Not just for honeymooners: Less flop more bop at this flash new Maldives resort

The Maldives’ reputation as a honeymoon haven is well-deserved – it is a destination that requires a hefty commitment. Many Maldivian resorts cost the big bucks, are tricky to get to (add a seaplane and often a boat to your international flights) and once you arrive, that’s it. The island you land on is where you stay, there is very little movement between islands encouraged or even possible. Choose in haste and you may regret it at your pina colada-infused leisure.

But if you don’t want to be wedded to a far-off atoll, consider a casual fling at a brand-new luxury offering just a 15-minute speed boat from Male’s international airport. SO/ Maldives touts itself as a fashion-forward getaway and is part of the Ennismore group, known for properties with a unique personality. SO/ Maldives might be best described as a disruptor, the brash new kid on the block doing the Maldives differently.

A new kid on the Maldives block – the arrival pavilion at SO/ Maldives.

Having slogged my way to the northernmost atolls previously, only to be stuck on a local island due to bad weather (bye bye, one very pricey night) the joy I feel when we pull up at the SO/ Maldives dock less than 30 minutes after laying my hands on my luggage in Male cannot be overstated.

The resort stretches across Emboodhoo Lagoon on Kaafu Atoll and the water is the kind of Maldives blue that makes people think you have gone filter-crazy in your holiday snaps. Black-tipped sharks carve through schools of fish just metres from the dock, rays glide across the sand and funereal-looking blue herons perch on the overwater bungalows scanning the ocean for their next meal.

My beach pool villa has flashes of colour popping off a neutral palette: a vibrant “sun hat” hangs over the bath, pillows are striped hot pink and purple, and the headboard of an epically large bed echoes traditional Maldivian palm frond-woven mats that were often dyed with turmeric.

The villa sits on the piercingly white sand. The only imperfections in the perfectly manicured visage are the crazed squiggles of a handful of hermit crabs, dragging their homes along behind them in the sand; they swiftly retract as I slide into the blue-striped plunge pool, glass of complimentary champagne in hand. Barely the first hour has passed in the country and I am getting my fly and flop on.

SO/ Maldives and its villas.

But that is not what I am here for. The other big sell of SO/ Maldives is there is plenty to tempt you out of your plunge pool.

The daily cocktail hour, held in the arrival pavilion, is worth drying off for. It’s best to dress up too. The wooden overwater walkway that runs from arrival dock to beach, passing through the two-storey Arrival Pavilion, is known as the runway and is neon-lit as the sun sets, so guests can sashay their way to the bar looking more Milan than Male. A Pink Hugo – gin, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, pink grapefruit and prosecco – is the perfect drink, though you may have to ask who wore the rosy hue best, your drink or the Maldivian sunset.

Dinner at the Citronelle Club, the brick-and-tile interior with woven light shades a reflection of the pan-Asian menu on offer, offers a starter of Hiramasa kingfish in a yuzu ponzu dressing with ginger and perilla as fresh and cool as the crowd, while a miang (snack) of leaf-wrapped crab and prawn with a kick of nam jim jaew brings the heat.

SO/ Maldives is part of the Crossroads Maldives project – an effort to upend the “one-island, one-resort” experience, so I am happily bumping my way to the Crossroads marina the following day after breakfast at Citronelle Club. Open to guests of all nearby resorts and residents of Male, the circular marina starts with a Hard Rock Cafe but also offers shisha bars, coffee shops and a Ministry of Crab from Sri Lankan chef Dharshan Munidasa, whose chilli crab should make Singapore nervous.

Inside the Citronella Club.Credit: Natelee Cocks

We wander up to the Maldives Discovery Centre where we receive a tour of Maldivian history, music and arts and crafts. With Male visible on the horizon, it is a connection to the local culture that can be all but absent at other resorts. SO/ Maldives also offers half-day tours of Male, Maldivian fishing excursions and wildlife expeditions.

We opt for the sunset dolphin cruise, circumnavigating the Crossroads islands and neighbouring resorts in search of the playful aquatic mammals. We are almost back at Male by the time we sight a pod of spinner dolphins, so called as they love a good aerial cartwheel. When we reach the dolphins, they fall in with the boat, coursing along in our wake as we crack the bubbles and make our way back to the runway.

Inside the Pavilion Bar is a huge spiral staircase wrapped in cross-hatched red rope that looks like an outsized cotton spool. Known as the “vertical runway”, this is your dramatic entrance to the signature Levantine restaurant, Hadaba, and the drama continues on the plates. I would happily fill my plunge pool with the muhamarra, a silky dip of roast red peppers, walnut, pomegranate and Aleppo pepper; the hummus matches anything I have had in the Middle East and sweet-smoky grilled king prawn skewers are the standout of the hot mezza.

Over the next few days, I am also tempted out of my luxurious beachside abode by DJ sets at the Lazuli Beach Club, whose candy-striped pool is a resort feature, receiving a hosted barefoot wine tasting in the sand and piling plates high at a seafood buffet on the beach surrounded by tiki torches.

The villas at SO/ Maldives.

Further along the beach, a lone couple sits at their very own romantic dinner, shrouded in white linen and a ring of candles, while all around us conversations are started between tables about the adventures everyone has been on.

You can fly, flop and have a honeymoon here, but this Maldivian resort is also so much more.

The details

Fly
The way to make your Maldives trip even more affordable is via Air Asia, which flies to Kuala Lumpur up to 11 times weekly from Sydney and Melbourne, daily from Perth and during peak seasons from the Gold Coast, with fares starting from $299 for economy and $799 for a Premium Flatbed. Flights from Kuala Lumpur to Male run five times a week and start from $450. See airasia.com
Depending on flight times, you may end up with extra time in Kuala Lumpur, keep the spoiling going at Ibis Styles, an airport resort with huge pool and spa facilities located right next to KLIA1, rooms from $50 with free “traveller” massage (ibisklcc.com) and a free shuttle bus.

Stay
Villas at SO/ Maldives cost from $US650 ($1000) a night in low season (May to September) and go up to $US800 ($1235) in high season (October to April). Excursions like the dolphin cruise and Male visit or activities like wine tasting are extra and start from US$95 ($145) per person.
See so-hotels.com/en/Maldives

The writer was a guest of Air Asia and SO/ Maldives.