Velaa Private Island was once an uninhabited dot in the most luxurious archipelago on earth. Now it's a dream destination for would-be Robinson Crusoes seeking solitude and sand. Or snow
Does it really snow in the maldives? not exactly. But if you know where to look, there is a decent chance you can find yourself sitting in a few inches of accumulation, brushing off some frosted flakes. It is 10 am on Velaa Private Island and the temperature is already climbing to 100. The cloudless sky and cerulean sea suggest that this will be just another day in tropical paradise, but there is an unmarked door at the resort’s spa, built above the water at the end of a jetty. “Get ready for my favourite feature on the island,” says Petr KoláÅ™, the frenetic, 6-foot-4 Czech architect who designed Velaa—not long before he pushes me inside. “It’s the only snow room in the Maldives,” KoláÅ™ laughs after letting me out. The chill is exhilarating, but the effect is surreal. And it truly is odd to see one of the maintenance crew later shovelling the leftovers into the Indian Ocean, some 350 miles south of the equator.
Opened last December, this 43-villa Maldivian resort is the latest ultra-luxurious property to debut in the world’s most exotic archipel- ago. (Shortly before Velaa, LVMH opened Cheval Blanc Randheli in the same atoll, and later this spring, COMO will introduce Maalifushi in the Thaa atoll.) Velaa, which is the size of about 25 soccer fields, was built from scratch for $200 million and is designed to attract the world’s most discerning travellers.
The two men eventually turned that vision into what they hope to be the most luxurious and exclusive resort in the Maldives. And even though there are more than 100 destinations to choose from in the country, they make a compelling case. When Šmejc purchased the 50-year lease on Velaa from the Maldivian government in 2010, there was nothing but thick bush and papaya fields. All the construction material and equipment had to be brought from overseas—wood panelling from Borneo, stone pavement from the Jordanian desert (on which you can walk barefoot even if the sun is shining on it), flowerpots from Indonesia, patio chairs from Italy. Even the palm trees had to be transported from neighbouring islands.
Back on land, Velaa has a yoga pavilion inside a two-storey wooden watchtower, a kids’ club and beach volleyball and squash courts, right next to the only shaded tennis court in the Maldives. Golfers can practice at the Troon short-game golf academy, designed by two-time Masters Champion José María Olazábal. Or they can hone their form indoors at the professional swing studio.
(This story appears in the July-Aug 2014 issue of ForbesLife India. To visit our Archives, click here.)