We are a newly married Indian couple, residing in Kuwait. Foreseeing the Eid Holidays in July, we started searching for an optimum location to spend leisure time for Three Days. And we finally ended up in deciding Maldives. The Maldives in the Indian Ocean is an exotic hideaway with palm lined sandy beaches and turquoise waters that many people believe is a “paradise on earth”. It is the smallest Asian country in both land area and population.
Once Maldives was decided as the location, we started gathering more information about the country. The Maldives are made up of over 1200 tiny islands with roughly 30,000 square miles, among which around 200 islands are inhabited. Most of the islands are uninhabited, but many contain exclusively only one resort on each of its islands. We understood that they have developed the country to cater to the high-end resort tourism market and tourism is the main source of income for the people who live here.
Based on the availability and splendid reviews, we chose Olhuveli Beach & Spa resort to spend our holidays. It is Located on the tip of South Male’ Atoll, 34km from Male’ International Airport. The resort is famed for its beautiful beaches and abundant sandbanks.
It was very interesting when we gathered information about Male International Airport. The airport covered an entire Island. Our curiosities started digging us before we could start. We booked Flydubai, and my wife enjoyed watching Tinker Bell movie throughout the flight. We reached Maldives at 10 am and the immigration was so simple. Once we were out of the airport, we found the resort guy with our name board. He informed us that we will be taken to the resort at 12 pm. And we got 2 hours time to roam around the airport, take photographs and try thai cuisines. The climate was just perfect.
We started enjoying the creek adjacent to the airport, and took selfies and photographs. The resort guy collected all the other nationalities who reached Male International Airport through other Air bus services. We were a bunch of around 20 people. Our ferry started at 12 o clock and we were informed that we will reach the resort in a 45 minute drive. We astonishingly were enjoying the scenic beauty of the sea.
And in half an hour we started identifying traces that we were almost close to our resort. Boozed in amaze I started clicking pictures of the shores found on the way. The speed boat ride from the airport to the resort was absolutely fascinating.
Day 1
We reached the resort and we were helped to reach the shore from the ferry by the resort employees. Most of them were Maldivians and they spoke perfect English and hence we did not find any language problem. Extremely amazed by the way in which the resort looked, we started our clicks. My wife started jumping in Joy.
The receptionists got the Travellers detailed information filled in from us and they started explaining the special features of the Island and about the type of accommodation they provided.
We already pre-booked Deluxe Water villas. We were very excited. The whole island was filled with different amenities. The receptionist then brought a Golf Cart to pick our luggage and take us to our suite. Wow, the place was extremely beautiful and maintained clean. We reached our villa. Elegantly decorated with wood furnishings, the spacious air-conditioned rooms and villas come with a flat-screen TV and a minibar. The Beautiful furnished Villas came with an extended deck overlooking the Great Indian Ocean with chaise lounges for private sunbathing, and a swim-up platform, which provides direct access to the lagoon via private stairs. We have never been to such a place in our lifetime
Lavish furnishing within the villa provided cool contentment while a Jacuzzi on the spacious, private sundeck was a unique feature. The luxury bathroom, feature double vanity, rain shower and free standing bathtub offered uninhibited views of the lagoon beyond. We were requested to come to the Restaurant for lunch or order food via room service. We opted for the latter as we were very tired and enjoyed a hefty lunch.
In the evening we started to roam the resort and found many of the island’s professional chefs. European, Asian and Japanese exotic buffets were available. Appetizing snacks were available throughout the day. Candle light dinners or full moon barbeques on the beach were the highlight. We had an awesome candle light dinner. The private dining experience at the sea shore was simply fantabulous.
Many structures on the island had traditional palm-thatched roofs, which added to the resort’s scenic atmosphere. The resort was fully illuminated during the night time. Live music shows filled up the nights as well. There was a restaurent called Lagoon Bar which offered live music and entertainment. We attended a “white party,” complete with a fog machine, DJ, and laser light show.
We returned to our villa at night and observed the shallow lagoon which was crystal clear that we were able to observe the sea animals clearly from our villa. The ambience was soo cool.
Day 2:
The climate added charisma to the island. It was Drizzling in the early morning next day which added more to the Island’s beauty. We started the day by enjoying a shower in the drizzle. Our exploration on the amenities on the island continued. The Sunset restaurant in the island was a treat with the beautiful sunset with classes and custom breakfast spreads in a beautiful restaurant.
The resort had an indoor sports room which had Billiards, Table tennis, snooker and some board games. We tried each game and had fun. There were two beach front infinity swimming pools, which attracted lot of western inmates where we spent some time.
They also had provisions to celebrate special moments such as birthdays, weddings at the resort. Romantic customized candle light dinner sets will be arranged by the resort guys. Wow, we were amazed by the way the resort wanted to make special moments for the tuorists. We witnessed the special moment of a newly wed Phillipinian couple who had their photoshoot going on.
We also found a children facility which kept the children entertained for the day as adults break a sweat at the gym, or go for souvenir and jewellary shopping at the resort’s boutiques.
The beaches in the resort needs a special mention. The resort was surrounded by beautiful white-sand beaches and a shallow turquoise lagoon. Cushioned loungers and palapa umbrellas were available. There was a beach bar available for drinks on the southern end of the island.In the evening we spent our time with a dip in the clear Indian ocean lagoon and had our times worth spending. The water temperature was just perfect.
One of the main highlights of a stay at olhuveli is the outstanding cuisine which is based on local freshly caught sea food.They had the Sunset restaurent, Lagoon Restaurent, Four Spices, The Dhoni Bar which served variety of traditional food.
The attendants were so kind enough to enquire us about where were we from. They were were very interested in knowing more about South Indian Dishes and they prepared customised dinner for us adding South Indian Flavours. The resort offered more dining options. That was an amazing experience.
Olhuveli had an Ayurvedic spa with eight open-air treatment rooms. Their treatments are inspired by Ayurvedic Indian therapies.The resort had several other amenities like Kitesurfing school, sports courts, diving, and water sports rentals, karaoke room, crab racing, Dolphin safaris, snorkeling and fishing trips, submarine dives. We felt like even a week’s time would not be sufficient enough to enjoy all the amenities of the island.
Return:
The place was truly breath-taking. It turned out to be the best experience we've ever had until now. The courteous and friendly attendants made us feel pleasant and relaxed. The place was ideal for those seeking an active family holiday or wanting a quiet break in romantic surroundings
We had a splendid time enjoying ourselves in the resort that we felt hardship when we started preparing to leave. A wake up alarm service was provided and a resort guy came to our villa in the early morning with the Golf Cart to take our Luggage. We were provided with a contemporary breakfast in the early morning. And then we were taken to the ferry and we were the only passengers in the ferry. Almost 10-15 people in the resort worked for us in the early morning to take us safely to the airport.
They were thorough professionals in the business. And yes we returned back to Kuwait with lot of memories. Thank you Maldives.