PARADISE ON EARTH

The Maldives is a nation of islands in the Indian Ocean, that spans across the equator. The country is comprised of 1192 islands. Only 200 of the islands are inhabited, and a select few on each of the atolls are resorts and some of the islands are used for industry and agriculture. The beauty of the Maldives is not only above the water. The Maldives is home to about five percent of the planet’s reefs that comes with an explosion of colour contributed by soft and hard corals that form them. The reefs are home to a thousand species of fish. Lured by the nutrients in the water there are a huge number of fish, manta rays and whale sharks also in these waters. This makes the Maldives one of the premier place for scuba divers to feast their eyes on the beautiful sea life and corals. 

I refer to the Maldives as Paradise on Earth and for me this is what I imagine paradise to be. Imagine, you are on a small island in the middle of the sea surrounded by crystal clear blue water. The hotels are luxurious to the hilt and nothing is too much for anyone.This has become one of our favourite holiday destinations as it is the perfect place to just relax and unwind. If you enjoy partying late into the night and visiting nightclubs and want exciting night life then this is not the place for you!! Here everything starts early and we usually go to bed by 10 pm. This is our sixth visit to the Maldives and we stay in different resorts every time. We have stayed in

The One & Only Reethi Rah

Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru

The W

The Conrad Rangali Island

The Ozen Bolifushi

And this time we stayed in The Baglioni.

We usually fly from Kolkata to Bangalore and then get a connecting flight to Male. However this time we decided to go a day earlier to Bangalore and spent the night in the Taj hotel which is opposite the airport so very convenient. The next day we flew to Male. After that it depends on how far your resort is from Male…in some cases the hotel sends a speedboat for your transfer but if the resort is far you have to go by sea plane. This of course is much more exciting but it does get rather tiring as invariably you have to wait a couple of hours for the sea plane but in the end I would say it is worth it. The view from the skies is magnificent and you see all the islands and atolls from the plane and they are beautiful. 

Our days are pretty fixed on these trips. I normally get up early and go for a morning walk either on the beach or the paths and I explore the whole island. You never know what you are going to see as some areas are beautifully manicured whereas others are left in their natural condition. The islands usually have mangroves in the centre and the villas are all made on the outer circle of these trees on the beaches. You have a choice of villas….either an over water villa where the villa is literally built on stilts over the water  or then beach villas where the villa leads out to the beach. We prefer staying in these beach villas as Vinay is always a bit scared that a shark might just jump out of the water…he has obviously seen the film “Jaws” too much. In fact,last night there was a torrential rain storm and we were speaking to a couple who were staying in the water villa and they said it was literally shaking and some guests even went running to the reception as they thought there was a tsunami coming!!!

Then we go for breakfast after which we normally sit in a shaded area by the main swimming pool. We go armed with our books and various games such as scrabble and cards. We are extremely content to just relax and I normally go for a swim a couple of times to work off the breakfast and prepare for cocktail hour….which of course extends to the rest of the day!!!! Then after lunch Vinay sleeps and I go and sit on the beach and maybe go snorkelling. 

There are usually 2-3 restaurants in each resort and the staff are extremely helpful and go out of their way to make whatever you ask for. Nothing is too much and the personal service is above and beyond your expectations. You always meet a wide range of tourists… this time we have met a Russian gentleman called Sasha who is here with his wife and daughter and it is the daughter who acts as the translator as Sasha can not speak any English! Another couple we met are from Mexico but live in California. Everyone are really friendly and interesting. 

As far as this resort is concerned it is only a small island but the staff are super friendly. The villa we had was nice but a little smaller than some of the other resorts and the only thing I didn’t like was that the bathrooms are apparently Maldivian style so are half open to the winds….. they are perfectly enclosed so it’s not as though anyone can peep in but half of the bathroom is open to the skies so when it rains certain areas get wet and when it is windy leaves and this morning a piece of a palm tree flew in!!! The biggest problem is that there is no air conditioning so it is extremely hot to dress and put your makeup on.. it may look good but not very practical..

There are 3 restaurants as well as Taste which is the coffee shop and they have a buffet service for all three meals. The good thing during our stay was that at dinner time they had the starters and desserts laid out but the main course was a la carte so it was nice. One day we asked for Indian food so they made up a full thali for us which was lovely. There is one Italian restaurant Gusto, a Japanese restaurant Umami and a grill called Fuego. Unfortunately due to the bad weather Fuego was closed during our whole trip so we never got to go there. The food was nice but it just lacked that little zing which makes it fantastic. 

I would say that about fifty percent of the staff are from India and twenty percent from Bangladesh so they were all extremely friendly and loved chatting about home. We found one waiter who told us that  he had trained in our Maurya Palace Hotel in Jaipur….what a small world!!!

The best time to visit the Maldives is during the dry season (December to April), you can expect low rainfall, low humidity and lots of sunshine. The wet season – known as the “South West Monsoon” – runs from May to November, and this is considered the worst time to visit the Maldives. Unfortunately we visited during this time and it rained pretty much all the time with terrible cyclone like conditions one day. We have come in the Pujas earlier and although it rained it would do so for about one hour and then it would clear up. The people in the hotel were also surprised by these conditions and I think that the weather patterns are changing globally so there is nothing anyone can do. However regardless of the weather we had a lovely time, we relaxed, we were pampered brilliantly and had delicious food so what more could anyone ask for?

I look forward to exploring another property in the near future and we leave The Baglioni with lovely memories of the warmth and friendliness extended to us!!