Soneva Jani doesn’t do anything by halves and that includes its spa yoga pavilion which is not only the highest in the Maldives, but also the largest we have seen. You can escape from the escape perched high above resort life below while still immersed in the beauty of paradise surrounding you with a 360 degree panoramic view.
Cora Cora’s star-gazing tower lends a Swiss Family Robinson natural vibe to getting closer to the stars.
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.
A number of resorts feature treetop spas, but Soneva Jani’s was the first OVER treetops spa we ever visited. The location provides a breath-taking vista of the palm greenery and the tapestry of blues of the sea.
While the Maldives is renowned for its flatness, when a bit of elevation does poke its head into the air, the vistas are extra dramatic. Especially, with the destination’s signature tapestry of blues mottling the tranquil ocean below. Soneva Jani’s Soneva Soul Yoga Champa is perched above the palm tree canopy proving a breath-taking view for taking your Ujjayi breathes. Just the perfect place to channel your “yogi sitting on top of a mountain” spirit.
DiscoverSoneva’s Instagram feed has also shared its own panorama of this striking vista.
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The bird’s eye view of the Maldives is one of the highlights of the destination and you don’t get much higher than the European Space Agency’s “Observing the Earth” application. This video a strikingly vivid satellite perspective of the Male area (with a rather banal narration).
Where to begin with the LUX* North Male Atoll? Tour 2019 came back so many candidate “Best of the Maldives” features for LUX that it’s hard to choose. Maybe just start at the top. And I do mean tippy top. With a crowning distinction which plays to a long loved aspect of mine when resorts find a way to highlight this defining characteristic of the Maldives – vistas.
From the moment your flight approaches the Maldives archipelago, you are mesmerized by the expansive vista of blues spreading out beneath you across the ocean. Unfortunately, with a destination known for its diminutive elevation, most views of this aqua-coloured dreamscape are are obliquely cast across the surface. Just getting a bit of elevation can extend and enrich the panorama of blue pantones before you.
I’ve long had a “Vistas” as a “Best Of” category tag, and LNMA provided several to add to that collection. In fact, the vista is one of the central design tenets of the entire property. Every single villa is architected around an open rooftop deck with king-sized loungers for lying back to gaze with equal comfort and wonder at the waters below or the heavens above. They even have a name for this area – your “Sky Lounge”. You can have dinner served there (including an open-air BBQ), have a film under the stars projected there, or just sit and enjoy the 360 degree scenery.
But its not just your villa where you can enjoy the vertical perspective. The INTI restaurant is situated on a second floor with a completely open view of the pool and beyond. The Café LUX coffee shop sits upstairs looking over the ocean. Even the kids club offers a raised floor with a view.
LUX North Male Atoll just raised the bar on enjoying Maldives ‘ spectacular vistas.
Amilla Fushi has combined two of my recent distinctions – bubble deck and villa tower – for a doubly distinctive bubble tower. The resort describes this new feature as follows…
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To get as close to somewhere over the rainbow as possible (and other celestial sights), Soneva Fushi sets a new highwater, well high in the air, mark for an open vista platform. Recently completed its latest villa, the five-bedroom Villa 37. The 11 metre tall viewing tower, reached by a winding staircase encircles a dining table called the Moonlight Table at the summit. This viewing tower is now the tallest point on the island and the ideal spot to take in the panoramic views, sunrises, sunsets, dining experiences and stargazing.
“I am tasting stars” – Dom Perignon
Now you can taste Dom Perignon among the stars. On Anantara Kihavah’s new rooftop observatory and bar:
Kihavah has extended the ultimate bottom-to-top vista to the heavens now including the most exquisite wines to accompany every concourse. And even if you have cloudy night, you can enjoy your sparkling wines under a sparkling firmament in the bar with a luminous ceiling display of constellations (see photo at bottom).
