A curious, open-minded, upbeat and outgoing child is a huge blessing. Mind you, it’s also a huge challenge, particularly when said sweetheart gets so excited with the world that he finds it hard to part with it, particularly during nap times or at night. When they are as little as my Atlas they still need 2 naps a day, meaning I have to fight the sleep battle 3 times a day. Some days, all the stressed out parent wants is for someone to come, pat them on the back and say, it’s ok, let me help you out. Better yet, they come, pat you on the back and say ‘it’s ok, let us book you into a nice massage and feed you a delicious 3-course dinner with a choice of international quality wines.’
This is pretty much exactly what happened to me in Kurumba, a Maldives resort we were invited to check out on our recent tour through this incredible country. Although traveling during off-season meant a near empty plane and lots of space to spread I still didn’t manage to get any sleep and so all I wanted was to arrive at a beautiful resort with a nice big room and a pretty stretch of sand on my front porch – the epitomy of any Maldevian experience.
I was very excited to get to know Kurumba, as it holds an amazing history. This is actually the first(!) of the 105 resorts currently operating in the country. Ever since the first visitors came to this stunning piece of land back in early 1972, people have continuously come flocking in from all corners of the world. I was surprised to find that nothing about Kurumba seemed outdated, however, in fact everything was as spotless as any resort that just opened.
Another huge selling point to this award-winning 5-Star Resort (that prides itself on always aiming for 6-Star service) is the close proximity to the international airport in the capitol of Male. In a mere 10 minutes the speedboat transports you to the island and into heavenly bliss.
There are 9 room categories, from the super swanky pool villa to a tastefully furnished superior room. It’s all up to taste and budget. Each guest and room is attributed their own set of lounge chairs on their own little stretch of beach. You can book a lovely bungalow with immediate sea access or a stunning villa with private pool or jaccusi. Sound good yet? It gets better!
As I travel a lot I am pretty particular when it comes to food and I am rarely impressed with hotel cuisine. At Kurumba however, it is truly outstanding. I can say, that I have had only the finest dinners here. Picture this: dimly lit dining tables with white table cloth lined up on a jetty. Below you turquoise waters with plenty of fish dancing as you dine like royalty on succulent meat and freshly caught seafood.
Thila restaurant is the pride of Kurumba, for good reason, but that does not mean that any of the other 12(!) dinner options fall short of amazing. In fact I have had the best tenderloin of my life at Kurumba’s “Café”, a place that I’d have expected to be good at sandwiches and burgers but that does in fact cook up a storm in just about any playing field. Even the plain penne I ordered for my son were somehow magically tasty, although I could not put my finger on what made them so good. Whoever is in charge of food at Kurumba clearly knows what they are doing.
I could have easily spent all my time between the restaurants and the beach but the lure of a massage at the incredible spa at Kurumba was too tempting to not take it. It feels like a different world in there – spa world, so to speak, just an incredibly modern yet comforting place to be. I almost enjoyed hanging out there as much as my actual treatment.
The spa manager is Aishath Zulfishan, a lovely woman who is currently making waves with her role as a modern Maldivian woman, successfully combing work and family. In an industry where only 8% of the workforce are female, only 3% of Maldivian descent, Aishath is a role model to a whole generation of Maldivian women. She is one of the country’s most highly-qualified therapists and is now heading a team of 15 at the five-star Veli Spa at Kurumba. How does she manage to juggle this role with her 1-year old son and her family back in Malé? She has a good support system and a great attitude – 2 things that can go a long way. To know more about her, have a look at this video or read about her in this interview.
But my favorite bit of staying at Kurumba was not the food, nor the wellness or the beautiful beach. It was the willingness to be flexible, to accommodate, to really ensure we would have a good time. Plain pasta and grilled fish sent to the room at 6pm so the babies could have dinner early? No Problem. A table at close to midnight so the moms could have dinner late? No problem! An unexpected birthday surprise for my little guy who turned 1 on our second day here? No problem! A personalised cake, a birthday song from some of the staff and a beautifully decorated room with more balloons than I could count – they made it all happen for us.
It’s a shame Atlas won’t remember that time, because I know the memories would be among his fondest, but I made sure to take plenty of photos so I could one day tell him the story of how we saw reefsharks on the morning of his birthday, how he ate his first ever chocolate cake on a white sandy beach and how we would take dips in the jacuzzi after dark, just before bedtime.
Thanks for making all of this happen for us, Kurumba! We hope to be back one day.
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