Million Air Summer 2024

elite traveler SUMMER 2024 149

I am a cautious (read: anxious) parent. My daughter is a pandemic lockdown kid and, as a result, has only been on an airplane once in her life — as I’ve, for my sins, left her behind on every vacation I’ve taken since she was born. Now that she’s a bit older I’m trying to push myself out of my comfort zone and travel with her in tow. But… it’s still going to take a pretty special place, run by pretty special people, to persuade me to travel over 5,000 miles, on three airplanes, to a place witha fi ve-hour time di ff erence, with a four-year-old who has a 20-minute attention span. Enter: the InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort. The fi rst thing any self-respecting parent will ask when choosing a vacation is: Does it have a kids club? The second is: Does it look fun enough to lure my child into being left there by themselves without having a tantrum? InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort has an exceptional kids club called Planet Trekkers. The team there really understands children and what makes them tick — as soon as we stepped o ff the boat that ferried us from the seaplane to the resort, a representative from Planet Trekkers was there to greet us and, more importantly, to give my daughter a bag with a coloring activity book in it. And with that, she was sold on the whole concept. We visited during the Easter break — and the resort had organized all sorts of amazing, thoughtful and age-appropriate activities linked to the holiday. The beginning of our stay coincided with the end of an Easter residency with specialist pied piper kids’ entertainment team Sharky & George. I remember Sharky & George from our university days when they were starting out, but they’ve certainly come a long way since then, and they organize parties for anyone who is anyone — including, allegedly , the future King of England. But no matter what time of year you visit,

here, children are a cherished part of the itinerary rather than an afterthought.

DAY1-2 Start your day with a 7am power yoga session or sun salutations with personal trainer Mett and wellness mentor Seema Rana. The fi tness center and yoga studio are on the south side of the island, so grab your bike (no matter where you leave it, it magically makes its way back to your villa each night) and head over for a morning stretch and sweat. Breakfast at Café Umi each morning, where continental classics meet Asian delights — if they’re serving the baklava croissants, grab one and relax while gazing out over the bright turquoise expanse of the Indian Ocean. Take your little one to Planet Trekkers. The Maldivian temperature averages about 80° Fahrenheit, which is perfect for lounging poolside, but for kids it can be exhausting. Planet Trekkers is a cool oasis of air-conditioned heaven, giving the kids a perfect respite from the heat. It has a large outdoor water play area with a paddling-height pool, waterslide, fountains and an outdoor ‘pirate ship,’ which the kids can go into at set times during more inclement parts of the day. Kids aged four and over may be left unattended, and smaller ones must be accompanied by a parent or nanny. Inside, there is an extensive fancy dress-up collection, puzzles, toys, books, games and fi lms. At one point, when I tried to collect my daughter for afternoon tea, she shooed me away; she was enjoying a presentation about marine biology. Every afternoon between 3pm and 5pm there is

a traditional afternoon tea at The Collective. Shelter from the heat of the sun with a cool glassof fi zz alongside scones, cakes, sweet treats and sandwiches.