Special programs for women only, swimming with gentle sharks, sound therapy, new restaurants, celebrity chefs and personal pizza – it's all this, but not only awaits tourists in the Maldives this year. We talk about the main and most interesting.
HOTELS WITH A UNIQUE HOLIDAY CONCEPT
In the Maldives, unusual hotels and resorts have recently appeared that adhere to unique concepts and form a new culture of vacation on the islands. All of them have resumed their activities after the pandemic, and some have opened for the first time.
The JA Manafaru resort is gaining more popularitywhere you can get a real Maldivian experience. This resort in Haa Alifu Atoll offers a luxurious experience. The main idea here is complete privacy, which is easy to do in one of the villas with its own small area or a water villa literally in the middle of the ocean.
The perfect concept of relaxation and privacy at the JA Manafaru hotel. Photo: Visit Maldives
Among the novelties of the hotel, we highlight the Maldives Cultural Center on the territory of the resort with exhibits of traditional art collected throughout the country and artifacts found on the island itself.
The OBLU SELECT Lobigili hotel, which opened in May 2022, is also interesting < /strong>(COLORS OF OBLU resort chain, Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts brand) in Male Atoll.
The resort is called the “island of love”, which operates on an 18+ basis. Everything here is arranged in order to have a good time together or in a small company.
The secluded area has 68 beaches, several restaurants and bars, and unique pools.
Infinity pool at the OBLU SELECT Lobigili hotel. Photo: Visit Maldives
The gastronomic concept of the resort is especially interesting – here, for example, one of the largest underwater restaurants in the Indian Ocean region ONLY BLU operates with dishes of modern Pan-Asian and European cuisine and a large selection of wines.
The resort offers a completely innovative concept this year < strong>Amilla Maldives Resortand Residences, located in Baa Atoll.
Its program is designed for women aged 45+ who are beginning to experience health problems due to natural changes in the body.
The hotel regularly hosts five-day educational and relaxing retreats that include yoga, workshops, dynamic meditation, pranayama breathing practice, Sufi rotational meditation, intuitive dance.
The perfect retreat for women at Amilla Maldives Resort and Residences. Photo: Visit Maldives
Guests can purchase a wellness package that will include a consultation, 1 foot reflexology session (60 minutes), 1 intuitive aroma massage (60 minutes), 1 craniosacral therapy, 5 individual Sensora Light sessions. And of course, 1 health drink per day.
An interesting focus on ecology and the local biosphere is offered by the Radisson Blu Resort Maldives hotel in South Ari Atoll. The resort's first coral nursery has recently been set up on its grounds, and guests refer to it as the “coral nursery.”
Coral Nursery at the Radisson Blu Resort Maldives. Photo: Visit Maldives
In the near future, the hotel plans to develop special routes along the nursery with constantly updated information about how corals grow there.
Finally, the resort JOALI BEING, located on Raa Atoll, offers a very special “philosophy of transcendence”. Since 2021, the resort, among other interesting healing systems, has been using sound therapy with breathing practice. This practice is already being called the “New Yoga of the Maldives”.
Space energy at the JOALI BEING hotel. Photo courtesy of www.joalibeing.com
Musical instruments are everywhere – throughout the resort, in the villas, as well as in the 39 treatment rooms. All of them, according to the hotel staff, are tuned to “planetary frequencies”.
IMPORTANT NEWS IN THE MALDIVES RESORTS THAT TOURISTS SHOULD NOT MISS
There are also pleasant updates in the hotels of the Maldives already well known to tourists .
So, since the end of last year, the resort Mercure Maldives Kooddoo, located on the Gaafu Alifu Atoll, began to work on the Ultra All Inclusive system. This season, its concept has not changed, as the guests really liked it.
The main feature of the system is food personalization. In addition to the included food and unlimited drinks (over 40 wines and a wide range of beers), guests can personalize their minibar upon check-in on the day of arrival. It will be updated according to their requests.
The same applies to the choice of dishes in restaurants – you can create your own pizza with your choice of toppings or personalized pasta.
A concierge application for a comfortable stay is offered this season to guests in the already mentioned hotel < strong>Radisson Blu Resort Maldives. App features include contactless check-in, online chat functionality and one-touch service selection.
Electronic concierge at the Radisson Blu Resort Maldives. Photo by Visit Maldives
In the app, the guest will find hotel recommendations for organizing the perfect holiday, such as floating breakfast, signature spa treatments, sunset yoga in the pavilion, and the adventurous “whale shark tour”.
The app is developed on 5 languages and available for download.
The Westin Maldives Miriandhooresort in Baa Atoll continues its partnership with renowned sports company Tipsarevic Luxury Tennis Services, which began in late 2021. Guests are offered exclusive first-class tennis lessons designed by sports stars. Age and physical fitness do not play a role.
GASTRONOMY AS A SPECIAL ATTRACTION
Gastronomy is an important part of the holiday in the resorts of the Maldives and deserves special attention. All the novelties in this area are very important for tourists.
Thus, restaurant Funa has reopened at Angsana Velavaru resort on Dhaalu Atoll . This is one of the resort's overwater restaurants and now offers an updated menu inspired by Asia.
From bustling night markets with Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian street food classics, to a quiet, cherry-scented town when a Japanese or Korean bowl of rice is brought in, it's a gastronomic journey.
A signature dish at Funa Restaurant at Angsana Velavaru. Photo: Angsana Velavaru Hotel
The resort has 5 meal plans, two of which – STYLE and MAX – provide exclusive access to the Funa restaurant, which is open from 11 am to 10 pm.
And the resort is The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, located in North Male Atoll, recently announced the opening of Arabesque restaurant. Its design is made in the style of a Bedouin tent, and the guest's culinary journey will begin in Lebanon and end in Northern India.
The atmosphere of the novelty is given by the fact that the restaurant itself is located in the village of Fari Marina, and tourists get there by dhoni – traditional Maldivian wooden boat.
A real Bedouin tent at the Arabesque restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton Maldives. Photo by Visit Maldives
Here they will be served traditional meze, meat cooked in the tandoor, and popular dishes of Arabic street food. All this is accompanied by hookahs, Turkish coffee, Moroccan tea and creative cocktails.
Premium resort hotel One & Only Reethi Rah, located in North Male Atoll and consisting of all villas, launches its own project “Botany with Matthew Kenny”.
Matthew Kenny knows how to properly grow plants in any climate. Photo: One & Only Reethi Rai
This is a renowned chef who is considered an expert in organic, plant-based cuisine. He has already created his own unique menu for the hotel and prepared several master classes for guests. In addition, the chef will grow some of the produce on site. So tourists can try natural and local ingredients such as royal oyster mushrooms, zucchini or banana flowers.
This year at Aailaa JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa on Shawiyani Atoll, guests are offered a new original fusion menu.
This is an interesting combination of Arab-Maldive dishes and flavors, which were specially developed by 2 famous chefs – the youngest chef of the UAE Aisha Al Obeidli and resort chef Aminat Abdul Rashid.
THE MOST UNUSUAL ENTERTAINMENT
Tourists in the Maldives will be delighted this year with new entertainment that will be available at many resorts.
A walk at sunset is a great pastime in the Maldives. Photo by Visit Maldives
Like swimming with sharks. More precisely, with nurse sharks, which are considered very gentle, elegant and friendly creatures. Last year, many journalists and bloggers tried this novelty, which caused a stir among tourists this season.
The specialists of the Lily Beach Resort & Spa, located on the South Ari Atoll. By the way, the resort operates on an all-inclusive basis, so the Russians will have a very comfortable stay on it.
Another unique adventure with immersion in the history of the Maldives awaits guests of the Amilla Maldives Resort on Baa Atoll.
Trips to local villages are much more meaningful than other similar excursions, which consist mainly of visits to souvenir shops. Tourists, for example, will head to the neighboring community of Kendhu, home to an 800-year-old mosque built from coral stones.
Many folk crafts of the Maldives can only be seen during excursions. Photo: Visit Maldives
Also, by special agreement with the owner, a private museum is opened for them on another island with a large collection of household items. All this is accompanied by coconut milk drinks and tastings of local snacks made by the villagers themselves.
And, as in the past year, tourists in the Maldives will have access to various wreck diving, snorkeling, swimming with rays, day cruises on yachts and seaplane excursions. In this regard, the islands can provide a completely unique experience and provide the most vivid emotions.
MALDIVES CELEBRATE THE GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY YEAR OF TOURISM
Another highlight, the echoes of which tourists will definitely see this year, was celebrating the 50th anniversary of tourism in the Maldives.
It was tourism as an economic sector that brought prosperity and progress to the Maldives, and this page in the history of the country was opened in 1972, when the first resort hotel appeared here – Kurumba Maldives.
With nearly 200 resorts spread across 26 atolls, the Maldives has since become a favorite destination for those who want to enjoy every moment of their trip. And this is quite achievable with all the variety of choice of any accommodation options on the ocean in separate resort complexes, in hotels or on board marine yachts.
Olga Pegasova