Jumeirah Vittaveli Voted ‘Maldives’ Leading Spa Resort’

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Jumeirah Vittaveli has won the World Travel Award 2016 for ‘Maldives’ Leading Spa Resort,’ at the Africa and Indian Ocean gala evening in Zanzibar.

Graham Kiy, General Manager at Jumeirah Vittaveli, said: “We are proud to have been awarded this outstanding recognition for Jumeirah Vittaveli and our Talise Spa, which is an integral part of the resort. Every day, our team strives to deliver superior service and an indulgent experience, ensuring our guests enjoy the paradise of the Maldives to the fullest. Part of this is providing culturally connected treatments, such as the use of pure Maldivian coconut oil within some of our treatments – produced on site and harvested from coconuts from the island, this is a favourite with our guests.”

Guests at Jumeirah Vittaveli can indulge in signature couple’s treatments such as the Vittaveli Romance which includes a full body massage followed by an intimate rich coconut milk bath. Guests can also request the spa team to prepare a romantic bath in their villa, complete with flower petals, strawberries and bubbly.

More information about the resort can be discovered on the official Jumeirah blog: ‘5 Reasons the Maldives is perfect for families’.

The World Travel Awards are voted for by travel and tourism professionals worldwide. Established in 1993, the awards are recognised as a world-class hallmark of quality. Each year a series of gala ceremonies are staged to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence in the tourism industry.

Graham Cooke, President of the World Travel Awards, said: “My congratulations to everybody who was nominated at the World Travel Awards Africa and Indian Ocean gala ceremony this and especially those who picked up a trophy. As the first stop on our annual grand tour, the bar has certainly been set high for the rest of the year and I look forward to greeting all of our winners from this evening at the grand final in the Maldives in December.”

Kurumba Maldives Welcomes Yoga Guru Vijeth For Yoga Week

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Kurumba Maldives is pleased to announce the arrival of Yogi Vijeth, experienced Yoga therapist, teacher and Yogic counselor, for a week of Yoga related sessions.

Vijeth started practising Yoga when he was 12 years old. He graduated in Gurkula School, then completed a postgraduate degree in Yogic science in Mangalore University, India. He then conducted a Chandrayana Vratta program, which is an ancient yoga detoxification technique (weight reduction programme) for several groups, as well as research on the effect of yogic practices during pregnancy. Vijeth is an experienced teacher and has conducted a series of seminars and workshops during his career.

From 16th to 23rd May 2016, daily special sessions will be on offer for up to 20 guests per group. These include Yoga and Meditation in the mornings and evenings plus Yogic Counselling and Therapy. The Yoga and Meditation sessions will include a group discussion about creating healthy habits and setting goals.

The Yogic Counselling and Therapy sessions will revolve around the Yoga philosophies, which act as a therapist in removing self-created problems in our minds. Yoga philosophy is both science and art. Its reason and technique will help individuals appreciate life. Private sessions with Yogi Vijeth can also be arranged upon request.

This unique visit is in addition to the existing complimentary group Yoga sessions which are part of the expansive weekly activities program; along with many other varied activities ranging from the active, like guided snorkelling, to the more indulgent wine tasting or live cooking demonstrations. Kurumba consistently strives to offer all its guests more, so they can experience the very best of the island lifestyle and the Maldives In Full Colour.

Advance booking is recommended through [email protected]. More information can be found at: www.kurumba.com/maldives-yoga-week-02

Maldives Wins Two National Awards at Marine Dive Fair 2016

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Maldives won the first prize for the Reader’s Choice Dreaming Area award and the second prize for Reader’s Choice Best Diving Area, Overseas award at the Dive and Travel Awards 2016 which took place at the Marine Dive Fair 2016. The Maldives Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, joined this opening ceremony representing Maldives at the Marine Dive Fair 2016.

Marine Dive fair is an annual scuba diving and beach resorts fair that takes place in Tokyo Japan, targeted towards the consumers and trade in Japan and Asia. This year marks the 24th edition of this annual event and went off successfully.

The Japanese market was once among the top 5 markets in terms of arrivals to Maldives. While the market has dropped over the year, they still remain among the top 10 markets and show potential for growth. The Japanese enjoy their travel to tropical destination and is a huge market for the dive segment of the destination. This gives Maldives an advantage over other destination as Maldives offers free visa on entry and easy connections between Japan and Maldives.

Maldives embassy in Japan represented Maldives at Marine Dive Fair this year, Maldives presence was well covered at the event. Through right promotion and exposure at this event, expect a positive growth with increasing arrivals from the Japanese market once again.

Heinrich Morio Joins Soneva As Managing Director – Maldives

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Soneva Resorts and Residences, the world-leading luxury resort operator, has announced that Heinrich Morio has joined the company as the new Managing Director – Maldives, responsible for overseeing its flagship resort Soneva Fushi as well as its latest luxury offerings Soneva in Aqua and Soneva Jani.

A dual US and German National, Heinrich’s hospitality career spans more than 35 years, most of which have been spent in the management team of some of the world’s most renowned luxury hotels and resorts.

Prior to joining Soneva, Heinrich was the General Manager (opening) of the Palazzo Versace Hotel in Dubai, and formerly the General Manager of the Burj al Arab, as well as the General Manager of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, both also located in Dubai, UAE.  Before moving to the Middle East, Heinrich was the General Manager of several One & Only properties in Mauritius and Bahamas, as well as luxury resorts in the United States. He will join Soneva in July 2016.

We are very excited to have Heinrich on board with us. He has impressive hospitality experience in iconic properties around the world and we look forward to leveraging his expertise to further enhance Soneva’s service offering. He will work closely with Olivia as we ramp up to open Soneva Jani by October 2016,” said Sonu Shivdasani, Founder and CEO of Soneva Resorts.

In October 2015, Soneva welcomed Olivia Richli as the new General Manager (opening) of Soneva Jani, Soneva’s newest property in the Maldives, which is currently under construction.  The resort is being built on a large island surrounded by four smaller islands in the middle of a large, five-kilometre turquoise lagoon in the Noonu Atoll, Maldives. Four of the five islands will remain untouched so it will be, by far, the lowest density development in the Maldives. Meaning ‘wisdom’ in Sanskrit, Soneva Jani comprises 24 over water villas and 32 island villas.

The resort is surrounded by crystal clear waters, with pure white beaches, islands covered in rich tropical vegetation and set in a vast sparkling lagoon.Soneva owns and operates Soneva Fushi in the Maldives and Soneva Kiri in Thailand. Soneva in Aqua, an ultra luxurious yacht offering an experiential travel experience, was launched in the Maldives in 2015 and sails out of Soneva Fushi. For more information about Soneva visit www.soneva.com

W Maldives Appoints new GM Anton Birnbaum

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W Retreat & Spa – Maldives is thrilled to announce the appointment of its new General Manager, Anton Birnbaum. A native of Austria is responsible for the overall operation, providing strategic and inspirational leadership to his new team and delivering distinguished W experience to the hotel guests and clients. Among other responsibilities, Anton will oversee implementation of the annual business plan annual operational and capital budgets, marketing and guest satisfaction.

Anton was promoted to the top position after previously serving eight years as Executive Assistant Manager at Le Méridien Vienna, where he started his hospitality career as a Director of Human Resources. Prior to joining the Starwood team, Anton worked for such big brands as T-Mobile, DO & CO or SPAR in Austria.

During his time with Le Méridien Vienna, Anton supervised the development of the Food & Beverage department and functioned as a key hotel contact for such major events as the Life Ball, Fashion Check-in, Vienna Fashion Week, Afterhours, Vienna Art Fair or Vogue Fashion’s Night Out. He also focused on the networking events in the B2B sector as well as building the relationship with hotel’s key suppliers and partners. In 2014 Anton took charge of the Luxury Collection Hotel Imperial’s launch event for more than 1,000 guests including international stars like supermodel Helena Christensen.

For bookings and more information on W Retreat & Spa – Maldives, please explore http://www.wretreatmaldives.com/.

Sheraton Maldives wins 2016 Starwood Cares for the Community Awards

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Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa has won the 2016 Starwood Cares for the Community Awards in Asia Pacific division. Sheraton Maldives received the award for its remarkable efforts initiated last year to support and improve the conditions at the Home for People with Special Needs in Guraidhoo.

The Management and associates of Sheraton Maldives organised several fundraising events which included a charity run in which the national record holder Hassan Saaid himself participated to show his support, a jumble sale where all the profits went to the home and also the donation of furniture and bathroom fixtures amongst many others.

Established in 1976, Home for People with Special Needs is a rehabilitation home on the island of Guraidhoo that provides special care and services to over 150 residents between 15 to 95 years of age from homeless, old, young, mentally and physically disabled.

Starwood Cares for the Community Awards acknowledges and celebrates the efforts of Starwood properties and associates who ‘set the bar’ for community involvement. Over 3,150 associates globally voted for the winners out of the top three finalists from each division.

Former Royal Air force Contingent visits Maldives

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The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has welcomed 28 former members of the Royal Air Force (RAF) who arrived in Maldives today. The officials of MMPRC welcomed the group with cultural performance, Visit Maldives Year gift packs were also distributed to the members.

RAF Vets welcome cermony1The contingent is in Maldives for a reunion event to be held in Addu to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of their departure from Gan. Royal Air force Reunion event will be held in Addu from 24 -31st March 2016, series of activities has been organized as a part of the event.

RAF Vets welcome cermonyIn March 2010 many of them visited Gan for the celebrations and since then Most of them have been visiting Addu on regular basis due to their affection for the Maldives. Former RAF officials who stayed in Gan during WWII are much respected citizens of UK, being decorated war veterans and some hold prestigious positions in the private sector.

MMPRC is proud to welcome the contingent given that this Visit Maldives Year. The Visit Maldives Year 2016 will be a yearlong campaign to boost the tourism of the country, targeting a total of 1.5 million tourist arrivals during the year. A number of international and national events, competitions and awareness programs will be carried out by Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation together with the Tourism Industry to display the richness of Maldives as a destination and portray Maldives as the exotic place it is, to the world.

Marco Amarone joins Conrad Maldives Rangali Island

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Conrad Maldives Rangali Island  has announced the appointment of Marco Amarone as the resort’s new Executive Chef. Marco joins Conrad Maldives Rangali Island from his homeland of Italy, where he co-owned a restaurant with the Marcopolo Group of Restaurants, Cuneo.

Marco AmaroneMarco brings a wealth of experience to Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, further enhancing its impressive array of food and beverage offerings. Having earned his culinary qualifications from IPSEOA Ippolito Cavalcanti hotel school in Naples, Italy, Marco is also a Culinary Master within the U.R.C.L Italian Chef Federation. Over the years, Marco has developed his cooking skills in countries including the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Portugal and Bermuda; enabling him to bring a diverse mix of gastronomical influences to Conrad Maldives Rangali Island.

“With a wealth of experience in food and beverage management and the culinary arts, we are confident that Marco will be a great addition to our leadership team and help us take the Conrad Maldives experience, for both our guests and team members, to the next level” says Lyle Lewis, General Manager at Conrad Maldives. “His strong culinary background and worldly experience make him a great asset to the resort and its award winning cuisine.”

Marco will be responsible for overseeing and leading the continued development of Conrad Maldives Rangali Island’s outstanding culinary offerings at its 12 restaurant and bars, which include the world’s first undersea restaurant Ithaa Undersea Restaurant and the Maldives’ first celebrity chef Chinese restaurant, Ufaa by Jereme Leung. An epicurean delight, the resort boasts over 20,000 bottles of the world’s finest wines, 100 varieties of cheese, as well as Michelin starred chefs in residence and an expert sommelier.

Further cementing Conrad Maldives Rangali Island reputation as a food and beverage pioneer in the destination, the resort has recently partnered with world renowned cocktail mixologist Grant Collins, who has curated an innovative new cocktail menu exclusively for the resort and will be holding master-classes for guests on set dates throughout 2016.

Culinary highlights in April will include a Grand Spanish Dinner taking place in the Wine Cellar on 5 April 2016, whilst guest Japanese master-chef Ricky Kamiishi from Iketeru Restaurant located at Hilton Kuala Lumpur will be treating guests to a degustation menu or a la carte options at Koko Grill from 1 – 15 April 2016. Wine connoisseurs can be educated in biodynamic wines by Mr. Marco Caschera, the Brand Ambassador from Vincent Giardin wines in Burgundy, who will also be on resort in April. A highlight of the month will be the iconic Ithaa Undersea Restaurant celebrating its 11th anniversary in spectacular style on 15 April 2016 with a seven course degustation menu, paired with Grand Cru Burgundy from Domaine Vincent Giardin.

Kurumba Maldives Welcomes Roberto Cuda For Cocktail Week

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Kurumba Maldives is pleased to announce the arrival of Mr. Roberto Cuda: highly awarded Mixologist, Bar Trainer and Beverage Consultant, for a week of special cocktail themed event.

Roberto has a broad experience in cocktail mixology, developing his skills in places like Italy, Dubai, Ibiza or London and specialising as a Head Mixologist, assisting in the development of bartenders and beverage menus with original and inspiring recipes. Roberto has been well awarded contending in cocktail competitions.

Roberto will be performing his skills behind the Bar every evening from 1st to 5th April 2016 at Kandu Bar with a special menu of cocktails in Kurumba Maldives, accompanied by a variety of nightly entertainment.

This special cocktail menu will also be available to guests on All-Inclusive meal plan as part of their package and accessible to other guests at the usual cocktail prices. Non-alcoholic cocktails will also be on offer.

On 7th April, an exclusive food & cocktail pairing evening will take place in Isola restaurant for a maximum of 20 guests. This will feature a 5-course set menu with paired cocktails.

More information about Roberto Cuda is available at: www.robertocuda.com

About Kurumba Maldives

Kurumba Maldives is set on a tropical island in the North Male’ Atoll, conveniently situated a brief 10 minute speedboat ride from the airport. Dotted with coconut trees that are the island’s namesake, Kurumba was the first private island resort in the Maldives. Beautiful gardens, palm fringed white sandy beaches and a vibrant house reef is the hallmarks of this classic Maldivian resort.

The resort offers an array of nine styles of accommodation, ranging from comfortable Superior rooms to the spacious Royal Residence, spread amongst the island’s lush tropical gardens with easy access to the beach. With eight different restaurants to choose from Kurumba Maldives will charm you with its unparalleled choice of dining experience and a wide range of recreation activities and entertainment. All while maintaining idyllic refuges and quiet spaces of relaxation to create the perfect balance for a holiday in paradise, perfect for honeymooners and family alike.

Over the years, Kurumba has played host to a variety of foreign dignitaries and Heads of State, including Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and former US Presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. It has also been the recipient of numerous accolades and awards, including Maldives Leading Hotel (World Travel Awards) in 2010 and 2011, and Trip Advisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards for Best Service and Luxury (2013) as well as the number one All-Inclusive resort in Asia (2014 and 2015), and number one best All-Inclusive resort in the world (2015).

Kurumba Maldives Offers a Scholarship for Maldivians

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As part of its ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility program, Kurumba Maldives is pleased to announce the launch of its scholarship programme

Kurumba Scholarship FlyerKurumba Maldives has established a scholarship programme to assist Maldivians who plan to continue their education in college. Under this programme, Kurumba provides scholarship grants to two graduated high school students, to enable the recipients to complete a 3 year graduate programme in Hospitality & Hotel Administration at an accredited institution of the resort’s choice in India.

This scholarship is eligible to Maldivian citizens and permanent residents who have passed in 10+2 system of Senior Secondary School examination or its equivalent from a recognized Institution with English as one of the subjects, securing not less than 50% marks in aggregate. Those appearing in qualifying exam can also apply on provisional basis. Provisional admission will be cancelled on non-submission of having passed the qualifying examination at the time of admission or latest by 30th September 2016.

Graduates with challenging life conditions and with a higher level of aptitude and attitude will be preferred.

Age limit: Not more than 22 years as of 1st July 2016.

Application submission deadline: 31st March 2016.

Please apply at [email protected]

For more detailed information, please click here

About Kurumba Maldives

Kurumba Maldives is set on a tropical island in the North Male’ Atoll, conveniently situated a brief 10 minute speedboat ride from the airport. Dotted with coconut trees that are the island’s namesake, Kurumba was the first private island resort in the Maldives. Beautiful gardens, palm fringed white sandy beaches and a vibrant house reef is the hallmarks of this classic Maldivian resort.

The resort offers an array of nine styles of accommodation, ranging from comfortable Superior rooms to the spacious Royal Residence, spread amongst the island’s lush tropical gardens with easy access to the beach. With eight different restaurants to choose from Kurumba Maldives will charm you with its unparalleled choice of dining experiences and a wide range of recreation activities and entertainment. All while maintaining idyllic refuges and quiet spaces of relaxation to create the perfect balance for a holiday in paradise, perfect for honeymooners and families alike.

Over the years, Kurumba has played host to a variety of foreign dignitaries and Heads of State, including Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and former US Presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. It has also been the recipient of numerous accolades and awards, including Maldives Leading Hotel (World Travel Awards) in 2010 and 2011, and Trip Advisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards for Best Service and Luxury (2013) as well as the number one All-Inclusive resort in Asia (2014 and 2015), and number one best All-Inclusive resort in the world (2015).