Tour 2022- Review

Tour 2022 review

Tour 2022 took us to 7 new resorts bringing the grand total to 109 resorts we have stayed at in 19 visits (see the updated map below).

Here are a few of our observations of our favourite destination:

  1. Rise of Families – I noted in 2020 how families seemed to be more and more prevalent. This trip confirmed it. In particular, the latest visitor stats which show the number of families visiting skyrocketing from 11% to 36% in one year! As a result, many properties that had “adult only” policies are dropping them or scaling them back as they just can’t afford to cut out this segment. You also see it in the room configurations. The vast majority of rooms are listed as 3 adult capacity (by the third adult they generally mean a child over 12 years old) with a convertible settee built into the room. Many others have a stock of portable beds to roll in and expand capacity to 3 adults and 1 child.
  2. Growth of stony corals – In recent years, seeing any new growth on reefs was an anomaly, but now every reef we snorkeled had a significant amount of especially big block corals like Diploria, Porites, Alcyonidae, Pocilloporidae, and Acroporidae (which research is showing fare better than other corals in the warmer water). The coral gardens seemed more like a spring garden than a winter one…sparse, but promising.
  3. $1000/nt luxury AI – Lots of very fine resorts are targeting the $1000/nt segment with a luxury (ie. dine-around, fine food, lots included such a two excursions and one spa treatment) AI offering (Cora Cora, Emerald, OBLU, OZEN, Amilla). Just right for the affluent market who are not billionaires.
  4. Atmosphere Group Investment – The Indian resort group Atmosphere is making a big play for the Maldives. They have half a dozen properties already with plans to open many more. Probably the most of a non-Maldivian hotel group (aside from Marriott group).
  5. Accessibility Nod – Most of you have seen the brilliant initiative that Jason and Victoria have done at Amilla for inclusion and accessibility. But I was impressed at how many accessibility features I was seeing across the resorts (especially ramps). My wife and I both work with disabled individuals so we have a bit on accessibility sensitivity.
  6. The Yanks Are Coming – The Indian Ocean on the other side of the world to North America so travel is exceptionally long. And flanked by the Caribbean on the east and the South Pacific on the west, the are plenty of tropical paradise options in the Americans’ backyard making them relatively rare in the Maldives. But the addition of more Marriott properties (eg. The Ritz Carlton, St. Regis, Sheraton, W Retreat, Meridian, Renaissance, Marriott) is luring lots of Americans who have Starwood points to burn and have been enchanted by the destination through social media exposure.
  7. Russians are the new Chinese – A while back it seemed like the Maldives had been overrun by Chinese as they dominated the numbers. The Chinese are still a strong market, but they seem comparable in size to may other visitor geographies now. In fact, one of the gratifying changes in the Maldives we have observed over two decades is how it has morphed from a uniformly European sunshine bolt-hole into an internationally and ethnically eclectic mix. That said, the clearly dominant set of guests are the Russians. There were lots of them everywhere we went. I thought that maybe the economic situation in Russia would have reduced them, but actually the travel sanctions and Maldives being one of the few countries welcoming them has meant that they are all going there.
  8. Digital Default – The default way of doing everything is digitally now. Download the resort app to check-in. Connect with the resort/butler via WhatsApp. Read the restaurant menus via QR codes on the table.
  9. Windier and Windier – I’ve commented in the past how July has gone from “breezy” to “windy” and this July was even more so with some days near gale force. Frankly, the “maldives sinking” is a colourful, PR-grabbing red-herring (ocean levels are rising quite slowly and terraforming and other measures can mitigate effectively). The real issue is weather intensity and extremity. Climate change may make the Maldives inhospitable before it makes them submerged. For the tourisms industry, the winds disrupt snorkeling accessibility and visibility, feet-in-sand al fresco dining, transfer reliability and speed, etc.
  10. Goodbye Tchotchke – The airport tchotski store in the departure lounge to have one last chance to grab cheap trinkets, a fixture throughout our two decades passing through there, has been replaced with a swish boutique.

Tour 2022 resorts Google map

Tour 2022- OZEN Maadhoo

Maldives Tour 2022 Ozen Maadhoo

To paraphrase Meghan Trainor, it’s all about the “blues” (no “trouble”). One aspect that makes the Maldives such a global bucket list destination is its unparalleled tapestry of aquatic azure hues. This famous blend of cerulean, cobalt and cyan is punctuated by a touches of tropical palm green and brilliant white sand tinged by highlights of golden sunshine. OZEN Maadhoo exemplifies the distinctive Maldives palette with an expansive variegated lapis lagoon, lush verdant vegetation, broad cotton white beaches and, of course, plenty of glowing sun. I’ve seen big lagoons before in the Maldives, and I have seen big beaches, but I don’t recall seeing such an extensive combo of both at one island.

The aesthetic theme is imbued in its elegant pool with its own pattern of blue tiles. And if you want you can even explore under the blues with visit to its underwater restaurant “Minus 6 Meters”

OZEN Maadhoo splashes the ultimate maritime expanse of colour.

OZEN Maadhoo - aerial

Tour 2022- Fihalhohi

Maldives Tour 2022 - fihalhohi

Longing for the simple Maldives – no TV, no pool, no butlers. Fihalhohi took us back to a classic, original version of the Maldives.

Fihalhohi was the lowest priced resorts on our tour and has long been one of the more basic of resorts in the destination. I remember first researching it decades ago and it had a bare bones website with a few sketchy photos. So we weren’t expecting too much. Nonetheless, it supposedly had a lovely house reef and is one of the classic properties so we were keen to check it out.

We were so pleasantly surprised. The villas had had a refurb a few years back and so, while still simple, they were fresh and smart looking. The general common area infrastructure is still a bit dated and worn, but that gives it a bit of charm.

Satisfaction is all relative to expectations…and, I must say, Fihalhohi (or “Fiha” as it is colloquially referred to) considerably exceeded ours. We also made some nice friends (see below)

Fihalhohi - bird

Tour 2022- Cora Cora

Maldives Tour 2022 - cora cora

Cora Cora is like a collection of all of our favourite things in the Maldives – small island, fine house reef, cultural heritage, whimsical vibe, colourful aesthetic, progressive management, accessible luxury. One might think that after staying at over 110 Maldives resorts, and having written over 1600 “Best of the Maldives” pieces we would have seen it all by now. So it is delightful to continue our adventure of discovery and find over 20 features to Cora Cora that we hadn’t seen before (or at least not with their twist). Also, it shows that you don’t have to be a super luxury property to be distinctive. I’m not surprised when I come across some esoteric luxury in one of the ultra-premium resorts, but it’s especially satisfying when a resort finds a way to add an inventive touch with creativity as opposed to big budgets. Stay tuned for some colourful delights.

Tour 2022- Emerald

Maldives Tour 2022 - emerald

Emerald makes a big impression for a small island. The juxtaposition of spacious and grand facilities on the intimate island provides an cozy luxury for those who want the diminutive island (you can walk completely around in a matter of minutes) while enjoying comfortable spaciousness in their dining, sleeping and playing areas.

Emerald is also probably the most “resort-y” of Maldives resorts we have been to. It exudes the luxury and indulgence of the resorts depicted in films (“Couples Retreat”) and television (“White Lotus”). I think it is because their common area facilities have this extravagant grandeur about them.

And yet, the property maintains its distinctive Maldivian charm – stylish touches of thatch, expansive white sand beaches, accessible house reef, and (our favourite) a sand floor in the bar (which so many of the newer and more upmarket resorts have eschewed).

Emerald is playing in the $1000/nt premium AI segment which is hugely popular at the moment as it is a real sweet spot for the affluent professional visitor willing to shell out for a distinctive holiday while keeping the outlay somewhat under control. A number of excellent 5-stars resorts are also positioning themselves in this space and choosing between them comes down to rather subjective considerations. I would recommend Emerald for those who want a big experience on a small island.

Maldives Tour 2022 - Emerald table

Tour 2022- Eriyadu

Maldives tour 2022 - eriyadu

Eriyadu is another vintage Maldives classic – tiny island, fine house reef, decades long pedigree – tarted up with a few reburbs inside the villas and around the property. In particular, the villa rooms themselves were quite smart. The new bathrooms were almost 5-star in quality (but I must say that situating them in a carved-out part of the previous front room and leaving the initial front door in place, was a curious aspect). The house reef is especially accessible straight off the main jetty and drifting down to the dive school jetty for coming in. We saw several sweet reef sharks and a striking eagle ray as well as even more encouraging coral growth.

Tour 2022- OBLU Helengeli

Maldives tour 2022 - oblu helengeli

Take me back to the Maldives. And take me back to the Maldives that we fell in love with is what OBLU by Atmosphere at Helengeli certainly does. Walkable size, retro early-tourism era structures (like their games area cement seating), sand floors in the bar and restaurant (oh how I miss these in so many of the luxury properties, but I guess they do a number on the LE BOUTIN stilettos), North Male atoll convenience (no seaplane to mess with, but sitting but on the upper fringe of the atoll, it does have a distinctively remote “middle of the Indian Ocean” feel). But Helengeli has also kept up with the times with some well-chosen revamps and additions – dining area with over water seating and big windows, charming “spa oasis” laid out around a water garden, and even and over-water gym!

And like classic Maldives, the main event at Helengeli is the snorkelling. Situated on not one but two channels provides an extra flow of water helping the corals a bit and providing an appeal boulevard for a range of marine life making it one of the most vibrant house reefs in the Maldives. We saw encouraging growth especially among the block corals like porites and diploria (brain coral) along with three of the Snorkel Safari Big 5 – shark, turtle, moray.

Tour 2022 – Arrival

Maldives Tour 2022 - arrival

Tour #19 of the Maldives. Seven new resorts – Ritz Carlton Maldives, OBLU Helengeli, Eriyadu, Emerald, Cora Cora, Fihalhohi, OZEN Maadhoo – to explore and find new gems. But first, I had to try a new airline – Emirates.

My research early in the year found lots of plaudits for the UAE state airline and the schedule and prices fit well so I thought we would try it.

First, we had to a run the gauntlet of mayhem that was Terminal 3 Heathow. We arrived nearly 3 hours ahead of departure time and barely made it to the flight as Lori was literally the last person to board the plane. There were delays at every juncture, but most was the 90 minute security queue. So much for our relaxing pre-trip cocktails.

When we boarded, we encountered another first – A380. I had read plenty about these airborne behemoths and had seen them on the airport tarmac, but I had never set foot in one. It was a every bit a treat as this next generation flying machine would have you hope for. Spacious, elegant, modern. Large HD video screens. A few inches of extra legroom and seat width. Not to mention the extra aisle headroom making the whole environment less claustrophobic. Nice full power sockets at each seat. The wifi was great value ($17 for entire journey), but pretty weak and unreliable.

After a very quick stopover in Dubai (too dark to see any of its iconic structures on arrival or departure), we were off on the final leg of the Maldives. The Emirates flight is a nice balance of a two-legged trip to there (in the absence of a direct flight which BA has pulled once again from its summer schedule). A longer first leg of just under 7 hours is a good length for a meal, some reading, a few computer games and a film. Then you stretch you legs in Dubai and only have 3.5 hours to go which you can nap through.

Maldives, here we are!