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| Club Med Finolhu offers couples and weary city travelers a luxurious holiday gateway on the azure blue waters of the stunning Maldives islands. (Photo courtesy of Club Med Finolhu) |
It was every shade of blue glimmering under the golden sun. As far as
the eye can see, waters so crystal clear one can easily spot baby
sharks swimming around among schools of fish.
On a table in the corner was breakfast — a Japanese breakfast menu
consisting of freshly baked salmon, rice, soy sauce, seaweed and a bowl
of miso soup, with a fruit platter and a bread basket on the side —
delivered by a butler whose phone call had woken me up that morning to
tell me he had set up my morning meal on the patio while I was asleep.
He hoped I didn’t mind.
I set a portable speaker — provided by the hotel — on the table and
connected it with my music player so that the tunes of my choice became
the soundtrack to the exquisite morning view before me.
Such was the typical morning for guests at Club Med Finolhu, the
French resort chain’s newest and first adult-only resort, located in the
Maldives.
Known back in the ’80s for its wild, non-stop partying and youthful
flare, Club Med today has taken on an almost completely different form,
with most of its resort, including those in Indonesia’s islands of Bali
and Bintan, catering more and more to families and businesses.
But the establishment of Club Med Finolhu, the resort’s second chain
in the Maldives, marks its foray into even newer territories.
Its first Maldives resort, Club Med Kani, located a short five-minute
boat ride away from Finolhu, boasts 260 rooms and villas in total, and
still has a touch of the Club Med holiday-goers are more acquainted
with. Various forms of entertainment — ranging from comedy performances
to musicals — is a nightly affair, and both guests and Club Med staff
blend together in the parties that typically follow these shows.
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| The Sunrise Lagoon Villa, with direct access to the shallow waters. (Photo courtesy of Club Med Finolhu) |
At Finolhu, however, the number of rooms is cut down quite
significantly. Home to only 52 villas, guests, most of whom are couples
on their honeymoon or those taking a break from their daily grind, are
guaranteed premium, uninterrupted tranquility and privacy. Every villa
is assigned its own butler, who would readily cater to room service
requests.
A pathway divides the island into two. One part, which hosts the
Sunrise Lagoon Villas and the Sunrise Beach Villas, looks out to where
the sun rises every morning — a treat for the early risers.
The other, upon which the Sunset Lagoon Villas and Sunset Beach
Villas are located, is where guests can enjoy the crimson Maldivian
sunset.
Each villa boasts a spacious bedroom, living room, and shower room,
and a private pool with a view of the sea. For guests occupying a lagoon
villa, a staircase next to the pool leads right into the shallow water,
calling for a dip.
In the resort’s main area, absent is the sound of upbeat, dance music
blaring from the speakers I remember from a visit to Club Med Bali last
year. All around at the main pool that overlooks the pristine blue
waters and a beach, guests are free to sunbathe and relax to soothing,
down-tempo music playing. A bar is located just right next to the pool,
so that guests are able to maximize on the all-inclusive policy —
drinks, food, and activities are covered for in the nightly rate — which
Club Med pioneered.
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| View from the shower room of the resort’s Sunset Lagoon Villa. (Photo courtesy of Club Med Finolhu) |
Going green
The resort’s adult-exclusive policy is not the only thing that sets
it apart from its predecessors. Upon reaching the island and walking on
the jetty, guests would easily notice solar panels neatly attached on
the roof.
“All of the electricity in Finolhu is solar-powered,” Club Med’s
country manager for Indonesia Bruno Courbet explains. “There is a lot of
sun, although on days when it’s raining and there isn’t enough power,
we have a generator to use as backup.”
While popular as a holiday destination, especially among
honeymooners, the mention of Maldives over the past few years have not
only included tales of its natural beauty, but also its potential to be
one of the countries in the world most geographically prone to be
affected by climate change and rising water levels.
In December 2004, the Maldives was also one of the countries that had
to bear the brunt of the Indian Ocean tsunami, which in the Indonesian
province of Aceh saw hundreds of thousands of people killed and missing.
“It was not as bad as Aceh, we did not have a big wave wash over the
islands, but the tide was very, very low, my sailing instructor recalled
one afternoon as we were slowly leaving the shore on our small sailing
boat for four.
“All of these areas were dry, you could see lots of fish jumping
around because there was no water,” he says pointing at the waters
around us. “After a while, water suddenly kept rising and rising and
before you know it our lands were flooded.”
Club Med Kani, built in 2000, was among the holiday destinations affected by this natural disaster.
“All the over-water bungalows were damaged. We closed the village for
a few months and rebuilt them,” Bruno says. “We reinforced their
structures with concrete [as part of our] prevention [efforts].”
No guests and staffs of the resort were hurt, although electricity
was cut off for a while, Bruno explained, adding that sufficient food
and water was provided and everyone was evacuated within on week.
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A bird’s-eye view of the resort. (Photo courtesy of Club Med Finolhu)
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With the establishment of Finolhu and its strict use of solar power,
Club Med aims to contribute to the environment and the nature that
surrounds and sustains both of its Maldives resorts.
“The use of solar-powered electricity is one example of how we can
pursue this [as part of our] corporate social responsibility’s
direction, particularly so in the Maldives, given its strategic
importance in resort destinations,” Bruno adds.
“We hope it will set the benchmark on further development in the
Maldives as this country has to be the pioneer of sustainability.”
A snorkeling excursion to several nearby reefs with guests from the
resort made it clear just how valuable the surrounding ecosystem was,
not only to Club Med, but to the Maldives and its busy tourism industry.
In these deeper waters, colorful fishes I’ve never seen during
previous snorkeling trips, swim about in large numbers and feed from the
seemingly endless corals. If lucky, one would meet sea turtles,
seahorses, and even manta rays. An attempt to count all the different
types of fish with my fingers failed, not because my goggles were
fogging up, but because one would simply lose track.
Maldives and all of its beauty, above and underwater, proves itself a gem.
By Christabelle Palar on 10:00 am Feb 24, 2015
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