MALDIVES
New resort Cora Cora in the Maldives offers visitors a taste of luxury and escapism. Katy Sunnassee pays a visit to discover wellness inside and out.
IT HAD BEEN SIX YEARS since I’d had a proper holiday – one where you go away for more than a long weekend. I’ve been lucky enough to visit the Maldives before – once on honeymoon in 2014 and then again in winter 2015. But since the birth of my son in 2018 we’d not ventured anywhere – Ijust didn’t feel confident or competent enough to manage a crying baby on a plane! We decided to wait until he was a toddler. And then Covid happened, which put paid to pretty much everyone’s plans.
This summer, my sun-deprived husband was in desperate need of a break – we all were. So when the chance came to jet off to paradise, we took it! Our destination was the 375,000 square metre Raa Maamigili island, home to Cora Cora Maldives.
DID YOU KNOW… the Maldives has 22 atols, made up of around 1200 individual islands? Around 200 of the islands are occupied by residents, while 50-60 are for agriculture, and another 160 designated as holiday resorts.
The sand-fringed island is surrounded by a 100-hectare lagoon, rich with vibrant corals and fish.
You can walk round the entire island in around 20-30 minutes, depending on how fast you walk. And being one of the furthest islands from the capital, Malé, you’re really remote and can barely see any neighbouring islands – the closest one is deserted but you can visit it by boat.
The five-star, all-inclusive resort houses 100 villas – half over water and half on the beach – all with expansive views of the Indian Ocean. Our first six nights were in a Beach Pool Villa, meaning we had our own pool, after which we relocated to a regular Beach Villa, which was the same minus the pool and on the opposite side of the island (which was a benefit as you couldn’t hear sea planes taking off!).
A FEAST FOR THE SENSES
All guests go onto the Gourmet Meal Plan, which includes all food and drink, with only a very few exceptions, so you can choose whatever, and however much, you like! I did wonder, at Japanese restaurant Teien, whether there was a limit to how much sushi we could get away with ordering but no one raised an eyebrow as we asked for what felt like half the menu. They‘re probably used to this, especially from new guests who want to sample everything, but by the last week we began ordering more sensibly.
If you’re after a holiday to reset your health and diet, you can do that at Cora Cora. Salt is used in moderation, with sea salt and highquality Himalayan salt used instead of refined salt. Transfats and saturated fats are avoided, and there are plenty of
