It’s around Christmas people start thinking of their big holiday for the year ahead, particularly as the winter cold sets in we look to distant paradises, for lapping shorelines and balmy beaches. With that in mind, over the coming winter months, we’re going to the definitive island paradise, the Maldives, and showcasing three of the finest resorts among those on offer. First up, to whet your appetite, Gabrielle goes to Rangali Island and the Conrad…
A few days being enveloped in the brightest, most happy inducing blues, results in the bluest of moods back home, when surrounded by grey… It was a mistake going to the Maldives the first time, back in 2005, and then again in 2010, but this last time, shacked up in a Retreat Water Villa at the 5-star Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, the crème de la crème of Maldivian resorts, has left me bereft.
I’ve Googled ‘Maldives holidays, winter 2013’ and scoured the selections twice since I returned, and it hasn’t been a week yet. My heart has ached looking at the snaps I took, as if taking in the face of a love lost. I am utterly under its spell. The destination of choice for the uber rich or honeymooners (Paul McCartney, included) is wasted on both. Blow the CC, I say; get the kids to save for their own university funds; cancel Christmas. Just go, because you only live once. And because, as experts continue to warn us, the land of atolls won’t be around forever, due to rising sea levels. With 99% of the country made up of Indian Ocean and only two metres above sea level at its highest point, it’s vulnerable to say the least.
Eco-enthusiasts would say I’m sticking the stake in by visiting, contributing to the pollution the Maldivians dedicate a whole island to dealing with, and exacerbating the climate change issue by flying the 5,000-odd miles there, but without tourism, its largest money-maker, you’re left with a group of islands reliant on wealth from the fishing industry. Plus, it’s the most beautiful place I’ve seen, and I’m just too selfish to leave it alone.
The island time – 1 hour ahead of Male time, conjured up purely to give more hours in the day – makes the experience all the more surreal. Like heading down the rabbit hole, where the beauty is so over the top, it seems criminal to shut it out with sunglasses; squinting at the stark white sand and sea so bright it makes your eyes water under the strain. Don’t put that in the brochure, do they!
Resort-phobes, those who would scoff at the idea of staying in the same place, ‘for a whole week!!’, would be hard pushed to get stir crazy here. There are smaller islands among the atoll collective where there isn’t much more to do than read and sift the floury sand though the fingers, smirking to oneself about those poor souls stuck in the office back home; but the five-star Conrad Rangali, spread over two islands (Rangali and Rangalifinolhu), is big enough to justify calling one of the complimentary golf buggies to pick you up for dinner; yet still small enough to walk the distance yourself and experience that lovely boutique Maldives feel: the restorative quietness and feeling there are only about 20 of you on the islands, when in fact it’s at full 300-adult capacity. There’s actually too much to pack into a week. Sod it; sell the car and book two. Forget getting bored of the same buffet offerings every night, there are seven restaurants and four bars to try from, including the Cheese & Wine Bar serving up 101 worldly cheeses, collated by its own Maître de Fromage, and 1,300 bins poured from specially-commissioned Riedel decanters; the world’s first all-glass underwater restaurant (Ithaa), where reef sharks and schools of fish swim past as you soak up faultless contemporary European cuisine; to the open air Koko Grill, where eight courses of sashimi, steak and soft, tempura prawns are prepped before you.
And as for activities: snorkelling alongside a six metre whale shark, in the deepest depths of the ocean (an awesome experience!); wake boarding the azure sea behind a plush speedboat; paddle boarding on the glass flat waters, kayaking around the resort vicinity in the blistering heat; floating effortlessly on the saltier than average waves; exploring the expansive house reef; stretching the resultant aching limbs with sunrise yoga… this is just some of the fun I signed up for, now melding into a dreamlike memory. You’ll be pleased to hear it rained a bit during the trip; one night, so hard we sat soaked while enjoying freshly grilled Indian Ocean lobster and champagne, determined not to give in and take shelter as everyone bar our table did. We’re British, we can handle a bit of rain, we told ourselves, napkins on heads, hand over flute, laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. 5 minutes past and it was gone; 10 minutes and we were completely dry and quaffing more of the fizzy stuff, speaking enthusiastically about the freshly barbequed wagyu beef, as a second platter of lobster was laid before us. That night, en-route back to the villas, the odd fruit bat flew overhead, a smattering of constellations twinkled brightly, and glowing from the water’s edge, neon blue bioluminescence lit up our footsteps along the way. It really couldn’t get more perfect.
The attention to detail at the accolade-scooping Conrad is exemplary, how all resorts which pertain to be ‘luxury’ or ‘top’ should be. My gluten free friend had specially baked bread rolls on display for her at breakfast, my other’s preference for sparkling water with a slice of lime was remembered at every dinner seating. There wasn’t a crumble of deterioration in sight; speck of dust on the villa’s wooden floors; fallen leaf on the freshly raked pathways… And the rooms are proper luxury. The King Spa Water Villa I reluctantly tore myself away from at the end of the stay, one of 21 Retreat Water Villas, boasted far more space than I needed (150 sq. metres in all), a flat screen with all the channels you want when you’re away, which remained untouched, a sea view bath so big it’d take a good hour to fill, and a heated whirlpool on an ocean-side sundeck, perfectly positioned to take in the daily awesome sunsets, with steps leading into the sea for impromptu bathing. With free Wi-Fi throughout the resort, let’s just say I did a little more FaceTime-boasting than was polite… At the end of the strip lies the spa where treatments are based on the five elements: earth, air, fire, water and plant, and the adjacent Mandhoo Restaurant serves up a menu matching this philosophy.
There’s an unspoken ‘barefoot’ policy from the moment you step off the seaplane to back on again at the end, so no need to pack those heels or brogues. It feels a bit weird when you’re all dressed up for dinner then leave the villa barefoot, like you’ve finally lost it, and there’s that back of mind thought that you could stub your toe at any moment, but it’s so much nicer. Wearing them again at the end of the holiday, felt uncomfortable; alien almost, as did returning to busy roads and pavements and, the inevitable: the office…
