I've left the tiny city of Malé, capital of the Maldives and barely bigger than an airport landing strip. I'm headed for the isolated Club Med resort on Kani, one of the northern atolls of this nation, which is made up of more than a thousand coral islands, rests just south west of Sri Lanka, and is equidistant from Somalia to the west and Singapore to the east.
I've come to Club Med Kani to experience its "endless turquoise playground" but also to see what has become of Club Med as it attempts to re-stake its claim within the luxurious world of all-inclusive resorts.
Stepping off the water onto a lamp-lit jetty, I'm handed a warm towel and greeted by a slender Maldivian, the hotel chef de mission, named Barq. After a brief orientation and mild overnight battle with jet lag in my beachside bungalow, it is morning in paradise and I am among guests at an opulent buffet breakfast.
The official languages here are the local Dhivehi and English, but more often that not in this place I hear ni hao and bonsoir. It makes perfect sense. This is a destination mostly for Asia and Europe, and it is a French company.
Far from the 1980s cliché of gaudy getaways for singles and playful retreats for couples, Club Méditerranée was set up in postwar Europe in 1950 by a Belgian water polo champion, and was initially modest – straw huts on a beach in Majorca, Spain.
You might wonder about the environment, too. After all, the Maldives, like all low-lying island nations, is threatened by global warming and rising sea levels. Kani is one kilometre long and 400 metres wide but barely one metre above sea level at its highest point. Club Med acknowledges this, too. There are energy-efficient measures, including photovoltaic solar panels and the assiduous use of grey water, but it also addresses coral bleaching – and not just to maintain snorkelling as a resort attraction, but because the reef surrounding the island chain is all that keeps these little sandbars from being swamped by ocean waves.
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