Three creative ways Maldives hotels are standing out from the crowd
Adding an extra element to attract travellers.
Hotels in the Maldives have a lot to offer guests — from the most beautiful turquoise waters to floating villas with tranquil lagoon views. But like with all that is beautiful, it has meant that the hotel market has become very competitive, with many luxury brands opening resorts on the region’s tiny islands.
Of those approx. 1200 islands, around 200 are inhabited and 100 or so are now resorts. This has happened all in the last 40 years, and as the destination has become more and more popular (largely due to the growth of social media and being one of the most beautiful places to photograph on earth), resorts have been involved in a race to the top — seeing the standard of service, rooms and cuisine rise exponentially in the last decade.
Most of the world’s luxury brands are there, with many new openings in 2018 (like the St Regis and Mӧvenpick Resort & Spa Kuredhivaru Maldives) with more coming in 2019 including the Waldorf Astoria Maldives.
So in such a saturated market, what do hotels do to creatively make themselves stand out from the crowd?
In Discovery Magazine’s latest addition, travel writer Cathy Adams explores exactly how some key resorts are addressing this issue, with some going to extra lengths to find that unique selling point.
Here we share three of these examples with you.
The stunning Conrad Rangali Island is set on two private islands joined together with a footbridge. It was in fact the first international resort in the Maldives, the pioneer of overwater villas, and the first to open a five-metre-deep, underwater fine dining restaurant where guests can eat their food while viewing the Indian oceans breathtaking marine life.
While this resort may seem to have it all in terms of unique selling points, they will be going one step further this year with the introduction of a two-level residence called The Muraka. Launching in a month’s time in November 2018, the new residence features a below the water level — taking guests one step closer to nature on a highly personal level. The underwater villa will be the first of its kind in the Maldives so they are guaranteed to stand out with this one, with the resort currently marketing it through a series of video clips on social media and on the website.
Being extremely low lying (with the highest point in the entire country being just over two metres), the tranquil Maldives is not a surfer’s paradise. Until, that is, some clever folks at Como Maalifushi discovered some virgin breaks in the atolls surrounding the resort.
Now the hotel offers packages for surfers of different levels, creating an entirely new dimension to time in the Maldives, and encompassing a completely separate genre of travellers. Now guests can enjoy the islands’ peaceful surroundings but also take part in their favourite sport too.
The surfing packages have been marketed in surfing and lifestyle magazines through media outreach to spread the word. They have also partnered with Australian surf experts Tropicsurf — to market Como as a luxury surfing destination among the surfing community.
Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi
Another new comer this year (opening in May 2018), Fairmont’s Sirru Fen Fushi resort located in the northern Shaviyani Atoll, was also looking to differentiate itself from competitors with the introduction of a creative initiative. Going on the theme of underwater, the resort unveiled the country’s first ‘semi-submerged’ coral art installation by underwater artist Jason deCaires Taylor, where guests could snorkel around the art space to take a look at the installation above and below water.
Unfortunately, since then the Maldives government decided to remove the eco-art pieces due to reasons unknown, but the hotel still has the overall Coralarium minus the statues — a gallery structure and tree lined underwater coral boulevard, focusing on the hotel’s coral restoration program. A new attraction is planned within this gallery so we’ll watch this space.
While resorts may be looking to add attractions to stand out from the crowd, it’s all in the marketing as to whether these initiatives get noticed. The three resorts above have used stunning visuals and clever social media marketing to spread the word, as well as extensive media outreach and email marketing campaigns.
