Checking out Ozen Reserve Bolifushi, Maldives, an uber-luxe reserved island resort
BY AKANKSHA DEAN
Beautiful, luxurious and devised to indulge to your every need, Ozen Reserve Bolifushi creates magical memories. It is a mere 30-minute speedboat ride from the capital city of Male, across the clear waters of the Indian Ocean to the palm-lined shores of Bolifushi Island.
Exclusive to the resort is an exceptional ‘Reserve’ Plan, curated to encompass the best of dining, superb beverages, and hand-picked experiences, combined perfectly with the holiday.
‘Beach or overwater villa?’ is the biggest question in the Maldives. Additionally, here is another option, one giving you the placid pink rouge of sunrise, the other the blazing sunset. Made with marble and wood, 90 well-furnished stand-alone villas and reserves, with cheerful interiors and elegantly curated open-air areas bring you as close to nature as it gets.
Book a private ocean reserve if you are a water baby, you even get your own slide, dropping you straight into the Indian Ocean.
The Bolifushi Reserve experience goes beyond conventional extravagance villas. With a private butler, a dedicated buggy, and brilliant in-villa dining service reserves guests never have to leave their reserved sanctuary. Even the mini bar in the villa, which is restocked twice, is a part of the Reserve Plan.
A wide choice awaits the visitor here – from the fun, buzzy Ozar bar where afternoon tea is a great idea or cocktail watching the sun go down in a blaze across the water better.
Then there are gourmet delights of Sangu beach, where Modern Levant and Moroccan cuisine can be feasted on under a starry sky. There is also Indian cuisine at Saffron for flavours of Northern India – think butter chicken and garlic naan – and the beach side Vista Del Mar for amazing buffets, permeated with a fresh ‘By the Ocean’ essence. Savour global cuisine with refined Spanish spur. The spreads have to be seen to be believed. If you like your wine, settle in for a gastronomic escapade at CUVEÉ with a select, multi-sensory dining experience.
The talented chefs pick the juiciest seafood and gourmet ingredients, and lash up neat, fragrant dishes with flavours that make your taste buds sing. Sumptuous champagne breakfast featuring European favourites and exotic fresh fruit platters (made to order) can be had at Ozone. But this being the Maldives you can also appreciate a dreamy beach barbeque, or a floating breakfast.
Below the waves, Bolifushi’s house reef is flawless for diving or snorkelling. There are also diverse selections for night dives nearby. You could go on a sunset cruise or enjoy one of the many water sports.
The resort is fanciful for kids too: Kuda Koli Kids’ Klub is one of the best spots in the Maldives, with a display of activities set up for every day. For landsmen, there are culinary classes, where you can absorb how to make the islander’s typical fare. And, of course, there’s a delightful spa, where therapists board you on an expedition to revitalise your true self with heartening energies of wood, fire, earth, metal and water that are important for idyllic living.
For the fitness enthusiastic there’s a hi-tech gym or they can just enjoy yoga by the beach.
In sum, there is never a dull moment at Ozen Reserve Bolifushi.
