If you’ve never been to the Maldives but doomscrolled images and reels of friends who may have, you’ve probably accrued a few things: it’s the Disneyland of fanciful proposals; floating breakfasts in your private pool are kosher for the gram; and bike rides on a wooden pathway in the sea dotted by good-looking suites are mandatory. It’s true. The Maldives is all that. The paradigm of a perfect getaway for the nouveau riche, who don’t fail to stir up envy with their visually documented retreat. The takeaway for most voyeuristic eyes, then, is that it's a postcard-worthy holiday—and not much else. You sunbathe, wear your bright resort gear, cycle, click pictures, eat, drink, sleep, repeat. All until you actually experience it. In my case, I did in full throttle at the OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI, submitting to all the stereotypical frills (proposal not included) and came out with far more than just a better-looking IG feed. Although, there was that, too.
From the offset, the OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI sets you up for extravagance, starting with a private lounge at the Velana International Airport before you board a sizeable motor yacht to an island in the South Malé Atoll. Upon arrival you’re greeted by a large team, including the resort’s Italian General Manager Monica Coppetta—to a soundtrack of conch shells and bodu beru drums. The ensuing foot massage to get rid of any travel fatigue perhaps should’ve been my first cue of the personalisation and hospitality that was to be expected at the Ozen Reserve Bolifushi.
Yet, none of this registered because I was almost instantly sucked into the island life and getting high on a cocktail of wonderment, confusion and abandon, besides the champagne I’d already started sipping. Wonderment because of the overwhelming beauty of the landscape. Whatever you’ve heard about the Maldives is true—the sand is annoyingly perfect provoking you to walk around barefoot. The ocean that envelopes the OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI looks like it’s AI-generated, carrying ripples of clear azure, aquamarine and teal. My perplexed mind couldn’t decide whether to savour the insides of the giant Earth Pool Sunset Villa I was staying in or run five steps ahead onto the beach and into the sea. The latter won, and as I swam uninhibitedly without a streak of vanity or concern about my ‘beach look’ for token pictures, I could feel a layer of stress peel off with every stroke. The experience was reminiscent of my childhood—to swim for hours till a parent called on. That I had Moorish Idols, Oval Butterflyfish, Picasso Triggerfish and Oriental Sweetlips for company, in what is arguably one of the best reefs in the Maldives, was enough to keep me content during my stay.
But as the adage goes, it’s what is on the inside that count. And the insides of the OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI were warm, generous, and sumptuous, all at once. On the isolated island sit 90 giant villas of all varieties, starting with Earth Pool Villas that are perched on the beach and offer unrivalled views of sunrises and sunsets, besides each being equipped with a private pool that’s a lush accessory to the ocean right in front of it. The bigger category rooms of the Ocean Pool Suites—signature to how most over-water villas in the Maldives look—come in different size to incorporate large families and indulgent couples. Pool tables, water slides and bathrooms that are bigger than most flats in Mumbai in some of these rooms is just the resort showing off.
The clincher, however, and perhaps what sets the OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI apart, is that you can opt for a RESERVE PLAN—an all-encompassing package of top-class food; a spa treatment; unlimited pours of premium alcohol at the hotel’s sexy bar Ozar; exclusive experiences like snorkelling; and a daily replenishment of your in-room maxi bar. Take it because when you pay in American dollars for incidentals at any other resort in the Maldives—most of them without anything but the hotel’s offerings to sample, you’ll regret every prawn and cocktail you’ve consumed. Bear in mind, the OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI’s culinary offerings are in no manner sub-par because of the generosity. On the contrary, the beach resort doesn’t skimp and has a variety of cuisines in exceptional restaurants. A strategic move to ensure your taste buds remain tantalised for the duration of your stay, while compelling you to hit the over-water gym every day.
At Soyi, the resort’s most recently opened restaurant, you’re treated to Pan Asian fare that can show up any fine dining restaurant of the same ilk in Bangkok. Sangu Beach invites you to levant and Morrocan food; and Traditon Saffron brings you home with Indian fare. For someone who’s all about trying anything but Indian food on holiday, Chef Hari at Saffron very quickly put me in my place. An Agra native and ex-Oberoi alumni; his massive thali infused with everything from mutton curry to tawa prawns and dal makhani to biryani had me questioning the Indian food I was accustomed to eating on home turf. On the other side of the spectrum sat Vista Del Mar, the all-day dining restaurant with the best view—of what else, but the endless ocean—where the term breakfast of champions really originated, and the quality of octopus and steak had you wonder if you were in Portugal and France, respectively. To top it all off, the cocktails at Ozar—all free of charge and served with premium alcohol—could be customised to your taste, making for the perfect pre cursor to your meal, a heady night cap, and an ideal companion at sunset. The loved-up couples at Ozar would be lying if they said that they’re partner was more enticing than the drink they were savouring.
Through my three days, the Maldives gave me all that it promised, or rather, everything that I (enviably) stalked about it on people’s social media feeds. What the OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI gave me was beyond. The spoils, views, satiation, intoxication… it was all there. But Aakash, the F&B Manager of the resort, avid diver and fellow Mumbaikar gave me his expert advice for my snorkelling experiences that made them all the more richer; Arjun my trusted server and Pune native generously lent me his GoPro to capture my time with my fish friends in the reef; Tha from Vietnam treated me to the best massage as I stared into the ocean; local lad Nabeel treated me to riveting stories about his land, besides offering me the best wine pairings to my food; and my personal Hiyani or butler Asfar, ensured that I had everything I needed at any given time. They were the real heroes of my trip. The people I’d want to go back to see as much as I do the paradisical views of the land. That, and the fish. The memories and experiences you can’t really capture for other people’s eyes but perhaps the ones that stay with you the longest.
