One of our little acid tests for a property’s true luxury is what sort of nibbles they serve with the cocktails.
Not only are Sun Siyam Iru Veli’s treats ample and distinctive, but they are especially Maldivian. They are tuna in crunchy bread balls with chilli which is a Maldivian recipe called “Guhli”.
The Maldivian “welcome drink” is one of the first rituals which make you feel that you have arrived at a distinctive paradise and an exotic tropical experience awaits you. Typically, the refreshment is some tropical fruit juice or a freshly hacked coconut’s contents. Sometimes the drink is a bit more elaborate…but none so extravagantly so as Sun Siyam Vilu Reef ‘s frog fish passion fruit sculpture (see photo). We’ve seen all sort of melon sculptures, but never a passion fruit. And all sorts of concocted creatures, but never a frog fish (whose likeness was quite impressive).
The welcome drink to a resort is a time-honoured ritual with many variations, but Sun Siyam Iru Veli features an especially Maldivian welcome beverage. The drink is a distinctive recipe including Mint, Orange, Pineapple, Cinnamon and Ginger with a indigenous touch of water infused with Pandan leaf (called “Raanbaa” in Dhivehi) grown on the island.
A major acid test for me indicating the luxury level of a resort are the nibbles they serve with drinks. A little bit of savory snacks make the cocktails all the most delectable and allow us to linger longer without getting too pecking for dinner. The most basic resorts don’t offer anything, the 4-stars offer the staples of crisps and peanuts, but a luxury 5-star really needs a distinctive goodies. And Sun Siyam Vilu Reef offered us one of our favourite snacks – dried fruits. We have received various dried fruits at other resorts, but Vilu Reef and an unprecedented assortment. It turns out that they have their own food drier on premises (see photo below) so that can create dried versions of just about anything. We enjoyed the dried apples, oranges, pears, coconut with out very welcome ‘welcome drink’.
Happy Easter! If you especially appreciate the traditional flowers of this holiday, then you will be particularly grateful for the floral greeting by Cora Cora’s own mini lei with a tropical flower on a palm leaf necklace to adorn your welcome.
“And oh that blowfish blow…” – Sebastian, “Under da Sea”, The Little Mermaid
Let’s start our recounting some of our favourite tour features with the distinctively Maldivian greeting welcoming us to our very first arrival, Ritz Carlton Maldives.
I love the creativity with which the resort welcome (and also bid farewell sometimes) to their guests as they arrive to the island’s shore. The latest addition to the cavalcade of cordial choreography is Kudafushi’s fish and wave greeting. A rendition opens their video holiday greeting the staff filmed.
At Taj Exotica, every day (well, every arrival day) features the fragrant Valentinesque blossoms. Each guest is welcomed with a shower of petals. You don’t have to be a bride emerging from the church or pampered by adoring sweetheart, just a fresh arrival to paradise by Taj.
Every arrival at a resort typically includes some special welcome treat. Anything from a fruit basket to gourmet delicacies, a bottle of wine to useful gifts or a ready-to-go cocktail. At Four Seasons Kuda Huraa, the younger set get just as colourfully and creatively constructed welcomes as the parents complete with custom chocolate name plate. Mind you, it might take hours of swimming to burn off the sugar rush!
Welcome to the future!
Maldives has been introducing a range of eco-sustainable initiatives, but Club Med Finolhu Villas actually introduces you to their resort with an imposing eco-investment – a solar panel jetty.
In a part of the world with so little real estate but so much sunshine, the pressing question is ‘where do you find the space to put solar cells.’ Well, resorts face the same question for their villas and the answer has been, something the Maldives has plenty of, over the water. So their welcome jetty and their water villa jetties are rooved with large solar arrays. It’s not only eco-friendly, but it’s a great way to provide a shaded walkway (no more burning your toes on hot timber) and has a stylish design flair to boot.
The resort describes the initiatives as…
“First ever 100 percent solar-powered high-end resort, developed by Global Pvt Ltd. Nearly 6,500 square meters of the resort, which will be operated by Club Med, feature solar panels capable of producing up to 1100 Kilowatts at power peak when the island really only needs around 600 Kilowatts at peak load.”
One of the things that I have decided to add to the Resort Profiles after this tour is a picture of the “Welcome Jetty”. It is a feature that does vary dramatically from resort to resort. I don’t think that prospective guests will choose their resort on it, but I think it is one of those details that provides a glimpse into the style and character of the property. Club Med Finolhu Villas certainly stands out in this regard with a greeting of style and innovation.
