The month of July saw us starting an exciting journey with Inclucare, accessible travel experts. It’s hard to express how much it means to the whole Amilla team to embark on a mission to become the world’s most accessible resort for disabled travelers.

On July 24^th, we welcomed TV presenter and disability advocate, Sophie Morgan, to Amilla. We were thrilled to watch her glee at being able to freely move about the harder the packed sand roads using her own wheelchair and attachment.

We also installed ramps to make getting in and out of buildings a breeze. Sophie was able to enjoy our new swimming wheelchair and used it to access our house reef for a spot snorkeling. This inspirational woman was also able to mount a jet ski to search for dolphins and snorkel with manta rays before obtaining her PADI Open Water diving certification at our dive center.

Inclucare is hosting learning for our entire team on various types of impairments (mobility, vision, hearing and learning disabilities) and ways we can help make every guest feel welcome and comfortable. An Inclucare audit has helped us identify exciting adaptations and additions we can make to the resort.

We’re thrilled to become the first resort in the world certified by Inclucare and to be able to open the Maldives to people who never previously thought it was possible.

Flippin’ Fantastic

The Wellness Your Way pancake Station that we introduced a few months ago now offers low carb/keto pancakes for any guests following this eating lifestyle. Made with almond and coconut, they offer a lighter way to start the day.

As you probably know, ‘We are Maldivian’, and as a proudly Maldivian-owned resort we unveiled a new Maldivian breakfast section during this month’s Maldives Cultural Week. It includes a variety of Homegrown@Amilla items from our organic gardens. Coconut is of course a big part of the cuisine.

Coconuts grown on our island are all processed at ‘The Nut’, our latest sustainability project which allows us to utilize every part of the coconut, from coconut flesh for the kitchens to coconut oil for the spa and husks for the gardens.

Feeling Fresh at Feeling Koi

The menu at our signature over-water restaurant, Feeling Koi, had had a makeover. It includes a host of delicious new Japanese dishes. Two of the most popular new dishes already are Lobster Miso Thermidor with Wasabi Dynamite Sauce, and Pina Colada Espuma – a whip made using molecular gastronomy technique. As with all our seven restaurants on the island, Wellness Your Way menu versions are also available for anyone following a vegan/vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, and low carb/keto/paleo lifestyle.

Halo, Beautiful

Our villas have just become even more sustainable. While for the past three years we’ve been offering biodegradable coffee pods for your morning coffee, we’ve now upped our game even further by providing fully compostable pods.

We now boast 3 different types of Halo coffee pods, presented in glass jars with eco-friendly bamboo lids. After use, we process them into compost at our waste-processing facility, ‘The UN’. Short for ‘UNdo the Harm in the World’, this area sorts all waste generated at Amilla and processes it for recycling, upcycling, or disposal.

Treats for our Terrific Team

While we love treating our guests, we know it’s also important to ensure our team gets some treats too. We’re enormously proud of all the improvements our Islanders have made to Amilla over the past few years and their tenacity during some tough times.

Since we are committed to the continuous improvement of their lives here at our Naturally Lush private island resort, we have just created a badminton court as well a brand-new staff bar and staff cafe’ for them to enjoy.

Umpire Says Out

Unfortunately, we have an update which we know will be disappointing to some of you. Tennis star, Danil Medvedev, will no longer be able to join us at Amilla this year due to the news that he and his wife are soon to be welcoming their first child into the world.

We hope to update you later this year on some exciting tennis news from Amilla. In the meantime, our new resident LUX tennis pro has arrived on the island to hold tennis clinics and one-on-one coaching on our tennis courts, which were recently refinished to the US Open standards.

Showtime!

Our Festive Season planning is well underway, with Scott Mills confirmed to rock in the New Year again. Football star, Tim Sherwood, will also be returning to lead fans of the beautiful game in our Football Camp. The full program will be unveiled in August, but we can give you a little sneak preview already in case you need some time to prepare or to book a Residence for a large family or group of friends. The theme of our New Year’s Eve extravaganza will be ‘A Night at the Grammys’.

If you’re looking for an excuse for a party even sooner, then check out our Festival of Life program, which is coming up in October/November. Highlights will include Pandora and Tom Green from Heart Radio as well as Chef Luke French from Joro Restaurant.