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The Standard, Huruvalhi Maldives: The resort that pulls out all the stops to keep you entertained and indulged

Including a giant disco ball in the bathroom.

The Standard, Huruvalhi Maldives: The resort that pulls out all the stops to keep you entertained and indulged

Don’t expect the regular thatched roof, neutral decor commonly found at the Maldives. Instead, expect bright murals and neon pink pool floats here at The Standard. (Photo: The Standard)

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I can pretty much guarantee that every article you have ever read about the Maldives will gush about the brilliant sunshine bouncing off the islands’ powdery white sand and the calm Tiffany-blue waters, and segue seamlessly into breathless descriptions of snorkelling or scuba diving among the kaleidoscopic coral reefs featuring the entire colourful cast of Finding Nemo.

This, I’m pleased to say, is not one of those articles.

It rained every day that I was in residence at The Standard, Huruvalhi Maldives. And by rain, I mean heavy tropical rain that stung the skin, and howling wind that blew up white foamed waves that raced across the ocean. It rained so much and for so long, it seemed possible that Noah’s Ark might sail over the horizon any time soon. And when it wasn’t raining, the sky – thick with heavy black clouds – looked furious.

The lobby. (Photo: The Standard)

In other words, this was not, by any stretch of the imagination, the idyllic, sun-washed island holiday of countless travel brochures and Instagram reels that we’re all so used to.

And yet… in spite of the soggy and windy setting, it turned out to be one of the best holidays I’ve had in ages.

Much of it had to do with the fact that, for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t running around trying to see and experience everything. I wasn’t rushing to paddle through the house reefs hoping to catch a sight of dolphins, or turtles, or manta rays – creatures in huge abundance in this part of the Maldives because the resort sits right on the marine-life rich border of the Raa and Baa Atolls.

There are 115 villas at this luxury resort. (Photo: The Standard)
Low season at the Maldives brings with it the greater chance of rain. (Photo: Daven Wu)

Or dashing to kayak to nearby Baby Island for a specially prepared sunset cocktail. Grabbing every spare moment I had to wet my toes in the cool sea. Or cooling off in my private dipping pool before adjourning to my bathroom with its giant disco ball (because no bathroom, I now realise, is complete without a glittering bauble) for a hot soak in the huge circular tub.

If you come during the high season when the sun is blazing all day, you get to do all that. And, I was assured by The Standard’s staff, you can also do all that in the low season, which is when I went. It’s just that the low season also brings with it the greater chance of rain.

And on my trip, it rained and rained.

A large disco ball in the bathroom. Why not? (Photo: The Standard)

Which meant my days passed in almost Zen-like calm. Much to my surprise, I found great comfort in curling up on the sheltered deck of my Lagoon Over Water Pool Villa and watch the heavens open up, pelting the sea with its fat drops that turned the colour a mesmeric metallic grey, shot through with aquamarine.

My more intrepid friends shrugged off the weather and dived straight off the jetty at their villa to snorkel with the slender cornetfish and reef mantas. “It’s actually very calm under the water! I’m going back in after lunch!” Anna reported.

Somehow, despite the turgid weather and darkened sky, she still managed to attain a light tan by the end of the trip. So, there’s another more active perspective on a rained-out Maldivian beach holiday.

The bedroom at Lagoon Overwater Villa. (Photo: The Standard)

Me, I channelled my inner cat and stayed indoors. In the mornings, I did rejuvenative sun salutations with Karan Thakur, the spa’s incredibly talented yoga teacher. And when I was done, it was a quick stroll through tree-shaded sandy paths to a full-blown buffet breakfast at the all-white, high ceilinged Kula restaurant. I crawled back into the king-sized bed and read books I’d been meaning to read but never got around to in my frenetic city life. And lulled by the sound of lapping waves, I napped and dreamt of baby dolphins.

Before you knew it, it was dinner time. One evening, it was an exquisite Maldivian dinner laced with chilli, coconut and cloves at Guduguda, followed by a round of fragrant, bubbling shisha. Another, it was perfectly grilled vegetables, seafood and meats at the BBQ Shak. All followed by either a cocktail in the all-white Hamptons-like Todi’s Bar, or karaoke under the biggest disco ball in the Maldives at Beru Bar where the floor is made entirely of glass so you can belt out Dancing Queen whilst being literally suspended over the sea.

A sumptuous spread at Guduguda. (Photo: The Standard)
Grilled seafood and meats at the BBQ Shak. (Photo: The Standard)

Meanwhile, the spa saw a lot of me for facials, massages, sound baths and sunset yoga. The Balinese staff there always seemed pleased to see me, especially as I would start a facial all chatty in Bahasa, and be sound asleep by the time they’d rinsed off the cleanser – leaving them free to massage, in blissful silence, all kinds of soothing, restorative serums and oils into my stressed skin.

One evening after dinner, as I strolled along the timber-decked boardwalk back to Villa 80, the sky above jet black, and the air freshly washed, it occurred to me that, quite without my realising it, this was our last evening.

The Beru bar. (Photo: The Standard)

On a gorgeous island floating in the middle of paradise, and in a resort that had pulled out all the stops to keep us entertained and indulged, the days had passed in idyllic splendour. Not in the way we’d planned, of course, but still, completely welcome for leaving us more serene, calmer and relaxed than when we arrived what felt like a lifetime ago.

And in the end, sunshine and sea excursions or not, isn’t that the best kind of holiday?

Rates at The Standard, Huruvalhi Maldives start from US$300 (S$406) in the low season (May to September), and from US$500 in the high season (October to April).

Source: CNA/bt
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