Huvafen Fushi break

Huvafen Fushi

Our rating: Deluxe

Rooms

The stylish rooms are contemporary in design, with classic touches and some great gadgets.

All of them come with Bose surround sound systems and there is an espresso machine for your morning coffee and a private bar for making sundowners.

Please be aware that the over-water rooms have no barriers or balustrades. If you are uncomfortable with this setup, we would suggest that we find alternative accommodation for you.

Location

Huvafen Fushi sits in the North Malé Atoll, 30-40 minutes by speedboat from Malé International Airport. The resort is one hour ahead of Malé time, to allow for a later sunset and more 'sun hours.' This also works well with early morning flights out of Malé.

The island is tiny — you could walk end to end in a matter of minutes — but perfectly formed, with swaying palms in the centre surrounded by a strip of white sand.

Food and drink

For a small resort, there is a rich variety of dining options, and Huvafen Fushi has one of the most comprehensive wine cellars in the Maldives.

Celsius is the main restaurant, offering a variety of dishes from soups and pasta to seafood, curries and steaks. Raw offers healthy, organic food that still manages to pack a punch in the flavour department; the sunset deck at Raw is an unbeatable spot to watch the sun go down. Forno's offers contemporary Napolitano cuisine beneath a canopy of palms on the beach while Feeling Koi, the Japanese restaurant, is set over-water with an open kitchen and ocean views.

UMBar is the place to go for a cocktail, snack or sundowner, open-air screenings of films and chill-out music played by visiting DJs, while The Lair is a fantastic place to read a book or watch live sports with a drink.

Facilities and activities

For a small resort, there is plenty to keep you entertained. Water sports are in endless supply, including snorkeling, SCUBA diving, windsurfing, catamarans and canoes. Sunset and big game fishing are available.

If you prefer to stay on dry land, The Lair is perfect for when you want to lose yourself in a good book, play board games, or check the weather back home. There is a fully stocked library of books, CDs and DVD, and complimentary access to the Internet — 24 hours a day.

Yoga in the pavilion, surrounded by turquoise waters, is the epitome of peace and relaxation. You can also take part in beach volleyball or football, or wander down to the seashore in the evening to watch the staff feeding the local stingrays.

Diving

Diving is one of the main reasons to visit and the FLOAT PADI dive centre at the resort will help you discover the part of the Maldives that lies underwater.

Some of the best dive sites include:

• Woshi Mas Thila — has strong currents and grey reef sharks.
• Bodu Hithi Thila — Manta Point (seasonal).
• Rasfari North — Manta Point for good coral life (seasonal).
• Hebadhu Wreck — a small shipwreck.
• Madi Gaa — to see stingrays and good coral life.

Spa

Huvafen Fushi has the world’s first underwater spa, influenced by the colours and textures of the sea. There are eight treatment rooms, of which two are below the sea.

SubLIME allows spa guests to relax pre-treatment with a variety of hot and cold water therapies. Spa facilities include four single treatment rooms, two couples treatment rooms and two underwater treatment rooms for couples.

The signature treatment is the two and a half hour LIME Light Crystal Ritual, where you can feel the benefit of local Maldivian products in a restorative massage before unwinding in the relaxation pod while watching the world of the reef swim by.

Local excursions

There are many excursions to do from this hotel, but one of the most interesting is night snorkelling, which the resort terms ‘CSI Marine’ after the popular TV show; you can experience underwater fluorescence with a blue flashlight and see the corals feed.

If you would rather not get wet, enjoy a SpaQuarium Night Life Discovery from the comfort of the underwater spa. Rather than getting a mouthful of seawater, you can get a mouthful of champagne while the resident marine biologist explains the nocturnal life on the reef.