insideKENT Magazine Issue 54 - September 2016 | Page 105

GETAWAYS

LEARNING HER HOUSE REEF FROM HER ATOLLS, EXPERIENCING A RESORT TRANSFER
LIKE NO OTHER AND HAVING STOOD QUITE LITERALLY ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD,
SAMANTHA READY AIMS TO ENLIGHTEN YOU ON THE PARADISE THAT IS

The Maldives
If I close my eyes and picture
paradise, the Maldives pretty much
ticks every box of the tropical
escape in my mind, with its tiny
white-sand-fringed islands,
swaying palm trees and gentle
crystal-clear waters in a dazzling
array of turquoise and blue.
So how hard can it be to choose
a holiday in paradise? Well harder
than you might imagine, with over
100 resorts and hotels, across 26

atolls, on just some of the near
1,200 islands stretching for 35,000
square miles that make up one of
the most geographically dispersed
countries in the world to choose
from!

destination, so hail to the team behind Crown and Champa Resorts
(CCR) who – with a clear nod to staff development, contemporary
design and sustainable tourism – are leading the way with their, soon
to be, seven resorts across four atolls; the choice has now become a
lot more easy...
It is hard to find a sight more breathtaking than your first glimpse of the
Maldives atolls from the seaplane that whisks you, from the terminal
adjacent to the International airport in Male, to an island resort. The tiny
islands jut like gems from the glistening ocean below, and it isn’t often
you get a birdseye view of your holiday abode, as water villas give way
to beach, gardens and buildings, as you circle above before descending
to a landing on the waves below.

Surely a tropical island paradise is
a tropical island paradise?
Well, evidently not! Location, size,
ambience and activities mean that
each island is in fact its own mini

life, plenty of activities – choose from tennis, football, golf, badminton, a
fully equipped gym as well as a host of watersports – and a range of
excursions including guided snorkelling, island hopping and sunset cruises.
Entertainment is varied from laid back movie nights to the renowned Friday
night ‘White Party’ where the best DJ in the Maldives is flown in from the
capital to spin his tunes as guests dance the night away under stars and
laser lights, cocktails in hand.

My first stop was at Kuredu Resort & Spa, a 4.5* resort in the Lhaviyani
Atoll, the furthest North of the CCR offerings and a 40-minute seaplane
transfer from Male. Having operated as a resort for four decades, it is one
of the most established resorts in the Maldives, with a host of repeat guests
and a wealth of experience from a dedicated team, who proudly wear their
badges demonstrating their length of service.
To the welcoming sound of the native drum beats and with refreshing fruit
punch in hand, it didn’t take long before I kicked off my shoes and got into
the swing of this laid back, barefoot, idyll.

And of course being the Maldives there is the diving and snorkelling! Whilst
there is no house reef at Kuredu (a coral reef adjacent to the island) there
are easy accessible snorkelling and diving sites and guided tours available,
and guests can hire equipment from the dive centre.

Kuredu is large (well, as resorts on tiny tropical islands go), measuring
1800m x 325m and it’s green! As clever design and an ethos to preserve
its habitat means that the resort has been built to harness rather than
destroy the lush green vegetation; guests can opt to meander through the
central garden pathways of the resort or instead hail a golf buggy transfer
across the island.

The resort itself is split into four distinct zones, each of which are served
by a dedicated all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant with a guaranteed separate
table