My Week In Fashion: Grazia’s Senior Fashion Editor Goes On A Trip Of A Lifetime

Normally I would be spending new year sitting on my sofa feeling a little sad that Christmas is over and worrying about the year ahead…but this year I decided to get away from it all and head to the Maldives for a once in a lifetime trip. I got to spend a week on a wonderful island called Olhuveli. It’s a nifty 45 minutes speedboat ride from Male, so not a hideous transfer after a 10 hour flight. As the Maldives goes, this is a medium sized resort with 164 rooms in total ranging from deluxe rooms to the rather swanky presidential water suites. I was nestled in a very pleasant beach villa, but the Water Villas looked so wonderful on their stilts, and some have a Jacuzzi on their sundeck. Olhuveli Maldives offers deluxe rooms from £206 per night (based on 2 sharing), subject to taxes. More information and booking online at http://www.olhuvelimaldives.com

Our beach villa was so comfortable and we made the most of our private beach garden overlooking the lagoon and were very taken with our resident crab (named Cyril for those interested). But the best thing about our villa had to be the amazing bathroom, which was open air and HUGE. A roll top bath took center stage and where I could be found most evenings in bubbles reading a book for at least an hour. There was a daybed for lounging, not one, but two showers plus his-n-hers sinks. Swanky.

Wow, I ate a lot this week! I’m a huge lover of seafood, so I was in my element. Especially at the Plankton Grill restaurant, which has an outdoor open-style kitchen. It was so good we went back twice. You can either sit on the beach or in little wood huts surrounded by ponds and twinkling with lights. Our first visit involved the seafood buffet and the second to sample the a-la-carte menu. It was so romantic, we had the run of the beach and visited by three wonderful singers (who do requests, mine: Elton John). Then we fed baby reef sharks who were swimming in the shore. What a dreamy evening. Other memorable meals included Asian cuisine at the Four Spices restaurant and the New Year’s Eve Gala Buffet – seafood galore and the most impressive desert area I have ever seen! I ate so much that evening I’m surprised I made it onto the dance floor for the countdown…I think the champagne helped.

While I was perfectly happy laying on my sunbed, I was equally happy being in the sea. The beauty of this resort is that it has it's own house reef so you don't even have to get on a boat to explore the wonders of the Indian Ocean. Simply get in from the end of the jetty, pop on your snorkel mask and you are above the most beautiful reef! All the equipment is there for you to borrow in the Dive Centre. For those Scuba Divers that have their PADI license you can go on scheduled dives and there are lessons for beginners too. My boyfriend did a couple of dives and luckily got to see turtles, rays, reef sharks and dolphins. The Water Sports Centre looked to be very well equipped too. I liked that you could be as active or as relaxed as you wanted to be here - whilst I wouldn’t have dared get on a kite board, I really enjoyed watching more adventurous types try it!

I made the most of the tranquil Spa. Well, it would be rude not to, right? I stupidly got carried away drinking cocktails and playing monopoly with my boyfriend on the beach (we enjoy it, ok?!) and forgot to top up my suntan lotion quickly enough on my third day, so the treatment to go for was the Aloe Vera after sun relief. Pure aloe vera gel and rose oil were combined and applied to my body with a gentle full body massage. Heaven. Then a cold (I yelped) damp cloth was laid over my body whilst I enjoyed a foot and head massage. The treatment rooms were open sided and surrounded by the tinkling sound of water features and I drifted off….the true sign of a great massage. Can I go back?