Maldives Honeymoon

About Villingili
The island itself is part of the Addu Atoll, which is located at the southernmost tip of the Maldives and boasts some of the largest islands in the entire archipelago.

Villingili is just an eight-minute speedboat ride from Gan. The Shangri-La resort occupies the entire three-kilometre-long island, which is rimmed by a breath-taking turquoise lagoon.

Beach villas, water villas, tree villas, pool villas, restaurants and other common areas are built at discreet intervals; so far apart that we used bicycles to get around.

Accommodation

We spent the first four nights in a water villa. This large and extremely well-appointed room with open-air shower, oval bathtub, two iPod docking stations and a private butler service is built on stilts over the sea, and gives instant access to the crystal waters via a set of stairs attached to the private decking. In the mornings, we only had to flick a switch next to the bed and the blinds would automatically roll up in fabulous James Bond style, to reveal breathtaking views of the eye-wateringly beautiful lagoon and the ocean beyond.

Although water villas are the signature accommodation in the Maldives, we preferred the deluxe pool villa where we spent our final four nights. Though technically a downgrade, it certainly didn’t feel like that. Our new accommodation covered a larger area than the water villa did, and in addition to being more secluded it also had a private pool. No matter how spectacular the Maldivian waters are, you can’t beat floating belly-up in a swimming pool without the fear of a reef shark accidentally swimming into you.

We were intrigued to learn from director of communications Leslie Garcia that most of the resort’s European guests favour the landed villas, whereas Asian holidaymakers generally prefer to be on the water.  

Dining

There are three restaurants on the island, and we tried them all. The substantial breakfast buffet spread at Jaavu, featuring a range of international dishes, offered choice enough to keep us from getting bored during our eight-day visit.

Dr Ali’s, on the other hand, was by far the favourite for dinner. We particularly liked to arrive in the early evening, when there was a greater chance of nabbing a private pavilion overlooking the sea. Although the restaurant specialises in a trio of cuisines: Indian, Asian and Middle Eastern, it was the Indian fare that kept us coming back for more.

Only one minor disruption marred what was otherwise a series of lovely meals, and that was when a young couple thought it would be amusing to let their two children run screaming through the restaurant. Everyone else, including the wonderful staff, breathed a sigh of relief when the spawn of Satan eventually went off to bed.


Spa
The Chi Spa is one of the very best in the world as I happily discovered one afternoon when I left James at the villa – cigar in mouth and beer in hand – to sample its delights. After a brief consultation, during which I revealed myself to be pregnant, I was offered a tailor-made massage treatment that featured elements from the spa’s signature cowrie shell massage.

Each spa in the Shangri-La group has its own unique treatment, which utilises elements that are local to the region; in the Maldives, the cowrie shell is available in abundance and contributes to a wonderful massage.

After I lay down in my private pavilion, warm oil was lavishly spread over my body before the smooth shells were pressed lightly into my flesh and drawn slowly across my muscles. The experience was incredibly relaxing and afterwards I was returned to my husband, a very contented lady.

Dolphin Cruise

This two-hour boat trip took us out from the shallow aquamarine lagoon that cradles the island of Villingili, out into open water where we were delighted to be greeted by a pod of spinner dolphins. Judging from the acrobatic displays of leaping, boat-surfing and spinning, they seemed rather pleased to see us, too.   

According to resident marine biologist Estelle, the hit-rate of spotting the dolphins is around 90-percent, which makes this tour well worth peeling your bottom off the sun-lounger.


Turtle Quest
The Maldivian atolls are actually a series of worn down volcanoes, and the rim of each is visible as a circular coral reef that encircles every island. In Villingili the coral reef – or house-reef, as it is known – is positively teeming with marine life, including several species of endangered sea turtles; which we had the privilege of witnessing on this group tour.

After a brief talk at the eco-centre, we spent a good hour snorkelling up and down the reef, revelling in the bounty of colourful marine life, among which were some massive unicorn fish, sea horses, sweet lips, angel fish, and three magnificent turtles.

While guests are perfectly at liberty to snorkel solo, this guided tour gave us the opportunity to spot creatures we might have been oblivious to had we been on our own.

Getting There
Singapore Airlines has two flights a day, one of which departs at 8pm and the other at around 11pm. I would recommend the 8pm flight: after the four-hour flight to Male, a 70-minute internal flight to Gan and the eight-minute speedboat ride to Villingili, we arrived at the hotel very late – the more so as since our internal flight was delayed by two hours.    

(Sources: Expat Living)