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Best of the Maldives: Employees Choice Employer – W Retreat

Published 1 May 13 10:57 AM | Maldives Complete

      “W” is for “Worker” on today’s International Worker Day. And in the Maldives,”W” – as in ‘ W Retreat’ - is for workers too. According to the definitive source, the Maldives Resort Workers themselves… “MRW congratulates W Maldives...

Filed under: best of, W Retreat, management

Best of Maldives: Sand Castle Event – W Retreat

Published 17 April 13 12:5 PM | Maldives Complete

  Nowhere in the Maldives are the sands shifting so creatively as at W Retreat last week. The W hosted a Sand Sculpture event with artist Peter Redmond… “Sand sculpture is no longer a children’s only activity. As the sun shines over the Indian Ocean...

Filed under: best of, event, W Retreat, art

Best of the Maldives: Guitar Sharks – W Retreat

Published 27 November 12 8:37 PM | Maldives Complete

    “Swimming in, lord, the deep blue sea. I'd have a, all you pretty women, fishin' after me.” Jimi Hendrix would have been 70 today. And I’m sure that he would be riffing today. Often considered the greatest guitarist of all time ...

Filed under: best of, ocean, W Retreat

Best of the Maldives: Job Title – W Retreat

Published 12 July 12 5:35 PM | Maldives Complete

Best job ever. Well, at least the best job title. “W Insider” is the title for W Retreat’s service special agent whose mission is to target the very best experiences tailored to each guest. To some extent, it is a fancy name for a ‘Concierge’...

Filed under: best of, service, W Retreat

Best of the Maldives: Loyalty Reward – W Retreat

Published 14 June 12 12:47 AM | Maldives Complete

    If your hotel loyalty endures as long as a Soneva house reef , then sign up for W Retreat’s Starwood Preferred Guest Program . I do a fair amount of business travel and have frequent stay points piled up for most hotel chains. And yet, when...

Filed under: best of, W Retreat, pricing

Best of the Maldives: Mirrors – W Retreat

Published 25 April 12 1:58 PM | Maldives Complete

    Despite the Maldives renown as a honeymoon destination, I’ve yet to see some of the trappings of American nuptial meccas like Vegas and Pocconos. Where are the rotating heart shaped beds under a mirrored ceiling? Well, maybe the Maldives...

Filed under: best of, lodging, W Retreat

Best of the Maldives: Softness - W Retreat

Published 8 April 12 7:29 AM | Maldives Complete

W Retreat is the cashmere of Maldives resorts. Soft, cozy and luxurious. A bit of an off-beat recognition for a resort that does pride itself on off-beat stuff. But it is just so evident. When my wife Lori and I visited the W this summer, we were stuck...

Filed under: best of, W Retreat, ambience

Best of the Maldives: Dessert Menu – W Retreat

Published 16 February 12 1:37 PM | Maldives Complete

  Shocking as it may seem, not everyone wants chocolate for dessert . If you want as much variety in your flavours (and then even more variety in how those flavours are presented), then the restaurant Fish (which has a clever double pier design so...

Filed under: best of, dining, W Retreat

Best of the Maldives: Ocean Swim – W Retreat

Published 4 February 12 9:19 PM | Maldives Complete

    Sometimes you want the local island to be just that bit further away…especially if you are an open water swimmer. Swimming in a lagoon is like have your own, gigantic, tropical fish stocked super-Olympic sized pool. In the morning, it is...

Filed under: best of, sport, W Retreat

Best of the Maldives: Spontaneous Sweets – W Retreat

Published 6 January 12 5:34 PM | Maldives Complete

  Talk about ‘hitting the spot’. For those who don’t want to go far at all for their refreshment , then the W Retreat’s ‘Sweet Spots’ are the place for you. Dotted around the tiny resort are small unmanned stations where you can help yourself to...

Filed under: best of, dining, W Retreat

Best of the Maldives: Chocolate Dessert – W Retreat

Published 21 December 11 4:31 PM | Maldives Complete

  Happy Birthday Lori ! Today my companion in all my adventures celebrates the major milestone of her 50 th birthday. Lori was the one who was initially responsible for my immersion into all things Maldives. After living in the United Kingdom for...

Filed under: best of, dining, W Retreat

Best of the Maldives: Vodka – W Retreat

Published 17 December 11 11:4 AM | Maldives Complete

Today is the Red Bull Air Race over Hulhumale capping off yesterday’s Red Bull Air Show (see photo below) The classic, near iconic, Red Bull cocktail is the ‘Vodka Red Bull’. And if you are looking for the best place for vodka, the barn...

Filed under: best of, drink, W Retreat

Best of the Maldives: Beds - W Retreat

Published 14 December 11 5:19 PM | Maldives Complete

  There’s biggest , and there’s best. And at the W Retreat , beds are as much of a pervasive obsession as their service and music . Beds are everywhere. Their pool-side restaurant/bar serves you lunch on a bed (see photo above). Later in the day...

Filed under: best of, relaxing, W Retreat, bedroom

Best of the Maldives: Custom Breakfast – W Retreat

Published 6 December 11 6:47 PM | Maldives Complete

    The ultra-5-stars will do anything for you at the drop of a hat and W Retreat is certainly right up there with obsessive service. But usually, breakfast is a fairly self-service situation at most resorts with a smorgasbord of morning delights...

Filed under: best of, dining, W Retreat

Best of the Maldives: Personalised Greeting – W Retreat

Published 1 December 11 6:31 PM | Maldives Complete

  Happy Advent! The official T-minus countdown to the big Christmas celebration. Typically marked by the daily ritual of opening an Advent Calendar window which builds the anticipation and exercises the ‘opening’ muscles so you don’t hurt yourself...

Filed under: best of, W Retreat, greeting