For a quiet place to relax as big as a pond, Lily Beach has a sofa nearly as big as a king size bed. It is adjacent to the bed itselfcreating sort of an extended indolence zone in its Water Villa Suite.
‘Water Lily’
Best of the Maldives: Bird Nest Chairs – Lily Beach
I’m always intrigued by the inviting perches found on Maldives resorts for sitting and chilling in the warm ocean breezes. The most classic is the ‘hammock’ which has even found its way out to the middle of the lagoon. Swings off more elaborate styles and designs are a regular feature.
I was particular taken by the stylish ‘birds nest’ seats on Lily Beach. Dangling from a single line, gives is a 360 degree motion (versus conventional swings and hammocks that a limited to side-to-side action). Crammed with soft pillows, the seat swing was a place I could definitely spend hours on end.
The ‘bird’ modelling here is the gracious sales manager Agata Sobczak who welcomed me on our visit.
Best of the Maldives: Dhoni Seating – Ayada
Happy Father’s Day!
A day for Dad to sit back in his favourite chair all day. One of my favourite chairs in the Maldives is Ayada’s ‘Dhoni Seats’. A creative touch of maritime Maldivian tradition.
Best of the Maldives: Beach Cabana – Kuredu
You can carry on sleeping on the beach during the day with Kuredu’s beach hut cabana. If the Fatboy is not enough comfort for your shore-side lounging. You can book if for half a day for $50. A number of resorts have four-posted awnings and even mattressed loungers on the beach, but Kuredu’s cabana is just a bit more protected against beeezes or sun for those who have sensitive skin and really need to stay out of it. I also thought that it would be a great place to settle into with a very small child whose sensitive skin you would want to protect and the sheltered shade might help them nap too.
Decadent daytime dozing…
Best of the Maldives: Bean Bags–Velassaru / Baros
If you don’t want to sit on a gigantic beach towel, then Velassaru has the biggest beach beanbags I have ever come across…”Fatboys”. Bean bags are becoming more an more popular in the Maldives as a cozy seating. We saw them at Kurumba and Kandooma. But ‘Fatboys’ are the Cadillac, or should I say ‘Hummers’ of the genre.
According to a Daily Mail feature, the Fat Boys are also at nearby sister Universal resort of Baros as well…
- “With a flourish, Jihad threw open the door to our villa and our children-squeezed past us, ignoring the emperor-sized bed, the teak decor, flatscreen TV, iPod charger and the Moet et Chandon on ice, and instead headed straight for the dazzling beach beyond the veranda. ‘Mummy! Daddy!’ they cried, ‘they’ve got a fat boy here!’ Amanda and I glanced at each other in horror; were we now about to face an outraged and indignant parent? Fortunately, the ‘fat boy’ turned out to be a Fatboy, a giant waterproof cushion, a sort of amphibious beanbag equally at home on the beach or in the water, and from then on it became the most heavily used piece of kit on the island.”
Best of the Maldives: Swing – Anantara Kihava
As if the Maldives weren’t completely relaxing enough on their own, the resorts do seem to push the boundaries on how to make the stay even more comatosely indolent. The latest innovation is the Anantara Kihava swinging pool bed.
Zzzzzz.
Best of the Maldives: Lounger – Reethi Rah
There’s pool seating and then there’s POOL seating!
I’ve already done a post on the stunning Pool Seating of the Traders Hotel (nee Holiday Inn Male). On my recent tour, I noted how the resorts we really upping their game in this regard. King-sized luxury mattresses under four-posted canopies. But the Atoll Paradise website caught my eye with what is most certainly the most perfect ‘POOL’ seating. The pictures say it all. Hat tip to TripAdvisor destination expert ICN05 for identifying the sub-aquatic lounger as Reethi Rah’s.
Best of the Maldives: Seating – Kandooma
Speaking of cool seating, Kandooma recently completed a revamp of its resort and its web page so you can get an good sense of the impressive overhaul. The first item to strike me was its ‘funky’ beach chairs. Actually, when I was in Kurumba last month, I remember thinking to myself how all these fancy resorts have all this distinctive design and yet when you look at the beaches you see the same old white, plastic beach loungers one sees all over the planet. They just seemed a bit pedestrian relative to how remarkable the locale is. Kandooma seems to have decided to make their beach seating as eye catching as the beaches themselves.
I also love how they have created a special ‘in water’ seating area at their new pool (see below). You often find ‘bar stool’ seating in Maldives pools, but this is the first time I have seen lounge seating right in the pool. It is like having a stationary lilo complete with side table.
In fact, funky seating seems to be a real focus for the new design will all sorts of quirky chairs sprinkled across the resort. Examples include the Kids Club ‘swing seats’ and ‘Pineapple Chair’ lounger shown below and the gallery on their website has plenty more.
