The Maldives are wonderful, welcoming and warm. And they’re still there. Sarah Tucker revels in a return trip...
The glorious atoll of islands known and loved as the Maldives kicks every travel writing cliché into touch. Talcum powder sand; azure, bath-warm waters; arguably the best diving and snorkelling experience in the world – extra kudos, apparently, if you take your PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) course here – and virtually empty beaches with strategically placed hammocks and swings, where every angle is an Instagram hit.
And that’s just the start of it. At the resorts, beach villas on stilts boast open-air bathrooms to facilitate the rare art of showering beneath the stars, with occasional warm rainfall to add to the sensual experience of washing behind the ears. From the mahogany double beds, the ocean views are a wow. Keep the glass doors open and let the Indian Ocean lull you to sleep, the stilted elevation preserving you from the mosquito curse. Then awaken to a world of shark feeding, dolphin watching and sea bobbing – all with scarcely another living soul in sight – before a chakra-coloured sunset brings on another sultry night.
Eleven hours from Heathrow, courtesy of a twice-a-week flight with BA into the capital of Malé, the Republic of Maldives is one of those destinations that I am frequently implored by press release to visit before it gracefully disappears from view. Destined, it seems, to buckle beneath the weight of plastic and David Attenborough’s stern disapproval – use of water bottles from minibars is profligate in the extreme – this vulnerable archipelago is the lowest country in the world, a sitting target for rising sea levels as the Antarctic ice sheet melts. Time, I thought, to see for myself how paradise is bearing up.
And here’s the good news: not only is it still there, but it’s even more wonderful than I had remembered it. On my last visit, a decade ago, my luxury resort was only accessible by a 20-seater seaplane that stopped at three other islands before mine. By the time we arrived, two hours after leaving Malé, I was totally shattered and already dreading the trip back.
This time it was different: the journey to the Sheraton resort – now part of the Marriott group – is a mere 15 minutes by zippy, sexy speedboat. On arrival, I was greeted without fuss or forms and shown to my beach villa with alacrity. A few minutes later I was taking the obligatory first walk along the beach, sand between the toes.
Recently renovated, this five-star island resort with over 170 guest rooms is one of the oldest in the Maldives. Boasting seven restaurants, three freshwater pools, bars and a spa, it targets both families and honeymooners – although the twain rarely meet, as the mooners tend to hit the restaurants just as the little rays of sunshine retreat into the dark. It also sells itself as being ideal for single travellers, while the variety of water sports makes it an obvious choice for those who like their holidays below sea level. A calm and charming instructor called Mango is available to put even the most inadept of snorkellers at ease.
One delightful policy here involves national quotas: balancing the numbers of guests from different countries. For every Brit, a German; for every Spaniard, an American or a Japanese. Even at the most crowded times, such as breakfast, the atmosphere in the resort is good-natured, with never the need for a queue. As for noise, the volume never rises above a hum. Not even with children about.
Fine cuisine? Well, start with the Thai restaurant where both the chefs and the ingredients originate in Thailand itself. Try a cookery course and learn how to use local spices, or relax in the tea room serving made-that-day macaroons with a variety of teas concocted from local flowers and herbs. The quality and variety of the food here – especially of the Maldivian cuisine and fresh fish – is phenomenal.
As are the options for where and how to eat. One can have breakfast, lunch or a sunset supper on the beach, or staff will take your table into the ocean itself, enabling you to dine on fresh lobster and tuna while Nemo's nibble at your toes. I found it an intriguing experience if a little awkward to be eating fishes while their mates swam around my calves. And then there’s the Robinson Crusoe option: being driven by speedboat and stranded on a sandbank of one’s own, complete with loungers, umbrellas, snorkel, amuse-bouches and champagne.
The resort also has a fine spa with a heavenly relaxation area: a large room with glass ceilings and walls in the middle of a tropical garden. Somewhat disconcertingly, it reminded me of the place in Soylent Green, that dystopian film of the 1970s, where people are left before they die. But don’t let that put you off.
Extensive gym and yoga sessions are available for free, as well as parasailing, kayak racing and – for those wishing to tap into their inner Tarzan – the ascent of coconut trees.
Of my three visits to the Maldives, this was the most pleasurable. Having ventured out in trepidatious pursuit of disappearing delights, I returned home with overpowering memories full of sunlight and shade, fragrant orchids and frangipani, fluttering fruit bats, gorgeous geckos and scuttling little birds with long legs. A world of wonder.
As for the resort, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime destination: the price, as with any resort in the Maldives, makes it so. If you do stay, choose a full board. Otherwise, you will be tempted to overload at the breakfast buffet and never leave your villa. (If you are on honeymoon, of course, that may actually be the plan.)
Is the Maldives vanishing? If so, it is clearly intent upon a vibrant farewell. There are now over 105 resorts, with many of the owners funding government initiatives to protect the turtles and coral reefs (including Sheraton in 2019).
Good thing too. For the reefs are all that stand between storm surge devastation and these Edenic islands in the sun.
Further info: sheraton.marriott.com