Dreamy Destination

by Adam Jacot de Boinod

MALDIVES HONEYMOONING In The

Photo: Jumeirah Vittaveli

re you a couple seeking utter seclusion and to escape all chaos and noise? Then be met at the airport and escorted by speedboat or seaplane and, for utter bliss, go to an ultra private island resort. More a hideaway than a mere getaway. Be a castaway even and simplify life to just a parasol, a beach towel and a few provisions. Try going truly nomadic and wake up at a different island each morning.

Let time wander, especially at Villingili, where they even move their clocks forward an hour to offer more daylight.

Much, I discovered, is actively done to promote the ultimate “two-in-the-world” feeling. The lengths top hotels now go to make things special is impressive. The service on hand is truly telepathic. The modern sine qua non is the ‘thakuru’, the personal butler, who is assigned to you throughout your stay. And A

they come in all guises. Amilla Fushi has a ‘dive butler’, at Baros Maldives you get a phone to alert the ‘sandbank butler’ and at Six Senses Laamu you are assigned a ‘Guest Experience Maker’ to arrange everything. Not to be upstaged, the new Residence by Cenizaro has even introduced a ‘Romance Concierge’ to help curate the moment for proposing or your honeymoon!

And what romantic settings there are. Walk hand in hand by the clear waters of the shallow lagoon. Sense the waves lapping upon the shore and the breeze swishing the coconut palms. Witness at night the beach of the Vaadhoo Island where the tides have a rare glow or at Gili Lankanfushi where the coral has real fluorescence. Further luminosity comes from the stars that shine unimpeded above. Your passion can be matched by the lanterns lighting up the beach, the restaurants burning incense and real flames into the night.

The Maldives are renowned for honeymooners seeking the long-awaited relaxation after all the nerves of the build-up to, and frenzy of, the wedding day itself.

To qualify for special hotel treatment the honeymoon can be as long as six months after. There are even bespoke ‘honeymoon packages’. At Atmosphere you get romantically-shaped bed decorations, exotic fruit baskets, bath tubs with flower petals, sparkling wine on arrival, a baby wedding cake, a spa treatment, a candle-lit beach dinner, sunset cocktails and a cruise in a traditional sailboat. The one at Niyama starts from about $2000 for a three-night stay, champagne, a spa, a sunset cruise, dining on a deserted sandbank and a professional photographer who brings makeup and a wardrobe!

To escape any screaming kids, the Romantic Pool at Velaa Private Island is designed for couples and Hurawalhi’s and its new sister island

Photo: Gili Lankanfushi 2017

Kudadoo Private Island are both ‘adults-only’. For its remoteness and privacy try the Four Seasons Private Island Voavah with its mere seven villas. To be fully immersed instead in the ocean, try the ‘Private Reserve’ at Gili Lankanfushi, the world’s largest overwater villa and accessible only by boat, while at COMO Cocoa Island you can actually dwell in an authen tic Maldivian Dhoni boat.

Back ashore, love-nests abound in the traditionally designed hotels of palm-fringed roofs, wood and rattan. Overwater villas come with ‘opento-the-stars’ bathrooms, private plunge pools and steps that go directly down into the lagoon. Amilla Fushi has a Wellness Treehouse and the LUX* Olhahali is to have white villas with marble bathrooms and roof terraces with flashes of neon pink.

The interior décor consist of typically soft, muted tones with crisp furnishing, king-size beds and reassuringly snug 60x60 pillows. Huvafen Fushi has floatation pools, Amilla Fushi has the longest infinity pool and Niyama’s studios come with private sun decks, open-air bathrooms, large bathtubs and rain showers.

The romantic couple is well catered for. For drinks try Subsix at PER AQUUM Niyama resort. It’s six metres below the waterline and full of parrotfish, moray eels, groupers and butterflyfish. The resident hawksbill turtle is even known to make an appearance. If you prefer to be with manta rays, stingrays and baby sharks, there’s Ithaa, another undersea restaurant, at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island. It’s exclusive as there’s only room for fourteen diners.

Photo: Gili Lankanfushi 2017

Photo: Gili Lankanfushi Wedding

Maldivian cuisine is based on coconuts, starches and fish of which the favourite is skipjack tuna. Niyama’s Edge is a restaurant on stilts far out to sea accessible only by boat while at the Lighthouse at Baros Maldives you get to dine with schools of fish swimming beneath. At Conrad Rangali Is land there’s a 6,000 bottle underground wine cellar while Niyama’s Nest has dining pods high in banyan treetops. Privacy guaranteed.

For similar seclusion Shangri-La Villingili certainly creates the ultimate ‘two-in-the-world’ feeling. Expert chefs have a bespoke “Dine by Design” service offering lunch on the equator aboard a luxury yacht or dinner in the jungle by torchlight. Mind you, there’s always room service or, as at Gili Lankanfushi, private screenings of old favourites in the jungle cinema with chocolate, strawberries and champagne! “Adventure is worthwhile”, said the famous fable writer Aesop and af ter a few days adjusting it may well be time to be active and explore. While the Maldives has long been branded a ‘fly and flop’ destination, in reality it’s difficult to choose from the spoiling list of options. Go underwater in a whale submarine, see the outer atolls from a ‘Seaplane Surfari’ or climb aboard ‘Voavah Summer’ the Four Seasons luxury yacht.

There’s good surfing at Four Seasons Kuda Huraa, the new Kandima, Dhaalu Atoll is long enough to hire bikes and electric scooters to get around and at Four Seasons, you can even try ‘seabobs’, the underwater variety of scooters.

Jumeirah Vittaveli is now pioneering with an ice rink to transport you, blessed by the warmth of the tropics, into a winter wonderland.

Photo: Gili Lankanfushi Spa

Huvafen Fushi has a great house reef acting as a natural aquarium and coral garden and where marine biologists offer guided snorkel trips. Go night-diving at Constance Moofushi or await the ‘Manta-on-Call’ alert at Four Seasons to be whisked off by speedboat for when the rays appear. At COMO Cocoa Island you can ‘island hop’ or spot dolphins while at JA Manafaru you can even hit golf balls (made of fish food) into the sea!

If all that seems too active, retreat to the spa. At the new Kanuhura Kokaa Spa there’s a therapy focused on releasing energy from 103 pressure points on your body. Niyama’s Drift is out at sea with ‘over-water’ rooms looking out across the ocean while at the world’s only underwater spa at Huvafen Fushi you can see fish swimming past you as you unwind. Bliss by Shakespearean proportions!

Adam Jacot de Boinod worked on the first series of the BBC panel game QI for Stephen Fry. He is a British author having written three books about unusual words with Penguin Press.

The best time of year to visit the Maldives is between November and April. Avoid the tropical cyclones from August to October though the temperature all year round is about 30°C (86F). To learn more about The Maldives please visit their website www.visitmaldives.com.