Путешествие

The Halcyon Malives

русская версия | english version

13 февраля 2026

Jan Coomans
photographer, mechanical expert and high-speed enthusiast. Mechanics are Jan’s work and hobby at the same time.

The Maldives are a magical place, especially if you’re a city dweller from a not particularly warm climate. 8 and-a-bit hours in a plane (if you’re travelling from Moscow) — and you disembark in a different world covered in turquoise water and the occasional sandy white beach with palm trees scattered all over it. But, even having spent some time on 43 resorts (and counting!) in the past decade or two, our visit to the Halcyon Private Isles was particularly notable.

As part of Mariott’s Autograph Collection, the Halcyon is located on Meradhoo island, a tiny little oasis right on top of the equator. in fact, I suggest you type the name into google maps or something and zoom out a bit. This island resort was previously branded Raffles, and I had the good fortune to spend new year’s even here a couple of years ago which was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had.

To get across the size of the whole island, it’s about the same as the Arc de Triomphe roundabout in Paris. But whereas that roundabout is in a constant state of barely-organised traffic chaos, Meradhoo island is steeped in tranquility instead. Even for a die-hard petrolhead like myself, it’s clear which one I’d rather be on. In fact, I think I’ll have another fresh coconut to hydrate myself while I’m still here and the things literally grow on the trees.

The thing with visiting the Maldives these days, is that there is plenty of choice when it comes to accommodation. Several new resorts spring up each year, often built on artificial (“new”) islands that are built from scratch near the capital Male and the airport. The convenience of only having to hop onto a boat after a long flight and be on your holiday island as quickly as possible makes it easy to see why this is an appealing option, especially since most of the suitable natural islands in the area already have resorts on them.

Given the choice, I would prefer a natural island in Maldives to an artificial one, as they tend to have more original trees and vegetation on them which offers much more shade from the strong sun. It’s just a slightly different feeling to be on an island that has existed for hundreds or thousands of years than one that was constructed recently.

Many of the resorts on natural islands do require a seaplane ride to reach, but that by itself can add a unique experience especially if you’re visiting for the first time.

In fact, I’d say that the main thing I’ve learned over the past 17 years of visiting this country is that the spots that are a little further away tend to offer the most genuine Maldivian experience. It has gotten very busy close to Male in recent years, which can make it seem like mass tourism has taken over a bit especially now that the new airport terminal has been opened. But when you’re a few hundred kilometres from all the boat and airplane traffic close to the capital, you just feel surrounded by nothing but pure nature just the way it has been there since… forever.

Meanwhile, to make the place even more appealing, the Halcyon now offers seaplane transfers directly from Male (it used to require a domestic flight to an airport 10 minutes by boat from the resort) which greatly cuts the travel time and makes coming here a lot more comfortable. And because the seaplane is chartered by the resort, there’s no chance of extra “stops” along the way as often happens with regularly scheduled seaplane.

More luxury resorts are opening in the Maldives each year, which has made it very hard for far-away resorts which depend on the more inconvenient domestic flights to convince enough people to make the long trip. So the seaplane option to the Halcyon definitely makes it much easier to visit.

Also, if you listen to the Maldivians who live nearby, it’s actually supposed to rain less frequently here in the far southern end of the country. Though how much of that is backed up by data I couldn’t say. It seems like every resort I’ve visited has some kind of local guy who is the appointed weatherman. I do know that when the sun is shining and the ocean is calm, this tiny little island in the middle of the Indian Ocean is one of my favourite places on earth. Especially, it must be said, at breakfast.

Served under a palm tree on the beach at Thari restaurant, as the baby sharks swim by in the shallows, having my scrambled eggs and green tea was a true zen moment.

While it is a very small island, and I would say simply relaxing and “switching off” is the main appeal of coming here, you can certainly get some activities in during your trip as well. This natural island has a gorgeous house reef for snorkelling, with a seemingly endless variety of fish in all shapes and sizes plus of course the sea turtles. There’s also the usual powered and unpowered waters sports to choose from, and recently a panel court has been constructed. The climate does dictate that you’ll probably be using that quite early in the morning or after sunset to avoid the hottest parts of the day.

Getting some exercise in is actually a great idea, whether outside or in the Gym, if only to be able to enjoy all the amazing food on offer at the Halcyon guilt-free. Because you really won’t feel like saying no to any of it, believe me.

I especially recommend Yuzu, a Pan-Asian/Japanese restaurant located next to the water villas. To get there (if you’re staying in the beach villas) you will need to take a 2-minute boat ride as the water villas are not connected to the island by a jetty. Yuzu also serves breakfast, so if you’re staying in a water villa you don’t need to take the boat to get to the breakfast in Thari. Having two restaurants for breakfast also means it’s never busy in either one. For lunch meanwhile, there’s the Firepit restaurant right on the beach so you can have your toes in the sand and enjoy the ocean view and the DJ’s tunes while the chef works the grill for you. The cozy Bell Bar, next to the main infinity pool, would be another lunch option where you can enjoy delicious feelgood food like a club sandwich or burger with perfectly cooked fries. There are salads and healthy options too of course, but I was more drawn to the higher calory options at the time. If your wife or girlfriend happens to be on a healthy diet though, she will definitely appreciate the guilt-free alternatives.

I’m just happy they will only weigh my luggage and not my person when I check-in for the international flight in a few days’ time. As far as one’s state of mind goes though, after some time living here in the blissful serenity of a real-life Bounty commercial, my head certainly feels a lot lighter.

13 февраля 2026

Jan Coomans для раздела Путешествие