For people who prefer a more holistic chilling out on the rocks, the Azmaara Spa at Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo features reflexology stones in their reception.
Rock on.
Best of the Maldives: Ice Fountain – One & Only Reethi Rah
The big news of the week is the arrival of one of the most famous names in the world at the celebrity Maldivian bolt hole One & Only Reethi Rah. The Beckham family reportedly splashed out on an exceptionally lavish visit for the entire brood. With Romeo now modelling for Burberry, the whole clan is getting into the A-list scene. So big they are that Minivan News speculates that news of their stay alone could boost the Maldives tourism profile.
Hopefully, it will help to reinforce to the notion of Maldives as a great place for families. We get so many reports of honeymooning and otherwise romantic get-aways for famous couples, it’s great to see such a prominent family choose this destination.
In spite of (or perhaps because) of the Maldives’ reputation for torpid indolence, it also appears to have become a haven for top athletes like Beckham – Federer, Phelps, Ronaldo.
Perusing the glossy reporting, a number of the stories alluded to Reethi Rah’s exceptional spa including in its list of luxury amenities its ‘ice fountain’. One might think that the whole point to the Maldives is to get away from the cold. But as the Reethi Rah management describes, ‘ice’ can have many therapeutic properties especially for athletes…
Some of the advantages of the ice fountains is to use the ice to massage the body while using the shower. As it is a form of cryotherapy, multiple benefits are obtained such as:
- Promotes healing
- Drains lactic acid out of tired muscles
- Boosts/activates blood circulation
- Decreases swelling, inflammation and pain in injured tissues.
- Acts as an analgesic, reducing muscle spasms
Most professional training rooms will have an ice bath for settling muscles down after an extreme exertion, and icing a joint is a common practice. You will also find ice baths in the finest spas as a part of a circulatory regime. The heat from the sauna/steam bath/hot-tub/birch-switches opens the capillaries and the ice cold closes them. The opening and closing repeatedly is a form of circulatory exercise.
Brrrrr…illiant.
Best of the Maldives: Spa Glass Floor – Coco Bodu Hithi
You don’t have to be under the ocean to enjoy aquarium views of a tapestry of marine life with the increasingly popular glass floors. Coco Bodu Hithi has added them to their spa rooms to ensure that even face down, the view is as stimulating as their treatments. I’m impressed when spas are attentive enough to such details to provide a bit of a flower arrangement under the treatment table head support. I have even seen spas with glass floors under their tables, but they were just small portals. CBH not only has quite an expansive glass floor (the big spa treatment glass floor that I have come across), but also has etched an enchanting design and added a flowers as well.
Sights, scents and soothing.
Best of the Maldives: Spa Design – Six Senses Laamu
The spa ‘vista’ doesn’t have to be the glorious Maldivian seaside when you have such dazzling design for the spa itself. Six Senses Laamu’s spa stands out not only in the Maldives, but worldwide having recently been nominated for ‘Spa Design of the Year’. Its look is inspired by nature resembling a woven bird’s nest.
Best of the Maldives: Spa Vista – Adaaran Vadoo
The vogue thing in the Maldives is the underwater features, but I am an unabashed fan of the over water views as well. Waaaay over water. The sea plane rides and any place that provides a broader perspective on the distinctive aquatic landscape.
You can drink with a view, dine with a view, and workout with a view. And you can even relax with a view at Adaaran Vadoo Prestige’s spa right at the window looking out over the ocean from a rare (in the Maldives) 3rd story.
Best of the Maldives: Night Spa – Four Seasons Kuda Huraa
Perfect accompanying photo by Ahmed Amir – Full Moon over Kuda Huraa spa
This week’s full moon was at its farthest point from the Earth this year making it the smallest Full Moon of 2011. If you follow these sorts of celestial events, then you should follow the five stars to Four Seasons Kuda Huraa for their Night Spa just launched this week…
“The Island Spa’s Night Spa treatments are very different from treatments you might experience during the day. In fact, they’re probably different from anything you’ve experienced before. From the moment we collect you from your villa to the moment we bring you back, you’ll be wrapped in the nurturing embrace of the tropical evening air. Relax beneath the stars in the Night Spa’s torch-lit lounge, then indulge in one of four open-air lunar rituals devised by Sodashi to attune the body to nature’s rhythms. Each lunar ritual can be enjoyed at any time but will provide the greatest benefit during its linked lunar phase. Available from 10:00 pm to 1:00 am nightly, Night Spa treatments must be booked a minimum of 24 hours in advance.”
Their treatments include…
- Reflect – “The new moon is a time of commencement, new beginnings and renewal.”
- Nourish – “The waxing moon is a good time to nourish and strengthen the body.”
- Harmonize– “During the full moon, the body’s healing potential and the skin’s ability to absorb minerals are at their highest.”
- Release – “The waning moon is the ideal time to eliminate toxins and negativity.”
I never like to take spa treatments during the day in the Maldives because it is just less time in sunshine and being out and about in paradise. But the night time is a bit more limited to strolls through the paths and by the ocean and a great time to ratchet the stress down that further gear.
Also recommended for vampires and werewolves.
Best of the Maldives: Chinese Therapy – Adaaran Club Rannalhi
Looking for am apropos hangover cure from your Chinese New Year celebrations? Well, you might want to stop by the ‘Traditional Chinese Therapy Centre’ at Club Rannalhi.
Liu Yaping offers a range of treatments which are mostly variations of acupressure massage such as “Tui Na” and “Chinese cupping”. Most treatments run about $60 for an hour session
Disclaimer – I am not a fan the many disastrous environmental effects of many traditional Chinese therapies that call for ingredients of rare species like tigers, rhinos and most relevant in the Maldives is manta gills. Most holistic therapies are harmless placebos which provide comfort. But when a billion people with increasing amounts of money start wanting these obscure ingredients, the side effects for the planet can be tragic. Fortunately, Club Rannalhi’s therapy centre does not offer any of these ingredients based on endangered species in its treatment offerings.
While other resorts have spas offering Chinese treatments (eg. Shangri-La Villingili, Olhuveli, Soneva Fushi, Meedhupparu), the Rannali centre is the only one who specialises in just this area.
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Best of the Maldives: Indigenous Massage – Shangri-La
All that working out got you achy and depleted? Well then, sounds like you need a spa appointment.
Something different? Something that evokes the very paradise you are savouring each day? How about Shangri-La Villingili’s ‘Cowrie Shell Experience’ treatment?
When I lived in Africa, you used to see cowry shells used extensively. Used in religious rituals. Used in jewellery. They are seen as symbols of womanhood, fertility, birth and wealth.
Historically, cowries were used as currency and, in fact, the very first cowries used as such came from the Maldives. Furthermore, the Shangri-La Villingili’s ‘Chi’ spa uses locally produced coconut oil. Lots of resorts offer Ayurvedic style treatments which are indigenous to the sub-continent region (as does Shangri-La), but the cowry shells are a nice touch with their own mystical properties and heritage.
Shangri-La describes in its ‘Sense of Place’ line of treatments…
“Indigenous treatments inspired by the history of the treasures found in the Maldives Ocean, the name Kandu Boli, meaning “sea shell”, draws its energy from the ocean. Experience the touch of the unique Cowrie Shell Massage of the body, face and scalp combined with our Maldivian Coconut Oil made by a local community. Nurturing to the soul, relaxing to the body and calming to the mind… Surrender to Villingili’s Cowrie Shell Experiences…”
Best of the Maldives: Spa Arrival – Four Seasons Kuda Huraa
My recent visit to several prime resorts in the Maldives uncovered a wealth (65) of distinctive features that I will be exploring in depth over the coming months. I thought I would start off with a taster selection over the coming week for each resort.
The first resort on the itinerary was Four Seasons Kuda Huraa. Every spa treatment is a treat. And the best Maldive ones build up the anticipation with lovely receptions infused with incense and ambient tones that start the process of transporting you away mind and body to another place. Four Seasons Kuda Huraa takes this ‘transporting’ quite literally to a whole new level with its shuttle service to its spa. The Kuda Huraa spa sits by itself on a small little island just off shore from the main island. You could take a short swim over I guess, but the quaint ‘Kuda Dhoni’ (‘Little Boat’) ride over is just the thing to shift gears from the resort to your own little special sanctuary.
And the destination is worthy of mention. It is certainly one of the top massages we have had (the therapist was very attentive to a neck pain and spent extra time on that area that was very effective).
Maldives Kurumba Visit – Day 7: Kurumba wrap
Well, we say goodbye to our now beloved Maldives and our new dear friend, Kurumba. I started the week with a ‘first impressions’ post and thought that I would finish with a wrap up review. As the week went on I certainly began to appreciate more and more about the resort, though a few things did start to irritate me.
The irritations first. I’ve already mentioned in my ‘Meal Plan’ post my frustrations with dining locations so I won’t belabour that point. One of our favourite locations was the ocean side bar. Great room, drinks, service. The only thing to fault it was the tiresome and repetitive muzac. Our kids played a game to bet when the next playing of Kanye West’s ‘American Boy’ was coming around again. Seriously, for a place this classy, it deserves classy music to set the atmosphere (they had a live band mid week which was excellent actually). I recommend something simple and acoustic like a gentle jazz piano or Spanish acoustic guitar.
Now, the extra good stuff. First and foremost has to be the extra good staff (two of which are Operations Manager Ankush and Guest Relations Eilidh in the photo above) . And the Maldives generally has a superior standard of service anyway. Certainly, everyone was very friendly and attentive. In fact, we met a couple from Wales who had been to Kurumba several times and always come back because they are convinced that the resort has the best staff in the Maldives. That is a pretty tall and subjective claim, but I have no specific argument against it. But above and the call of duty examples included Myat Su who lent us her personal memory stick to help us fix a computer problem. The games they have stocked for use included Scrabble and Chinese Checkers (two of our family favourites) that were a real godsend (and directly boosted bar sales for two nights).
Also deserving of special mention is the landscaping. The more time I spent and explored, the more I appreciated the landscaping. Really impeccable and colourful. I liked that the foliage between the beach villas and the water was just enough to provide colour, shade and visual interest, but not so dense as to actually obstruct the view (a problem that I often bemoan with other resorts). They even have a nursery where they cultivate tons of orchids and other flowers for use on the resort that you can go into an explore. Also, the design feature of the numerous, rectangular pools was a lovely touch.
Finally, the Aquum spa was excellent. I am a bit of a Thai massage connoisseur and therapist Dinny executed several complex moves that I had never before had. Our daughter doesn’t dive so we treat her to a spa treatment instead and she reported that therapist Lyle gave one of the best massages that she had ever had. They also had very good spa music.
All and all, I would highly recommend Kurumba without reservation as a value for money, top quality resort. Be aware of the impact its proximity to Male and the prevalence of concrete walkways and dining areas has. A couple types of visitor that I think would find Kurumba especially appealing would be mobility constrained and larger groups. The concrete actually works in favour of people with mobility issues and Kurumba has ramp access nearly everywhere. Also, I think groups (extended families, corporate team/groups) would work well at Kurumba because there is such a range of offerings and choices that there is something satisfying for everyone. Some of the more boutique resorts in the Maldives are amazing in certain special ways, but sometimes those ‘ways’ are not everyone’s cup of tea.
If you like lots of choice, great food, great service, great gardens, convenience to Male, then Kurumba could very well be a top choice for you.