On Tuesday, September 1, the Maldives’ much-loved Gili Lankanfushi reopened its doors to a secluded and sustainable paradise. With just 45 spacious villas spread over three jetties, the resort offers guests the utmost privacy in awe-inspiring natural surroundings. It fuses ethical design, unparalleled service, and vast open-air spaces. Gili Lankanfushi has spent its unexpected closure developing its operation with new health and safety protocol and refined guest experiences to ensure a safe and stress-free island escape for guests.
New Health & Safety Protocols
Although Gili Lankanfushi is already a spacious, low-density resort in an isolated location, where guests can distance from one another at ease, they have developed extensive COVID-19 health and safety guidelines to ensure the safety of guests and hosts. Following a short and private 20-minute speedboat ride from Male, guests’ temperatures will be taken on arrival in the resort, and a health declaration will be required.
The resort’s dining destinations and Meera Spa are naturally built to allow for social distancing, and there will be the availability of hand sanitizer and face masks in public areas. Guest rooms will be cleaned using new high-tech disinfecting equipment and the housekeeping hosts will be provided with protective equipment to ensure the safety of themselves and guests. The pool and beach seating and loungers will be spread out and sanitized after use, as well as the equipment at the gym and spa.
Total Seclusion
Privacy on a scale unequaled in the Maldives
Gili Lankanfushi is an ideal destination for guests seeking a post-lockdown retreat in total seclusion with options for ultra-private accommodation. The Private Reserve, at 1,700 m2, is the largest overwater villa in the world, with a location 500 m from the island and 300 m from the nearest residence. Comprising five vast buildings, linked by open-air walkways, it offers four bedrooms with spectacular lagoon views, extensive private living space and open-air bathrooms, as well as a well-equipped gym, pampering private spa with sauna and steam room, an open-air private cinema with cozy seating and large open-sided dining area, perfect for extravagant feasts by a private chef. Outdoor space includes a sparkling infinity pool and waterslide directly into the lagoon, where guests will find corals, reef fish and eagle rays drifting through the shallows. Guests can also take out the resort’s boats for tranquil days at sea.
Alternatively, seven Crusoe Residences also offer complete solitude, with a private location in the lagoon, accessible only by boat. Flexible living arrangements can create one or two bedrooms, in addition to an open-air bathroom with a private coral garden, roof terrace, and sun deck with direct ocean access.
The Meera Spa
Emotional wellbeing and physical immunity
Wellbeing and balance in body and soul are central to Gili Lankanfushi’s ethos and the Meera Spa offers holistic healing in a spectacular overwater setting: open-air walkways link the treatment rooms, steam room, and sauna with the vast relaxation areas. The range of global therapies, draw on age-old cultures and knowledge, and therapeutic treatments use Meera products created on the island from the finest oceanic and plant extracts.
Recognizing that strengthening our defenses and taking care of our emotional wellbeing is more important than ever, the immersive wellness journeys, which range from one to five days in length, include bespoke and restorative experiences with long-lasting benefits. All programs are tailored to guest needs with a choice of experiences ranging from lymphatic drainage to encourage cell regeneration, point therapy such as ‘Chi New Tsang’ for abdominal relief, crystal healing to balance the inner chakra and a purifying ‘four hands, one heart’ massage to relieve stress and anxiety.
Gili Lankanfushi also offers new active programs that combine surfing or scuba diving with tailored spa treatments to allow guests to reach their full potential whether under the sea or riding the waves.
Dining
Fresh, seasonal, and new plant-based menus
From ocean to plate, Gili Lankanfushi’s gastronomic vision embraces the bounty of the surrounding waters alongside carefully sourced seasonal ingredients, which feature across the island’s three restaurants; Kashiveli, By the Sea, and Overwater Bar. Executive Chef Hari Govindaraj oversees the culinary vision on the island, with a penchant for nourishing plant-based dishes that celebrate local ingredients sourced from the resort’s very own organic garden. Chef Hari’s signature dishes include Pan Seared Scallops made from home-grown daikon, Aloe Vera Coconut Ceviche, and indulgent ginger dairy-free ice cream.
For those in no rush to leave the comfort and privacy of their villa, Gili Lankanfushi offers a full in-villa dining service throughout the day, with specially-designed menus of delicious dishes, and remote destination dining experiences, ranging from secluded, lantern-lit feasts amongst the towering palms of Palm Beach to private sunset cruises with locally-sourced spreads.
To Book
Guests can exclusively hire The Private Reserve from $74,970 for 7 nights for up to 8 guests including daily breakfast, lunch and dinner (+ minibar and beverages), 60-minute massages, a snorkeling trip with the resident marine biologist, a luxury yacht experience, manta ray excursion and daily private yoga classes.
For more information, visit gili-lankanfushi.com.