St Regis Vommuli Coming to the Maldives

The Maldives is on the wish list of many, which is not surprising. The pristine white sand beaches and lush islands are a natural paradise, and the clear blue waters and abundance of sea life make the Maldives a wonderful choice for snorkelers and divers. Now there’s some exciting new for Starwood fans. Starwood announced yesterday that St Regis is coming to the Maldives.

The exact number of islands in the Maldives archipelago is difficult to count, especially since smaller islands erode and new ones are created or split into two. The British Admiralty chart formally shows 1,100 islands while Wikipedia has a recent count of 1,192, some of which are barely a blip in the water. Even more amazing though, is that the Maldivian waters are home to over 1000 species of fish. According to Wikipedia there are 21 species of dolphins and whales, 400 species of molluscs, 5 species of sea turtles, 48 shrimp species, 145 crab species and 187 species of corals.

When I was in the Maldives I barely had to put my feet in the shallow water before a school of colorful fish would swim by, and I shared deeper waters with harmless reef sharks.

Snorkeling at the Park Hyatt Maldives

The St. Regis Vommuli Resort will be situated on the private 20 acre Vommuli Island in the Dhaalu Atoll, which is a 40 minute flight from Malé via seaplane.

To get your bearings, here’s the island via GoogleMaps –

Here is an artist’s rendering of some of the villas, as well as the rest of the property.

There will be 77 private villas with locally inspired natural decor.

Construction is in full swing, and the property is expected to open in 2016.

There will be three specialty restaurants and an all-day dining restaurant, along with a bar serving the signature St Regis Bloody Mary cocktail. I’m figuring this picture below is of the all-day dining restaurant, which strongly reminds me of the one at the Park Hyatt Maldives. Do you see the similarities?

St Regis Vommuli Resort

Park Hyatt Maldives

There will also be an infinity swimming pool, fitness center and yoga space.

The St Regis Vommuli Resort joins the W Retreat and Spa in the Maldives along with the Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa. It is not up on Starwood’s website at this time so no word yet on pricing.

One Mile at a Time recently returned from his Maldives trip and I’ve been drooling over his report and looking at returning to the Maldives. I had a dynamite vacation at the luxury Park Hyatt Maldives which you can read about by clicking here. When I was there I missed seeing the nearby glowing beach though, which looks amazing.

ostracod crustaceans, screengrab photo from Huffington Post

Now that there’s a St Regis on the horizon I can’t wait to try out this property once it opens.

This promises to be an amazing property, stay tuned for updates!