One knows what to expect from a trip to Maldives. Tropical weather, coconuts everywhere and fabulous pictures that would make others envious of your instagram feed. Maldives is all that, but it is much more.
Derived from the Dhivehi dialect, ‘Aila’ translates to family and ‘Fushi’ to island. Oblu Xperience Ailafushi is a space that enables you to have a family time without missing out on the luxury of a four star Maldivian resort experience.
Perhaps the uniqueness of Ailafushi is how it offers you customised options, whether your aim is to have fun with your entire family, or find new wanderlust friends, or to have a relaxing yet fun time with your partner, but not leaving rest of your family not too far away as you holiday.
At the heart of the resort, nooks and cozy corners offer you space to spend time with the friends or family you have travelled there with, but the island is largely designed to make you richer in friendship by the time you leave.
The high energy space provides you with ample facilities – the X360 Bar that offers you drinks to suit your mood, three restaurants that offer three very different, a shopping facility, a regular music show every night, complimentary airport transfer by speedboat and more.
Ailafushi island is just a 15-minutes speedboat ride from Malé International Airport. Upon arrival, guests are received by the airport team and escorted to the speedboat jetty for transfer.
Eateries for all moods
The resort has three restaurants, each offering its own distinct dining experience. Element X provides a buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner and are included in the Fushi Plan. A jovial space that accommodates a large number of people, and offers you a wide variety of dishes.
Copper Pot Food Truck on the other hand, is a softer, calmer dining experience. It has a curated menu of fresh seafood and meat grills, and you share the table with your mates with quiet chatter, listening to water ripples nearby and your feet still on the sand.
On top of all this, the ‘Fushi Plan’ as they call it, covers drinks as well as a cocktail fountain every evening, featuring a ‘Mocktail of the Day’ and a selection of 10 cocktails at the vibrant main pool bar called X360 Bar.
Yet, despite all these amenities, the package options Ailafushi resort provides are for you to not to fret too much with the “planning”. Ailafushi is the luxe that fits in your pocket as they are. The Fushi Plan is a comprehensive all-inclusive package that treats you to the fun along with an unwinding experience.
Dinner on the Ocean Floor
However, Only Blu is unarguably the star of the show – an experience to tick off your bucket list. It is the largest underwater restaurant in the Maldives and is 6.8 metres below sea level. It is in horseshoe shape, and every table is aligned to make sure you have an exquisite view of the coral reefs, sitting right next to you, on the floor of the ocean. The sharks (don’t worry, they are tiny vegetarian creatures), ever the territory obsessed fish, will be on their patrol, giving you judgy looks as you relish the sparkling wine and exotic three-course menu.
It is surreal to sit there with a wine or beer in hand, and stare at the sea anemones and sea cucumbers and too many other fishes than you could remember enough to name.
Dolphins, Dolphins, Kayaks, Coral
The resort offers plenty of activities for the guests to take part in. One only needs to visit the Water Sports Centre to try their hand at kayaking or paddle board. Or, if you are up to it, the experienced crew will take you for a sunset cruise to see the dolphins against a golden sky and darkening water. Even better would be to snorkel – and see the marine reef this time without a glass barrier between you.
The Fushi Plan also provides you with unlimited access to their over water gymnasium where they regularly organise many group activities.
The Couple’s Island, Fifteen Minutes Away
I had a chance to visit the “other” area of Ailafushi when we were hosted at the Ylang Ylang restaurant in sister property Lobigili. Lobigili is what I have in mind when I say the Ailafushi experience is “extremely” customisable. While Ailafushi is the family fun place, Lobigili is the couple’s paradise. It is serene and seamlessly gives you privacy while enjoying the island among other couples. Meanwhile, if you came with other family members, they could be a fifteen minutes walk away at Ailafushi, having fun at the pool bar or at the spa. Win-win.
Rest, Actually
Relaxation is not far away even if you are not in Lobigili. Beyond the fun loud spaces are the facilities offered for you to unwind.
Ailafushi has both water villas and beach-view villas. Both offer you neat, orderly spaces surrounded by the turquoise blue waters, and daily mini-fridge restocks. Spacious rooms, dressing area and relaxing bathrooms, electronic safes, complete with sunscreens, moisturisers and the likes reflects their attention to detail.
Shaped like a traditional Maldivian ‘dhoni’ boat, the water villas offer you a sunrise view or a sunset view, depending on which side of the bridge you choose. Of all the cozy features it has, I will pick two to be the most favourite – and will be a little embarrassed to admit too, because one of them is the washroom. In my defense, it is not everyday you get to have an indoor shower with the soft sunlight around you and blue ocean water flowing beneath you. At the other end of the villa is the glorious private deck opening to the oceanview.
Beyond lazing at the deck, if one is craving a professional touch to relax, the ELE|NA spa is at service. You could drop your kids at the kids club where they will be engaged with fun activities.
All in all, Ailafushi gave me a good time for someone who is terrible at planning vacation, and yet, showed me a glimpse of an even better second visit when I come back with my loved ones.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
