A Luxury Oasis – Hotel Anantara Dhigu in the Maldives

When I say the word “Maldives”, just like in the story of Pavlov’s dog, everybody begins to dream about white sand beaches, green water, fish, bungalows on the water… Well, with some exceptions, the dream is true. There are worse looking places even in the Maldives, do not think that pure luxury is found everywhere, however today I will try to dream with you together about luxuriant places, so we shall visit the Anantara hotel on an island from the Maldives.

First of all, how did I arrive there. Well, simple, I went to Male, the capital of the Maldives Republic and I found a dhoni, a boat with an engine, pretty slow, but pretty large (usually forty passengers can be arranged in a dhoni, we were just four now) with which we have traveled from an island to another. One of the islands on which we have docked, was also the island on which the Anantara hotel is situated, somewhere 30-40 kilometers south of Male. These island-hotels are pretty isolated in the Maldives, except from the boys from supply and the tourists that leave in the very expensive “optional” trips, not existing too much contact with the exterior.

Obviously, when we docked on the island, everybody looked in amazement…what are we doing on the island? Are we tourists? No, we were passing by and we just decided to stop…we were an unknown species, so that they took us to the reception where the chief receptionist gave us a boy to tour us around…Who knows what the poor woman did understand, that we are journalists or maybe millionaires in search of a new island, whatever, I don’t know. What’s certain we started discovering the resort island by foot.

Initially, a few words about Anantara. Maybe you have not heard about this network of hotels, it is a Thai network of  great luxury resorts that are present in pretty exotic places: Thailand (in Koh Samui, Phuket, but also in the North, in the Golden Triangle), in Bali, in Abu Dhabi and in the Maldives where they “acquired” three islands on which they have built luxury resorts. From these 3, we have visited Anantara Dhigu.

So we started walking…on the white beach, bare feet through the sea water. The guide tells us how many rooms they have. I do not remember exactly, they have enough, don’t be afraid. There are about 6 types – Beachfront Villa, Beachfront Pool Villa, Over-Water Bungalow, etc. The fact that we had a guide helped us very much. First of all, he opened the doors of two rooms so we were able to see the way a room that costs about 800-1000 dollars per night looks (if we purchased it from the hotel website). Honestly, I enjoyed more the camera on the ground… Actually they were not exactly rooms, there are more like bungalows. Besides having a large living room, open and with a perfectly set air condition you can jump directly from there into a little private pool, although the blue-green water is two steps away. The best is the bathroom – it is in the open air!!! If you want to take a bath, take a shower or even use the WC, everything is in the nature…obviously the private space is well protected by a wall… Honestly, I liked the idea a lot and on the spot, I remembered the WC and the balcony shower at a budget hotel in Bangkok’s Khao San Road area :).

The guide also took us into a over – the – water bungalow, one of those famous cabins built over the sea that are so photogenic. The funny fact is, the idea came from the Asian houses on the water in which usually the poorest residents of the area live…and the Maldives, New Caledonia or the Seychelles borrowed the concept and transformed it into a luxury idea. The cabins have a living room, a sleeping room, a bathroom (unfortunately not in the open air) with a view on the sea, a veranda from which you can climb down a stair in the sea…and obviously a mini bar which looks like a mini-supermarket full of drinks, especially alcoholic (in a country in which the alcohol is strictly forbidden!)…

I have also inspected the restaurant, I have passed close to the area where you can do water sports (do not think that they have a “banana” pulled by a speedboat, it is all about scuba diving, surfing, etc.) operated by some very scruffy and secretive Englishmen and I also did not miss the opportunity to take a photo at the infinity pool…

I left the island after more than an hour…There were not too many guests however…maybe because it is a large island and the people “get lost” on it. Our guide tells us that usually, in the peak season (that is in the winter when there is a dry season in the archipelago) the degree of occupation is about 80%. The guests? I have heard enough Russian, some English and a lot of Italian… and on the road to the docks, I have taken a photo of a “leopard” trace…check the photos to see what brand of leopard…

You will also ask me about the prices…well if you enter the website of the hotel to make a reservation, they will give you prices of 800-1400 US dollars. Usually the prices drop very much at tourist agencies, but after I took a look on various websites I did not find one offer under 300-400 dollars a day. To that you will have to add the all-inclusive supplement and the transfer to/from airport plus some I don’t know about extra taxes…And if you find out also about the spa offer…your bank account should have a lot of zeroes….

Hotel website:

http://dhigu-maldives.anantara.com/

How to get there:

There are plenty of charters between Europe and Male airport. The great majority of the charters leave from Italy as the Maldives are an extremely popular destination for the Italians. The best offers will be probably found at travel agencies from Italy. Major carriers like British Airways, Qatar Airways or Turkish Airways fly directly on the small airport-island, near Male. From there, you can take a speed boat or even, better, a sea plane :).

Maldivian visa

Most of the worlds’ citizens do not visa for the Maldives. However, you might need to show your hotel reservation at the border check point.

When to go:

In winter! It is the dry season when the sky is blue, the sand is white and the sea is blue-green. During the summer, it is monsoon time which brings plenty of rains. Some like rain though and the storm, so the second peak season in the Maldives is in August…rains, storms and thunders – guaranteed… and they probably have their charm.

 

Pictures of Maldives:

 

We’re getting close

To Anantara

Anantara

The docks

Welcome to Anantara!

Infinity pool

Beach view room

Your private pool …two steps away from the sea

Bathroom outdoors

Let’s take a closer look at the bathtub

Towards the water bungalows

The bedroom

The terrace

The neighbors

The bath

To the docks

Goodbye, Anantara!