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Compare that to our experience getting to the Outrigger, from setting foot at Male airport and transferring quickly on a one hour flight to Kaadedhdhoo, where a friendly young man named Shimaau introduced himself as our butler for the duration of our stay, took care of our luggage and drove us on a golf cart down the street to a waiting speedboat. We got to experience both the Beach Villa with Private Pool (2 nights), as well as the Overwater Villa with Private Pool (3 nights). Our Beach Villa was enormous in size at almost 2300 square feet (over 210 square meters), with not just one, but two decks overlooking the ocean: one next to the private pool in the garden and another one just up the stairs, with its own outdoor showers and lounge area, providing a different perspective on the ocean. We really enjoyed the private dining setting on the beach, with a romantic candlelight set up for an exquisite dinner that was capped off by Executive Chef Chris Long’s signature dessert with no less than 10 types of chocolate, ranging from a chocolate mousse and chocolate crème brûlée to a white chocolate cheesecake and a chocolate fondant.

We stayed at a beach villa on the sunset side of the island, which guaranteed sun throughout the day but also a stunning sunset each evening. All beach villas offer private access to the beach, a private sundeck and your own sunbeds to enjoy the sun as much as possible. Set against a backdrop of a Maldivian sunset on a table on the beach, we enjoyed tagliolini with truffles, homemade agnolotti and a truly spectacular seafood platter. There are many different theme nights, like the DJ night we really enjoyed, but the experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life was the private sandbank picnic.

A few years ago I had a wonderful time at the Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives, a Grand Park property in a remarkable location. The Grand Park Orchard in Singapore is the flagship property of the Grand Park Hotels and was awarded as Asia’s Leading Design Hotel, so I was really looking forward to staying there in the heart of Orchard Road, another incredible location but obviously entirely different, as a city hotel. A Crystal Club level room comes with a lot of perks, like breakfast, afternoon tea, evening cocktails and a lot of snacks, coffee and tea during the day. I loved the view over Orchard Road from the Crystal Club Lounge, but all guest rooms at the Grand Park Orchard have a brilliant view.

The Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort and Spa is a luxury resort in the North Male Atoll, only a speedboat ride away from Male International Airport. Starting with breakfast, which is served at Feast restaurant in a mix of buffet style and many live cooking stations which combined offer an enormous variety of local, western and Asian cuisines. My favorite lunch spots were the Anchorage Bar, where we also enjoyed a fun cocktail making class… – – … and the beach bar Kakuni Hut with delicious Mexican fare, to be enjoyed at picnic tables on the shores of the beautiful lagoon. If you bring your kids, they’ll enjoy the Kids Club as much as you will meanwhile enjoy one of the many treatments at the also recently renovated Shine spa, which is situated on its own beautiful island, connected by a bridge.