Best of the Maldives: Nautical Kids Club – Anantara Dhigu

Anantara kids club

No it’s not a shipwreck (though you can imagine that if you like) nor a bad dhoni parking job. It’s the dhoni-inspired Anantara kids club.

Who needs a big body of water at their kids club when you can have an entire ocean in your imagination. In fact Anantara does have any kiddie pool at its kids club, but the dollop of imagination the kids can be out in the open ocean while in the safety, security and supervision of the club. Anantara has modelled its kids club as a Maldivian dhoni. So as our son would say, he’s not going off to child minding…he is on an adventure on the ‘big boat’.

Best of the Maldives: Kids Club Pool – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru kids club pool

Kandooma may be the best pool for young kids, but Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru has the best young kids pool I have soon. Kandooma’s is the main pool for everyone which happens to be well suited for young pre-schoolers. But Landaa has a special kiddie pool, that is far from kiddie sized, in their excellent kids club. But what really clinched their distinction was their adorable little kiddie lounge chairs and matching junior-sized beach towels (see below).  I did feel a bit like Gulliver visiting the club.  Just right for kids to feel big on a small island.

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru kids sun beds

Best of the Maldives: Craft Activities – Kurumba

Kurumba crafts

Happy Centenary to the Girl Scouts.

Our family has a proud tradition in the scouts with my father an Eagle Scout and my grandfather a ‘Silver Beaver’ recipient. A good scouting career often starts with a range of creative activities and skils building. Often, with the spirit of scouting, many of the crafts and skills use materials and tools found in nature.

Kurumba’s new Majaa Kids’ Club and Majaa Recreation Centre would do the Scouts proud with their ‘coconut arts and crafts’. An extensive range of weaving, folding and other crafting of palm fronds are taught to kids of all ages including many equally enthralled mature students (see below).

Majaa Recreation Manager Monica Comanescu noted…

“The Dhivehi word, Majaa, means fun. This will be the underlying philosophy for the Recreation department. Majaa Recreation will be the ‘fun’ centre of the island. This allows it to be a unique identity and destination within Kurumba. The purpose of Majaa Recreation is to provide guests with many options to enjoy their holiday while experiencing the Maldivian palette and learning about the water that surround Kurumba in an environmentally responsible way with a Maldivian twist.”

Majaa Recreation offers more than just crafts with such a range of activities, Kurumba grouped them into categories…

  • Kan’du (Ocean) – Ocean based activities
  • Hakatha (Energy) Energy or sporting activities
  • Kulhivaru (Games) Games
  • Visnun (Learning) Understanding and learning activities
  • Haveeru (Evening) Evening activities.

Some people like to sit around and do absolutely as little as possible on a Maldivian holiday, but Kurumba provides an alternative for those who want the option for broader range of fun.

Kurumba Majaa

Best of the Maldives Online: Kids Site – Kuramathi

Kuramathi kids site

Kaki is not alone in bringing the marine delights and insights home to young guests on the web. Kuramathi’s web site features its very own ‘Kids Corner’ online. Anyone on the Internet can join in the maritime fun and curiosity with material like their interactive ‘Marine Life Alphabet’…

  • “In here, you shall find all those familiar fish you often see swimming about in the ocean in Alphabetical Order, each described in a playful manner. From Angelfish to Zebra Moral Eel, learn the names of the fish and their unique characteristics in a snap! Little guests, have also the chance to experiment with colours, with the new Marine Life Colouring Book which comes as a downloadable PDF booklet. Learning was never made this easy! After absorbing the interesting bubbles of Marine Life, test your skills by going snorkelling and prove yourself the winner when you can name the fish you see!”

Actually, seeing a baby Zebra Moray Eel, at Kuramathi’s sister resort Kurumba, was the underwater highlight for my wife Lori during our last visit to the Maldives. There were wonderful reef sharks swimming all around us, but all she wanted to look at was this shy little black and white stripped critter ensconced in a crevasse.

Kuramathi Kids Corner Zebra Moray Eel

Best of the Maldives: Kids Marine Biology – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru kids discovery room

It’s not just the wee turtles and anemone fish that get special nurseries for their development at Four Seasons, but the littlest guest get their very own special area inthe Marine Discovery CentreFour Seasons Landaa Giraavaru has put in its trademark attention to detail to a special young kids area of the Discovery Centre with colourful decoration and a hands-on ‘discovery’ tank.  It even has it’s own special mascot, ‘Kaku’ (short for ‘kauni’ which is ‘crab’ in Dhivehi).  Kaku has his own email address, postal address (“3rd Hole on Landaa’s Palm Tree Road”), and Facebook page where he posts his ‘Reef News’ articles.  So kids can keep engaged and keep learning even after their family stay.

“Hi, I’m Kaku – Landaa Giraavaru’s resident journalist hermit crab. Join me on Facebook and I’ll keep you informed of all the pioneering conservation projects underway at Landaa’s Marine Discovery Centre.”

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru Kaku

Best of the Maldives: Family Spa – Jumeirah Vittaveli

Jumeirah Vittaveli spa

Congratulations to Jumeirah Vittaveli who officially opens today with a gala ceremony. Their announcement described…

“Receiving its first guests on the 10th December, the ultra luxury resort catering for couples, families and small groups is the second Jumeirah property to open in the Maldives this year.”

Pleased to hear about their Michelin-starred Executive Chef Kai Boeddinghaus. I think for any resort aspiring to ‘ultra luxury’ status, Michelin distinction is a pre-requisite. But what stood out for me as I explored their revamp of the place was their embrace of families. This emphasis warmed my nostalgia recollection of the island which I visited over a decade ago on my first trip to the Maldives and my family discovered ‘house reefs’ there (where we were staying at Laguna Beach now Velassaru didn’t have much of one)

Half of the text in the Vittaveli opening announcement talked about special offerings and features designed for children of all ages and families holidaying together. And my favourite was their ‘Aila Time’ concept at their Talise Spa

“Even Talise spa has introduced special treatment programmes for families. ‘Aaila’ is the Maldivian word for family, ‘Aila Time’ invites families to enjoy an awakening of a personal reconnection, whilst the ila ‘beyond’ journey educates young adults aged between 12 and 16 about the joy of spa, preparing them for a lifetime of wellbeing.”

A few other resorts, like Conrad Rangali’s ‘Ice Cream Spa’, have special kids offerings at their spas, but this is the first ‘family’ treatment concept I have come across. There have certainly been plenty of times in our family’s history when we could use some family therapy. And our periodic adventures at the Maldives definitely go down in our collective memories as one of our times for ‘reconnection’ walking, snorkelling, discovering, star-gazing, and game-playing together.

Though it does bug me that Jumeirah has no proper pictures of the spa on their web site. Big pet peeve of mine when resorts use useless generic, close-up, still-life, arty-farty photos on their website instead of showing us the product.

Welcome to the neighbourhood Jumeirah family!

Best of the Maldives – Pre-Schoolers: Kandooma

Kandooma pool

As I have written before, I was originally going to call Maldives Complete by the name of ‘Maldives For Families’. There were so many websites heralding it as a destination for romance/honeymoon or diving, but I always thought of it as an outstanding place for children (eg. calm water, bounded area, no motor vehicles, caring culture). Fortunately, more and more resorts are specifically catering to children with excellent kids clubs and a range of other creative offerings like Rangali’s ‘Ice Cream Spa’ and Naladhu’s Storytelling.

One of the most prominent aspects that struck me about Kandooma was its excellent suitability for children of pre-school age, namely 2-6. Less than 2 years old and Bandos has a special service catering for them. Over 6 years old, kids start to snorkel and Kandooma has limited snorkelling. But in between, Kandooma is their paradise.

The resort is geared up in a very friendly way to start with. They have a big kids club. They have lots of family villas. Both villas that interconnect and villas designed to accommodate 4 or more. There are 6 units that accommodate 6 people. Two separate bedrooms and comfortable lounges that convert to beds in the living area. Could do 7 in a pinch. Also, could do 2 couples with the kids in the living room.  They are not the only family villas in the Maldives, but probably the best value.

Another big bonus is that kids under 12 eat free under in any restaurant. Their main restaurant is charming with tasty (not gourmet) food. They do have a seaside restaurant that specialises in lobster if Mom and Dad want a treat). In fact, Kandooma has just enough 5* touches to make Mom and Dad feel like they are having a treat, but not so fancy that Mom and Dad have to feel self-conscious about their young ones scampering about.

And that atmosphere is another big tick. Lots of resorts welcome children, but fewer actually have an ambiance that bubbles over with juvenile frolicking. Kandooma has that buoyant energy especially around its mammoth pool (see above). I’m still researching, but I think it covers more surface area than any in the Maldives. I emphasize surface area, because in volume it is quite modest with its pervasively shallow depth (about a metre). Just perfect young ones. It’s right next to the main restaurant so kids can get more splash time in while Mom and Dad linger over a meal.

Best of the Maldives: Bungee Trampoline – Beach House at Manafaru

Beach House at Manafaru Bungee Trampoline

Most people don’t need much assistance in jumping for joy in the Maldives. If you do, the Beach House at Manafaru has a ‘bungee trampoline’

  • “One of the unique highlights of Play, children will love bouncing their time away on this popular trampoline.”

You make appointments with the reception to use it between the hours of 4:00 and 6:00 pm. Weight limited 10kg to 85 kg.

Boing!

Best of the Maldives: Teenagers – Landaa Giraavaru

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru teen room

Happy International Children’s Day!

An increasingly number of resorts are seeing the appeal to Maldives for families and catering to the younger clientele with some of the distinctive facilities and service that have spoiled the adults for years. One of the first orders of business is a ‘Kids Club’. These clubs not only provide great fun for the children, but also some extra freedom for the parents. But most of these clubs really cater for the ‘tot’ group with lots of colouring books, toys and crafts. But what about that often neglected (or at least feeling neglected) group…Teenagers.

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru is the first resort to open a club specifically designed for ‘young adults. It’s called ‘Majaa Maizaan’. It includes more big kid pastimes like pool, ping-pong and Playstation.

Whatever.

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru teen centre 2