THE PRICE IS RIGHT
A new resort in the Maldives is offering ‘studios’ for a bargain £160 a night half-board
First impressions are a little worrying. the throbbing soundtrack echoing through the lobby makes me feel old; the shorts-and-flip-flopwearing staff, all of whom have Colgate smiles and insist that i call them my ‘Kandima buddies’, make me feel positively ancient.
then, when a ‘buddy’ tells me that Katie Price is staying in a villa just down the beach and that DiY tV presenter Nick Knowles will be presiding over a yoga retreat here soon, my discomfort rises further.
But, hold on. Perhaps all this comes in return for accessing a private island in the Maldives for just £160 a night — half-board. For that’s what Kandima Maldives resort in Dhaalu Atoll offers.
so how is this possible? the answer is size. Once fully finished (it opened in March and on my visit only two of the ten restaurants are open and the mid-range over-water Aqua Villas aren’t complete), Kandima will be able to host close to 1,000 guests.
that’s colossal by any standards, though the length of the island means things feel agreeably spread out.
the lowest priced rooms go by the moniker of sky studios and, at first glance, they look like seventies polytechnic buildings.
Yet inside, all is refreshingly cool, Med-minimal-style decor with dangling night lights, a swing-sofa on the balcony and, once i trot down the stairs to the ground floor, a mere 15-second scamper to the ocean.
Attempting to appeal to a mainly British audience, the resort (owned by a Maldivian family) already houses a giant kids’ club with an adventure playground, sofas and games consoles for pre-teens.
‘i never thought i could afford a trip to the Maldives,’ a beaming man from Basildon, Essex, tells me. ‘What do you make of it?’
i tell him i like it, but could do without the ibiza-style chill-out music that’s with you from the check-in to the bar to the restaurant — and even to the boat with the daily snorkelling trips arranged for guests by the Aquaholics water sports centre.
HE rEPliEs: ‘true, but the wife and i have spent less on this holiday than our trip last spring — and that was only to italy.’ strolling the length of the island on a still and gloriously sunny early morning, i spot a spa, Chinese restaurant and gym all in the latter stages of completion — and all due to open next month.
With net fishing banned in the Maldives, i’m given a line rod and a plastic spool as we head out to the boating lake’s flat waters under a burnt orange sunset sky.
After hauling in sleek, silvery jobfish, a dozen or so dark pink snapper and one weighty octopus, the piscine plethora is gutted and barbecued. And there’s no music.
On my final morning, indolently meandering along the sandy lane that runs through the centre of the island with young, freshly planted saplings lining the way and the sun a honeyedyellow orb rising behind me, i suddenly realise that i’m completely on my own.
the ‘vibe’ may be all about pool parties and prosecco, but the sands, the breeze, the sunsets; all the natural wonders of this corner of the indian Ocean can’t help but ultimately win out.