The Maldives: Where We Stayed and What I Packed

Last time I was lucky enough to go to the Maldives in 2018, the trip didn’t exactly go according to plan… First night in paradise after a long journey, we crashed out in bed early (around 9.30 pm) only to be woken up shortly after with bangs on the door hurriedly evacuating us as a fire tore through the thatched water villa next to ours. Now I never sleep naked, I’m a full pyjama girl, but that night island time got the better of me and I’d fallen asleep sans clothes, all of which were the other side of our open-sided villa in the dressing area. Grabbing a pillow to protect both my dignity and the eyes of our poor rescuers on the other side of the bedroom door, I’m glad the adrenaline of the situation has blanked out my naked run of shame. Within 30 seconds we went from bed to standing barefoot on the beach in hastiliy grabbed clothes (dirty plane t-shirt for me, trousers and no t-shirt for my husband) watching the entire run of water villas at our hotel, including ours, burn down. Thankfully and most importantly no one was hurt (and the hotel has since re-opened) and we were evacuated to another resort who looked after us incredibly well, dressing us all in gift shop t-shirts and sarongs. I’d fortunately managed to grab my hand luggage with passports and wallet as we left the villa and two days later, our luggage was unexpectedly returned (they’d ran back in after getting us out and thrown everything back into our case before the fire jumped) which was a huge surprise. They’d even, very sweetly, grabbed my book from my bedside. All in all, we were really lucky and there was zero to cry about but I did spend the remainder of the trip pretty wired as every time I started to fall asleep, I’d wake with a start thinking I could hear a knock at the door. Or maybe I just had a week of hangxiety after my unintentional streaking... Either way, not exactly the relaxing time in paradise we envisioned… So needless to say we were hoping to make some less stressful memories on this trip. And it truly couldn’t have been better. We moved around a lot which I worried would feel hectic but when your ‘commute’ between islands involves speed boats and seaplanes gliding over turquoise lagoons, there’s really nothing to complain about. The hotels are brilliant at communicating with each other to coordinate all the finer details too. And all of the hotels we stayed in had different personalities, rhythms and reefs that I loved getting to experience so I actually loved hopping around a bit. Packing Wins One of my favourite outfits of the week comprised of yellow drawstring pants, this backless halter and a net-like belt from Deiji Studios. That top in particular I could have worn every single day if I really wanted to be switch my brain off and pack light. Standout faves coming with me in every suitcase for the forceable were the Donni taffeta pants, the mother-of-pearl bikini (I have this one and this one) and everything and anything Posse in my case. I also loved the Orzo Studios pieces that came with me; the sheer white tunic over teeny silky shorts is a look I’ll be rolling out in Greece come June for sure. I’m at that point in life where I’m contemplating if my hot pants days are behind me so this layered duo feels like I’m wearing something sassy and short only with a safety blanket over the top. The bag was one of my best purchases of last year and continues to be the ultimate take-everywhere bag. And the Colour Science SPF 50 is so good for us melasma girlies; it tints to match your skin on application which is a win for any kind of pigmentation prevention. Packing Could-Do-Betters One category that was kind of lacking in my suitcase this trip was throw-on beach clothes. That’s not to say I don’t have them (we all know I live for these kind of beach clothes), I just neglected to pack them. Obviously you spend all day everyday in swimwear so my head wasn’t really thinking about breakfasts and lunches when I was packing so those light, easy pieces that feel good throwing on first thing or over hot skin on the beach were kind of lacking. I ended up in a big shirt and shorts most mornings which is no bad thing but I should have packed one of these which I always love over hot skin and have been eyeing up this and this for equally sweaty days on Sifnos this summer. This is really tempting me right now too - it’s crisp cotton always over linen for me in the heat. I have half of the Suzie Kondi website in my basket right now that I need to narrow down but the jumpsuit and the bloomers are up there. Worth noting if you’re heading to the likes of Soneva or Six Senses, shoes really are optional/discouraged everywhere so unless you really want to, you really don’t need anything apart from shoes to travel in and some flip flops. I ended up buying a UPF 50+ hat (a consistent staple for me these days) while out there because I couldn’t find my Hunza G bucket hat when packing but I couldn’t have done with some more hat options. We kicked off our week at Six Senses Laamu which a lot of friends have raved about (several went their on honeymoon there) and I’ve wanted to experience to for a long while. We stayed in one of the Lagoon beach villas which was beautifully done. Pure Swiss Family Robinson style barefoot luxury with lots of raw timber, outdoor showers and a drift wood four-poster bed. The entirely wooden restaurants and walkways built on stilts over the lagoon is a magical place for breakfast; we saw dolphins one morning over our omelettes. And just as with all Six Senses hotels, there’s real roots in health and wellness across the menus and offerings. You’re never short of delicious healthy smoothies, salads, and spirulina here. Likewise at the spa, expect holistic treatments that lean into Ayurvedic practices and mindfulness. I had an incredible cranio-sacral therapy session with a visiting practitioner from the Netherlands called Kim Kosters which was amazing!