HUVAFEN FUSHI
Huvafen Fushi - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Huvafen Fushi | |||||
| By:Andrew Conway, Issue 25 – summer 2006 | |||||
| ( Huvafen Fushi, Maldives) | |||||
| A GLITTERING JEWEL IN THE INDIAN OCEAN, WHERE DREAMS REALLY DO BECOME REALITY. | |||||
| It’s just before ten in the morning and my Maldivian Monsoon Ritual is under way. First step is a leisurely soak in the lonu veyo, a circular floatation pool filled to the brim with super-saline water to relax and cleanse the body, followed by a soothing foot massage in the shade of a palm tree, bristling in the warm November breeze. Then it’s off to Aquum Spa, a cluster of thatched over-water treatment rooms with a special one that leads down a long and narrow flight of stairs and into the depths of the lagoon – a unique underwater spa with picture windows framing coral reef gardens teeming with tropical marine life. A quick squeeze of the middle finger on my left hand to determine if I'm a ‘hot’ or a ‘cold’ monsoon (I can barely suppress a laugh when my Thai therapist Bea tells me I’m ‘hot’), and suddenly I’m flat on my front on a massage table with steaming-hot sand poultices being pressed and pounded from neck to nape. Dozens of Nemo’s cousins peer through the glass window (making me wonder who’s in the fishbowl, them or us?) as Bea gently massages a heady mix of aromatherapy oils and sun-dried herbs into my skin, but by now I’ve completely succumbed to her healing hands and quietly nodded off. Huvafen means ‘dreams’ in the Maldives, and on this stunning speck of island in North Male Atoll – just four degrees north of the Equator in the Indian Ocean – they don’t come any sweeter. The monsoon ritual has clearly had an effect above the water because it’s raining again (the one thing you learn quickly in the Maldives is that the weather is unpredictable), but it comes and goes faster than a tropical shower and the sun is never far away. Here at Huvafen Fushi – the flagship of a rapidly growing portfolio of super-luxury spa resorts and hotels, including Dhoni Mighili (also in the Maldives), and the soon-to-open Fortress in Sri Lanka and Vie in the Seychelles – all you need do to escape a sudden downpour is retreat to your beach or over-water bungalow, one of 43 private hideaways that are the last word in luxury, comfort and style. Fronting the island’s powder-soft beach or set in an elliptical cluster reached via a long boardwalk – with dazzling views of either the lagoon or ocean – the accommodation comprises sixteen beach and deluxe beach bungalows and 24 lagoon and ocean bungalows, all with their own private plunge pools, plus two enormous ocean pavilions perched further out along the boardwalk, and the premium two-storey beach pavilion, again with their own plunge pools. The furnishings and fittings are to-die-for: king-size bed, Frette linen, L’Occitane bathroom amenities, Bang & Olufsen plasma TV, Bose sound system, espresso machine, private bar, deck, daybed, and those amazing water views, each category of accommodation varying slightly in size and facilities. Every guest bungalow comes with a personal thakuru – a Maldivian butler – on hand round-theclock to make sure every whim and request is attended to, arranging everything from fins and a mask for snorkeling to a host of island or watersports activities and in-room dining. If food is high on your holiday hit list, you’re in for a treat. Huvafen’s Australian executive chef Kath Townsend – whose culinary credits include bills, Bathers‚ Pavilion at Balmoral Beach, the Sydney Opera House and, most recently, Sri Lanka pre-tsunami – is the driving force behind some of the best resort food I’ve tasted outside of Australia, no mean feat when you consider just how remote the island is.With supplies flown in from Australia and other parts of the world, and daily access to the freshest seafood, Kath and her team create seasonal menus which any capital city restaurant would give its wooden spoons for. The settings are as dazzling as the food: Celsius is the signature restaurant, a breezy and informal space with sand floor and indoor-outdoor seating for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Raw and Salt sit side-by side at the end of another satellite boardwalk over the lagoon, the former serving light and innovative ‘spa cuisine’ and backed by a terrific juice bar, the latter offering delicious seafood-inspired menus fusing Mediterranean and South-East Asian flavours, again with cool indoor or balmy deck seating. And if all you fancy is a wood-fire pizza, set under a canopy of coconut trees, Fogliani’s is just the ticket. The social heart of the resort is UMbar, overlooking a breathtaking infinity pool and serving up the iciest of cocktails, which leads down to Vinum, a funky underground wine cellar with thousands of top-drawer labels from around the world and overseen by the resort’s knowledgeable French sommelier, Julien Pagliuchi. As with everywhere in the Maldives, food and drink are very expensive, so your best bet is to opt for a fullboard (all meals) or half-board (breakfast and dinner) accommodation package that allows you to enjoy the stellar cuisine without the additional á la carte costs. Huvafen Fushi also offers what it calls Destination Dining, the opportunity to enjoy a romantic dinner at various locations on and off the island – in the wine cellar, by the infinity pool (lit spectacularly at night by fibre optics), on the luxury cruiser Symphony, on a sandbank out in the ocean, or in the privacy of your bungalow. Each experience comes at an extra cost, but a holiday on Huvafen is about making dreams come true and hanging the expense. For the active, there’s a fully equipped gym set on yet another satellite boardwalk, a range of diving, snorkeling and watersports activities (many at an additional cost) both on and off the island, a yoga pavilion, the lonu veyo floatation pool, a small boutique, plus The Lair, the resort’s ‘den’, a cool and contemporary space with a library, TV and internet area, CD and DVD selection, and reception desk. The Aquum Spa, with its array of well-being treatments and therapies using Elemis products and ancient and modern techniques, is very popular, with a small army of Thai-trained staff to ease away any aches and pains. Huvafen Fushi is home to 220 staff – 12 of the 20 senior management being Australian, the rest a United Nations of European, Indian, Singhalese and Maldivian cultures – whose sole aim is to look after barely 90 guests when the resort is full. The atmosphere is one of pure escapism – you’re encouraged to shed shoes and watch on arrival, and the island operates one hour ahead of Male time so that guests can enjoy longer evenings. And even though Huvafen is tiny (you can walk around it in about 15 minutes), it has a very private and intimate feel with most guests hiding away in their bungalows, skinny-dipping in their private plunge pools or snorkelling on surprisingly good coral reef gardens teeming with spectacular marine life from multicoloured fish to rays, turtles and reef sharks. The skies cleared completely on my last day and I have never seen such colour in water, even on our own Great Barrier Reef – every shade of blue and green from emerald to sapphire – the kind that holiday dreams, Huvafen Fushi-style, are made of. | |||||
| Details: | |||||
| Malaysia Airlines, www.malaysiaairlines.com.au | |||||
| Small Luxury Hotels of the World, www.slh.com/huvafen | |||||
| Huvafen Fushi, www.huvafenfushi.com | |||||
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