Attitudes to luxury are changing. The concept used to mean physical things, stuff you bought, logos you sported, bags you toted. Instead, quiet luxury has shifted away from the materialistic towards the experiential.
Huvafen Fushi, as I discover on a recent trip to the private-island resort in the Maldives, has always known that true luxury is about experiences. It's about time spent with loved ones and the peace that comes from stillness, sunbathing and stargazing in a paradisiacal setting.
But luxury is also about limiting one's time travelling. After I land at Velana International Airport, the five-star resort in the North Male Atoll is just a 30-minute speedboat ride away. Modest compared to many other Maldivian getaways.
Although I may as well have thrown my watch into the Indian Ocean. Here, conventional time ceases to exist. I'm on island time now …
The welcome
Arriving at the jetty has a certain cachet: who wouldn't feel like a James Bond character as the motors are cut and they step onto a wooden jetty, crystal waters sparkling beneath them.
As soon as I step foot on the sandy island, my shoes are shed, not to be utilised again until departure. Soppe, our butler for the duration of the stay, alongside an array of staff, greets my friend and me as we disembark. Soppe proffers lemongrass-scented cold towels and a refreshing yuzu drink.
The room
We are at Huvafen Fushi to experience the resort’s two-bedroom Ocean Pavilion, complete with a pool. The larger pavilions – including one with an indoor-outdoor pool – can accommodate six, so as we are only two, all that space only adds to the luxury.
The pavilion is vast, 330 square metres of breezy, cream-coloured space where the view is the star of the show and so has been designed accordingly. The huge bedrooms that flank either side of the living space are matched almost in size by their en suites, each with bath tubs the size of mini pools and floor-to-ceiling windows that invite the outdoors in.
The living area features curved sofas, and the television, while large, isn't switched on once. Not when there’s marine life to watch through the partial-glass floor, plus sunsets and sunrises to be wowed by, which our enviable position at the end of the jetty gave us a front-row seat to.
There’s a kitchenette with tea and coffee, alongside a refrigerator fully stocked with drinks and glassware for every conceivable beverage. The dining area is also separate, ideal for in-pavilion meals.
Huvafen Fushi knows, though, that you’re not going to be spending much time indoors. Outside on the deck, the infinity pool beckons. With an outdoor table and chairs, a sofa and sunloungers, and dedicated full butler service, it's the kind of resort accommodation you never need to leave.
Other accommodation options include ocean, lagoon and deluxe beach bungalows, two-bedroom beach houses, and a three-bedroom beach pavilion that sleeps nine, all with private pools.
The food
For a small island, there’s an impressive array of dining options. The resort has taken great care to consider not only where to eat, but also how you dine.
There’s delicious Japanese-Latin fusion at Salt, where the black-tip reef sharks glide elegantly below; organic bistro dining at Raw; global cuisine and daily breakfast at Celsius; and wood-fired pizza and Italian classics at Fogliani’s. We eat at all of them, impressed by the extensive offerings and the amount of fresh, local produce, of which the catch of the day of reef fish and snapper are a highlight.
During our stay, we also enjoy the Infinity Seafood Sensation, a three-course candlelight dinner beneath the stars. We dine at the lively, bespoke Cardamom, enjoying food served straight from the tandoor oven by our personal chef, who came armed with facts and anecdotes about the destination, making for an enlightening evening.
When it comes to dining options, the choices have been curated for peak romance. The Digging Beach Dinner features a sunken table hand-carved into the sand, while Immerse…Latitude 4° Underwater Dinner is an unforgettable beneath-the-waves dining experience – no scuba equipment necessary.
The beautiful white sand bank that flanks the jetty leading to the overwater villas and pavilions is available for private lunch or dinner, while the Arabian dinner features a personalised Middle Eastern menu by the sea. Oh, and if ever there were a time and place to propose, it would be during the Rock Dinner, which serves up dinner a deux on your own mini-island.
The scene
Huvafen Fushi is equally welcoming to singles, friend groups and families with children of any age, but it’s especially perfect for couples. Romantic touches are everywhere, from the tailored dining options to the many secluded areas ideal for sunbathing and quality time.
While all bungalows and pavilions come with a private pool, the main infinity pool is a peaceful place to hang out. It's particularly lovely at night, thanks to tiny lights at the bottom that make the water look starlit. Here is also where you’ll find Drift, a small circular pool with a high salt content set over the ocean, which allows you to float peacefully with nothing more to do than watch the clouds glide by.
It’s a relatively early island. Most guests dine around 7pm, so our 8pm restaurant bookings often leave us the last ones there. That’s not to say they ushered us out; indeed, the Umbar and Raw Sunset Deck bars will stay open to accommodate latecomers, but most guests prefer to retire to their luxury accommodation post-dinner.
The activities
The resort is one of those “do as little or as much as you want” places. Head to Float for watersports, equipment and excursion planning. Here they offer a dolphin cruise, traditional Maldivian sunset fishing, coral garden snorkelling, guided night snorkelling, and a turtle safari, as well as options such as kayaking, paddleboarding and scuba-diving.
We head out by boat to a nearby reef for a guided turtle safari and an hour of snorkelling. While the turtles decided to hang out elsewhere, we spot groupers, angelfish, clown triggerfish and more. The bicolour parrotfish is a particular favourite, meandering through the reef, its colourful scales catching the sunlight.
We book into the spa for a 90-minute Underwater Dream treatment, which, as its name suggests, is not a run-of-the-mill experience. We descend the stairs into the underwater spa, a windowed room glowing a relaxing celestial blue. As far as once-in-a-lifetime experiences go, it’s high on the list. An array of facials and massages is on offer, and they can be enjoyed both under and above the water. There are also post-treatment steam rooms, saunas and sunloungers.
The service
The two-bedroom Ocean Pavilion and three-bedroom Beach Pavilion come with dedicated butler service, ensuring all your restaurant bookings and enquiries are handled swiftly. Service, however, is exemplary across the board – staff remember names and drink orders and other preferences with ease – and anything you need is just a phone call or buggy ride away.
Non-intrusive and non-stuffy, the Maldivian staff we meet loved to chat, so expect a side order of chinwag with your meals. That’s island life.
Top tip
Pay a visit to Partey, the one-legged white-breasted water hen who calls the island home. The story of his lost leg has been lost to time, but he hangs out between beach villas four and five and is happy to hop by, literally, to squawk at you and chase away other birds.
The verdict
The phrase “paradise on Earth” gets thrown around a lot, but if it’s true, why not? Huvafen Fushi is a glorious, almost unreal slice of glittering waters, a tropical breeze, and barefoot living at its best.
The bottom line
Two-bedroom Ocean Pavilions start $3,907 per night, excluding taxes.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the resort and reflects standards during this time. Services may change in the future
