Best of the Maldives: Villa Reflective Glass – Oaga

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Oaga - reflective glass 1

It’s great to have expansive floor-to-ceiling windows to bring as much of the outdoor paradise into your villa, but with most beaches being open to all, you then become a bit of a fishbowl to the guests passing by. You had to decide whether to opt for view or privacy with your curtains.

Oaga has provided the ideal best-of-both solution with reflective glass on their villa windows allowing you to look out and no one else to look in. The glass also reduces the glare and heat from the glasshouse windows into your villa. And if you want to get a front and back bathing suit shot for Instagram, you can do that too.

Oaga - villa reflective glass

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Best of the Maldives: Most Pools – Haven Villa

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Haven Villa - pools

The very earliest beginnings of Maldives Complete was a spreadsheet of my research looking for resorts with pools (which in the 1990s was not all that prevalent and the kids really enjoyed a break from the gritty coral sand and salt swimming in the lagoon). Over time, pools (infinity ones at that) became standard fare for resorts and increasingly, especially at the luxury end of the market, for villas themselves. We enjoy having our own private pool for a cooling plunge. And I have seen a couple of properties with two pool villas. But Villa Haven’s Two Bedroom Residence with Two Beach Pools and Garden Pool is the first THREE pool villa I have come across. An enclosed one in the back area for those wanting privacy, a small one for maybe the kids and a big one for everyone.

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Best of the Maldives: Kids Bathrooms – Ailafushi

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Ailafushi - kids bathrooms

A real treat for both children and parents alike is them having their own room. In the Maldives, unless the resort offers special family room set up (which about 10% do) this arrangement often means (a) having their own villa, or (b) getting a pricey 2-bedroom villa. Ailafushi is one of the 10% that do offer a family room, but the bonus is that it also comes with its own, directly connected bathroom. No having 4 family members jockeying for use of the single bathroom of the villa (and the inter-generational privacy is going to be well appreciated by both).

 

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Best of the Maldives: Artistic Accessibility – Amilla Maldives

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Amilla - fish ramp

Disabled guests are pretty resourceful so they find a way to manage even if the lay of the land is not the easiest to manage. They live in a world that in many if not most cases is not made to accommodate their impairments. When places make an effort, like adding a ramp for a wheelchair, they are grateful for the consideration and added ease. Many accessibility features are fairly functional affairs bolted on as the need presents itself. But Amilla Maldives has introduced permanent accessibility features with an aquatic themed stylish flair to boot. They have craft fish-shaped ramps to beach villas which replace a total of 5 steps that previously led to the entrance. Swish!

Amilla - ramp

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Best of the Maldives: Villa Height Accessibility – Amilla

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Amilla - vanity

Amilla Maldives continues to pioneer accessibility in the Maldives with its latest accessibility feature being “height”. Lowering access to key features is not just beneficial to height-challenged individuals, but is also a major boon to wheelchair users whose own operating height is obviously lowered.

The catalogue of the villa overhaul includes the following:

  • Bathroom Vanities
    • Lowered mirrors
    • Relocated taps to side
    • Cut out under benches to allow wheelchair access
  • Showers
    • Added hand shower unit in Beach Villa
    • Added grab rails
    • Shower Chair is added depending on guest requirements
  • Mini-Bar Cabinet
    • Reduced the bench height by 23cm to enable access when in a wheelchair
    • Easier access to minibar fridge and coffee machine
  • Bedroom
    • Built a long benchtop in place of working desk to create a vanity area for guest to blow-dry hair and make-up area within the bedroom
    • Removed all rugs and benches from the bedroom

Maldives is renowned for having the world’s lowest elevation, and now Amilla have provided accessibility to match.

Amilla - shower

Amilla - room

Amilla - mini-bar cabinet

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Best of the Maldives: Artificial Thatch – Dhawa Ihuru

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Dhawa Ihuru - thatch 1

One of the classic tick-boxes for a Maldivian resort are the archetypal thatched roof villas. While styling contemporary designs have proliferated across the destination with dramatic aesthetic allure, many still want that ‘authentic’ vibe of a Robinson Crusoe hut on a tropical island. A major challenge to catering for this preference is that palm thatch roofs are very expensive to build and maintain. Dhawa Ihuru has outfitted its buildings with Palmex artificial thatch which not only keeps costs down (do the property can be more affordable), but is also itself an eco-friendly solution being produced in a sustainable way and reducing the demand on harvesting palm trees as Palmex describes:

  • Product waste in all our plants is diverted from final disposal and sent to be recycled in other plastic manufacturing processes. Our packaging is kept to an absolute minimum for shipping and is made of Palmex production waste. We have also undergone a third-party verification process with Vertima Inc. and Athena Sustainable Materials Institute where Palmex International Inc. products and our entire supply chain were assessed. We received the Validated Eco-Declaration® Certification summarizing verified environmental claim.

Frankly, we didn’t even notice that they are artificial until it was pointed out to us and we had a look very close

Dhawa Ihuru - thatch 2

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Best of the Maldives: Mist Hammocks – Dhawa Iruhu

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Dhawa Ihuru - mist hammock

Overwater and on-water hammocks have become almost cliché from the countless Instagram photos posted of them, but Dhawa Ihuru offers the first (I’ve seen) *in* water hammocks. No, not sitting in the lagoon. But you sitting in a refreshing mist of cool spray while you relax in the tropical sun. For making your own misty water-coloured memories of the way you were in paradise.

xxxx

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Best of the Maldives: Villa Panorama – Ritz-Carlton Maldives

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Ritz-Carlton Maldives - panorama lagoon

The main event in the Maldives is the ocean view. Bering such a tiny plot of sand in the middle of the vast ocean (or if you are underwater!), the aquatic vistas surround our and consume you. Whenever I am in an area of outstanding natural beauty, I always am bemused by buildings with small windows. Why don’t they make as expansive a window as possible to enjoy such a distinctive sight? One resort that has gotten this right to the extreme, pretty much bringing the entire outdoors right into the bedroom, is Ritz Carlton Maldives. Absolutely the biggest villa “window” on the water that we have seen in the Maldives.

Ritz-Carlton Maldives - room panorama ocean

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Best of the Maldives: Biometric Safe – Emerald

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Emerald - biometric safe

If a few too many pina coladas are affecting your cognition or your manual dexterity, but you still want to put away your fancy jewelry for the evening (many insurance policies require that items over a certain value must be kept in a safe when not being worn), then Emerald villa safe offers biometric locking. One-touch authentication have become commonplace for our phones and computers security and now locking away your valuables is just as convenient. These devices only support one user, but it also has the option for a pin/password as well (like phones and computers) so other members of your party can access it as well.

Safe travels!

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