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Maldives: Floating on Cloud Nine

By: Shalini Kagal

It’s the stuff dreams are made of. The deep blue of the sea punctuated with green and white islands in the sun, each surrounded by a ring of crystal clear water of an unbelievable turquoise hue. Each island can be circumvented in a few minutes, so while you’re there, you feel you’re a Robinson Crusoe lost in some wonderful dream you don’t ever want to wake up from. That’s the magic the Maldives spins on you.

A cluster of 2000 islands in the Indian Ocean, only 200 islands are occupied – so we were told – 20 of them by locals and a staggering 180 by resorts. A trip there and you won’t wonder why. It’s the perfect holiday getaway, whether you’re on your honeymoon, just getting away for a long-deserved break or, like us, setting off on the annual summer holiday with friends. If you’re the kind that firmly believes that going ‘abroad’ must be a place where you can shop till you drop, this isn’t the place for you. This is strictly for the lotus-eater, the pleasure-seeker, the beach-bum who wants to do nothing more tiring than eat, float on a calm sea and sleep.

How do you get to Paradise? You can fly from Trivandrum like we did – it’s a one-hour flight – or you could fly from Bombay or Delhi via Colombo. Make sure you get a window seat so you can gasp at your first sight of the islands. You land on an island near the capital, Male. (Just remember, the Maldives is a Muslim country so make sure you don’t carry any liquor or pork products. This rule of course does not apply to what is served at the resorts.) From there, the resort takes over. We had booked with the Taj Coral Reef. Their staff led us to a speedboat that looked like something out of a James Bond movie and that’s exactly how we felt a few minutes later as we were skimming over the sea, the wind in our hair, passing an island here and there on our way. It took us 50 minutes to get to the resort. A wonderful welcome drink later (an exotic combination of passion fruit and mango), we were led to our rooms. Beach villas they called them. You walked out your door and your feet crunched on the white sand with the water lapping at your feet. We couldn’t wait so it was on with our swimsuits and into the water, which was so clear you could see your toes! And, believe it or not, there’s a host of fish to welcome you in all shapes, sizes and colors. (Another piece of advice – take a pair of light canvas shoes along as you could get your feet cut by the bits of coral lying around.)

As always, the Taj chefs outdid themselves with the buffet breakfasts, lunches and dinners. There was a gentle reminder that if we didn’t like the food we could ask for Indian fare. What was there not to like? And every meal ended with desserts fit for a king.

This feeling of being on Cloud Nine went on for the next six days. The kids always found plenty to do, the adults lazed in the sun, ate, drank and were merry. A one-day trip to Male was the only alteration in the routine. A city of cobble-stoned roads, fancy cars that drove carefully along the narrow streets never blowing their horns, friendly people and a fish market that was neat and tidy!

If you are a good swimmer, there’s a lot you can do at the resort. You can hire equipment and go snorkeling, hire canoes, go deep sea diving or wind surfing. Part of the package was a night fishing expedition. The coral around the island was interesting and we watched footage shot by the resort’s diving instructor that was equal to anything you would watch on the Discovery or National Geographic channels.

One interesting diversion every evening was the feeding of the stingray by the hotel staff. Without fail, these beautiful creatures would come an hour ahead of time to wait for their meal – black, gray, white, golden, speckled – gliding like angels in the shallow water, graceful as dancers.

The weather, like in all perfect holidays, was magical. A light drizzle now and then, but otherwise a perfectly blue sky to complement the wonderful color of the sea. As we sped back on the speedboat, our cheeks were wet with more than just the salty sea spray. It’s so hard to wave goodbye to something perfect. One could almost echo the sentiments of yore and say, ’If ever there was a Paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this.’

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New shuffle for veteran Angsana General Managers in Maldives and Laos

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

In the latest round of appointments, Angsana Resorts & Spa are pleased to welcome Hotel Manager Mr Richard Neo to Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel and General Manager Mr Philippe Cavory to the newly opened Angsana Resort & Spa Maldives Velavaru. In time for busy year-end festivities, the two pioneering managers have assumed their new postings effective 1 November 2006.
French Finesse
Mr Philippe Cavory heads to the Maldives fresh from his opening experience at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel in Laos, a boutique heritage hotel under the Colours of Angsana banner. Establishing the hotel’s operations and services since September 2004, Mr Cavory led the hotel to a blazing first year, winning red-hot accolades and awards for the property such as the prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Awards 2006 in Marketing – Hotel and Resort; and the coveted Condé Nast Traveler’s prestigious Hot List 2005.

Mr Cavory’s challenge is to guide the 79-villa Angsana Velavaru to new heights as the largest island resort in the Banyan Tree portfolio in the Maldives. Angsana Velavaru offers a cool combination of marine biodiversity with an upcoming Marine Laboratory, wedding facilities and acclaimed Angsana Spa treatments.

Singaporean Expertise
Mr Richard Neo replaces Mr Cavory at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel, bringing with him a wealth of expertise borne from driving Banyan Tree’s first resort foray in China in March 2005. Mr Neo established and pioneered operations at remote Banyan Tree Ringha, the unique ecological mountain resort that has won numerous accolades for its bold design in conserving heritage Tibetan farmhouses.

Mr Neo will be contributing his ideas and vision for moving forward at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel, the flagship Colours of Angsana property which is set to raise the bar for exotic travels in IndoChina as more travellers visit the UNESCO World Heritage destination of Luang Prabang.
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Luxury and beauty

Luxury and beauty

Tamara McLean

October 25, 2006
Page 1 of 2 | Single page
Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald.

There's something deliciously satisfying about walking around an island.
And one lined with white sand and surrounded by marble blue water in the middle of the exotic Maldives has even more appeal.

A stroll along the smooth shores will take just ten minutes and there's no rush - you're on holiday with nowhere to be, nothing to do.

That's life on Kani, a speck of self-contained luxury in a sea of privately-owned exclusive atolls in the Indian Ocean 650km southwest of Sri Lanka.

The Indian Ocean archipelago often attracts the highbrow set but tiny Kani is run by the French outfit Club Med, famed for its all inclusive, more affordable resort concept.

Recently given a $20 million post-tsunami facelift, the low-lying fish-shaped isle has been redesigned with romance in mind.

The standard rooms are just standard rooms but if you can afford the step up to a Balinese beach villa - with its jacuzzi and waterfront position - you won't be disappointed.

Better still, splash out and settle yourself into a lagoon suite balanced on stilts over water: a love nest for honeymooners.

The sweeping verandah views to the vast big blue and floating sundeck with your own private ocean access make the experience something special.

And while you're there, don't forget a laze in the chic deep bath as you look out to sea, your favourite song playing on the stereo.

You may hardly want to leave but there are other spots worth a visit, namely the Velhi dining hall for its sumptuous banquets.

Cuisine is an island highlight and everything from local seafood specialities to French and Sri Lankan-inspired fare is laid out three times daily.

And because your meals - like accommodation and air fares - are paid for up-front, indulgence can't be helped.

You'll also be able to help yourself to many of the drinks at the island's two bars, and both are relaxing spots to while away some time.

They're not free but the spa treatments can't be missed, most notably the dreamy Bali-inspired foot reflexology session with your choice of oils.

Other activities are possible for a price such as scuba diving:- to see turtles, manta rays and other deep-sea life - and shopping visits to the capital Male, 30 minutes away by speedboat.

But for the most, the pleasures are free.

The nightly entertainment provided by Club Med staff can be a bit much if you're not into singalongs and amateur theatre but there's plenty more to enjoy.

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Maui falls from top, no longer best isle

Maui falls from top, no longer best isle

By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer
Copyright © 2006 The Maui News.

NEW YORK – Maui fell off its perch as the Best Island in the World this week, finishing second to the Maldives, which are not one island but about 200 tiny islets a few hundred miles from Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean.

It’s fortunate that the tourists who read Conde Nast Traveler magazine like the Maldives, because aside from tourism, the only export is a local form of bagoong popular in India. It is also the lowest country in the world – the highest hill is less than 8 feet above sea level – and the government is alarmed that rising sea levels will erase it within a century.

“Unknown places, they’re poppin’,” said Terryl Vencl, executive director of the Maui Visitors Bureau, who was in New York to receive Maui’s award as Best Pacific Island for the 16th straight year. Maui didn’t fall very far – only to second among the world’s best islands, with a score of 90.3, compared with Maldives’ 91.5.

That total score also made Maldives the highest-rated destination in the world in the magazine’s Readers Choice poll. It’s a prize Maui has been accustomed to having. “I yearn to make sure we get it back,” said Vencl.

At the same time, Maldives is not nearly as much competition for Maui as lower-rated but bigger and closer resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean – or even Kauai, which was ranked the second best Pacific island.

The complete list of winners will not be revealed until Conde Nast Traveler’s November issue is on newsstands Tuesday, but Four Seasons Resort Lana’i, The Lodge at Koele was picked by 21,000 readers as the top resort in the Pacific Rim. Don’t rush over yet; the lodge is closed for renovations.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by the savvy readers of Conde Nast Traveler,” said Mark Hellrung, general manager of the resort.

“This is a great way to launch The Lodge (as a Four Seasons resort), and we look forward to celebrating this with our guests in the beautiful upcountry of Lanai.”

The Maldives was not really on Vencl’s radar screen, although she never expected that Maui would lose its top ranking.

Maui has been a Conde Nast favorite since the reader poll began 19 years ago, and when the Best Island in the World category was opened, Maui won 12 years in a row.

Maui also won the more recent Travel?? magazine poll honor for the first eight years before dropping to third best in the world the past three years. “Many destinations are thrilled just to make the list, and we topped it for 12 consecutive years,” said Vencl. “That’s an incredible run.”

In the editors’ comments read at the awards ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History, Vencl said Maldives was singled out as the best among an increasingly popular list of “unknown places,” or as Conde Nast Traveler put it, its lists show an even greater global variety and depth than ever before.

The Maldives receive about half a million tourists a year. The great leap forward by the Maldives, which were mostly underwater in the great tsunami of 2004, just shows how stiff the competition can be, Vencl said. “Being number two is not chump change. We’re still happy to be right up there,” she said.

Maui remains the only contender to finish at the top of its category 19 years in a row. Other Conde Nast Traveler favorites such as Singapore Airlines (top international route airline) and San Francisco (top U.S. city) have won 18 times.

The Lodge at Koele will reopen Nov. 15 after the first phase of a $50 million renovation to go with the rebranding.

Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.

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Hotels On Every Island

Hotels On Every Island

By Phillip Wellman
©2006 MinivanNews

October 14, 2006

The Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has announced plans to build hotels on most of the country’s inhabited islands.

In a statement made on Saturday the company’s managing director, Mohmed Solih, said that building hotels and guesthouses throughout the Maldives would improve the economies of the atolls.

Although current government regulations prohibit publicly owned companies from establishing tourist resorts on populated islands, there is no similar stipulation for the construction of hotels.

“There are many who visit the atolls for many different reasons,” said Solih,” and there are no means for these visitors to stay.”

This latest announcement follows a recent decision by the MTDC to sell 800,000 of its shares as part of a joint venture following Ramazan.

In July, shares in the company went up for sale for the first time and already a million have been sold, which has earned MTDC Rf 100m.

But the MTDC’s legality has been under constant question, which has resulted in a shareholder suing the company earlier this week.

Nazeeha Ahmed filed the action under article 73 of the Companies Act, which states that: “a member of a company may apply for a court order… if there is a prejudice to the harmony of the members or if the affairs of the company are managed in a manner detrimental to the rights of a member.”

According to Nazeeha, potential buyers in MTDC stock were assured that the company’s board of directors would consist of four government executives and five from the public.

Currently, all of the board’s seven directors have been government-appointed.

Evidence of the board’s dishonesty was revealed when Crown Group- a company owned by MTDC chairman, Hussein Afif, was given developing contracts without any prior announcement for bids.

“The chairman and the managing director are acting like they own the entire company,” Nazeeha said in her statement to the court.

In addition to receiving disapproval from shareholders, this “temporary board”, which has already been in existence for several months, has also been condemned by the Ministry of Trade.

Its Registrar of Companies Director, Idham Muiz Adnan, said that the development of resorts by the MTDC is being solely handled by a handful of economic advisors, which will almost certainly cause huge implications in the future.

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