The Maldives resorts are renowned for their abundant hospitality which starts the moment you step off the boat onto the island jetty. These welcomes are often amped up a bit more for repeaters with some extra treats or gestures. I’ve seen dozens of these greetings and goodies, but none nearly as extravagant at Sun Siyam Vilu Reef ‘s.
Now this repeater welcome was a bit exceptional in its own right as it was honouring a guest, nicknamed “Mama”, who was arriving for her 41st visit! The extravaganza included:
Decorated dhoni
Decorated buggy
Flowers
Boduberu parade
Staff tshirts with her name on them
Villa number changed to “Home Sweet Home”
Villa name changed
Welcome parade
Welcome sign
Welcome bodberu performance
Now this might seem perhaps an anomaly for this exceptional visitor, but Lori and I also received much of this treatment ourselves and we saw many other guests receive various samplings of the above.
The biggest objection to a trip to the Maldives is that there is “nothing to do”. While that might be deal breaker for some, it’s an absolute USP for many. Still, as the destination grows and evolves it is increasingly offering something for everyone. Siyam World is pretty much leading the way in innovative activites taking advantage of its considerable acreage (something most Maldives islands are not renowned for). SW announced:
“On land, guests staying at The Beach House Collection…can also now explore the island’s trails in style with their very own custom Mini Moke. Recently revived and relaunched as the first heritage car marque to go fully electric, the British-made Mini Moke is the ultimate retro-chic beach whip. Each of Siyam World’s Mini Mokes comes with an onboard sound system and is named after a colourful 90s music legend – think “Green Day”, “Red Hot Chilli Peppers” and “Pink Floyd” – with a vibrant paintjob to match.”
An electric buggy to take you from the arrival jetty to your villa as well as to and from your villa to various parts of the island is standard fare in all but the smallest of islands. But Soneva Jani uses a speedboat “buggy” to take you to your water villa, and it can be summoned to take you from the villa to the central part of the island (with the main restaurant, shops, dive centre, etc.). the transfer is 2 minutes in choppy water and 90 seconds on smooth (we timed it), versus the alternative of a 15 minute buggy transfer over land.
One of the motivations for pouring myself into Maldives Complete is that when we do visit, we feel more like members of the community than just passing visitors. Another special touch by Amilla Maldives to make all guests feel that way the moment they step onto the island are their personalised “license plates” on the buggies to their rooms. This extra personal gesture has inspired me to add a new tag for “Customisation”.
In recent years, the conventional buggies have had a range of cosmetic upgrades, but Hard Rock changes the model completely from a modified golf cart to replica of a traditional Southeast Asian transport – the Tuk Tuk.
This post has prompted me to add the “Buggy” tag to the blog.
“We are very excited to announce the new Dhigali App (An application which can be downloaded to your mobile or Ipad from the app store, using a QR code . The App allows our guests to find information about our resort including our fact Sheet, resort map, daily activities, SPA, and dining options.”
Sort of a pocket concierge. I’ve already showcased the brilliant “Buggy Tracker” function which integrates with screens scattered around the island if you don’t have your device with you.
There are “Best of the Maldives” features…and then there are like “soul mate” features. Features that I just adore. Not everyone will have the same effusive reaction I had to Dhigali’s “Buggy Tracker” application, but for me it was one of the highlights of the 2019 Tour.
The Buggy Tracker is an app that is both part of the resort’s own “Digalhi Maldives” app which you can download onto your smartphone (for iPhone’s, see the AppStore or you cann scan the QR code which is on every room key) – see photo below. It is also supported with an array of monitors dotted around the island at each buggy stop. The app/screen shows a map of the island as well as an icon for the constantly circling buggy so you can see how far away it is from you (see video clip at bottom).
Why a Buggy Tracker? Because Dhigali is sort of a middle sized island. We can and did walk around it, but a complete circumparaumbulation (yes, I love that word) takes nearly half an hour. If you are on the opposite end of the island to where you want to go, you might prefer to forego the stroll and just take the buggy ride. Maybe you are particularly relaxed, maybe you refreshed or it is especially toasty and you don’t want to sweat, maybe you need to be somewhere and are running behind (eg. excursion departing). On tiny island, you just walk everywhere because you are always a couple minutes away from anywhere. On big islands, you have to call for (or wait for) a buggy. When you call, you still have to wait which can be a while if they have other pickups scheduled. On a middle sized island like Dhigali, you can find yourself constantly debating “Should we walk or should we wait for the buggy?” And if you want to take the buggy and it is an on-call service, you sometimes feel a bit lazy and guilty ringing it up for a relatively short journey.
The Buggy Tracker takes all the questioning away. You look at your app or look at the screen and you can see exactly how close the buggy is. If you see if is coming round the bend, you might pop out that minute faster to grab it rather than miss it and wait for it to come around again. If it is on the other side of the island, you might choose to just hoof it. Or if you do decide to wait, it is reassuring to know exactly how far away your ride is and not have to wonder if you are going to be there forever.
Why do I love it so much?
Innovation – The whole spirit of “Best of the Maldives” is really about innovation. Sure, a property might be able to be the biggest or the blingest by just spending the most on some feature, but more of my pieces are about creative touches and distinctive aspects that no one has done in quite the same way in the Maldives.
Technology – As a software guy for my day job, I have a special appreciation for cool applications in this area. I have a particular software soft-spot for geo-location apps. Snorkel Spotter, Dive Site Database and the Admiralty Map DeepZoom all essentially mapping apps.
Utility – The system is so simple and so useful. I love innovations that truly enhance the customer experience.
Maldivian – I always enjoy meeting the fascinating people behind the scenes of the Maldives resort operations especially the local Maldivians to bring this paradise to life. Many have such distinctive talents and contributions. The entire project was the initiative of Mohamed Furuqan, the resort’s IT manager (see photo top). We got to meet up during my stay and geek out a bit about tech. It’s also especially inspiring to see the innovation stem from a homegrown initiative supported wholeheartedly by the management.
If you want to take to the wheel, One and Only Reethi Rah offers buggies for their guests to drive themselves. They are available for rental (except for Grand Villa and Duplex guests which include a villa buggy free of charge). Of course, you can still opt for the chauffeured service on call. And when you pull up to their main restaurant, no worries about parking as they provide their own “Valet Parking” service (see below).
While the main jetty is often the focal point of to-ing and fro-ing, the biggest islands like Canareef (well, one of the longest), also lay on ground shuttles with little electric buggies to ferry people across the property itself. You can call them when you need them, but depending on how busy and far away they are, they might take a few minutes to reach you. Rather than expending any energy standing in the tropical sun, Canareef has constructed a number of sheltered buggy stops at its prime spots (eg. restaurants, spa).
Today is the biggest travel day of the year in America – the day before the Thanksgiving holiday. Not all Americans trek “home” (parents’ house) for Christmas (especially if they have young children of their own waiting for Santa at their own house), but nearly everyone makes the effort for Thanksgiving. Hence the “Homecoming” tradition of “Homecoming Game” and “Homecoming Queen” (all part of the day as the town converges on the local high school football game in the morning to see old friends while, typically, Mom is home preparing the feast).
The mayhem of families scattered across a continent was immortalised in the comedy film “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”. In the Maldives, transport is more of a planes, boats and buggies affair. When the buggy shuttle pulls up, you know you are just about at your new home in paradise. Mind you, these buggies often only go a few hundred yards, but when the Maldives laziness sets in, then any physical activity can seem daunting.
Many resorts offer shuttles on call for covering significant distances, but sometimes you do have to wait for them to arrive. Many times you can just call from the room or restaurant and linger placidly waiting for your chauffeured ride. But Athuruga and Thudufusi have a dedicated water villa jetty shuttle always at the ready to lighten you load to and from your water villa. The silent electric buggy just zips people back and forth along the quite long jetty (the resort water villas are spread out quite a bit more than typical). But instead of facing an 100 metre trek along the jetty to your door, the shuttle will zip over to pick you up as soon as he spots you emerging from your door or stepping onto the jetty.
