And now for something completely different. And you don’t hear that about the Maldives very often.
Now, we are not here to rub anything in. Except maybe suntan lotion. But there is a new hotel opening in the Maldives that we are totally going to blow our inheritance on visiting when things loosen up a little. It’s called Patina Maldives, it’s in the Fari Islands and they’re calling it ‘an island of wondrous depths’, which is probably a play on words, what with the sea and everything. They’ll stop at nothing!
There’s a lot of over-water villa action but rather than opt for your regular thatched bonnet on those villas, we’re looking at an altogether sleeker operation here: natural materials for sure but with a crisp, white-on-wood-on-more-white vibe... hammocks, mid-century modern-ique furniture, you know the sort of thing. Oh and art. They pride themselves on it.
Bag yourself a sunset water pool villa (we would!) or really push the boat out and go for The Beach House, a two-bedroom job with a rooftop terrace and everything and find yourself in an indoor/outdoor world where your lounge is your balcony and you get out of bed basically onto the beach.
And while gorgeous ocean views and palm trees and icing sugar beaches come as standard in this part of the world, what really sets Patina apart is that sense of easy-going style. Luxury often feels like someone else’s idea of what’s lovely. This is definitely our idea of what we’d like luxury to be.
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