From Your Breakfast Table

The view from your breakfast table is simply most famous picture of the Maldives, taken from the air: a straight line of perfect small islands, each tall green canopy encircled by a cream-coloured beach and coral-specked lagoon. With one waitress handing you an iPad to read the papers and send a tweet and another offering a complimentary glass of champagne, you know it can’t get much better than this.

The nearby pool is possibly the largest in the country. Facing south, guests can sunbathe all day yet still angle to catch sight of the sun setting beyond the Over-Water Villas. Little treats here are pre-loaded ipods of different musical tastes, five minute back massages and sunglasses cleaning.

The island lies in a roughly east-west direction on the edge of the channel that cuts through the top of Baa Atoll. Most of the Beach Pool Villas and half of the Over-Water Pool Villas face north, while the Beach Pool Residence faces east and the Over-Water Pool Residence is flush on to the sunset.

The Beach, Reef & Snorkeling

The beach goes unimpeded all the way around the island but is widest and finest on the north side, so beach villa guests on this side have no problem catching the sun most of the day. It is also from the northern side that the snorkeling is recommended. Those beach and over-water villas that face south into the channel have occasionally strong currents to contend with and snorkeling here is not recommended unless the guest is a competent swimmer.

A strong swimmer could snorkel all the way around the outside of the reef. The edge is an exciting drop-off to deep water, with overhangs, caves and more. However, there has been some recent coral bleaching events on top of stress from the resort building so the quality and extent of the coral cover is only fair. The fish life is good, with large schools of fish, such as red-toothed trigger fish and hump-headed snappers, but not too much in the way of turtles, sharks and the like.

Too Nice To Come Out Of

The lagoon is clear of corals, sandy-bottomed and perfect for swimming and playing. The fact is that the rooms are so gorgeous that guests are only occasionally seen out towards the reef or snorkeling. Life here is much more about luxuriating in your private zone.

The rooms are huge. The over-water villas are just as big as the beach villas and every room has a swimming pool. The pools of the over-water villas can be seen and accessed through full-length glass doors from the bathroom on one side and the bedroom on another, with access from the deck as well. You can consume the views all day, call for in-villa dining and never leave your room.

The beach villas are more enclosed and intimate, their view to the beach and lagoon is narrow, through the shade of trees. Similarly to the over-water villas, the prospect can be enjoyed from your double bed, your pool and deck.

Nature's Design & Man's Designs

The vegetation around much of the island is a low screwpine thicket although there is a line of picturesque tall, thin palms on the beach near the spa and many palms around the main public area, which is ideal. This is a lovely easy and open space flowing between restaurant, pool, bar and artist-in-residence spot. The bold abstract designs of the artist, Christopher Hogen, act as colourful counterpoints to the strong, modern look of glass and black lava tiles.

The artist’s designs are inspired by underwater life, as are the decorative motifs of the resort. There is a marvellous set of sea urchin lamps hanging over the pool restaurant and a sculpture of gliding mantas in the ‘plaza’ of the overwater restaurants.

Sea, Salt, Fire & Sky

The pièce de resistance is Sea, the underwater wine cellar and restaurant. Built right on the reef edge, the view is even better than Conrad’s. Michelin starred chefs and world renowned wine masters are regular invitees to the resort. The resident sommeliers, here called gurus, are specialists in wine, in olive oil (particularly for the Italian restaurant) and in salt (the Salt restaurant bakes on salt blocks).

Finally, there are some delightful excursions to be had, with visits to storied local inhabited islands and snorkeling picnics to those unrealistically perfect uninhabited islands. It is a mark of the place that most organised excursions and activities are cancelled because couples choose to do them on their own, booking the whole yacht for themselves.

Review written 5 July 2011