Megan Ellaby

HELLO! And welcome to the first of three posts about our time in the beautiful Maldives!

A holiday that was so magical, so perfect and SO relaxing that naturally it feels as if it never happened, do you know what I mean? And if that opening wasn't a sign of things to come then I don't know what is! Yup, things are about to get a little gushy around here!
But what can I say, we had a blast; the holiday of a lifetime some might say, but a holiday I pray will happen again one day. I certainly left a piece of my heart in the Maldives and I dream about getting back there one day.

It was the perfect destination to escape from the mundane tasks of every day life, to really switch off from everything we have to deal with on a daily basis and to just RELAX! Not to mention it is the most beautifully breathtaking place I have ever seen, I'd imagine George and I said "WOW" around 38972856478954 a day... SRSLY!

We were lucky enough to visit three islands within the Maldives and I must admit, I was a little apprehensive about this initially as I'm simply not the "travelling" type. The thought of shlepping my way from airport to airport was never really my idea of a holiday, often preferring to split into separate holidays entirely.

However, here is where I eat my words!
Visiting three islands was beyond perfect for George and I, who, despite not wanting to travel by means of transport, we do like to explore by foot, so after four days exploring an island, it was the perfect time for us to pack up and head on to the next island for yet more exploring.
It also really gave us a great feel for island life on different islands as, believe it or not they all differ entirely! It was a really great way for us to work out which island was for us and compare and contrast each island to give you lot a really honest review and breakdown, to make booking your special trip that little bit easier.

So, without further ado, I bring to you our first island Kurumba.

After a really pleasant 13 hour flight from Manchester Airport via Abu Dhabi and then on to Maldives, we arrived in the capital city of Male. We were greeted by a Kurumba representative who guided us to the speed boat in which we would travel to the island of Kurumba.
One huge bonus of Kurumba is how close it is to Male airport, with just a short 10 minute speed boat ride it is the perfect destination to begin your Maldivian adventure or to spend a whole week entirely. A 10 minute speed boat after a 13 hour flight was truly awesome, especially as considering many islands require a further domestic flight, sea plane or hour long speed boat ride.

We arrived to the warmest welcome, coco-nut sorbet, cold flannels and escorted to our room via golf buggy.

Stepping into our first slice of Maldivian paradise was honestly like nothing I have experienced before.
Our room at Kurumba was simply sensational and personally, my favourite of the entire trip.
We stayed in a beautiful Beachfront Deluxe Bungalow which was simple, spacious and with the most incredible beach set-up I could only have dreamt of.
This somewhat private beach situation was what made Kurumba for me, it felt like we were the only people on the resort and waking up to the view above, every single day was like nothing else! We spent our days lounging, snorkelling and eating our way through the menu, not to mention sampling one or two bottles of Bottega Rose, the drink that will forever remind me of our time in the Maldives.

The traditional Maldivian bathroom was also out of this world awesome with it's outdoor shower- showering with wildlife is really rather something and certainly something I beg all of you to add to your bucket lists immediately, it is magical!

Speaking of snorkelling, we booked onto an awesome snorkelling safari with Kurumba and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I've always been fascinated with the world below sea level but snorkelling in the Indian Ocean was like nothing I have ever experienced before. The world down there is utterly magical and something I will never ever forget! Kurumba offer a number of excursions such as snorkelling, scuba diving, dolphin cruises, a variety of water sports and much more that you can take a peek of here.

Kurumba, which means ‘coconut’ in Maldivian was the first private island resort in the Maldives, which I just find extraordinary! It opened way back in 1972 with just 30 rooms and today, 45 years later, has a total of 130 rooms! Kurumba has won a number of awards such as; Trip Advisor's No 1 All-inclusive resort in the world (2018) and Trip Advisor No 1 All Inclusive Resort in Asia (2018) and after visiting I can totally see why.

With a beautiful swimming pool in addition to the clearest ocean I have ever seen, 8 restaurants and a relaxed bar area over looking the Indian Ocean, a place George and I would sit with a cocktail whilst the sun went down before dinner.
Post dinner we would return to the bar area for some live entertainment which, whilst we were there was a live band, of course something George and I could appreciate.

And now for a quick detour onto my first evening outfit at Kurumba.
After a 13 hour flight, 10 minute speed boat and finally arriving on the island around 2pm, I certainly wanted comfort for our first night in the Maldives so this Miss Selfridge jumpsuit was utterly perfect.
Offering a square neckline, tie waist fastening and wide legs, it was both relaxed but certainly put together with the dual monochrome polka dot lending itself beautifully to be styled with red accessories.

We dined at the Kurumba grill restaurant Thila on our first night which was delicious. Three courses of perfection where George and I opted to share a seafood platter which included Lobster, King Prawns, Tuna and more! There are a variety of restaurants on the island including a buffet restaurant where we dined for most breakfasts and lunches, a Teppanyaki restaurant, Middle Eastern, Thai, Indian AND Italian, you really were spoilt for choice!
The Thila restaurant also offered a deluxe breakfast offering (which you can see in the image below) which we sampled on our final day and my goodness was it delicious! We were actually pretty gutted that we didn't try it sooner as the breakfast was made to order and offered things such as Kedgeree, Eggs Benedict and so much more all washed down with my new fave drink, Bottega Rose. Such a beautiful and luxe way to kick start your day!

In-villa dining is also an option and pretty damn fabulous too, we opted for this on arrival at Kurumba and were greeted with the most delicious Sushi, Tempura Prawns, Tuna Filo Parcels and yet more bubbles and all from the comfort of our villa, just perfect!

My look for our second night in Kurumba was probably my favourite from the entire trip and probably my most casual of get-ups. Opting for denim cut-off shorts, which might I add, are 100% worth the investment! Denim shorts are HARD to get right and I've learnt that spending that little bit more on the perfect fit is SO worth it! The denim shorts were teamed with a modern take on a tie fronted Hawaiian shirt by Mira Mikati, giving all the tropical feels and finished off with the ultimate vacation accessories with the Staud net bag and Rag & Bone cross front sandals!

We were lucky enough to try out the spa whilst visiting Kurumba, something I would urge you all to do should you visit the Maldives, I mean what better way to spend an hour on a tropical island then having a massage or a facial ey!?
The facilities here were absolutely gorgeous and we were kindly offered a ginger tea and cold flannel on arrival (cold flannel v much needed, the Maldives is HOT!)
We both opted for the 60 minute signature massage and it's safe to say we both left a little bit lighter than we went in, it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and such a gorgeous way to kick start day two of our Maldivian holiday.

And now I thought I'd insert a little piece written by George, to offer a male perspective to the resort. I thought it would be nice to do this for each island review to really showcase what it is like for a couple to holiday here as one things for sure, the Maldives is the most romantic place in the world! Take it away George;

We arrived at Kurumba and were presented with an ice cold coconut scented flannel which I rubbed all over my face and hands, this was first on my list for a 10/10 experience.

We were escorted to our rooms in a golf buggy, winning.
The rooms were simplistic and very clean with an amazing Maldivian bathroom, the private beach & patio element really made this place. The only thing that I was a little disappointed with AT FIRST was being able to see civilisation at Male city, as in my head the Maldives was all about water for as far as the eye can see. However, this had it's bonuses and it wasn't something I was going to lose sleep over and tbh, whichever way I looked at it, we were sat on a beach in the Indian Ocean listening to the Beatles, I’m smoking a big cigar and we’ve ordered room service sushi, so winning!

We drank Bottega Rose most nights and played some scrabble whilst the sun went down, absolutely banging.

The snorkelling was an amazing experience, it definitely opened my eyes to how precious and beautiful the oceans are, "save the turtles" is my latest life motto having swam alongside a really old MASSIVE turtle, he seemed like a sound guy.

Overall I would rate this island a solid 8/10. It’s a perfect resort for families in my opinion and is a really great starting point if you’re jumping off the plane which is only 10 mins away by boat ride. It’s definitely worth starting here, doing a handful of days then moving on to something completely different the way we did.

Cheers

And now my final outfit, the beautiful plisse, polka dot, tube dress from Zara aka my fave dress in a LONG OLE TIME! I haven't worn a dress in ages but made an exception for this utter beauty! The primary shades of blue and red are of course right up my street and I really love the lengthening column silhouette it has, particularly when teamed with a rainbow snake belt (obvs) such as this. Teaming a pair of OTT red suede sandals, a woven Topshop bag (best holiday purchase of the century) and an up-do, it was comfortable, colourful and co-ordinated with George's get-up for the night, a complete coincidence but one I was very fond of indeed.

And there we have a little look into our time on the beautiful island of Kurumba! The perfect destination for our first dabble with the Maldives. An island that is convenient for travel from the airport, family friendly and all round totally beautiful. I would highly suggest beginning your trip to the Maldives here before heading further afield the way we did.
I hope you enjoyed this post, seeing what we got up to on our first leg of the trip and of course what I wore. I'll be back very soon with part two!

x M