Arriving at Male airport you are hit with a bustling arrivals hall of row after row of hotel arrival check-in desks. 

The airport is basic, and as I experienced for a few hours before our check-in for a previous hotel, has minimal air conditioning or areas to relax; but from the second you are met by the St Regis Vommulli staff, the experience completely changes.

Walking outside into the midday sun we were warmly greeted and told we would be driven to the nearby private seaplane terminal to await our flight to our island paradise. 

After a quick chat about where we had been prior, a large and luxurious Bentley pulled up in front of us. The doors opened and, to our surprise, we were ushered into the car. Not only was this the only Bentley in the Maldives and the most luxurious car to have touched down in Male, but it is owned by St Regis to shuttle its clients to the seaplane terminal on arrival; a welcoming experience that set the benchmark for what was going to be an incredible few days ahead. 

Most of the interisland flights will depart from the main seaplane terminal which was much like a standard small country town airport – quite basic with a few rows of seats to sit and await your flight. 

Then there is the St Regis lounge, an exclusive arrival and departure lounge used for the guests of the hotel. After having spent a week sailing through the Maldives, the lounge felt like complete luxury with lounges and hidden nooks to allow privacy, showers to freshen up and an endless menu of drinks and food to indulge in while watching out the seaplanes taking off.

We were handed an iPad with a welcome video that introduced us to our butler for the stay, Anastasia, who welcomed us with a personalised message saying she was looking forward to our arrival.

Walking to the seaplane for our departure it was hard not to laugh out loud at the realisation that the barefoot man waiting by the plane in shorts was about to be my pilot.

The resort is a 45-minute flight from Male and we were lucky enough to be the first stop on our flight path which meant only one takeoff and landing! We hit pretty heavy rain while up amongst the clouds, so for someone like myself with a fear of flying, I was pretty happy when we touched down at the resort.

Welcomed by a waving line of staff, we were helped off the plane and introduced to our butler then handed a nice cold fresh coconut to sip while completing the check-in process.

Once we had checked in, Anastasia showed us to our golf buggy for our tour around the island. The loop of the island took about 10 minutes including a few stops to show us the restaurants and spa. One thing I loved about this resort is that the design and layout allowed you to feel a sense of privacy and exclusivity, while being small enough that you could bike ride the island in 10 minutes or walk it in 20. 

The resort features eight different room types starting with a garden villa all the way up to the John Jacobs Villa. Named after the founder of the St Regis brand this villa is the largest overwater Villa in the Maldives and if you have a small $38,000 to spare you could call it home for a night and spend your evening relaxing in one of the three private swimming pools.

Prior to this trip, my idea of the Maldives had been relaxing in the luxury of an overwater villa. The water lapping at the stilts of your room as you relaxed on the balcony and looked out to the fish below.

We were fortunate enough during this stay to call Villa 309 our home for three days. The beach villa is the third room type at St Regis and is a higher category than the overwater bungalows, so we were expecting something pretty amazing. And we were not let down. Opening the doors to our large decked balcony I took two steps and was able to relax in the comfort of our private pool which although shaded with palm trees and shrubs for privacy, offered unobstructed views out to the sea, or walk an additional 10 meters and have the warm, sparkling white Maldivian sand between my toes.

I still get the dream idea of the overwater villa but after this trip, my go-to is definitely a beach villa.

The room featured a large King bed facing out towards the ocean, one of the most symmetrically designed bathrooms your OCD could ever wish for and a mini bar stacked full with every nut, date, chip you could need to team with your bottle of St Regis branded Devaux Champagne which was on ice on arrival.

Being quite a new resort you have everything you could need in your hands at the control of the in-room iPad. Room service, television, blinds, lights, buggy service, activities – you name it, it is controlled on the iPad! You could also sync your iPhone or Android to the speaker and play music throughout the sound system in the Villa.

The entire resort is designed to reflect the tropical oasis it is built within. The villas are shaped and designed to look like manta rays, the IRIDIUM Spa with its treatment rooms represents a lobster and its claws, Whale bar is quite self-explanatory and the gift shop is in the design of a sleek sea shell featuring incredible views across the ocean from the top.

The island features 77 Villas in total and with 4 restaurants and 2 bars you have endless meal options throughout your stay.

Our dinner on the first night was at CARGO, a middle eastern restaurant that cooks and serves its food in a contemporary food truck style set up in the middle of the Island. The food was delicious and having the sand at your feet while eating ensured a relaxing atmosphere for our first meal.

The breakfast at the resort is one of the best breakfasts I have ever experienced. Served at ALBA, the resorts main restaurant which is located with stunning views next to the pool and looking out to the ocean, it allowed for a very relaxing and calming breakfast experience. Not only is there a full buffet which had endless options of pastries, meats, cheeses, fruit, international stations and more sweets than I could ever think of at 8 am, but there was an 8 page ala carte menu with the likes of Lobster and Alaskan crab omelette with caviar (absolutely divine!), Duck Foie Gras terrine, Waffle with Duck leg confit, Maldivian eggs benedict with sliced yellowfin tuna and a page long offering of sweet treats like the delicious French toast.

The best thing about this breakfast, other than the mimosa service which came around table to table during service, was that the servicing sizes could either be just perfect if combined with the buffet, or small enough that you could pick 2-3 things each day meaning you didn’t have the devastating choices of how you would make it through the menu over the next few days. 

A favourite of mine during the stay was ORIENTALE where we were spoilt for choice with fresh Asian cuisine.

The two bars at the resort offer two different experiences as well. Whale Bar is perched at the end of a walkway above the water allowing for the perfect sunset cocktail spot while the Beach Bar was the perfect place to share a pizza or burger during the day.

The final restaurant on the island, Decanter, offers one of the Maldives’ largest wine collections so if dinner in a cellar surrounded but hundreds of bottles of wine is your thing then they have the perfect option for you!

One thing I get asked quite a lot about the Maldives is about what there is to do, and will you get bored during your stay. It is safe to say that even a 7-10 night stay at St Regis would still have you with activities left on the to-do list. 

The IRIDIUM spa offers endless treatments, acupuncture, anti-gravity yoga, sauna, and the ever so relaxing Blue Hole experience.

If you are more of an adventure buff the list of water sports offers an array of activities including scuba diving expeditions alongside sea turtles, manta rays and small reef sharks, snorkeling the house reef, Jetskiing, paddle boarding and sunset cruises on the St Regis’ own yacht.

Each room has personalised bikes (they even add tags with your room numbers on so you don’t take the wrong bike from the rack after breakfast!) which allow for riding around the island and exploring the island’s garden which is where the food is freshly sourced for each restaurant.

There is a decent gym on the island and if relaxing with a book is more your style they also have a well-stocked Library.

As long as the idea of relaxing by the water, with or without a cocktail in hand, for a few hours a day does not bore you, then the Maldives is the perfect holiday destination.

The St Regis Vommuli is not a hotel for everyone, if you want hustle and bustle, busy bars and an in your face atmosphere you will not find it here.

Stepping onto the island paradise you will find an elegant modern and sophisticated resort, a haven for relaxation to allow you switch off from your busy life for a few days while indulging in fresh and delicious cuisine and a few too many glasses of bubbly.

If it was not for the thunderstorm that started as we were packing our bags for departure it would have been harder to tear ourselves away and step back onto our Sea Plane back to Male as the staffed waved us farewell.