Precious gem for precious moments with your loved one. Outrigger Konotta is as beautiful as she is kind. 

It has just been decided that we will spend half of our "Tour 2020" on the stunning resort Outrigger Konotta in the far south of the Maldives. I wrote the blog below just after visiting the island for the first time and I have to confess that the feelings I had then only has increased over time, not faded.  There are so many things about Konotta that is wonderful, and if you have been in the Maldives a few times and want more of that Robinson-luxury feeling, this is a great place to get it. 

When travelling in the Maldives you are going to need a transfer, wherever you are going. Some resorts in North and South Male atolls offer boat transfer of 30-60 minutes which is very convenient, but is a bit weather dependent. If the resort is further away a seaplane transfer is needed 30 - 50 minutes depending. Flying low over the atolls is a nice experience if the weather is clear, but it is not scheduled (apart from one or two exceptions, like Manafaru) which means you might need to wait before all passengers have arrived on their international flight to Male to fill up the sea plane, and sometimes you land at several resorts, a bit like car pooling. :-) Also, seaplanes only fly during daylight hours. When going really far north or south you will go on a domestic flight and then a speedboat to the resort. This can be very comfortable if you take the time to do a bit of research and time your international flight to the domestic schedule. Don't forget to ask the intended resort about this. What I am saying is that all transfers have their pros and cons and a domestic flight in no way should deter you from going to a resort far away from Male, as long as you plan well. It is certainly more comfortable than a sea plane and can fly at any time of the day. The best part is the feeling of adventure and the end result of staying on a resort that is truly away from it all. You guys who have been to the Maldives know exactly what I mean. 

Outrigger Konotta has that glorious feeling of remoteness, peace, quiet and harmony that many of us strive to find these days. A kind of Zen-travel if you will. Let's not forget the huge luxurious villas, delicious food by chef Chris, great house reef and powder white beaches. And then there is the staff. The most lovable, kind, helpful funny (cheeky at times, haha!!) and still, professional, group of people. It warms my heart that we will see you again. Keeping it all together french gentleman Guillaume welcoming you and waving you off when you leave. If you have not been here yet, you should. The water villas are absolutely fantastic and beyond massive. Have a look at Tripadvisor and at the website and get inspired!  Booking is done with the supernice and superknowledgeable Angelfish Travel 

 We LOVED the beach bags from Sunbrella!!!  

By now you all know I have been lucky enough to visit many, many resorts in the Maldives (around 40). A few of them I have returned to. This was my first visit to Outrigger Konotta in the far south of the Maldivian archipelago. Talk about falling in love all over again! Though I have never NOT liked a resort, there are less than a handful that I go back to over and over again. Konotta will most definitely be one of them. The wonderful people at Angelfish travel recommended the resort very warmly indeed and booked for us since I really trust their judgement when it comes to resorts, and boy were they right!!!

 Part of the restaurant deck. Driftwood art.

We came to Konotta from another resort in the north of the country and were well looked after by smiling Konotta staff from the domestic airport all the way to the island. please do not be deterred by the domestic transfer. It might actually get you to your resort faster than a seaplne in some cases since there is a flight schedule to go by unlike the seaplanes, that have to "fill up" before taking off. The flight itself is more comfy too, it is really not that big a bother at all. After landing on Kadhedhoo airport we were whisked away in absolutely no time on a really nice speedboat to the island.

Once there, Resort manager Guillaume welcomed us warmly and introducd us to a number of staff memers, among them our villa host Kim. A gorgeous, tiny little vietnamese doll who we adore. Such kindness and consideration. Thank you Kim! Thank you Guillaume for looking after us. 

 Outside our Beach pool villa #114

Our villa was enormous. We were met by bubbly and juice in an ice bucket and an immense spread of  canapees. Classy. The living room part was slightly elevated, very nice, and the sand stone floors and everything else as well was in such good taste and obviously of high quality. When reality is better than the pictures you know you have arrived to the right place. The pool, the deck, the bath room, all was perfect. The beach outside our villa was amazing, the views almost infinite all around the island. Loved that. 

We snorkelled every day and the house reef is really worth a visit. There is a colossal school of parrot fish in unusual colors among other things. I have never seen parrot fish in school before. The same goes for the spa where we had a superb massage with home made coconut oil, provided by spa manager, lovely aussie Amanda. I just had to bring some home. Such a genious idea to produce their own. 

 Main restaurant is called "Blue salt" - here you can see why. 

One person who met up with us directly was executive chef Chris (Yorkshire lad). Such a likeable person! The food on Konotta is first rate and I am going to try some of Chris recipes this weekend. The "Asian slaw" was to die for. Again, quality showed in everything. The breakfast spread was unending and I looked forward every morning to see what the "Detox juice" of the day was. (God knows I needed som detoxing after hanging around the bar at nights...). My fave was one with carrot, orange and ginger. 

 Lunch at Konotta. Those chicken tandoori wraps.....beyond delicious! 

One really great thing about the resort, among oooh so many great things, is the possibility to eat lunch by the pool or at a table in the sand under the trees. This means that you do not need to go to your villa and shower and get dressed and loosing valuable sun/relaxing time in paradise. The whole vibe is easy going luxury. They do it soooo well on Konotta. The more relaxed i am, the harder I know that the staff works to make that happen. These guys have it down to fine art. 

 This is us at the pool bar. Very happy guests! The All inclusive is pure magic!!! 

And, despite the gigantic, beautiful villas (we got to see a water villa too - wow!!) and the stunning, natural beauty of the island it is the staff that really makes this place gel and become a world class vacation spot. I have never been so pampered in my life. It is so nicely done too. As a Swede, I am not entirely comfy with people being to intrusive and "in my face", but they were all so natural and sweet, trying to tech me some more dhivehi daily (thanx Fairooz) and constantly topping up our glasses. We must have emptied the island of cava and chardonnay! Thanx Yaha and Shafra! There are too many to mention really. You are all fantastic! The island is so small and intimate it s more like being a house guest than anything else. 

 Beach and pool bar area

I will always remember the first time I came to the Maldives in 1999. I was completely swept off my feet by the beauty and the colors and the people and I have spent many lovely months there since then. There is no place on earth like the Maldives. I am not so sure there is in heaven either. 

Konotta gave me that same buzz. I fell in love again. In love with this tiny remote paradise. At night you really feel how far away you are from everything. It is so soothing and harmonius. We both adored it and are already booking for next year.  From both our hearts we like to send a "bodu Shukuriyaa" to all you marvelous people making paradise - paradise. :-) See you in 2019! 

Konotta website