Leisure Island
Six Senses Laamu certainly makes the most of its idyllic, remote setting in the Maldives
What
If Robinson Crusoe were a hedonist, this is where you’d find him holed up: in the lap of luxury, on a water villa with unbroken views (apart from the passing show-off dolphins) across the Maldivian archipelago.
Six Senses Laamu is as isolated as it is serene, being the only resort on the almost uncharted Laamu atoll in the Indian Ocean. It is almost untouched by the 21st century, other than the über-luxe offerings of a Six Senses resort. This brings in its wake delicious, organic food — which means locally caught fish and locally grown fruit and vegetables — a choice of 400 wines and the services of a mixologist who glides between the six beachside and overwater lounges and restaurants with chic tropical cocktails. Then there are the visiting singers and DJs and the jungle cinema dishing up movies, champagne and popcorn.
And we haven’t even mentioned the spa. Here on a pristine beachfront are five treatment rooms and four nests offering true privacy in a tangle of sustainable twigs and branches. This is where guests really can chill and choose from Six Senses’ renowned body and facial treatments, enriched here with fresh products (herbs and spices) grown in situ. Along with locally inspired therapies you can choose from Ayurveda, Thai and Western treatments, as well as shiatsu, acupuncture, reiki and reflexology. There’s also a herbal steam room, outdoor experience showers and a divine yoga and meditation pavilion.
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Who
Honeymooners and others looking to rekindle romance. Guys wanting to be surfer dudes and girls needing pampering — not to mention those looking for peace and quiet in a little bit of paradise.
When
It doesn’t get any better for sun worshippers than between November and April, while surfers — from learners to wannabes and the proficient — will love it from May to September.
Six Senses Laamu offers the ultimate escape from the hectic pace of modern life
Have
The locally inspired treatments use indigenous plants and techniques. Try the Laamu Mineral Sand Poultice, where steaming poultices are applied to the skin to detoxify and help heal aching joints and strained muscles, followed by acupressure along the meridian lines. Or opt for the Laamu Bliss — a coconut oil, ginger and nutmeg massage coupled with a head massage. Almost coma-inducing.
Do
Swim, snorkel, dive — or learn any or all of them. Canoe, waterski, wakeboard, sail, island-hop or fish for your own supper, or count dolphins as they shimmy by. Enjoy a romantic sundowner on a private island, stay in the library, sleep in the shade, do nothing at all. But if you’re there from May to September it’s surfing time, when the Maldives’ famous Yin Yang eight-foot break wave arrives.
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Best
The clarity of the sea and the glories of all who live in it, many of which you can see without even getting your toes wet from your own private deck.
sixsenses.com/sixsenseslaamu
$9,987 for seven nights in a Lagoon Water Villa, based on two sharing and including half-board, domestic flights and speedboat transfer as well as relevant taxes
