For a chakra-friendly walkway, Sun Siyam Iru Fushi’s new refurb includes a reflexology path leaing up to its new spa…
“A pebbled path winds amidst wild tropical blooms and endless shades of green. Splashes of light filter through the palms, dancing on the rippling water of a gentle stream. Luring you, a faint aroma of sandalwood and jasmine, heady with the scent of the earth. Rounding a curve, a sala appears – a haven of tranquillity, yours to revel in.”
One of the few things you do want kept freezing cold on your Maldives holiday is your ice cream dessert. A challenge to savouring ice cream is to enjoy it in hot weather when it is more “ice” than “cream”. Iru Fushi finesses this with their own dive into the cold…
“The sorbet is served in a double cup (glass).. a round one with ice cubes to keep the temperature and a small conic one fitting in.” (thanks Paola)
If you prefer to apply your camera creativity to staging something on that elusive boundary between above and below water, then you might want to turn to Tania Sorokina for some help. Tania is the resident photographer at Iru Fushi who has just introduced ‘Trash the Dress’ shoots…
“’Trash the Dress’ or ‘Rock the Frock’ is a photography phenomenon Taking the World by Storm and it is now in the Maldives at Hilton Maldives Iru Fushi Resort & Spa…Guests can create a masterpiece that will hang proudly on their wall at home, a picture that will bring back fond and fun memories of their stay at Hilton Maldives Iru Fushi Resort & Spa. Perhaps they are celebrating a wedding anniversary or you just want to have fun in their wedding dress or maybe they are on their honeymoon and don’t want their special day to end. They can run along pristine white sandy beaches with their own set of props, create images that would suit a surreal pre-Raphaelite approach to painting, have a water fights, catch fish, jump (or be pushed) into swimming pools – Tania, the in-house photographer can create a fantastic library of amusing or serene images…If guests don’t have a wedding dress, but still fancy some fun an evening dress or a ball. gown would be equally as fun. Packages start from $450 and include 60 images.”
I always wondered about those wedding photo shoots and how they must have to worry about the dress getting ruined in the sand or ocean. Well, now they don’t have to fret. In fact, they can relish it. The meme is a great justification for splashing in the dress photo rather than splashing out on the dress.
Cascades are a classic ‘Kodak moment’, but frankly everywhere you turn in the Maldives is postcard-perfect scenery. Lori’s Christmas gift to me last year was Canon SLR camera primarily to get better pictures on my Maldives visits. While I still mostly get lost in anything beyond ‘Auto’ settings (despite the patient and helpful tutoring by John Esslinger), it has helped immensely.
For admirers who want to capture the perfect pictures of such a perfect setting, Hilton Iru Fushi has enlisted a resident professional photographer on its staff…
“Hilton Maldives Iru Fushi Resort & Spa has appointed a resident photographer to ensure guests leave with beautiful holiday photos befitting their paradise island escape. As the resort’s dedicated photographer, Tanya Sorokina will capture guests special holiday moments, offering private photography sessions from one hour to a whole day, with from 60 images. of professionally edited images, available from $250 plus taxes.”
Iru Fushi puts the ‘Water’ in ‘Water Villa’ with its eponymous ‘Aqua Retreat’ which features a two-tier pool. In the new Maldives Complete ‘Room Profile’ has number of rooms and whether there is a pool, but I don’t have if there are a number of pools!
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.
Sometimes the greeting is distinguished by the arrival jetty itself. Iru Fushi also has a cultural twist to its welcome and a Maldivian one at that. Its arrival jetty is fashioned into a classic Maldivian dhoni.
Having a ‘Most Relaxing’ award for a Maldive resort is a bit like having a most gaudy award in Vegas. The islands are the very epitome of chilling out. The ocean is placid, the people gentle. In fact, the one thing that sometimes puts people off coming is that it is so laid back and some prefer a bit more activity and buzz.
So how does a resort distinguish itself as the most reposed in the land of indolence? Well, Iru Fushi has established the first ‘Sleep Spa’ called ‘Sweet Dreams’ which designed to take dozing to refreshing depths.
For Adults, the Sweet Dreams programme includes:
They even have a children’s programme that includes slumber parties, bedtime stories and hot cocoa.
It might seem like a bit of a strange thing go to a spa for a nap, but actually my wife and I went to a nearby spa in the UK, Pennyhill Park, which featured a ‘nap room’ with special gel beds to simply lie down and doze. For all of the fancy pampering treatments we enjoyed that day, the memorable highlight was the decadent luxury of a midday snooze in the prime environment. So Iru Fushi might be on to something. It certainly would take a bit of special effort to make the Maldives more relaxing than they already are.