Adventure holidays may be all the vogue but there’s still nothing quite like some old-fashioned luxury where other people do all the activity on your behalf says our columnist
A 30-minute speedboat ride away from the capital island of Malé, Baros Maldives is actually a lush, tropical island set in the turquoise waters of a shallow lagoon. The ethos of the resort revolves around nature and tranquillity, and it is small when compared to some of its neighbours, which is perfect if what you are looking for is peace and quiet, combined with über luxury of course.
We stayed in a Baros villa - the resort has only 20, and each is discreetly located on the sugar-white beach but secluded by tropical vegetation. If you can tear yourself away from the sun loungers on your expanse of private beach (which we rarely did), the resort’s house reef, just a few strokes away from the shore, is the perfect place to experience the incredible snorkelling that is on offer here, especially if, like me, you find diving just a little too energetic.
Choosing in which of the resort’s three restaurants to have our next meal was the most taxing decision of our stay and we were also spoiled with a very memorable private dinner starring the day’s catch from the ocean, on the decked area outside our villa (which spared us a journey to the restaurant). The staff at Baros are dedicated to making your stay as hassle-free and perfect as possible and not lifting a finger really is the order of the day here.
You might prefer kayaking down some Alpine gorge, but we had a good excuse: this trip was actually our honeymoon, and we had, in previous weeks, been through enough activity to fill a dozen adventure holiday brochures. After months of organising, cajoling, zipping around and generally being madly busy, it was time for other people to work for us. And at Baros, my dears, they did just that. (Incidentally, this is why the Maldives in general and Baros in particular are so good for honeymooners: it’s not that it’s romantic, it’s that there genuinely is nothing else to do, and honeymooners as a breed appreciate that. Or my kind do.)
However, we were prepared to make the effort to combine our stay in the Maldives with a break in Sri Lanka, a 90-minute flight away. The historic town of Galle, a few hours drive from Colombo on the southern coast was our first stop. Inside this soulful town’s 17th-century fort walls lies Amangalla, formerly the New Oriental Hotel which was renovated and restored by the Aman group from 2002 and reopened in 2005.
With jazz music playing throughout, and original antique furniture adorning every space, Amangalla feels more like a British country house, or Imperial-era colonial home, than a boutique-chic hotel. It boasts wonderfully luxurious facilities including The Baths (the hotel’s spa), which houses hydrotherapy pools and offers tailored Ayurvedic programmes (just ask your ‘personal butler’ to make a booking), a library and huge swimming pool.
We had planned to do lots of exploring and sight-seeing in Galle but actually we ventured out from the hotel’s walls only once during our stay - it’s just too tempting to stay and laze by the pool, have a spa treatment or play backgammon in the library with an English cream tea. The city’s famous gem merchants would have to wait for another trip (and I had a very nice rock on my finger already.)
A couple of hours’ drive along the southern coast lies Aman’s other property on the island, Amanwella. Designed by Sri Lanka’s renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa, the hotel is situated amid a coconut grove upon a crescent-shaped beach, close to the village of Tangalle. Each of the hotel’s 30 contemporary designed suites has its own terrace and plunge pool but central poolside is where you really want to be at this stunning hotel, which overlooks a staggering view of coconut palms, white sand and roaring surf. Our days were spent white water rafting, rock climbing and mountain biking. Only joking. We spent four days barely moving a muscle save that of the glass-lifting type. The hotel’s restaurant serves Mediterranean and Asian cuisine but the highlight was locally caught fresh fish eaten on our balcony (where else?) at sunset. The views and scenery did the work for us: Sri Lanka, we wish you were here with us every day.
