Travel: Luxury Maldives resort now within reach of us mere mortals

The first thing I noticed when stepping outside Male International Airport on arrival in the Maldives was the bustling taxi rank – it is made up entirely of speedboats.

Scores of the craft continually arrive and leave from a busy harbour sited directly across from the main entrance. They seemed to take off with the regularity of black cabs from a rank in any Scottish city centre on a Saturday night, transporting throngs of excited holidaymakers to nearby paradise island locations in style.

After taking just few short steps across the road, I was soon being welcomed aboard a 20-seat power cruiser for a 45-minute transfer to the four-star Sun Siyam Olhuveli beach resort. This would be my base for the first half of a nine-day trip to the Indian Ocean paradise. I had flown there from Edinburgh via Doha, courtesy of Qatar Airways.

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Board walk in the resort.

On the short trip over to Olhuveli, I was even treated to the sight of a dolphin leaping from the water close to the boat and swimming alongside for a few minutes.

“This means good luck for you in the Maldives,” I was told by one of the friendly crew. Turned out he wasn’t wrong about that…

On arrival at the resort, located in South Male Atoll, you are given a lively drum procession welcome by staff before being handed a cooling drink and your luggage taken straight to your room.

Olhuveli is a deluxe property with 438 rooms and villas that hug stunning white sandy beaches or are sited above turquoise blue lagoons.

It is set across three tropical islands – Olhuveli, Dream Island and Romance Island, which is for couples only.

I was then given a comprehensive briefing by my “ambassador” for my stay, Moho, who explained the inner workings of the resort.

Ambassadors are there to help make your stay as stress-free as possible and are your first point of contact if you need any assistance with any excursions, restaurant bookings etc. Wifi is also good on the islands and it was easy to keep in contact with Moho via WhatsApp throughout.

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A Grand Beach Villa on Olhuveli island.

My accommodation for four nights was a luxurious one-bedroom Grand Beach Villa on Olhuveli island.

It consisted of a spacious bedroom with a living room attached that leads out on to a decking area with sun loungers, tables and chairs.

The villa also has its own small swimming pool to cool off in and the shore is only a 20-yard stroll from your back door through overhanging trees. It was like having a private beach all to myself. Bliss.

The property boasted a large outdoor bathroom with enclosed and outdoor showers, a freestanding bath, two wash hand basins and a toilet.

Inside there are tea and coffee making facilities and a complimentary bar which is stocked every day with bottles of water and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

I visited in May where temperatures were between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius every day.

Until recently, the Maldives have been seen as a luxury destination for honeymooners or people splashing out for special occasions such as anniversaries or landmark birthdays.

But with the price of holidays in Europe soaring in recent years, great-value all-inclusive packages to Indian Ocean islands such as Olhuveli are becoming increasingly within reach of the average traveller.

There are more than 17 restaurants and bars to choose from at the resort, including daily changing buffets at Sunset Restaurant and Malaafaiy, fresh seafood at Maghrib Grill, Thai specialities at Siyam Orchid and Indian dinners at Namaste. The quality of the food was superb throughout.

There are several meal plans on offer at Olhuveli – bed & breakfast, half board, full board and all inclusive.

To add value for families, kids under 15 stay and eat for free when sharing with up to two adults. They stay and eat on the same meal plan as the adults – so if they are on all-inclusive, so are the kids.

Getting around is also very easy – large golf buggies constantly track back and forth between the three islands and there are several “bus stops” to wait at. You can also just hail one that is passing and if they have space you can jump on.

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A dolphin leaps out of the turquoise waters.

The islands are connected by bridges which create gorgeous and sheltered lagoons for kite-surfing, paddle boarding and kayaking among other water sports.

My first stop was the beach to try out some jet-skiing and a fun device called a seabob, which you simply hang on to and let it glide you through the warm lagoon waters.

Next was a relaxing massage at one of the resort’s swish spas, where I watched baby sharks and colourful reef parrotfish swim past below from a glass window built into the floor underneath the massage table. It was mesmerising.

The excursions and activities available seemed endless and you can explore the islands of the atoll by private boat or try and catch the prized mahi-mahi on a fishing excursion.

From the end of a jetty you can also watch manta rays come to dine on plankton each night and there is access to more than 50 dive sites and fabulous snorkelling sports including a shipwreck teeming with marine-life.

The nightlife is surprisingly lively too with a number of bars featuring DJs, live bands and karaoke.

Time seemed to stand still for the few days I stayed at Olhuveli and the Maldives is a destination I would definitely return to, now that it is a playground that has come within reach of us mere mortals and not just the rich and famous.

P.S. Diving is particularly good at Sun Siyam Olhuveli, which is surrounded by more than 50 dive sites. Among them are Banana Reef, where mantas congregate to eat the plankton, and Kandooma Thila, one of the best places for spotting sharks, whose submerged overhangs also attract large green turtles.

And you don’t need to fork out for excursions to experience the underwater world – Olhuveli’s house reef is superb, and is frequented by Olivia the hawksbill turtle, as well as black-tipped reef sharks, and the occasional sting ray, eagle ray and mantas. The premium all-inclusive product includes a snorkelling safari and sunset boat tour with dolphin watching.

Factfile

Sun Siyam Olhuveli: A Grand Beach Villa costs from approximately £275 a night on BB basis and from £395 for full-board (children with two or more adults eat free on the same plan). www.sunsiyam.com

Grand Beach Villa with pool from around £335 on BB basis and from approximately £475, all-inclusive. Return flight fares to Maldives from Edinburgh cost around £1,000 for economy and £4,391 for business class.