Maldives Reimagined: Patina Awaits

Text by Chanintr Sirisant

Our trips to the Maldives over the years have been a mixed bag. The first was over 15 years ago, when we went on a family vacation to the original Four Seasons Kuda Huraa. It was pretty perfect: beautiful island, lots of activities from snorkeling to fishing to keep the kids busy, as well as great food and service throughout. This set a benchmark in our minds for what the ideal tropical island resort experience should be like.

The next two trips were missteps — from terrible food at exorbitant prices to longer journeys and hotel concepts that we couldn’t make sense of. You will forgive us, then, for taking 10 years to make it back to the Maldives. What convinced us was a few things I shall explain.

During the depths of the pandemic when everyone was dreaming of escaping to a private island, I learned that one of our favorite Brazilian architects, Marcio Kogan, was working on a resort in the Maldives called Patina Maldives. Strange, I thought, for him to be working this far away from Brazil and, at the same time, how interesting for a developer to pick him. It must be someone daring with taste. After combing the website, I learned many of the furniture brands CHANINTR carries — Kettal, Minotti and Ethimo — are all featured on the property. When we discovered it was Singapore’s top developer, Pontiac Land Group, behind the scenes, the story came together, and before long we were booking our tickets.

A little background on Pontiac Land’s Kwee family, who we have had the pleasure of meeting over the years: They are a rare breed in the industry who show a sincere respect for art and design in their DNA. They invest in quality, choosing only to buy real art and original furniture for their properties. And probably most importantly, they possess a very long-term view of things. Their portfolio includes the Capella hotel brand, along with many of Singapore’s top hotels, like the Ritz-Carlton, the Conrad and the Regent. The most recent brand is Patina, for which the Maldives was the first location.

From the approach to the island, I could already see the difference in the rooflines of the built structures. Marcio Kogan’s signature long, flat rooflines with palm trees jutting through appeared in the distance. Everything was low and flat, barely noticeable from the treescape.

As our “Essentialist” (butler) Cathy took us to our Sunset Beach Pool Villa, she gave us a quick tour of the island showing us the nine F&B outlets that range from Helios (Greek) to Brasa (Argentinian) to Wok Society (Chinese), not to mention, the three food trucks. Our fears of being stuck with nothing to eat quickly melted away. She also swung us by the beautiful wellness center called Flow, and gave us a sneak peak of their signature art piece of the project, a James Turrell pavilion (a must-visit).

The 240-square-meter Sunset Beach Pool villa incorporates a glass box surrounded by greenery on all sides, a large dipping pool, deck with a bathtub and a view to the beach and sunsets.

“WOULD BE COME BACK?” THIS WAS A DEFINITIVE “YES!” BUT WITH THE ADDED CONDITION OF STAYING A FEW DAYS LONGER..

The backside of the villa is the large bathroom with his-and-hers vanities and wardrobes, a water closet and rain shower. There is also an outdoor garden shower that can be accessed from the bathroom. A cool Brazilian modern-style interior worked well in covering functional modern day needs and old world luxuries that one would expect from a resort of this level. Mid-century modern pieces in tropical woods were softened by slip covered linen sofas and dark grey Frette bedding.

The service throughout our trip was exceptional: Cathy was a WhatsApp message away for any needs we had and she regularly checked in. The staff rotates their shifts among the different dining venues, so you will see familiar faces at each of your meals.

The food was really one of the highlights of the whole trip. Understanding that many people have had the nightmare experience we had of being stuck on an island with bad food, Patina made this one of their greatest advantages. Breakfast was held at the main all-day dining restaurant called Portico, offering something for everyone. For those who aren’t into breakfast buffets like yours truly, there is also an a la carte menu. During our stay, we tried almost all of the venues and were quite impressed by the overall quality of food for an island in the Maldives. We do have one recommendation though, indulge in the guilty pleasure of the burger food truck. We certainly did a few times on our trip.

After every trip like this, we always ask the quintessential question of “Would we come back?” This was a definitive “Yes!” but with the added condition of staying a few days longer as we were unable to do everything that the island offered. On our list for next time is more time spent at the beautiful spa, the Japanese restaurant, a visit to the staff island, dining at the Ritz-Carlton next door (also owned by Pontiac) and indulging in a lot more activities. For families with young children, they have a great Kids

Club you can leave your kids at, with lots of activities including a culinary cooking experience as well as 3D printers for them to make things.

If you are in need of that laid back, do-nothing kind of island retreat, look no further than the Patina Maldives.

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