Paradise Found: W Maldives

The Maldives aren't real. They are not supposed to be there. No seriously, it makes no sense that in the middle of the Indian Ocean there are small islands appearing out of the deep blue. Like my teenage acne growing up, these islands dot the Indian Ocean, but unlike my acne, they do so in the most pristine and beautiful way imaginable. And when it comes to visiting the Maldives, you're pretty much limited to seeing only what your hotel can offer, so its important to chose wisely. But then again, it's basically impossible to make the wrong choice.

We stayed at the W Maldives after a prolonged deliberation because of the sheer amount of fantastic options on the Maldives. The reason why we chose it was primarily because of its incredible house reef and ability to snorkel right off our bungalow. But the marine wildlife was not the only thing that impressed us at this 12 acre hotel. 

Pick your route

Getting to the Maldives is quite the experience. For us, we flew from Jaipur, which required a bit stop at the most surprising airport of all time-Bangalore. This airport is seriously beautiful, and took me completely by shock. We checked into our Air India flight to the Maldives and spent a couple hours at a fantastic lounge (better than most American lounges), and landed on a man made island an hour and a half later. The Maldives airport is currently going through renovation, and it is seriously needed because when five 777's and our little A320 are parked and all those passengers are going through customs in basically an over-sized trailer, problems are inevitable. If the hotel you chose is a sea plane ride away, keep in mind that the planes only operate during daylight, and we just barely made it in time for our 20-minute flight over the Indian Ocean, non-stop to the W. Getting to the seaplane terminal meant coming through immigration, walking to a representative at a kiosk who took our bags, then being escorted to a van which took us around to the opposite end of the airport, where we waited in a private W Lounge for about half an hour while checking in and being briefed on the hotel by fantastic employees. Flying on seaplanes is a thrilling experience, albeit seriously cramped. With every passing minute, my excitement for finally being in one of the places that had been high up on my bucket list grew. Thanks to rough waters, we landed about a half mile off the island, and docked at essentially a floating piece of wood where we then boarded a boat and made our way to the hotel which I was drooling over from above just minutes earlier. 

The landing strip for the seaplanes, which made for entertaining plane watching once an hour

Nilesh, AKA the best bartender (mixologist) of all time...keep reading to find out more on the man behind this amazing creation.

Upon arrival, you are greeted by several members of the staff, hotel towels and tropical drinks. We were personally escorted by Anne, the Assistant Front Office Manager. who gave us a full tour of the tiny island. From the moment you step on the island, you truly feel like a special member in heaven, and I couldn't help but smile for basically a full hour straight, especially when we stepped into our rooms. 

Service: A+

A view of the room from the patio

Fun little feature of the room. The first time I walked over this glass circle, I saw a shark swim right on by and I knew that I was going to enjoy my stay here!

Incredibly spacious with almost too high of ceilings, this room was pure magic. A private plunge pool along with outdoor shower, dining table and huge lounging area on the outdoor patio made it quite difficult to leave the room, plus the stairs leading to one of the most beautiful coral reefs in the entire world made it essentially impossible. On the interior, the furniture seemed to communicate in the most graceful of ways with the Maldivian culture and vibe. The shower was fantastic, a tell-tale sign of a great hotel. And the bathtub? How about one with a view out over the Indian Ocean to tickle your fancy. Quite ticklish, let me tell you. The room is definitely designed for couples though. There were more than a few times that I saw more than I would have liked, but had I been with a significant other, whole different story. Regardless, the room is an absolute gem, and had my dad describing it as, "One of the best rooms I have ever stayed in." And this was just a week after we were at the Presidential Suite of the Four Seasons Abu Dhabi.

God, looking back on this now is making me seriously upset that I had to leave!

Rooms: A

After we hung out in our room for an hour so to settle in, we made our way out for dinner. The W had several options for dinner, which vary nightly. Two restaurants, Fish and Fire, alternate nightly as a dinner option, and Kitchen is the buffet option open for all meals, every day. The first night we went to Fire, where we enjoyed perfectly cooked steak. To be honest, it wasn't anything special. Frankly, you're on an island in the middle of fu*king nowhere so you can't blame them too much. 

Some of the freshest fish you could imagine, and served at a restaurant aptly named "Fish"

No birds around here trying to steal your food (except bats do fly around the island), only sharks roaming around for a free meal by clumsy eaters!

Every meal after that just got better and better. Sushi at Fish while sitting over roaming black tip sharks was one of my favorite dining experiences of all time. The grand buffet at Fire a couple nights later ranks up in the top 5 best buffets of my life along with the likes of the W Hong Kong, Arboretum Dubai at the Jumeirah and the Bacchanal at Ceasar's Palace. We had room service for lunch one time, where we had a platter of sushi set up on the patio right after snorkeling (which I found somewhat comical). We had a couple lunches at Fish as well, and they were fantastic, with probably the best poke bowl I've ever had. And breakfasts at Kitchen never failed to impress. There were a solid amount of options, along with a nice spectrum of cuisine form around the world because the Maldives attracts such a diverse crowd. 

Kitchen, where we had breakfast every morning. Some tables are placed in the shallow pool of water, adding to the whole tropical vibe of your Maldivian vacation.

As a disclaimer though, be prepared to drop some serious dough on food. Two people, dinner and drinks, will run you at least $100. But, like I said, you're on an island in the middle of nowhere, so you have no choice but to splurge. 

All in all, dining is a B+. 

Wet Bar was slightly less picturesque, but with Nilesh making some of the most unique drinks we've ever had, we didn't even realize!

After every meal, we made our way to either Wet Bar or Sip Bar. This is where we met one of the highlights of our trip. Nilesh was the name of the lead mixologist at the hotel, and the guy was a true master of his craft. We befriended him our first night at the Wet Bar, where we had him create whatever his mind could come up with, and man did this guy succeed. I had some of the most unique, flavorful drinks of my life thanks to Nilesh, and all while using only the most natural ingredients and staying true to Maldivian and Indian roots. Plus, coupling the drinks with some great shisha made everything that much better. We didn't make our way out to Sip until the last night, which we were super bummed by because that bar is seriously one of the most beautiful in the world, perched out over the water underneath the stars. 

Yeah, not a bad place to post up with some drinks and shisha, no matter what time of the day it is!

Bars: Thanks to Nilesh, an undeniable A.

We never used the spa, but we didn't really even think about it. We were to preoccupied spending basically every second in the water. The only time we ventured out of the hotel was to go on a whale shark trip. It got complicated because to go as a part of a tour, we would need to have a group of at least 8, which on the day we wanted to go was not a reality. Instead, we bargained a yacht charter for the two of us to a reasonable price and took it out in hopes to find some of the most majestic creatures of the ocean. Unfortunately, after about four hours on the boat, we did not find them, but what we did find was a school of almost a dozen massive manta rays. Swimming down and simply being in the water with them made the trip worth it. They are seriously incredible animals, and it was an honor to have been so close and personal with them.

The Library of the hotel was a nice spot to hang out during the afternoon and play some pool

We also took a half day to scuba dive. I've now dove five times, but have yet to get PADI certified, so I had to go through an hour long process of learning how to dive again, taking a quiz, then learning in shallow water before finally going out and diving around the house reef of the resort. 

The house reef is stunning. And what's crazy is that apparently, a couple of years back, some sort of disease hit the reef and killed almost everything in and around it. Ever since, the hotel has been working on bringing it back to life, but let me tell you, if we weren't told this, I would not have been able to tell. All I saw was the most vibrant reef, teeming with all kinds of life. On our first snorkel, I saw a nurse shark, black tips, turtle, eagle rays, and fish that I had never seen before. Scuba diving allowed for a more engaging experience with the underwater world, but honestly did not reveal anything new and exciting. Regardless, being underwater really did feel like I was in a different world. 

The pool of the W Maldives never really attracted many of the guests because every room at the hotel has its own private pool. Plus, there's that little pool called the Indian Ocean that wasn't bad either. But hey, this one had a giant flamingo!

Which then comes to the point that if you aren't in the water, there really isn't much else to do (not that you need anything else to do). Of course, there's the spa, a small gym, a nice infinity edge pool with a swim up bar, and coordinated activities such as yoga and sunset sailing trips. It's just such a small island that it's tough to really create a diversity when it comes to things to do. But that's kind of the point I guess. You come to the Maldives to do precisely nothing. 

And of course, there's the beach. Kind of murky water though, clearly.

Amenities: A- (A top notch house reef is really all you need)

Would we come back to the W? Maybe. It's a clean cut hotel, with beautiful design, solid location and top of the line service, all to go along with that awesome W-style fun which brings in all the quirks and parties. I made a pit stop at the Sheraton on my way back to the airport because my flight was so late and the Sheraton was closer to the airport, and my goodness was I glad that we didn't stay there. Too big, and too close to other things. Now, will we come back to the Maldives? Absolutely. It puts Bora Bora to shame in my opinion. Eh, maybe that's an exaggeration based on recency bias, but still, I'll definitely be back. But maybe with a girlfriend or wife so I can see her naked instead.