Best of the Maldives: Dining Table – Park Hyatt Hadahaa

Park Hyatt Hadahaa dining table

The Maldives has all sorts of creative dining tables. We were delighted by the little sunken-under-glass zen garden design to the tables in Ocean Grill restaurant of Kurumba. Of course, there are some pretty creative places to eat, like Velassaru’s ‘sand castle’ and Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru’s ‘in-pool’ dining. And the Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili cellar tables are especially whimsical befitting their surroundings. But the acid test of ‘oooh, I want one of those’ gets passed with flying colours by Park Hyatt Hadahaa with their elongated table in burl wood (I mentioned that I am a sucker for burl wood) which forms the centrepiece of their The Dining Room restaurant. Seriously, I am looking into having a similar one made for our house it impresses me so much. Sakis has another perspective on it here.

Best of the Maldives: Tables – Kanuhura

Kanuhura tsunami tables

Seven years ago today, one of the most profound natural disasters of modern times hit Asian with the Boxing Day Tsunami. With an epicenter in Sumatra, it still yielded deadly force thousands of miles away in the Maldives where 68 people died and 300 were injured.

Like all of the countries affected, the Maldives mourned their losses and started the process of rebuilding. Many resorts were struck which led to renovation projects. The One & Only Kanuharu were hit which, among other damage, fell many of their trees on the east side of the island. As a part of the clean up, Kanuhura’s on-island wood-workers gathered up the downed tree trunks and fashioned them into tables that are used throughout their Handhuvaru lounge. Lots of resorts have all sorts of creative designer furnishings throughout, but these simple, locally hand-hewn creations memorializing a pivotal event in the region’s history are the most compelling to me.