Three's company on a honeymoon in the Maldives

	The award-winning Beach House tops the lot

It's sold as a romantic destination. But babies are welcome too on these islands

It's not every night you go out for dinner and end up saving a life, but that's what happened on my honeymoon in the Maldives. Jan and I got married on Saturday, had our eight-month-old son, Toby, christened on Sunday, and, in need of some rest and relaxation, headed off to the Beach House resort on Manafaru island in the Maldives on the Monday.

So far, so good. But as we sat down for dinner on our first night, a staff member appeared carrying a sizeable butterfish that had got caught in a fisherman's net and was showing few signs of life. He put the fish in the pond in the centrepiece of the restaurant, but the poor thing just lay on the surface.

Emboldened by a few glasses of a fine red, I sprang into Jacques Cousteau mode and tried to breathe life back into my new best friend. On the verge of reluctantly attempting mouth to mouth, it tentatively found its water wings again. Two nights later, we returned to the restaurant for another meal and were told the fish had been safely returned to the sea. Suspiciously, curried butterfish was on the menu.

I have been lucky enough to stay in some fine places over the years, but the award-winning Beach House tops the lot. Our "water villa" had the biggest bed I've ever slept in, a glass-bottom living-room floor to watch the abundant marine life swim by, an indoor Jacuzzi to wallow in, and a bathroom that afforded the experience of showering above the sea. And then there was the direct access from a sun lounger on our terrace into the Indian Ocean, and the wondrous surroundings of palm-fringed white-sand beaches.

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LIME coined ‘Favourite spa in the Maldives’

	Singled out from 13,000 operating resort, hotel and destination spas

LIME Huvafen Fushi has been named SpaFinder Inc’s Favourite Spa in the Maldives as voted by readers in its latest SpaFinder Readers’ Choice Awards.

Results were released this week showing an estimated 250,000 readers voted in the sixth Readers’ Choice Awards and with SpaFinder, Inc. President Susie Ellis going so far as to say it’s the spa industry’s Academy Awards.

She added congratulated LIME Huvafen Fushi, saying that it was a “significant honour” to be singled out from 13,000 operating resort, hotel and destination spas.

Marc Reader, LIME Huvafen Fushi General Manager, explained that the spa’s sense of discovery help to create its unique energy.

He said, “No other place will have you connecting closer to nature in such a cutting edge and iconic realm as the underwater treatment rooms or whilst peeping through your glass floor to sea life below whilst being nurtured by our therapists healing hands”

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The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Receives World Travel Award

	Indian Ocean’s Leading Hotel

The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island has added another accolade to its collection, with the receipt of the World Travel Award for ‘Indian Ocean’s Leading Hotel’.

The current Miss World, Zhang Zilin, presented the award to General Manager and Island Chief Carsten Schieck at the World Travel Market, held earlier this month in London.

The World Travel Awards are one of the biggest accolades in the travel and tourism sector, gaining recognition as “The Oscars of the Travel Industry” from the Wall Street Journal.

Carsten Schieck, General Manager and Island Chief commented, “We are delighted to receive this highly sought after award for the second year running following our re-branding in December 2007. We have an exceptional team committed to providing a truly outstanding resort experience and this award proves that we are setting the benchmark in a highly competitive environment.”

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December 18th – January 1st

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Embudhoo Kandu is one of the first names on everyone's lips when someone mentions sharks. It is a marine protected area precisely because of the population of grey reef sharks and white tips that it supports.

You will begin this dive by dropping in on the south side of the channel and then sinking down to the edge of the abyssal drop at around 30 metres. Here is the spot to linger for a while, checking out the sharks, rays and Napoleon wrasse that pass by in the blue just off the reef wall. After a few minutes of taking in the action you will be led around the corner with the wall on your left shoulder where there are a series of caverns and caves sheltering marbled groupers and soldierfish. There is one particularly large cave to be explored which is festooned with colourful sponges. It's worthy of penetration since it goes back almost 25 metres. Your dive here is likely to end by enjoying the drift through a narrow canyon that splits into the channel at about 15 metres, before continuing to go with the flow into the shallows.

There is another area here which is more or less a dive site in its own right - the north side of the channel. Here there is a thila which rises up to 12 metres from a base of around 30 metres, and you can spend a good 45 minutes checking out this thila alone, particularly if you are a photographer. The walls are covered in soft corals and hard corals and provide shelter for an impressive range of marine creatures including moray eels, octopuses and lionfish.

Returning from this dive you will probably marvel at the range of fish and pelagics you have just witnessed, and you may also remark on the calm conditions of the cave. However, the distance covered from entry to exit on this excellent drift dive is often its most remarkable feature.

Embudhoo Kandu Reef Basics: Wall and drift dive
Depth: 5 - 30m
Visibility: 15 - 30m
Currents: Can be very strong
Surface Conditions: Usually calm, can be choppy
Water Temperature: 27 - 30°C
Experience Level: Intermediate to advanced
Number of dive sites: 2
Diving Season: All year round
Distance: 2km east of Embudhoo, 10km south of Male Town
Access: Liveaboard

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