Featured
Amilla Maldives’ trailblazing menus win top prize
Amilla Maldives Resort and Residences is celebrating after winning the Wellness Cuisine of the Year 2021 prize in the prestigious Destination Deluxe Awards.
The five-star Maldives resort also came third place in the Hotel of the Year 2021 category, and was a finalist in Eco-Hotel of the Year 2021 and Spa of the Year 2021.
The Wellness Cuisine of the Year 2021 accolade was bestowed upon Amilla Maldives in recognition of the resort’s trailblazing Wellness Your Way (WYW) programme.
Although Amilla is not a wellness resort, General Manager, Jason Kruse, and Sustainability and Wellness Mentor, Victoria Kruse, recognized that a truly contemporary five-star resort should fully cater to all the dietary requirements of its guests – not only for those with food intolerances but also for those who follow ‘eating lifestyles’. So Victoria devised a series of WYW menus encompassing a variety of keto/paleo/low carb, gluten free, dairy free and vegan/vegetarian dishes.
Every dish at the resort can also be customised to each guest’s precise desires, and all the staff at every single one of Amilla’s restaurants have been educated about dietary preferences and intolerances or allergies. This helps to ensure they offer accurate advice to guests and requests for alterations are always greeted with understanding.
Victoria said: “This project has been a labour of love for us. We personally follow our own path to wellness through a ketogenic diet and we want to ensure that any guests coming to Amilla can do the same. We want it to be effortless on the part of the guests, as well as delicious to continue – or even start – an eating lifestyle at Amilla.”
Amilla’s innovative Wellness Your Way programme, thought to offer the widest variety of speciality dishes in the Maldives, is complemented by two additional wellness cuisine programmes (also the brainchild of Victoria) – Homemade@Amilla and Homemade@Amilla.
The Homegrown@Amilla initiative sees many different types of products grown in the surprisingly fertile soil of the island, including sweet potatoes, herbs, bananas, lettuce and mushrooms – fresh eggs also come from the resort’s new ‘Cluckingham Palace’ coop.
Homemade@Amilla utilises many of the Homegrown products plucked from the resort’s new fruit and veg gardens, as well as items from neighbouring islands and beyond, to create Homemade@Amilla kefir, kimchi, yoghurt and more.
The Destination Deluxe Awards are highly revered in the travel industry as they feature a professional judging panel of 18, with no payments accepted from competitors for tables or to be part of the awards ceremony. Competition is fierce for these much-desired awards.
Amilla’s General Manager, Jason Kruse, said: “We are so grateful to win this award. As a boutique five-star Maldivian-owned resort, we are so grateful to Destination Deluxe to have been selected.”
“I can not express how much this means to our team and how much additional motivation it gives us to continue upon our journey. After all the challenges of COVID, reopening during the pandemic and being a stand-alone property, we are so grateful to receive such an award. We really value the award as we know it is ‘real’.”
For more information, email stay@amilla.com.
Featured
Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa unveils family-focused Family Fun Summer package
Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa has introduced its Family Fun Summer offer, a family-focused package designed to encourage guests to spend time together through dining, leisure and recreational activities in a private island setting.
Located 15 minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, the resort is offering the package as a year-round experience, despite its summer branding. The programme is intended for families seeking a stay that combines accommodation, meals and activities in a single offering.
The experience includes daily breakfast at Feast, where guests can access buffet selections for adults and children. Lunch is served as a three-course beachside meal, while evenings include buffet dinners, à la carte options and access to the resort’s speciality restaurants.
As part of the package, adult guests receive a USD 45 dining credit per night, which can be used at selected outlets including Baan Thai and Sea Salt. The offer is designed to expand dining options within the resort’s full board arrangement.
The package also includes activities aimed at different age groups. Children have access to the Sheraton Adventure Club, while families can take part in pool activities, water sports, sunset dolphin cruises and guided snorkelling excursions.
For guests seeking wellness experiences, Shine Spa for Sheraton offers a range of treatments, with the package including 15 per cent savings on selected services. The resort has also introduced a spa experience designed for parent and child. Additional recreational options include sunrise beach yoga, as well as access to tennis and football facilities.
Other inclusions within the offer include a complimentary family photoshoot and dining benefits for children when eating with their parents.
Family Fun Summer is available for booking until 15 June 2026, for stays through to 20 December 2026. Through the package, Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa is presenting a family-oriented resort experience centred on dining, recreation and shared time together.
Featured
InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau to mark Mother’s Day with wellness and dining offerings
InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort has announced a Mother’s Day programme centred on wellness, dining and family experiences, offering guests a range of activities designed to mark the occasion in Raa Atoll.
Set within the resort’s island setting, the programme will feature a series of experiences aimed at encouraging families to spend time together through relaxation, dining and shared activities.
At AVI Spa, the Mother’s Day offering will include signature treatments focused on rest and balance. Guests will also have access to holistic sessions led by visiting practitioner Dr Afsana Aradhana Ghyas, whose work focuses on integrative wellbeing and emotional balance.
Dining experiences will form a central part of the programme. These will include floating breakfasts served in private villas, interactive cooking sessions with the resort’s chefs, and private dining experiences ranging from sunset beach dinners to sandbank dining under the stars.
The resort will also offer family-focused activities for the occasion. These will include craft sessions for children, ocean-inspired guided art activities and a family photoshoot intended to capture the day’s experiences.
Through the Mother’s Day programme, InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort is presenting a combination of wellness, dining and family activities shaped around personal and shared experiences in a resort setting.
Drink
W Maldives unveils The Wavemaker Edit with global talent collaborations
W Maldives has launched The Wavemaker Edit, a new ongoing series of curated collaborations with international talent, aimed at introducing a range of guest experiences across mixology, wellness, cuisine and music.
The series is designed as a rotating programme, with each edition bringing a different creative perspective to the resort. According to W Maldives, the initiative is intended to create a continuing calendar of experiences that combine social, cultural and wellness-led elements.
The first edition of The Wavemaker Edit will run from 3 to 14 June 2026 and will feature two themed chapters, titled Island Alchemy and The Restore Ritual.
Island Alchemy will focus on mixology. On 3 June, Kwok will lead a guest shift at SIP, presenting three cocktails that explore contrast and balance, including a bespoke creation inspired by the Maldives. The collaboration will continue on 6 June at WET Deck, where a poolside day party will feature a curated cocktail menu.
The second chapter, The Restore Ritual, will centre on wellness and movement in recognition of Global Wellness Day. Led by Mumbai-based yoga and movement educator Samiksha Shetty, the programme will include sessions focused on breathwork, mindfulness and alignment-based practice.
The wellness programme will include Sunset Yoga sessions at FIRE Beach on 12 and 14 June, as well as a morning meditation session at AWAY Spa on 13 June. The main event within this chapter will take place on 13 June, when guests will be able to join a Sunset Yoga session aboard the Horizon Yacht. This bookable experience will also include healthy refreshments and a 60-minute massage at AWAY Spa.
W Maldives said future editions of The Wavemaker Edit will expand into culinary, music and art-led experiences under a number of themed series, including Flavors Unscripted, Sound Wave and Make A Scene.
Commenting on the launch, General Manager Amila Handunwala said the initiative reflects the resort’s approach to continuously evolving the guest experience through collaborations with international talent.
W Maldives is positioning the series as part of its broader effort to offer more structured and experience-led programming for guests. In addition, the resort is promoting its Original Wavemaker package, which includes seaplane transfers and a half-board meal plan for two adults with a minimum stay of four nights.
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