I visited this ultra-luxury resort in the Maldives, and it’s a fashion lover’s paradise

As I scarfed down my delicious seafood pasta cooked with reef fish plucked straight from our shores, I sat on plush floral cushions in a dreamy emerald green hue made in collaboration with luxury Italian shoe brand Aquazzura. Collaborations like these are also unique to JOALI, whose boutique contains a tasteful curation of international designers from Missoni to Osereé. It’s clear from the mix of emerging brands and cult global labels that founder Esin loves fashion. Beyond being (again) the first in the Maldives to collaborate with international brands like Linda Farrow, the delicate robes in every room are printed with a bespoke pattern by the same South African artist who creates scarves for Hermès.

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Indeed, the resorts are brimming with feminine touches, but none more so than at JOALI Being which prides itself on having the highest concentration of female employees in the Maldives. Beyond its artisanal amenities and objet d’arts, the resort’s architecture with its soft lines and light wood feels like a cocoon (also making it highly Instagrammable by the way). When we were given a questionnaire before our arrival requesting everything from the kind of pillow we required to whether we’d like a TV in the room, we knew our well-being was going to be the focus of this second leg of our trip.

After hopping off the short, 15 min boat ride between the two properties, we were taken to our wellness consultation where our cells’ stress levels were scanned and our general health goals were assessed. JOALI Being has full-time, world-class practitioners across every discipline from Ayurveda to TCM on hand to help you with whatever you want to achieve during your stay, be it hormone balancing or mental health. After an extensive consultation session, we decided relaxation and detoxing were priorities for me. I was offered a personalised programme of treatments and activities for my stay, which consisted of: Watsu (or water shiatsu) where a therapist performs stretches on your body in a small pool under a starry dome; cryotherapy where you step into a frozen room for up to four minutes; and sound healing, where 14 instruments, including a harp attached under the bed, is played around you to set off a series of vibrations.