Leaders in personalised hospitality

Personalisation is pivotal in the hospitality industry. Hurawalhi has revolutionised the Maldives resort industry as it celebrates one year of securing its position among the world’s leading high-end luxury resorts catering to some of the most unique markets.

TT BUREAU

Just a 50-minute seaplane ride from Male is a distinctive collection of exclusively designed, and supremely spacious villas strung across the glistening lagoon – where guests can enjoy exquisite sunset panoramas. With dining options that include ‘on the beach’, ‘over the water’, and even ‘underwater’, the philosophy here is that nothing is impossible. Offering 90 villas including 60 Ocean Villas and 30 Beach Villas, Hurawalhi is a sanctuary of serenity for adults seeking luxury and innovation. The villas are stylish and beautifully conceived, featuring soothing décor, sumptuous linens on king size beds, bleached wooden floors, and private terraces with panoramic views.
The strength behind the brand will be the services rendered by the dedicated team of staff headed by an outdoorsman, passionate diver, water sports enthusiast, with nearly 15 years’ experience in hospitality covering a range of different resort brands across London, Fiji, New Zealand and Bali – Bradley James Calder. A New Zealand national, Calder recently took up the reins as General Manager for the property. During his almost four-year tenure as Resort Manager for Gili Lankanfushi was voted as the ‘Best Hotel in the World 2015’ and ‘2nd Best Luxury Resort 2016’ by Trip Advisor Travellers’ Choice Awards.
His game plan is very clear. The idea is to be recognised as an iconic resort of the Maldives and consistently rank in the top 10 resorts for the Maldives. Hurawalhi is unique as they encompass the correct environment technology coupled with sustainable practices at the resort as one of their brand attributes. Bradley states, “The Maldives has evolved from an escape destination for the rich and famous, to a honeymoon destination and now more of a mass market destination with family travel becoming more popular. Due to the ever increasing number of resorts it is important to define the brand positioning of Hurawalhi and then to set the standard higher for Kudadoo. Hurawalhi Island Resort, Maldives, is unparalleled, extraordinary and utterly original. Environmentally innovative, a breath-taking undersea restaurant, stylish villas and an adults-only policy – Hurawalhi offers its own take on paradise.”
He further explains, “More frequently people are yearning for a hassle free holiday where everything is available and they do not have to worry about monitoring their spend. Traditionally, Maldives resorts have price gouged guests for additional products and services once on island because they have exclusive rights to the guests. However, the supply chain and operating costs in the Maldives are very good and this does not have to be the case. The ‘Sustainable Luxury’ and ‘Responsible Travel’ themes are also becoming more prevalent and a requirement by potential guests. With regards to service there is a need for more personalisation. It is now expected that resorts hosts integrate themselves into the guest experience throughout their stay with a single point of contact for all their needs. I am currently reviewing how we can introduce an island host concept with the Front Office and Guest Service team whereby individuals are assigned the responsibility of the overall guest experience and will coordinate the guests interaction with the various departments.”
Hurawalhi is one of the properties of Crown & Champa Resorts, consisting of eight resorts in current operation, all of which are in the Maldives. Hurawalhi is the ultimate honeymoon or couples destination, an adults only retreat. Providing good service and facilities to all types of guests, the resort is designed for exceptional experiences for this clientele type. Their organic Duniye spa, stunning villas, sea plane arrival process and dining at our all glass restaurant submerged 5.8 meters under the sea is an experience of a lifetime, even for the most seasoned travellers. With over-the-water and beach villas on offer, the range is sure to match the needs of clients. The two basic types are Ocean Villas, perched directly above the water, and the second type is the Beach Villas on the resort island itself. Within each main type there are units with or without private pools as well as ones with the ideal placement to enjoy the incredible Hurawalhi sunsets.
Hurawalhi is just a few months old now, and as such they are expanding their brand awareness in various global markets, but at the same time they are pleasantly surprised to have just under 10 per cent of their mix from the Middle East region, it seems that word of mouth still travels fast!
At Hurawalhi there is always something more to be done; their guests can enjoy a variety of dining venues, Duniye Spa, diving, snorkelling, marine biology centre, indoor fitness facilities, various non-motorised water sports, indoor games room, excursions, playing golf on a nearby sister island and also to utilise our sports ground to play tennis, badminton to keep themselves energised and active.
“We work closely with our travel partners both within the Maldives and of course in the UAE, Kuwait, KSA, Jordan and Lebanon. They act as an extension of our sales team and constantly introduce our unique property to their clients day in and day out, we thank them for their support and partnerships. Above and beyond that, we have as well invested heavily in marketing our resort through traditional as well as social media platforms both directly as well as through bloggers to grow our brand awareness and coverage. The Middle East is a very important part of the world to our hotel and our guests will surely be thrilled to return home to tell all their families and friends about their experience with us,” Bradley adds.
Hurawalhi gets guests from all corners of the globe; but quite a few from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, The Middle East, Singapore, Japan and Korea.
“Due to the nature of our business and geographic mix, we try and split of attention to Asia, The Middle East and Europe. As such we attend ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market) in Shanghai, ATM (Arabian Travel Market) in Dubai as well as the ILTM in Cannes,” he says.
For Hurawalhi, the Middle East is a key focus as it provides a significant portion of their business. “As such, for the remainder of 2017, our sales force will travel extensively within KSA, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan and Lebanon to visit our travel partners to build on existing agreements and also forge new partnerships aimed at growing our brand awareness and distribution,” Bradley concludes.