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Six Senses Laamu triumphs as Eco-Hotel of the Year at AsiaSpa Awards

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Six Senses Laamu has taken home the 2017 Eco-Hotel of the Year award by AsiaSpa.

At the 13th annual AsiaSpa Awards ceremony held in Hong Kong recently, Six Senses Laamu won the Eco-Spa/Hotel of the Year award that celebrates its commitment to sustainability throughout its operations and development.

“We are very excited to receive this award from AsiaSpa. As we stay true to our core values of being environmentally responsible and caring, having been recognised for our efforts as the Eco-Hotel of the Year by AsiaSpa is a great honor. The Six Senses Laamu team shows great initiative when it comes to marine conservation, responsible energy and water consumption and overall reducing the resort’s carbon footprint and we try to be better and more effective every day. I am very proud for the team and we will continue to work together towards an even more sustainable Six Senses Laamu,” Marteyne van Well, General Manager of Six Senses Laamu, was quoted in a statement, as saying.

With many conservation projects and initiatives in place, Six Senses Laamu and its Six Senses Spa have committed to being a leader among Maldives resorts and of the industry by demonstrating such responsible operations, while providing high quality services and experiences to its guests. In winning this award, the resort has been acknowledged for its pursuit of excellence and for striving to raise the bar in the region’s thriving wellness industry.

Some of the key sustainable initiatives created by the resort include:

  • Six Senses Laamu has laid the foundation to be the first plastic-free atoll in the Maldives by 2020.
  • Creation of an Earth Lab; a centralised hub of recycling and innovative ideas. Glass is recycled into pots, vegetable waste becomes compost, and wood into charcoal. For example 660kg of recycled glass light covers were produced in the Earth Lab.
  • The resort enforces a strict “no-take” stance on the purchase of endangered or vulnerable fish from local fishermen.
  • The resort funded and created the first Turtle Festival in Laamu, “Turtles in Laamu, Safe and Protected,” which had more than 600 attendees.
  • In 2014, they created and distributed the country’s first ever Dolphin Watching Code of Conduct as well as a turtle interaction code of conduct.
  • Six Senses Laamu partners with international NGOs such as the Manta Trust, the Blue Marine Foundation, and the Olive Ridley Project.
  • Reef Check, Fish Watch, Shark Watch, barnacle studies and biodiversity surveys are conducted year round with data submitted to the IUCN, Marine Research Centre, and the Olive Ridley Project.
  • Their reusable bag initiative teaches local women to make bags from old clothes, eliminating the need for single-use plastic bags.
  • The resort provides marine education to local youth in all 13 schools in Laamu.
  • Bi-monthly community meetings are held about waste management, marine reserves, and internship/employment opportunities.
  • Designated plastic, metal, paper, glass bins are constant reminders to guests about the importance of waste segregation. Guests are encouraged to bring batteries, lighters, and plastic back to their respective countries for recycling.
  • Bicycles are provided for transportation around the island.
  • Suppliers are asked to reduce any necessary packaging in all deliveries.
  • The resort conducts beach and reef clean-ups, tree-planting sessions, local community visits, and turtle and manta naming.

Six Senses Laamu is the only resort located in the Laamu atoll, which lies in the southern part of the Maldives. Surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the resort prides itself on its commitment to sustainable operations and development as outlined by Agenda 21 and Green Globe Benchmarking.

At Six Senses Laamu, most of the villas and facilities are built overwater. However, beach villas and on-land dining is an option. All villas offer a sense of privacy and seclusion, with an amazing view to the Ocean and Maldivian nature.

Six Senses Laamu offers a wide range of dining options, with cuisines from around the world, a swimming pool with a sunken bar, an ice cream parlour, an overwater wine cellar and a signature Chill bar. Many activities, excursions and options are available for everyone to enjoy, both overwater and underwater, in addition to the Six Senses Spa.

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Feydhoo Hall opens at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives as new event space

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Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has announced the opening of Feydhoo Hall, a landmark event venue at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives, redefining the possibilities for meetings, celebrations, and destination events in the Maldives.

Designed to bring scale, flexibility, and creativity to island gatherings, Feydhoo Hall represents a bold step forward in positioning the Maldives as a dynamic destination for conferences, weddings, and large-scale social occasions.

Feydhoo Hall offers a versatile event complex designed to accommodate a wide range of gatherings, from corporate meetings and conferences to weddings and social celebrations.

At its core is the 390 sqm Main Hall, capable of hosting:

  • Up to 300 guests in theatre-style setup
  • Up to 240 guests for dining and banquet-style events
  • Up to 200 guests for cocktail-style receptions
  • Up to 144 guests in cluster-round configuration

Enhancing the flexibility of the venue are additional dedicated spaces, including:

  • A 110 sqm Veranda Terrace, ideal for welcome receptions, breakout sessions, and pre-event gatherings, accommodating up to 100 guests for cocktail-style events.
  • A spacious 1,000 sqm Lawn Space, perfect for large-scale outdoor celebrations, destination weddings, and open-air events, accommodating up to 400 guests for cocktail receptions and up to 350 guests for dining setups.
  • The 55 sqm Ekugai Meeting Room, designed for smaller meetings and executive sessions, accommodating up to 30 guests in theatre or dining setup and 24 guests in cluster-round format.

Together, these integrated spaces create a seamless indoor-outdoor event experience, allowing planners to design dynamic and personalised event journeys.

True to the dusitD2 brand’s lifestyle-driven philosophy, Feydhoo Hall introduces a fresh approach to meetings and events — where productivity meets creativity in an inspiring island setting.

The venue offers flexible meeting formats designed to suit different event needs, including:

  • Half-Day Meeting Package (4 hours) — ideal for focused sessions, executive meetings, and creative workshops.
  • Full-Day Meeting Package (8 hours) — designed for immersive conferences, extended workshops, and large-scale corporate gatherings.

These thoughtfully structured packages provide planners with the flexibility to create impactful and seamless experiences, whether hosting intimate strategy sessions or dynamic full-day events.

Located just seven minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives combines accessibility with vibrant lifestyle energy, offering event planners and guests a rare balance between convenience and tropical escape.

With the introduction of Feydhoo Hall, the resort strengthens its position as a versatile destination — not only for leisure travellers but also for international conferences, creative retreats, luxury weddings, and large-scale social celebrations seeking something refreshingly different in the Maldives.

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BBM expands retail presence with new Hulhumalé outlet

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Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) opened a new wholesale store in Hulhumalé Phase 2 on Monday.

The outlet is located on the ground floor of Lot 20286, Nirolhu Magu, and is intended to improve access to BBM’s imported goods for residents of Hulhumalé Phase 2 and for businesses operating in the area.

According to the company, the opening forms part of its plan to expand services closer to customers in line with population growth in Hulhumalé.

With the opening of the new store, BBM’s full range of imported and distributed products will be available at the Hulhumalé Phase 2 location. These include consumer goods from international brands such as Lifebuoy, Vaseline and Unilever.

The store will also stock wholesale food products from brands including Daily, Cavin’s and Redman.

BBM has supplied goods to resorts, hotels and retail outlets across the Maldives for several years.

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Ataraxis Grand & Spa hosts integrated work-and-dive corporate retreat in Fuvahmulah

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Ataraxis Grand & Spa recently hosted a week-long, closed corporate offsite in Fuvahmulah for a US-based artificial intelligence company, highlighting the island’s growing suitability for integrated work-and-experience retreats. The retreat brought a group of 36 international professionals to the property, which was reserved exclusively for the programme.

Designed as a private company offsite, the stay combined structured daily work sessions with guided diving and beginner-friendly surf experiences, creating a balanced format that blended focused collaboration with physical reset.

A notable component of the programme was dive training and certification. During the retreat, 17 participants completed their Open Water certification, while a further six undertook the Advanced Open Water course, with training and dives scheduled alongside work sessions as part of the integrated itinerary.

Throughout the week, participants worked on-site using dedicated shared spaces supported by reliable high-speed internet, allowing meetings, informal collaboration and scheduled activities to take place within a single, uninterrupted environment. This setup enabled teams to move seamlessly between work periods and organised ocean activities without leaving the property.

Fuvahmulah’s natural and operational advantages formed a key part of the retreat’s appeal. As one of the Maldives’ largest inhabited islands, it offers immediate access to pelagic dive sites, internationally recognised shark diving and surf breaks suitable for instruction, alongside the infrastructure required to support extended group stays.

The offsite reflects a growing preference among technology and knowledge-sector teams for small-scale retreats that prioritise concentrated work environments and team cohesion over traditional conference formats. Such programmes typically involve longer stays and higher per-capita spend, aligning with sustainable, quality-driven tourism models.

The retreat also demonstrates how locally operated properties such as Ataraxis Grand & Spa are supporting this shift by delivering unified environments where accommodation, workspaces, connectivity and curated experiences operate as a single programme rather than separate services.

As organisations continue to explore alternative formats for strategy sessions, team resets and creative offsites, Ataraxis Grand & Spa’s experience positions Fuvahmulah as an increasingly viable destination for integrated corporate retreats.

Ataraxis Grand & Spa offers work-and-dive retreat programmes in Fuvahmulah that combine accommodation, dedicated workspaces, high-speed connectivity and organised diving and surfing.

Further information on retreat formats and dive-inclusive stays is available via the Ataraxis Grand & Spa website.

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