News
Karis Scarlette’s Dance & Wellness Retreat returns to Avani+ Fares Maldives Resort
Nestled amidst the crystalline waters of Baa Atoll, Avani+ Fares Maldives Resort beckons as a haven for wellness enthusiasts. The beloved Baa Atoll Ballet Retreat makes its triumphant return, spearheaded by the esteemed Karis Scarlette, a luminary in both British Royal Ballet training and certified breathwork facilitation. Following last year’s overwhelming success, Karis extends a warm invitation to novices and seasoned dancers alike, promising an immersive ballet experience from November 12th to 23rd, 2024.
Surrounded by idyllic sandy shores, Fares Island emerges as a verdant paradise, its emerald landscapes interwoven with tranquil azure waters. The resort, now transformed into a sanctuary for holistic rejuvenation, offers a unique fusion of physical movement and mental tranquility. Participants can anticipate a myriad of benefits, including enhanced muscular strength, improved posture, and decreased stress levels. Amidst this immersive experience, attendees will indulge in rejuvenating spa treatments, partake in ballet-themed amenities, and delve into Karis’s inspiring journey, all while savoring themed cocktails and exquisite beachfront dining.
“I find that the Maldives, with its incredible beauty, is a perfect fit for ballet retreats, with pristine nature enhancing the healthful virtues of the art,” said Karis Scarlette. “After last year’s success, I’m excited to continue my partnership with Avani+ Fares, making ballet more accessible and expanding our understanding of wellness.”
This year’s retreat reintroduces beloved classes tailored for children, such as ‘Tutus & Twirls’, fostering creativity, coordination, musicality, and technique. For adults, ‘Sunrise Serenity’ intertwines mindfulness and breathwork, while both private and group ballet sessions cater to diverse skill levels, enriching the Maldivian holiday experience.
Enrollment is now open, featuring two package options for adults and families. Priced from USD 4,183++, the five-night adult package includes:
- Lodging for two individuals in a Premium Ocean View Room with half-board meal plan included.
- Two Ballet Basics for Beginners classes per adult (60 minutes each)
- A single exclusive ballet session per adult, lasting for 60 minutes.
- Two Sunrise Serenity: Breathwork in Baa workshops per adult (30 minutes each)
- Choice of one Tutu Tension Release massage or Dancer’s Detox wrap at AvaniSpa
- Two ballet-themed cocktails at Tribe bar
- The final Adrift Beach Dinner, graciously hosted by Karis Scarlette.
- Round-trip seaplane transportation from Velana International Airport (MLE).
The five-night family package, catering to two adults and two children (aged 10 and under), begins at USD 5,459++. It features:
- Family accommodation in a Two Bedroom Ocean View Pavilion with half-board included
- Two Tutus & Twirls: Ballet for Tots classes (30 minutes each)
- A dedicated Family Ballet Session, lasting for 60 minutes.
- One Me & Mom or Dad massage at AvaniSpa (60 minutes)
- Ballet-themed arts and crafts at AvaniKids
- Farewell Petit Bistro Ballet Brunch hosted by Karis Scarlette
- Round-trip seaplane transfer from Velana International Airport (MLE)
Nestled within a shallow atoll lagoon, Fares Island, shaped like a teardrop, is among the select 61 islands nestled in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve’s protected marine waters. Beyond the Wellness Studio, days here are filled with snorkeling the house reef and exploring fourteen dive sites and two dive holes, offering guaranteed sightings of dolphins and turtles. Further aquatic adventures await at the renowned Hanifaru Bay, known for its manta ray feeding frenzy, and at a nearby chain of ring-shaped islands bustling with vibrant tropical fish.
Family
Kuda Villingili to host ‘Friendly Spirits & Ghosts After Dark’ this Halloween
This Halloween, Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives invites families to reconnect over a week of island celebrations. From 28 October to 1 November 2026, Friendly Spirits & Ghosts After Dark brings together imaginative children’s activities, Halloween evenings and time shared in the Maldives.
Home to a 150-metre swimming pool—one of the largest in the country —Kuda Villingili is among the best places to stay in the Maldives for families seeking space, privacy and experiences to enjoy together. Spacious one- to four-bedroom private pool villas provide space and privacy for multi-generational stays, complemented by eight restaurants, a dedicated Kids Club, spa and wellness experiences, watersports, surfing, tennis and pickleball. The five-star luxury resort in the Maldives is located just 30 minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport.

Designed for young explorers, this year’s celebration introduces Kuda Fiyo & the Friendly Ghosts, an original island story that brings Halloween to life through imagination and discovery. Throughout the week, children can follow Kuda Fiyo on an adventure featuring creative workshops, themed games, arts and crafts, treasure hunts, cookie and cupcake decorating, mocktail experiences and a Halloween Party— giving families a collection of family experiences in the Maldives to enjoy together.
As the sun sets, Ghosts After Dark takes over with Halloween-inspired experiences for families, couples and friends. Guests can enjoy haunted cocktails at sunset, set sail on a themed sunset cruise, explore the house reef during guided night snorkelling, try their hand at Halloween mixology or settle in beneath the stars for an open-air movie night. A Halloween Buffet Dinner with seasonal dishes and live entertainment anchors the celebrations, while themed cocktails and mocktails are served throughout the week.

Beyond Halloween, families have the freedom to shape each day around what they enjoy most. They can discover the marine world together, dine across the resort’s restaurants, retreat to the privacy of their villa or spend an afternoon beside the expansive pool. With experiences for different ages and interests, there is space to come together as well as time to enjoy the island individually.
This Halloween, Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives offers families the chance to reconnect, create new traditions and experience the season differently. Friendly Spirits & Ghosts After Dark brings together children’s adventures, evenings by the sea and the freedom of an island holiday.
Because the best family traditions are not simply celebrated—they are created together.

View Kuda Villingili’s Halloween 2026 brochure here. For more information about Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives, please visit www.kudavillingili.com.
News
ELE|NA ReFine Body Collection taps into restorative power of island life
Ask a guest on their last morning what the holiday did for them and the answer is usually vague. Rested. Switched off.
Ask on the third day and it is more specific. Sleep arrived earlier and held longer. Skin that looked tired at the airport looks like itself again. By the third day, the body has caught up with the holiday.

The Conditions Behind It
Most of what restores a guest here is unremarkable. Consistent sunrise and sunset give the circadian system a signal most travellers arrive without. Warmth supports circulation. Humidity rehydrates skin. Ordinary mechanisms, unusual concentration.
Less obvious is that the island supplies materials as well as conditions. Sand at this latitude holds heat evenly and releases it slowly, which is why it reaches muscle at a rate the tissue accepts without guarding. Warmth is what lets deeper work happen at all, and deeper work is where elasticity, tone and drainage actually respond.
Which is the difference between a holiday that rests you and one you leave looking different.

Ageing Well Is Not the Same as Fighting It
Anti-ageing treats time as an opponent. It works on surfaces and rests on a premise nobody wins.
ReFine, one of ELE|NA’s Pillars of Vitality, asks what the body needs in order to keep doing well what it already does. Skin that holds its tone. Circulation that reaches the extremities. Lymph that clears rather than pools. Those are conditions rather than treatments, which is precisely what a week on an island supplies. The question, then, is what a therapist adds to a process the setting has already started.
Where Treatment Fits
ELE|NA’s body collection therapies are built on that logic. They are designed to work with the recovery already underway rather than to substitute for it. Sculpt & Smooth, a contouring massage that exfoliates and brings circulation to the surface. Firming Flow, a warm Maldivian sand poultice followed by deep firming work for elasticity and lift. Lymphatic Lightness, dry brushing and light-pressure drainage to reduce puffiness. Taken in sequence across a stay, each prepares the tissue for the next.
At OBLU SELECT Sangeli, the therapies can be paired with the resort’s ice bath and steam. Heat opens circulation, cold prompts it to constrict, and the alternation moves blood and lymph more forcefully than either alone.

Ageing Well, Visibly
None of which is how guests describe what they are after. They want to look well on holiday, and that motivation happens to align with the physiological one more closely than it is usually given credit for. Skin that looks better on the last day looks that way because circulation improved and sleep did its work. Less puffiness is drainage functioning. Better tone is elasticity responding.
A holiday ends. A body that has slept properly for a week does not.
“The most lasting results come when we work with the body’s natural rhythms, not against them. ReFine Body Collection is designed to enhance the restorative benefits of a Maldivian escape, leaving guests feeling renewed from within,” said Heidi Grimwood, Senior Vice President, ELE|NA.
ELE|NA is a global spa and wellness management company dedicated to redefining personal well-being through tailored, immersive experiences. Operating in the Maldives and India, ELE|NA blends traditional healing practices, contemporary therapies, and wellness science to craft journeys as unique as each individual. Beyond exceptional spa and wellness experiences, ELE|NA provides expert management solutions for resorts and properties, helping them deliver personalized, elevated wellness offerings. Guided by the philosophy of Wellness Your Way™, ELE|NA empowers both guests and partners to discover their own path to vitality, balance, and inner harmony.
Drink
Atmosphere Kanifushi welcomes back BOTTEGA Gala Gold for second edition
BOTTEGA Gala Gold returns to Atmosphere Kanifushi from 12 to 14 November 2026 after a successful debut last year. Created with Italian winery Bottega S.p.A., the three-day event gives guests the chance to enjoy wine-led dining experiences, relaxed lifestyle events and a grand Gala Gold celebration.
This year’s edition will be led by Dario Camilotto, Export Manager for India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, East Europe and Oceania at Bottega S.p.A., together with Elena Schipani, Bottega’s Head Sommelier. They will guide guests through the wine pairings, sharing the stories behind each selection and why they were chosen for the menu.

Sandro Bottega, President of Bottega S.p.A., said, “We’re delighted to return to Atmosphere Kanifushi for a second year. Sharing our wines with guests in the Maldives is always special, and this event is a chance to celebrate Italian winemaking in a setting that encourages people to slow down, taste and enjoy.”
As part of the Kanifushi Plan™, all experiences at the Just Veg Festival are complimentary for resort guests. Fine dining and lifestyle events are available on advance reservation due to limited seating, while the grand BOTTEGA Gala Gold celebration is open to all guests staying at the resort. BOTTEGA wines and Prosecco are also available year-round as part of the Kanifushi Plan™, allowing guests to enjoy these offerings throughout their stay.

The programme begins with two evenings at JUST VEG, the Maldives’ first fully vegetarian restaurant. Guests can expect a specially created tasting menu paired with a selection of Bottega wines, starting with a sparkling welcome and ending with a classic Italian finish. The pace changes the next day at PIER SIX. Here, Asian flavours, handcrafted dim sum and signature Bottega wines and cocktails set the scene for a relaxed afternoon by the water.
On 14 November, the celebration moves to SPICE for BOTTEGA Gala Gold. An expansive international buffet, live cooking stations, Bottega wines, signature cocktails and Italian liqueurs, along with a five-piece live band, set the stage for an unforgettable evening beneath the Maldivian stars.

Ram Bhoyroo, General Manager, Atmosphere Kanifushi said, “Guests are looking for more than great food and beautiful surroundings. They want experiences they can share and remember. BOTTEGA Gala Gold brings all of that together over three days in a relaxed island setting.”
“Atmosphere Kanifushi is the perfect setting to discover great wines in a relaxed way. Together with Bottega, we’re creating experiences that bring people together over exceptional wines, good food and memorable moments. That’s what the Atmosphere Core Wine Program is all about,” added Nicolas Laguette, Director of Wines, Atmosphere Core.

The celebrations don’t end in November. Guests visiting Atmosphere Kanifushi in December can also look forward to the resort’s spectacular Festive Extravaganza, featuring a vibrant calendar of seasonal dining experiences, live entertainment, themed celebrations and memorable moments designed to make the festive season truly unforgettable.
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