Water villa of the week: Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu – Maldives

This week we are highlighting one of the handful of Maldives resorts that promotes what they call a “No news, no shoes” policy. The Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu is a luxurious private-island resort where the emphasis is on being casual and comfortable rather than fancy and posh.

This style is perfect for those who might have to wear a suit every day during their normal life and the last thing they want to do on holiday is to dress up for dinner on a tropical island. With sand on the floor all over, you can literally walk through the restaurants and common areas with no shoes for the whole time you are there.

This week: Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu

With only 14 water villas to go along with their 80 island rooms and suites, the Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu doesn’t have among the better selections of water bungalows in the Maldives, but the ones they do have are extremely nice and all quite large.

The 12 smaller ones are 936 sq ft (87 m²), which is about 3 times the size of a standard urban hotel room, and each has a private plunge pool on its own deck. Keeping with the “No news” part of the policy, there is no TV or entertainment system in the room unless you ask. The idea is that you aren’t distracted by anything but the beautiful Maldives scenery unless you can’t live without constant updates from home.

The two larger rooms at the end of the pier are the Sunset Lagoon Villas, which are nearly twice the size of the normal Lagoon Villas, and they also include a personal butler dedicated to each one. They cost almost twice as much too, of course, but you do get the best of everything and the best views.

Benefits of a larger resort

With the 14 water villas at the far end of the island you get the benefits of a small boutique resort while also getting all the benefits of a larger full-service resort when you want as well. There are 3 restaurants and 2 bars, so you can eat and hang out in different places each day. Many resorts in the Maldives have only one restaurant and bar, even for 100 rooms, so being able to move around is a luxury.

The Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu also has the full array of diving, snorkeling, sailing, water skiing, and other water sports available, plus a tennis court, volleyball court on the beach, and an activity center. There’s also a large and luxurious spa with all the exotic treatments available in a special pavilion. Again, the small resorts only have a few options available, but a 5-star private-island resort of this size has almost anything you could want in the Tropics.

Price

During the high season you’ll have to pay at least US$900 per night for even the smaller water villas, but this is still quite cheap compared to other water villas that are large enough to have a plunge pool on their private deck. During the off season the rates can be as low as US$620 per night, but only during the slower weeks.