The archipelago of the Maldives deservedly won the World’s Best Tourism Destination award at the 2021 World Travel Awards for the second year in a row. Whilst fishing has historically been the dominant economic activity and is still the most important in the island nation, it is closely followed by the tourism industry, which has been growing rapidly in recent years. Countless hotels and resorts offer dream-stays on the 26 atolls and 1,200 islands that make up its territory, amidst turquoise waters and paradisiacal beaches. One of them, a paradigm of the luxury tourism sector in development throughout the Republic of Maldives, is the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi Hotel.
The resort was developed and built by one of the Middle East’s leading developers, the Qatari company UCC Urbacon. Completed in 2019 on three pristine islands, south of the Maldives’ capital Malé, “the concept of the Waldorf Astoria Maldives aims to harmoniously integrate the resort into nature“, according to its architects and designers, from the Qatari architectural firm Highness Architecture Engineering and Interior.
The Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi luxury resort features 138 one-, two- and three-bedroom villas, plus a four-bedroom presidential villa, carefully designed and built to ensure exclusivity and privacy for guests, with unbeatable views over the crystal clear turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. At the same time, their design is inspired by the local architectural style and their construction has been carried out with the maximum use of the materials available in their location. Furthermore, wastewater treatment systems and renewable energy sources have been implemented for its operation, so that its impact on biodiversity and the ecosystem is minimised. Among the complimentary facilities, the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Hotel has 10 restaurants and bars, one of which is a tree-canopy bar, a wellness spa, a water play area, swimming pools and wedding halls for romantic celebrations.
