Maldives, Republic of Maldives

At the beginning of October we flew to the stunning Maldives for a vacation.  The Republic of Maldives is an island nation in the Indian Ocean.  It consists of a double chain of 26 atolls.  Atolls are chains of islands made from coral reefs and they are absolutely beautiful.

We flew directly from Singapore to Malé, the capital of the Maldives and it was a relatively short four hour flight.  When we arrived in Malé we were met by a representative from the resort where we would be staying at.  Unfortunately we were informed that the resort's seaplane was not in operation that day, so we were booked on a domestic flight with Maldivian Air from Malé Airport to Thimarafushi Airport (close to our resort).  It was a 45 minute flight to Thimarafushi Airport and the flight gave us the most spectacular and breathtaking aerial views of some of the atolls.

Thimarafushi Airport
Thimarafushi airport turned out to be right in the middle of the ocean and one of the smallest airports we have ever been to.  When we arrived at Thimarafushi we were met by another representative from our resort and were escorted on a high-speed boat that took us directly to Maalifushi by COMO.

Maalifushi by COMO

There are so many resorts to choose from in the Maldives, but we decided to stay with the COMO Group.  This is the same group that David worked for in London (The Metropolitan Hotel) and we have stayed with them before in Ubud, Bali.  We both love the brand and had read rave reviews about Maalifushi.  The COMO Group has two resorts in the Maldives: Cocoa Island, which is closer to Malé and Maalifushi, which is 220 kms southwest of Malé.  Maalifushi opened about eight months ago and like most other resorts in the Maldives, occupies its own private island (part of the Thaa Atoll or locally known as Kolhumadulu Atoll).

When we arrived by boat at the Maalifushi jetty we were welcomed by some of the resort's staff (all the staff at Maalifushi were absolutely wonderful!) .  We were then whisked away by golf cart and given a quick tour of the resort's spa, restaurants and amenities.  Golf carts and bicycles are the only modes of transport on the island, but we mostly walked everywhere.  After our orientation of the island we were taken to our stunning overwater villa.

 

Our Overwater Villa
Our overwater villa was stunning and it made our stay at Maalifushi amazing.  Although Maalifushi has some villas, rooms and suites on the island, we wanted the overwater experience.  Our villa was stylish, yet understated (typical of COMO) and had everything we could ask for.  Our villa also had its own sun deck and infinity pool that overlooked the ocean, which we made use of a lot during our stay.  Both the bedroom and the living room had floor-to-ceiling windows, so we woke up each morning with the most gorgeous view of the ocean.  Our villa also had direct private access to the ocean and this was great.

Maalifushi's Organic Vegetable and Herb Garden

One of the reasons why we like the COMO brand, is because all their hotels offer healthy lifestyle options especially when it comes to food.  That said, we were not surprised to find that the resort has its own organic vegetable and herb garden.  We just love the garden to table approach and everything that was served was so fresh.  Needless to say, we enjoyed amazing food during our stay.   

Snorkelling and Kayaking

During our stay, we managed to fit in some kayaking and snorkelling.  Both activities were great fun. We also had access to complimentary fitness and yoga classes.

Dolphin Watching

One of the highlights of our trip was our dolphin watching excursion.  We did this on our last day in the Maldives and it was a wonderful way to end our vacation.  We set off in the late afternoon (this is when the dolphins feed) and traveled about forty minutes by boat from the resort.  We were fortunate that day because we got to see literally hundred of them in the wild.  What a truly humbling and amazing experience.  Of all the places we have been fortunate to see and of all the things we have been fortunate to do, this ranks in the top 5!  It was so wonderful to watch them swim and play, and many of them were swimming alongside the boat, as if in a race with us.  

This experience strongly reaffirmed why we are so opposed to aquariums/oceanariums, where dolphins (and whales etc.) are put in tanks and are expected to live.  These magnificent creatures need the vast ocean to live, swim, play and thrive!

Madi

Maalifushi has two resaurants, one of which is Madi.  We had most of our meals here and not only was the food outstanding, but the staff were amazing (can't say enough about them).  What we love about the COMO menus (and the Coco Shambala personal care products) is the company's commitment to healthy and holistic living.  The Madi menu has a special section that caters to those following the philosophy of eating living and raw foods, so it made eating healthy very easy while on vacation.  

Many of the greens used in the dishes came from the resort's own organic herb and vegetable garden, so everything was super fresh.  Some of the stand out items included the resort's special fresh ginger tea brew, the in-house yoghurt (we don't generally eat yoghurt at home, but this is the best yoghurt we have ever eaten); a raw nut and seed toast with avocado and greens, a raw coconut and almond porridge with papaya, a poached egg with seasonal greens and a green goddess sauce; and a different selection of Indian dishes each day, all of which were absolutely delicious (there is a lot of Indian influence, as India is so close by).

Tai Japanese Restaurant

The other restaurant at Maalifushi is Tai Japanese Restaurant.  We had an enjoyable dinner here (we love Japanese food) and even got to try some of the local fish.  It was all very delicious.  

Gorgeous Sky Views

During our time in the Maldives we got to see some magnificent sky views and also many stars at night (something we unfortunately never see living in a big city).