Adaaran Vadoo

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Vadoo garden

Everyone talks about the Maldive seascape, but despite lacking in size, the Maldive landscapes are often just as striking in their colour and beauty. Most resorts work hard to bring out the very best with primping and fussing over bougainvillea, hibiscus, and oleander lining the pathways and accents around the island. But the winner of the blue ribbon for gardening has to go to Adaaran Vadoo.

Vadoo’s garden is one of the first things to hit you on arrival. Leaving the jetty, you emerge through a gate into a manicured horticultural masterpiece like stepping into some sequestered Eden. Passing through reception to the rest of the island brings you to an even more expansive park with flowers, topiary, paths, little sitting areas, ‘turtle sanctuary’, etc. Not only are the gardens exquisite, but they are also the dominant feature of the island itself. Being one of the smallest islands in the Maldives line-up, there is no room for even any villas (so they have 100% water villas). What little space exists is devoted more to blooms and blossoms than any other island.

Vadoo garden 2

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Maldives Tour 2010 – Day 8: Vadoo

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Vadoo Tour

Adaaran Presitge Vadoo exemplifies the ethos of ‘less is more’.

Less size (one of the Maldives’ tiniest resort islands). Less activities (no watersports centre, though access to the one at their sister resort at Club Rannalhi). Less food (none of the ubiquitous buffet). Less beach villas (none, actually, as they only offer water villas). It is a paragon of tasteful understatement.

The biggest ‘less’ is the price. Vadoo is positioning itself to battle in the ‘super-premium’ segment (5+ stars, whatever that means). Individual butler service, exquisite design, distinctive infrastructure. All for under £2000 per week, Vadoo is a super premium bargain.

Several super-premium resorts have piled on the glitz and bling and most guests that I have spoken to are not fond of it (though I definitely know there are people to whom that style appeals). For sun, sand and ostentation I would send people to Dubai. Dubai is even creating artificial micro-islands for those who want the mini-island experience.

Packed into its small scale were plenty of special treats with 11 Best Of candidates identified. Assistant Manager Alex Kovacs (see photo above) thought that the house reef was one of the best in the Maldives, so we had to check it out. It is certainly first class. It is a mere 20 metres from shore through an easily accessible channel. It drops off to a depth of about 30 meters and has a healthy array of coral. We saw a lovely turtle getting her morning spa treatment from cleaner fish as well as the biggest box fish we have ever seen (2 feet at least).

Style, service, distinctions punching well above its weight class measured in size of island or size of budget.

 

Vadoo villa

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Best of the Maldives: Japanese – Vadoo

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Vadoo Japanese Experience

 

If Zen is your thing, then Vadoo might just be another resort to consider. Vadoo has developed an entire Japanese experience including Ryokan style water villas designed and services by Japanese, Japanese Tea ceremony, and a traditional Japanese ‘Kaiseki’ dinner served at the restaurant or in room.

“The tea ceremony is a very special event in Japanese culture. The host spends days going over every detail to make sure that the ceremony will be perfect. There are various styles of tea ceremonies and it is recognized that every human encounter is a singular occasion, and so every aspect of the tea ceremony is savored. The ceremony takes place in a room called the chashitsu.”

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