Loama Resort Maldives: From History to Whale Sharks!

Hooray! A Maldives resort that genuinely showcases the cultural heritage of the country in a way that's interesting to guests! What's more, Loama Maldives Resort at Maamigili has something else up it's sleeve and the clue is in the name: Maamigili is one of the top spots in the country for observing whale sharks. 

Culture and sun-worshipping don't usually go hand in hand!

I don't know about you but just those two facts alone were enough to get me excited about Loama. And it gets better...

This is teardrop-shaped island lying in Raa Atoll, a 45-minute seaplane ride from the international airport. It's 100 hectares of a delightful paradise. The island tapers off into a stunning sandbank you can stroll along. If you're looking for a balance between luxury and culture, look no further.

The resort has all usual the trappings of an entry-level five star Maldives resort. By saying 'entry-level' I don't intend to sound condescending, what I mean is it has a high level of amenities and service but in the Maldives there can be a great deal of disparity between five stars, this is the country where you can pay $200 a night or $50,000 a night for a five star resort.

The colours really are this amazing in reality...

So, at Loama you can find luxurious beach and water villas, excellent service and superb cuisine, just like one might expect at any five-star resort. However, Loama offers a cultural experience currently unlike anything else in the Maldives, which is excellent for anyone wanting to see a new side of the Maldives.

Starting at the beginning...Accommodation

Very attractive interiors

The water villas fan out across the water, each with private direct access into the sea, while the beach villas are nestled on the powdery white sand, surrounded by lush tropical foliage. All of the villas are beautifully furnished with contemporary amenities, local artwork and the modern facilities including Nespresso machines, flatscreen TVs and DVD players. A few of the features, such as the room decor and main dining pavilion, seem to have been inspired by the villas at Four Seasons (in my mind anyway) and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. One of the nice features of the water villas is a hammock slung over the water.

The range of restaurants include a spectacular poolside dining venue, Iru Café, all-day beachside dining with flavours from around the world at Fazaa and the gorgeous fine dining restaurant, Thundi, featuring authentic Thai cuisine accompanied by wines from the adjacent wine cellar...













The juicy bit...History!

Loama Resort is the only place outside of the capital city with a licence from the government for a museum, packed full of fascinating artefacts discovered on the island and surrounding area, from 17^th Century Chinese pottery brought by ancient traders; traditional clothing and even drinking tankards used by the Portuguese during their time governing the Maldives. 

One of the highlights is the archaeological remains of two traditional Buddhist ceremonial baths dating back to before the 11^th Century (which was when the country converted to Islam). There are very few surviving Buddhist relics in the Maldives so this is really unique and rare. 

A traditional Maldivian home with carved wooden wall panels and a coconut thatch roof has been recreated to give guests a taste of how islands used to look centuries ago. There are also fascinating cultural tours to neighbouring islands where guests can discover about the way of life in Maldivian communities, and the Loama Art Gallery featuring work by talented local artists.

A lot of thought and care was put into all of these cultural offerings (unlike some other resorts which merely pay lipservice to them), so it's refreshing and exciting to see that Loama is unlike any others. 

The ancient bath from the Maldives' Buddhist days...

Back to the usual resort stuff...

For a change of pace, check out the Watersports Centre which offers a host of exciting watersports including jet-skiing, windsurfing, kayaking and snorkelling. The attractive house reef is home to all kinds of colourful tropical fish, with the occasional stingray or baby shark gliding through from time to time. 

Adjacent to the Watersports Centre is the TGI Dive Centre, offering a five star diving service. Guests can book full day or half-day scuba diving excursions or learn to dive in the crystal-clear waters of the lagoon. The beautiful infinity-edge swimming pool provides further entertainment for water-lovers.

The Sunset Champagne Cruise

Other excursions available include fishing trips and a romantic sunset dolphin cruise, accompanied by glasses of champagne and canapés. I checked this one out and it was really fantastic. Romantics will also enjoy the private dining option, where a private meal for two can be set up on the sandbank under the stars (although all resorts offer this).

For the ultimate in relaxation, experience the Loama Spa. The skilful spa therapists are on hand to offer relaxing and revitalising massages, scrubs and other treatments using essential oils and natural plant extracts. They really do know their stuff and there's nothing like ended a day with a massage...

Days always end with stunning sunsets but this one was even better than normal

Affordable Fun at Sheraton Full Moon Maldives

If you thought you couldn't find affordable villas in the Maldives, think again. The Sheraton Full Moon is a competitive mid-range choice...

The lagoon side of the island

The Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa is only 15 minutes by speedboat from the international airport, which is a relief if you've just stumbled off a long-haul flight. You can faintly see the shape of Male’, the capital of the Maldives, on the horizon from one side of the island and there is the occasional sound of a plane heading to or from the airport, which occasionally bothers a handful of guests. But despite that, the resort is peaceful a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

It was refurbished and re-branded as a Sheraton several years ago with an exclusive Shine Spa on an adjacent islet, linked by a small bridge. Another refurbishment followed in 2016.

There are one or two relics of the resort’s previous ownership, such as a few concrete seawalls in the water (which are tough to remove, although many resorts now opt for more subtle-looking anti-erosion solutions). Both sides of the long, tapering island have a beautiful beach offering safe and sheltered bathing.

The Anchorage Bar

One of the highlights of the Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa is the recently-refurbished Anchorage Bar, which is partially suspended over the beach and the ocean. The spacious wooden sundeck is adorned with four-poster beds for lounging on during the day and several comfortable sofas. They make for an impressive first sight, with the bright turquoise of the fabrics echoing the shades of the ocean and contrasting with the deep brown of the decking. 

Nightlife

During the day, you can watch baby black tip reef sharks glide underneath the platform. After sunset, the roof of the bed can be folded down so you can lie back and look at the stars. But once a week it jumps into life for a DJ night which is amongst the best in the Maldives (Kurumba also has a great one). The bar provides all the international branded beverages you would expect, as well as a range of cocktails served with complimentary snacks.   

This could be your next Instagram selfie

Another of the highlights is Baan Thai, the Thai restaurant. Here you can get noodles, rice plates, curries, soups, stir-fries and salads are customized to your taste – the flavours are very authentic. 

The Anchorage Bar is in a prime position between the lagoon and the attractive freshwater swimming pool with waterfall with most restaurants close by. There’s a wide selection available for the breakfast buffet available at Feast. 

The lagoon is extremely nice, shallow and clear

Heaps to do

There are plenty of activities and excursions including day trips to Male’, dolphin-spotting, sunset fishing, sunrise picnics and more. The resort also has a fully-equipped watersports centre and small dive centre. 

Windsurfing, wakeboarding, snorkelling and scuba diving are amongst the most popular activities. Snorkelers may prefer to book a boat excursion to one of the superb snorkeling spots in the area rather than snorkelling in the lagoon, which doesn’t have much coral, although there are baby black tip reef sharks swimming close to shore and occasionally bigger reef sharks come in if there's a strong incoming current. We were lucky enough to catch sight of some big ones and went to snorkel very close to the pregnant reef sharks but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a strong swimmer because the currents in the Maldives are brutal. 

This atoll is perfectly situated for easy-access to the international airport either by speedboat or seaplane charter. Guests can island-hop around local island communities including the capital city, a compact 2.2square mile island. North Male’ Atoll is also home to several famous dive sites including Manta Point and Banana Reef. 

Shine On

The Shine Spa is a haven of tranquillity set on a pretty island of its own and features separate private treatment rooms. You get to it by walking over a little footbridge. It's one of the only spas in the Maldives on an island of its own. The fourth ‘wall’ of each room is missing, and is instead replaced by attractive views of the open ocean, so guests can watch dozens of tiny hermit crabs scuttling across the sand as they receive their massages.

This was our Deluxe Beachfront Room

The entry-level Deluxe Beachfront Rooms are part of a two-storey four-room block. Although this isn’t the classic 'Maldives villa style', from the interior of the island they look surprisingly pretty for multi-storey accommodation; with a thatched roof, surrounded by hibiscus and bougainvillea. 

A glimpse of the interior

We stayed in one of these and it was nicely furnished with everything you'd expect at a Sheraton: under-stated quality and an un-fussy style. Some of the rooms only have indoor showers (unlike most resort rooms in the Maldives which have open-air showers in private gardens). However, the private terraces and views help to compensate. 

The other villa categories provide more of an intimate atmosphere. Overall, the rooms and villas are  spacious and attractive enough, with fairly simple décor but good quality furniture. The higher category villas are also furnished in a contemporary and fairly un-fussy style with hints of turquoise and brown, some with private plunge pools. 

The water villas

Busy but fun!

The Sheraton Full Moon may have a higher concentration of villas per square metre of the island than similar resorts in the area but it offers a good level of amenities and service and a more lively atmosphere than many other resorts in the country. 

The guests are a mix of nationalities but they are also more friendly here than at other resorts in the Maldives, so if you are a people-person you probably won't have any difficulties finding other people to chat to over dinner. And by 'people' I mean couples. 99.9% of resort guests in the Maldives are couples, although that could be changing. A handful of resorts are trying to encourage groups of friends to holiday together there, and the Small Island Company is trying particularly hard to break down the couples-only environment at the funky new Finolhu resort.