By Elizabeth Woodson
Long an idyllic escape, the Maldives reinvents itself as a melting pot of spa cultures.
As doctor visits go, this one certainly falls under the “Not Every Day” header: Fly 11,281 miles, across 13 time zones, then hop a seaplane to a jungle island in the Maldives’ Baa Atoll to sit nude in an open-air, beachfront pavilion while Dr. Vijay covers me with freshly ground pea paste. I’ve had my fair share of ayurvedic treatments, but this, a vigorous rubdown at Six Senses’ Soneva Fushi with an oil suited to my dosha (body type), followed by a scrub with the aforementioned peas, all performed on a medicated wooden table straight from India, is one of the more authentic versions I’ve experienced. It’s also surely one of the best this side of Kerala, where ayurveda traces its origins.
The Maldives’ 1,190 Indian Ocean islands have been celebrated more as escapes for sybarites seeking the tropical trifecta – sand, sea, and sun – than as oases for travelers looking to bring a little holistic good into their lives. As such, spas here have wow factor to spare, with underwater versions, overwater versions, and every level in between. But now, more and more are focusing on providing guests with an experience that goes beyond aesthetics (though there’s something to be said for watching angelfish flit about a coral garden as you’re facedown on a massage table). It’s all in the aim of turning the 510-mile-long archipelago into a bona fide wellness destination, and it seems to be catching on: The Maldivian government estimates that some 20 percent of visitors now come specifically to take the waters at the nation’s spas.
Unlike destinations such as India and Thailand that boast similar numbers, the Maldives doesn’t have a strong indigenous healing culture. Instead, local healers practice a modified form of ayurveda, with herbs that are familiar in both the Middle East and Southeast Asia, plus their own version of thalassotherapy. These traditions owe more to the country’s geographic positioning and history than anything else.
A major stopover on shipping routes, the islands have long played host to sailors, from ancient Egyptians and Greeks to Sri Lankan, Indian, Southeast Asian, and Arabic traders. Each culture left an imprint still visible today: The Maldives has been an Islamic nation since it was converted from Buddhism in 1153; the cuisine is similar to the curries enjoyed by its closest neighbors, India and Sri Lanka; and even its language, Dhivehi, is rooted in Sanskrit.
All of this means that Maldivian spas can pull from a pan-Asian grab bag of treatments and still feel appropriate. And the best spas – Six Senses’ two properties Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili, the Espa outpost at One&Only Reethi Rah, Taj Exotica’s Jiva Grande Spa, and the spa at Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru – use this geographic license as a way to expose guests to a wide range of healing modalities in their most authentic forms.
At Soneva Fushi, a rotating roster of holistic practitioners supplements the already extensive menu of services. During a three-day visit – in between snorkel trips to see manta rays, elaborate wine tastings in the underground cellar, and lazy moments floating in my private pool and lounging on my own stretch of white sand beach – I spent hours in the slate-walled treatment rooms, tended to by a naturopathic doctor, a chiropractor, and a Reiki and reflexology specialist from Germany. At Soneva Fushi’s sister resort, Soneva Gili, located a short 20-minute speedboat ride from Male, I saw a Swiss acupuncturist and a specialist in abdominal massage from Thailand at the overwater spa.
Located on the same atoll as Soneva Fushi, the Spa and Ayurvedic Retreat at Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru is probably the closest thing to a destination spa in the Maldives. Two ayurvedic doctors prescribe a course of treatments, from elakizhi, bodywork that uses warmed poultices packed with healing herbs and spices, to shirodhara, a massage that culminates with oil being dripped onto the third eye. The doctors also give dietary plans according to your dosha, and guests looking to fully immerse themselves in the experience can follow the diet to the letter during their stay with the on-site ayurvedic chef. There’s even a 14-day detox program, and in April, the hotel will hold the first of four multiday retreats on topics such as sleep therapy and male-female relationships.
At Four Seasons, I book the Devi Bhavani treatment, part of the resort’s tantric ayurvedic offerings, with some skepticism (I’m more of the don’t-talk-just-rub-me camp of spagoers than the new age contingent). This ritual for women (men and couples get their own rituals too) is a 2.5-hour procession of chanting, praying, breathing, massage, and bathing performed by two angelic therapists from Bali that’s meant to increase the flow of feminine energy through the body. It kicks off with the therapists, rather than touching you, preparing themselves by going through a sequenced series of moves to allow energy to flow freely through their bodies. Whether or not I fully subscribed to the philosophy, while sitting in a sumptuous round tub filled with flowers I suddenly realize that I’ve been smiling for the last hour or so and have no intention of stopping anytime soon.
One&Only Reethi Rah makes no qualms about catering to those who prefer life’s finer things – in fact, guests’ first experience with the resort comes by way of the 75-minute trip to the property from the airport in a decked-out yacht. Champagne sabering aside, the on-site ESPA unabashedly grounds the resort, thanks to its contemplative vibe and a well-balanced spa menu that blends ayurvedic treatments with therapies from Thailand, China, Japan, and Indonesia. A fusion approach is nothing new for Espa, but somehow it feels more relevant in this Maldivian setting than in other locations I’ve visited.
A 15-minute boat ride from Male, Taj Exotica’s Jiva Grande Spa highlights the healing traditions of India as well. But here the spa looks beyond ayurvedic healing to expose guests to other modalities, with treatments such as Indian cupping (where glasses filled with hot air create a vacuum on sore points on the body) and champi (traditional Indian head massage using an oil infused with herbs and spices, such as curry powder). Yoga also plays a fundamental role. Resident guru Pravesh Jain leads classes several times a day in a pavilion overlooking the property’s 200-acre lagoon – perhaps one of the best places in the islands to practice. There are even plans to introduce yoga retreats to the resort – multiday workshops that include five-plus yoga sessions per day, spa treatments, and a menu of health-oriented dishes from the resort’s two restaurants. Taj does a brilliant job of integrating yoga into the actual spa experience: The three-hour Samattva treatment guides guests through a series of standing postures, seated poses, and meditation sequences aided by gemstone and color therapy. In essence, it’s a very extended, very elaborate, and very rewarding session.
The mindfulness and clarity that Maldivian spas promote come at a particularly poignant time for the nation. The country recently elected President Mohamed Nasheed, who is bringing international attention to the islands’ plight: One of the lowest-lying nations in the world, it’s quite literally in danger of sinking as a result of rising sea levels (an issue that President Nasheed put center stage at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen). The country has just embarked on a progressive program of ecological reform aimed at making the entire nation carbon neutral in ten years’ time. It’s a fundamental shift: less pure hedonistic pleasure, more holistic healing, starting with the destination itself.
Maldives Makeover
How to get the healing touch.
Emirates offers daily connecting service (through Dubai) to Male from New York (JFK), Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
With 102 stylish beachfront and overwater villas on Baa Atoll, Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru boasts an impressive range of amenities, from the spa’s overwater treatment room, open-air garden pavilions, and newly built retreat center, to one of the best dive outfitters around, complete with its own marine biology education center. Doubles from $700, including breakfast and a $100 spa credit.
Equal parts glamour (130 thatched-roof villas featuring Jean-Michel Gathy’s Asian-inspired interiors and nightly parties where Manolo Blahniks are de rigueur) and family-friendly fun (there’s an an elaborate kids’ club and extensive activities) the posh One&Only Maldives at Reethi Rah is one of the largest resorts in the islands: It spreads over a 109-acre North Male atoll, more than half of which is man made. Doubles from $900, including breakfast.
Six Senses’ first and flagship property, Soneva Fushi, is a 110-acre private-island resort with a barefoot policy, 65 rooms and villas (all with private pools), and tony features such as the 2,000-bottle wine cellar and star-gazing observatory. Doubles from $482, including breakfast and a 30-minute couples massage.
Set in a lagoon a short jaunt from Male, Soneva Gili & Six Senses Spa was the Maldives’ first resort to build its rooms overwater. Now comprising 38 stilted villas connected to the main island by a jetty, plus 7 villas where guests row boats to and from the mainland, the property embodies the barefoot ethos of its sister resort, right down to the “No News, No Shoes” policy. Doubles from $936, including breakfast and a 30-minute couples massage.
Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives is the closest resort to Male, but doesn’t feel like it, thanks to its 200-acre lagoon setting – the largest lagoon of any Maldivian resort. Taj’s 62 villas are built both overwater (many have private pools) and on the long, narrow island. Don’t miss dinner at The Deep End, the resort’s signature restaurant, with some of the best food in the islands. Doubles from $675, including breakfast and one private dinner with wine.