“My feet get a lot of attention,” says our barefoot pilot as we say goodbye with one last photo after a scenic 30 minute seaplane ride that has taken us from Male international airport north to Baa atoll. A traditional…
Soneva Fushi pairs Robinson Crusoe fantasy with Intelligent Luxury
“May I take your shoes?” asks Xain our personal Mr Friday. Our sandals disappear into a cotton bag, where they will remain for the duration of our stay. We have arrived by seaplane at Soneva Fushi international airport, a small…
Anantara Kihavah Villas combines desert island with contemporary chic
Aun, our villa host, has prepared a foot bath strewn with flower petals on the ocean-facing porch of our beach villa. Our feet are hardly tired – we have arrived in all comfort by speedboat from Soneva Fushi, also…
Maldives luxury, it all began at Kurumba
The thick grove of over 500 palm trees, gives little hint of the 5 star, 180 room luxury resort hidden in its shade. Kurumba is Dhivehi for coconut and synonymous with the birthplace of the multi million dollar tourist…
Eriyadu Island Resort stands for affordable, laid-back Maldives
It’s a 50 minute speedboat ride to the tiny, oval-shaped island of Eriyadu which sits alone, just behind the outside rim of the North Male’ atoll. The day I visit, it’s school holidays and the speedboat is packed with locals.…
Coco Bodu Hithi is pure indulgence all the way
“May I help you unpack Madam?” asks Mahon my handsome private butler from Chennai, India. I hold up my daypack and flippers, that’s all I’ve brought. “Should I open the champagne for you?” he says pointing to a bottle…
Coco Privé Kuda Hithi
How to do barefoot luxury in real style “I want my guests to emerge from the natural jungle into a landscaped garden,” says Paul Vincent Benedict Brown in his clipped English accent. He makes me stop and open my…
Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa Maldives
Can you find Shangri-La on the map? When James Hilton described his fictive paradise of exotic earthly bliss by that name in 1933 in his seminal novel Lost Horizon, few people would have known how to identify Maldives on…
