the times Saturday April 9 2022
Travel 51
IBRAHIM MISTHAHShilpa Ganatra was a
guest of the Standard,
Huruvalhi (standard
hotels.com), Siyam World
(sunsiyam.com) and
Finolhu (finolhu.com).
Seven nights’ B&B at
the Standard from
£2,281pp, including flights
and transfers (travel
republic.co.uk). Seven
nights’ all-inclusive
at Siyam World from
£2,437pp, including
flights and transfers
(bestattravel.co.uk)Need to
know
straight from a Slim Aarons print. On a
speedboat, returning from enjoying the
company of a pod of spirited dolphins
under an apricot sky, I meet Yasmeen,
who’s here from San Diego with her boy-
friend, Isaias. “I was worried that there
wouldn’t be enough to do in the Maldives
because Isaias is go, go, go all day,” she says.
“But we booked loads of activities with the
Standard in advance.”
“We went on a turtle expedition yester-
day,” Isaias says. “We love the trendy
aesthetic here too. It’s the sort of place we
could have come to with our friends.”
Conviviality is the name of the game at
Siyam World, a Maldivian-owned resort in
the Noonu Atoll, a 45-minute seaplane
hop north of Malé’s airport. Opened in
October, it’s one of the country’s largest
resorts, with 468 private-pool villas,
although given the peaceful atmosphere
and vast stretches thick with screw pine,
you’d never guess there were that many.
At Jungali, a swim-up bar and restaurant
where I enjoyed crisp Louis Dumont
champagne and a veggie burger (it is all-
inclusive, after all), I get chatting to the
sisters Janette and Maeve. They are here
from Glasgow on a birthday break, and
appreciate the social feel.
“I imagined the Maldives to be really
lovey-dovey, which would have left us
feeling a bit awkward here,” Janette says.
“But it’s turned out not to be that way.
Everyone’s super-friendly.”
As if to prove that point, I leave Jungali
and saunter to the main beach to see the
celebrations the resort has laid on for Holi,
the Hindu festival of colours. Apart from
the DJ playing Bollywood favourites
and the open bar in one corner, the party
reminds me of the time I gatecrashed cele-
brations in a Delhi neighbourhood —
there’s the same silliness of chasing people
around with powered paint, the mild flirt-
ing, the unwritten rule to be respectful
within the chaos of colour. I don’t last long
in the shadows. Five minutes in, a purple-
splattered fellow is pouring something
red and alcoholic into my mouth, and in
another five minutes I’m up the front
dancing with my new friends as the water
sprinklers run the paint through my
beach dress.
The economics of scale mean Siyam
World offers umpteen choices for an ener-
getic holiday. We’re talking tennis courts,
bootcamp sessions, a football pitch and
“the only horse ranch in the Maldives”,
with horses and their trainer from India.
Meanwhile, at the well-equipped water
sports centre, the newest toys are e-surf-
boards — perfect for zipping along the
calm waters of the Indian Ocean.
“And it’s only phase one,” the general
manager Thamheed tells me over drinks
at the Cube, a glassy chef’s table restau-
rant. The next day, special guest Claude
Bosi, of the two-Michelin-starred Biben-
dum in London, is behind the stove. “We’realso planning the Maldives’ only go-kart
track, a zip line and five more restaurants
in the next 18 months,” Thamheed says.
There are inevitable early kinks, includ-
ing a wait of up to ten minutes for the
golf cart/bus that saves tired feet walking
around the large island, but he tells me
they are being addressed.
I suspect the family-friendly evening
entertainment of dancers, acrobats and
live music is here to stay, and, for my tastes,
the Rihanna and Ed Sheeran covers feel a
little cheesy. At least one can swipe a glass
of something delicious from the bar and
head back to the villa for a private soirée.
For groups of friends, the large residen-
ces in Siyam World’s exclusive beach
house collection are as dreamy as the
island. The three-bedroom house, for
instance, features a large living space and
balcony overlooking the ocean. Outside,
you can lounge by a large swimming pool
on an oversized bean bag or a swing. Any
good party revolves around the kitchen,
and although the resort is all-inclusive this
house has that covered too.
And this isn’t the last of the party resorts.
Later this year the youthful boutique
brand Zazz will throw open the beachfront
doors of its Maldivian resort. The word is it
will be squarely aimed at younger adults,
promising a lively feel, with beer pong
contests, wakeboarding and an in-villa
DJ booth. In the Maldives it feels as
though the party has just begun.more buzzing
Indian Ocean
holidays
Finolhu Maldives
Finolhu is the original lively-but-
luxury Maldives resort — Cara
Delevingne and Rita Ora are among
those who have visited. It reinvented
itself as a chill-out resort in
November 2020, with a new design
that mixes an urban aesthetic with
natural materials. Still appealing to
a younger audience, the resort puts
on white parties and DJ sets along
its sandbanks. The two-bedroom
Rockstar Villas sleep up to six adults
and are furnished with groups of
friends in mind: the spacious, plush
and colour-tinged residences
have a bar, infinity pool and Marshall
sound system.
Details Seven nights’ all inclusive
from £3,331pp, including flights and
transfers (britishairways.com)Constance Ephelia
Seychelles
The largest resort on the Seychelles
archipelago is Constance Ephelia,
with 313 rooms sprawled across the
300-acre site. While the allure of
the Indian Ocean will keep
sunseekers happy on the beaches, the
hotel is busy with activities for the
more energetic. Activities include
tennis and squash, and non-motorised
water sports such as kayaking and
windsurfing are available to all.
There are yoga sessions, zip wires,
fishing and diving excursions.
Rooms feature bathrooms with smart
glass that turns opaque, and villas
overlook private pools amid lush
gardens.
Details Seven nights’ half-board
from £1,937pp, including flights and
transfers (tui.co.uk)Shangri-La Le
Touessrok Mauritius
At the tip of the Ilot Mangénie
peninsula, this east-meets-west
beachside hideaway, below, has all the
trappings of a Mauritian luxury
resort with a flair for the more social
side of holidaying. The focal point is
Republik, an adults-only pool with a
beach-club feel. By day it’s the
place to hang out and take dips in the
bath-warm ocean. By night it
becomes a hip bar and restaurant
that encourages get-togethers by way
of live music, DJ sets and a happy
hour when the cocktails are free.
Details Ten nights’ half-board from
£2,399pp, including flights and
transfers (kuoni.co.uk)3
A suite in the Hard Rock HotelThe Standard, HuruvalhiSiyam World