Is this my best holiday ever?
Jamie Theakston is left with just one question as he takes his young family to the Maldives:
The ingredients of a great break are well-documented – good weather, impressive accommodation, wonderful food – and yet the end product is less clear-cut. I’ve stayed in some of the finest hotels in Dubai and yet have no memory of them whatsoever. However, I’ll never forget the weekend in a crumbling twostar hotel in Bangkok en route to my first bar job in Koh Samui in Thailand.
Manager of the Four Seasons resort at Landaa Giraavaru Martin Cody told me that there are never too many guests on the island – my guess is that is because few can pronounce it, let alone spell it. But once you have overcome this potential pitfall, I can promise that you won’t be disappointed – nor should you be with rooms costing up to €40,000 a night.
The resort is situated just 30 minutes north of Malé and reached by seaplane. As you can imagine, this caused much excitement among my two young boys – Sid, five, and four-year-old Kit.
It’s quite large by Maldivian standards, measuring 44 acres, and Sri Lankan-based architect Geoff Bawa has done a clever job of blending understated luxury with complete privacy. The 102 thatched bungalows and villas are located on the beach, over the lagoon or within the lush gardens.
The spa and Ayurvedic retreat was a big hit with my wife Sophie. Here our physician suggested a chakra blessing, which at one stage involved being seated on a terracotta chimney pot while he lit incense beneath us.
With our chakras suitably blessed, it was time to visit the Marine Discovery Centre. The resort is in the nearby Baa Atoll and was recently awarded UNESCO’s World Biosphere Reserve status. This means that you can enjoy the company of manta rays and whale sharks at Hanifaru Bay. For the less adventurous, you could always spend some time with Elisa the turtle. Being part of an endangered species, she is fitted with a GPS device, which helps track her movements in the atoll. Such a device was, however, not something I needed here – the most energetic thing I did most days was to decide where to eat.
Any Four Seasoned traveller knows that the dining experience is a priority, and Laanda doesn’t disappoint. Our favourite was Blu, an Italian bar/restaurant with a view over a narrowing strip of beach which disappeared where the sea meets the sky. While the boys raced crabs, mum and dad sank watermelon cocktails.
During the day, the boys often went to the Kuda Velaa kids’ club and were kept occupied with craft sessions and making ice cream.
From motorised underwater scooters to yacht parties, private picnics on your own private island, or being serenaded under the stars by a local choir, you’d be hard-pressed to find a hotel that offers a better definition of the perfect holiday.