Excited by wine walls, and a collection of more than 200 labels spanning the globe, I sip champagne and eye up a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal 2004, alongside a rare Petrus Pomerol 1996 Bordeaux our sommelier has proudly pulled from the shelf – illustrating the impressive list.
As a drinks writer, I’m accustomed to glossy tasting rooms and reviewing a flight of fancy wines. As luck would have it though, we’re in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
It’s our third visit to five-star Velassaru – a beautiful 21-acre coral island in the South Male Atoll, a 25-minute speedboat ride from Velana International Airport. Tonight, we’re sitting down to their award-winning dinner experience at Etesian, with a sophisticated seven-course menu featuring gold medal-winning dishes.
The butter-poached lobster tail and trio of pepper crusted beef with herb mousseline are sublime, and we’re delighted with the wine pairing – a French chardonnay and Australian shiraz lead the charge.
The menu is testament to how the evolving food and beverage scene is putting Maldives firmly on the culinary map. Travellers are seeking gastronomic experiences beyond glorious sunshine, turquoise sea, wonderful marine life and coral sands.
It’s one of the many new developments in a destination my husband Giles and I fell in love with 15 years ago and have been back time and time again.
When it comes to designing the perfect holiday to this barefoot paradise, choosing the right resort can be confusing. At the last count, there were 172 properties spread across the 26 atolls – all with very different offerings.
No longer purely a once-in-a-lifetime, honeymoon destination, the island nation is set to attract two million tourists in 2024. And although there are still plenty of ‘money is no object’ options, there’s affordable luxury too.
Several top-notch properties now offer all-inclusive packages with selected wines and spirits, choice of buffet or a la carte menus, excursions and complementary snorkelling equipment. Leaving very little ‘not’ included, it’s a win-win with the…
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