An Insider's Guide to LUX* Maldives

The last stop on my Maldives diving holiday was LUX*. I jumped off the seaplane and ran straight into the Teppanyaki bar - there was no time for a shower or a change of clothes! I had booked the 18:30 session, which was as much about the chef’s knife skills as it was about the food! Two sakes later and I was relaxed and enjoying the show, sampling the toothfish and Wagyu beef, which were by far the best dishes.

The LUX resort was a totally polished outfit from start to finish. I found my beach villa which had a colonial feel, and opened out onto a decked area with table, chairs and sofa. There was an open-air shower/bath and an indoor his/her basins with another shower room. I was also able to view the water villas, and they looked very classy! The bathroom overlooking the sea was a very nice touch and the decked area had all the usual trimmings including table, chairs and sun loungers plus steps leading down to the sea for swimming and snorkelling.

The island is very long and thin (1.8 kilometres x 500 metres) but there is a regular bus service if I got fed up with walking everywhere. Or I could just rent one of the bikes! The resort has eight restaurants and five bars, so plenty of variety on offer, and I particularly liked the restaurant menu app. There are two buffet breakfast bars to choose from, with one hinged towards Asian flavours, whereas the other caters more for Europeans. The resort offers daily activities, so there was no chance of getting bored, from wine tasting to treasure hunting! I would think the LUX is a popular choice for families, although there seemed to be a good mix across the board, including newly-weds.

The manager of the Euro-Divers dive centre is Mohammed Rabie - talk about small world, I met Rabie at Taba Heights in Egypt many, many years ago. I used to take photos of the Discover Scuba’s at the Radisson Hotel, where Rabie was working as a Divemaster. Rabie left Egypt in 2013 and worked at several dive operations before landing a position with Euro-Divers. The dive centre here has two Dhonis carrying a maximum of 18 divers per boat, with more than 50 dive sites on offer. In the main season it’s possible to see ‘everything’ in one dive from whale sharks and manta rays to turtles, sharks and more. South Ari is definitely where the action is! As with all Euro-Divers Maldives centres, Nitrox is free of charge, whilst cylinder size is mainly 11 and 12 litre aluminium.

Unlike its neighbour Vilamendhoo, the LUX is not seen as a dedicated divers resort, however the snorkelling trips to see mantas, whale sharks and turtles were very busy. Rabie still loves diving and makes sure he dives every day (surely this is the dream?), and his top three sites included Reethi Thila, Huddu Thila and Vakarufahli Thila.

During my dives I didn’t find any whale sharks but on our two morning dives we saw 15 mobula rays, eight eagle rays, one manta, two turtles and had a very close encounter with a great hammerhead shark, so not a bad tally considering!

Read Stuart's first and second account from his holiday to the Maldives. Find out more about LUX* Maldives or contact us to book your stay.