the times Saturday December 4 202148 Travel
T
he family beside me watches
in silence. Eyes cast heaven-
wards, the American
woman goggles at the spec-
tacle happening above. She
is sitting cross-legged on
white sand, her husband
and two sons at her side, and their wide,
magnified eyes reveal their excite-
ment. The release of every gasp
sends up a stream of bubbles.
Above us, and 18 metres below the
surface of the Indian Ocean, two
giant manta rays swoop, dive
and play around a coral reef.
Back at the dive centre on
Bolifushi Island in the Maldives,
before we set out, one of the two
children had asked, “Are manta
rays the ones that fly?” His grand-
father — who had decided not to join
our group and instead had taken a yoga
class with his wife — had answered with
eye-rolling sarcasm. Now, though, as
we sit on the sea bed for a solid
45 minutes, transfixed by the barrel rolls,
loops and aquabatics of these incredibleSwimming with
manta rays is pure
Maldives magic
This plush new resort manages to be family-friendly as
well as seriously spoiling for adults, says James Draven
creatures beating wing-like pectoral fins
as they soar through the seas, I can’t
help but think that flying is exactly what
they do.
Visitors to Bolifushi do not need to fly,
however. While many of the Maldives’
furthest-flung atolls are best reached by
seaplane — a thrilling, albeit bumpy,
way of arriving at one of the 130-plus
island resorts — the Ozen Reserve
Bolifushi is in the South Malé At-
oll. It’s just a 30-minute speed-
boat ride from Malé, the coun-
try’s capital, its most populous
city and transport hub.
From the airport I am whisked
to the harbour just outside and
picked up in a luxurious motor
yacht that’s large enough to seat
20 in the cabin. As we pull away
from the dock I realise I have the whole
thing to myself. I can’t resist taking a few
selfies as I’m served drinks in
my white leather seat and I log on to
the onboard wi-fi to share them with
friends. I feel like Kanye West — and that’s
precisely the point.Opened in December 2020 but accessi-
ble to British tourists only since the end of
September this year — when the Maldives
was removed from the UK’s red list —
Bolifushi is the second Ozen, the high-end,
all-inclusive brand owned byAtmosphere
Hotels & Resorts. It is seriously luxurious.
On arrival I’m greeted by staff in
blinding-white garb on the jetty and am
handed a freshly opened coconut, carved
into which is the name of the resort. This
land is honeymooners’ catnip: a series of
islands fringed by white sand and
turquoise seas, circled by coral reefs
teeming with Pixar-perfect tropical fish.
Facilities stretch to a handful of drinkingLuxury travel
and dining options; a place to rent
snorkels; a spa equipped with side-by-side
massage tables; and overwater cabins
with king-size beds. It’s everything you
need for a romantic escape, and not much
more.
The Ozen Reserve Bolifushi already
seems that extra bit slick: before I’ve even
stepped off the wooden dock onto the
coral sand, I’ve been relieved of my hand
luggage and given my own personal butler.
In reality, I share him with a number of
other guests, and — rather incongruously
for the barefoot luxury we’ve come to
expect from the Maldives — we commun-
icate via WhatsApp. It’s a thoroughlyMaléBolifushi IslandOzen ReserveGulhi FalhuVillingili
ThilafushiMALDIVESINDIAN
OCEAN1 mileVelana airport