MY head is very grateful to visit the blissful Maldivian resort Coco Bodu Hithi, but it’s my toes that are making the most of it. Liberated of shoes for an entire week my feet luxuriate in the sugary sand surrounding the island and pad happily along warm wooden pontoons. They are expertly massaged in the five-star spa and naturally exfoliated on the beach. I could gussy them up for dinner in any one of the six elegant candle-lit restaurants but barefoot feels a whole lot more decadent. It’s a rare treat to expose my city-battered senses to these gentler elements so I don’t want anything to come between them and the soothing tropical breeze.
An aerial view of the resort
The Coco Residence
The Island
Shoes were not the only thing abandoned in my beautifully appointed water villa. Keys, money and phone are all unceremoniously dumped in favour of care-free hours hovering over batfish and giant table coral in the placid Indian Ocean. No need to lug around bagfuls of beach gear when you can climb a ladder directly from your own private deck into the glittering cyan sea. In fact baggage in general can be left behind, you really need very little here which is a luxury in itself. The weather is consistently warm so no need for layers and the only thing I put on my feet all week is sunscreen and fins.
The spa in Coco Bodu Hithi
An island villa at the resort
It soon becomes difficult to even leave the villa, between my outdoor four poster bed, sunken tub and private infinity pool I can’t convince my feet to take me anywhere very far, not that there’s far to go on this idyllic little island. There is plenty to do – paddleboarding, diving, yoga – but it is limited which makes this trip doubly relaxing. I don’t feel duty-bound to rush around seeing all the sights because the sights are best viewed from the privacy of my lavish abode.
An Escape Water Residence
An Escape Water Residence
Between dozing and the dozen books I’m catching up on a dramatic flash storm on the horizon provides the entertainment. I drift into a Bond scene reverie, recasting the room service waiters as enemy henchmen and the harmless baby black-tip sharks gliding beneath my villa as villainous guard dogs. I hope they don’t let me and my feet escape.
by Jenni Doggett
Coco Bodu Hithi, Coco Collection, Sunland Hotels PVT LTD, H. Moonlit Villa, 4th Floor,
Medhuziyaraiy Magu, Malé 20079, Maldives
T: +960 333 6611.
Enjoy seven nights in an Island Villa from £2,345 per person on a Full Board. This price includes international flights with Etihad from London Heathrow and speedboat transfers. Contact Turquoise Holidays today on 01494 678 400 or visit here
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