If you would like to be treated like a god(dess) on Coconut Full Moon weekend (or any other day of the year), then one of LUX Maldives’ omnipresent surprises is a ‘Coconut Bar’ where fresh coconut is provided for passing guests. Just about all resorts have some worker who will retrieve a fresh coconut for you and prepare it, but at LUX’s Coconut Bar, it is already prepared for you to sample this tropical treat offering.
To toast World Oceans Day today, how about venturing onto the ocean itself to raise a glass? Barefoot resort’s “Black Pearl” is the Maldives only boat bar serving refreshments floating freely on the water.
Barefoot is situated on an inhabited island which means it is not allowed to serve alcohol on its premises in accordance with the respect for its Islamic co-residents. But most non-Islamic guests welcome a drink as a part of their holiday and so Barefoot has secured an alcohol license for its sailing schooner anchored offshore. The resort provides guests with shuttle services to and from.
The boat is charmingly classic with an eerily resemblance to the TV show Lost’s “Black Rock”. And if you know the series, then you will know that it is a great place for a blow out and having a blast.
Secret bar! ‘Nuff said.
That was certainly the reaction by the TripAdvisor Maldives Forum when word got out about the ‘Secret Bar’ at LUX* Maldives. It’s just one of the countless surprises in the neverending adventure that is a stay at LUX* resort.
The ‘Secret Bar’ is on wheels so it can change location daily. When our family would visit the Maldives each year with our children, one of the ritual highlights was a treasure hunt we would stage for them on our own buccaneers isle. If we stayed at LUX* back then, I know that one way I would get an extra hour’s sleep and get them nice a tuckered out would be send them on a daily sortie to find Dad’s ‘Secret Bar’.
It works like a public mini-bar on an honesty system (genius) and so far they haven’t had any problems with unsavoury scallywags pirating liquid lucre.
Shiver me timbers! Me’ll have two black jacks’ of grog.
If you would rather see tiny bubbles than fish in your glass, then Iru Fushi’s “Bubble Lounge” is your sanctuary…
“A true heaven for Champagne and Sparkling Wine lovers. The perfect environment to relax and savour Champagne and Sparkling wine by the glass or by the bottle coupled with fine hors d’oeuvres. Our bubble lounge is a truly romantic, sensual experience.”
Vintage accompaniments include Salmon tartar with grapefruit ponzu and pop corn dust, fresh oyster with dashi caviar, marinated scallion & mint granite, iced d-tom kah gai, kaffir lime infusion and candied chili, peppered white chocolate and Thai basil Peppered white chocolate coated strawberries.
They also serve other sparkling wines from Spain and Italy and have bottles up to Jeroboam size. The most extravagant bottle of bubble is Louis Roederer Crystal Magnum for $1,950.
Kuramathi island just this past month combined the three ‘resorts’ there – Blue Lagoon, Cottage Club and Village – into a single, consolidate resort. It always was a bit confusing having them sold as ‘separate resorts’ though all on the same island and sharing the same infrastructure.
The consolidation means it is one of the largest resorts with the most extensive facilities. Its 290 rooms is amongst the largest, it has 9 room types. But perhaps most prominent is the sheer number of its watering holes. 7 in total including a wine and cigar bar.
We visited several years ago and were pleasantly surprised by the resort. It had been somewhat affected by the tsunami which led to some renovations and the new work was a 5-star standard (eg. the new spa), not the 3-4 star quality that the resort had been known for. The new renovations accompanying the consolidation seem to have upgraded the island even further. Also, we were apprehensive about going to such a big island because we loved the distinctive diminutive quality of the Maldives, but we were struck by how little the size put us off. We couldn’t walk the circumference between drinks and dinner, but it still had a quaint, remote and intimate feel. The picture below is the family enjoying a game of Pirateer (our traditional Maldive board game) chillaxing at the ‘Pool Bar’.
