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Why SO/ Maldives is the Ultimate Stylish Island Stay
Written by Paul Chai
Striking the perfect balance between ultimate privacy and unforgettable adventure, SO/ Maldives blends luxury, style and social vibes in a new and vibrant way.
The hermit crab may well be the spirit animal of the Maldives. The over-the-top, over-the-water resorts that adorn these idyllic atolls, with their waterslides, rope hammocks and rock-star interiors, are designed for cocooning. This archipelagic state has travellers jetting halfway around the world to experience just a few hundred metres of alabaster sand peeping out of the Indian Ocean, but it is the villas where people spend most of their time.
And I get it, if I could strap my SO/ Maldives Beach Pool Villa to my back and carry it with me, I would. The oblong space is painted wedding-dress white with a bed big enough to pitch a marquee. The bathroom has a freestanding granite vanity for two, an oversized bath with a woven rainbow-coloured “sun hat” suspended overhead as well as a torrential rain shower. Hung in the walk-in dressing area is my exceptional Kassatex robe from New York, winner of an international robe-off where the resort flew in gowns from all over the world before settling on one.
My private garden, where the real hermit crabs are carving out sandy patterns with their shells, has a blue-striped plunge pool, lounges covered with sun umbrellas and a winding path out to the beach through tropical shrubbery. As cocoons go it is very inviting, but I am more of a social butterfly and that plays to the strengths of this new resort from the Ennismore group.
SO/ Maldives, set on Emboodhoo Lagoon on Kaafu Atoll, takes its inspiration from the world of fashion with the arrival dock dubbed “the runway”; it is part of the wider CROSSROADS development with a marina and neighbouring resorts and part of its appeal is its proximity to the capital of Malé.
You can be whooshing open the solid wooden door of your villa less than half an hour after you step off your international flight, and you can jump between islands or even back to Malé for a guided tour. This is the Maldives for those who don’t think the Maldives is for them.
Travelling in style
Reimagining the arrival dock as a runway ends up being a power move. Because SO/ Maldives wants to encourage you to have a more active vacation, you find yourself strutting up and down the wooden walkway more than you would at the average resort.
Our first excursion is to the nearby CROSSROADS Marina (‘fit: tropical shirt, Khmer scarf and straw sunhat), imagined as a day trip spot for the surrounding resorts. Our speedboat skips past the colourful overwater villas of Hard Rock resort and the more traditional offerings of Sai resort to tie up at the dock and we walk immediately into the Hard Rock Café in the marina with a long wooden bridge across the resort that also takes its name.
Inside the wooden building is a tiled floor echoing Maldivian arts and crafts sharing the same space as a classic Tiesco guitar signed by Joey and Marky Ramone, names you don’t usually associate with a Maldivian getaway; the space has a stage and hosts live bands on the regular.
Back out on the marina, we duck into The Beach Club with a swim-up pool bar and beach access that is popular with travellers who have to check out early and have daylight to burn before a late-night flight. Next door is the Ministry of Crab from Sri Lankan celebrity chef Dharshan Munidasa, lunch is over but when I am caught reading the menu I am quickly dragged inside to see the fresh crabs flown in from Sri Lanka in sizes that run from small to “Crabzilla”. You could easily spend a couple of days exploring the marina on a longer stay and there is even a nightclub open ‘til late.
The next day, my SO/Maldives runway excursion is to jump on a more traditional wooden boat for a Bubbly Sunset and Dolphin Cruise (‘fit: basic fashion-designer black t-shirt and shorts; lots of sunscreen). A few of us clamber up to the flat roof of the boat and help with the dolphin spotting, but we also get a look at the collection of islands that make up CROSSROADS.
We sail through several shades of Maldivian blue water and come close to returning to Malé before we spot a pod of spinner dolphins doing just as their name suggests, in and out of the dark blue waves. Like being on safari, our spotter radios another boat and the two vessels head towards the pod. Rather than be shy of human interaction, the sea mammals head towards our craft, leaping in and out of the water so close to the boat they should probably buy a ticket. Bubbles are popped, glasses are filled and we return to the resort buzzing.
Then there are my more regular appearances on the SO/ runway for cocktail hour when the walkway is lit with red neon (‘fit: tailored short-sleeve shirt and dress pants and a keen thirst from a day of activities). The evening event brings together guests who dress for the occasion with flowing resort-wear florals all the rage for women and a sea of linen for men. The bike racks at the end of the runway are overflowing with the resort’s pale-blue cycles as guests lounge on large white couches with drinks like a Sapphire Lagoon or a Smoky Sunset.
Come out and play
For all its day excursions, SO/ Maldives also does a great job of bringing the human hermits out of their shells for the activities at the resort itself.
While the Pavilion may draw focus during cocktail hour, Lazuli Beach Club is the social focal point by day with its striking pool coloured like a vintage television test pattern. The club shares DNA with similar offerings in St Tropez or Bali with a casual but stylish vibe and DJ sets that feature a familiar, laidback Balearic beat.
Couples can hide away on daybeds housed in nooks behind the pool or grab a bright red or blue set of sun lounges on the sand, while groups fill tables and booths around the bar for casual snacks like pizzas and burgers (the taramasalata, with pops of ocean trout pearls, is a crowd pleaser). Drinks come in all the technicolour hues of the test-pattern pool like the Gin, Dragon, Smash, that teams Bombay Sapphire and dragon fruit for a perversely purple tipple.
Next door at The Citronelle Club, the more formal resort diner lets its hair down some nights with an Aegean buffet that sees wooden food carts set up along the sand where guests can fill a plate with scallop ceviche, cured local reef fish or smoked rainbow trout and have a chat with fellow guests as tables are moved from inside out onto the beach, making for a more convivial atmosphere; the whole scene is lit by tiki torch light.
At a sunset barefoot wine tasting on our final day, we discover a table set outside next to the lapping waves with cheese platters and wine glasses and our host Elzbeth Du Plooy, sommelier and wine educator at Grape Expectations based in Malé. Elzbeth trained in South Africa but has forged her sommelier career in notoriously wine-shy regions like the Middle East and now the Maldives but she resort-hops to share her love of good grapes.
Over the course of a couple of hours, we find ourselves chatting with a Peruvian attache and his Russian girlfriend over a glass of Duval-Le Roy Champagne then delving into a vermentino from Belvento in Tuscany whose name means “cool breeze.” Elzbeth picked this particular white wine for the “peaches and salinity, so you can smell a little bit of ocean in your glass.”
Despite her hometown of Malé being a dry argument, she enjoys her island-hopping lifestyle. “I love that I can be around a beautifully laid table with people from all around the world, chat about all things wine but also be able to share stories about life and people’s journeys whilst sipping on something delicious,” Elzbeth says.
“I especially love introducing guests to lesser-known regions or countries to allow them to explore differences in what they enjoy or don’t enjoy. I love that barefoot wine classes extend into life stories and getting to know the guests but also the guests getting to know one another.”
So social, so adventurous, so stylish, so convenient, SO/ Maldives is a resort that is ghosting the traditional notions of honeymoon heaven. And, if you do just want to lap up the luxury of your overwater villa with in-room dining, then so be it.
AirAsia to Malé
AirAsia Group flies up to 11 times weekly from Sydney and Melbourne direct to Kuala Lumpur, daily from Perth and during peak seasons from Gold Coast. Flights then head to Malé from Kuala Lumpur five times a week. Also, Thai AirAsia X flies four times weekly from Sydney direct to Bangkok. AirAsia Indonesia flies up to four times daily from Perth to Bali and four times weekly from Perth to Jakarta. Air Asia’s new Premium Flatbeds are about the same cost as some economy fares on other airlines and they are super comfortable with full service in the Premium Flatbed section (though you pay for drinks and food).
This article was originally featured in the fifth issue of Dream by Luxury Escapes magazine. Get your copy here.
