Club Med Kani, Maldives review: An endless happy hour ...

Club Med Kani, Maldives review: An endless happy hour in paradise ... Seductive ... most hours are happy ones at Club Med. ... Warwick Stanley finds intoxication of ... 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Maldivestravelguide Threeorfourimmediatelytoourleft,anothertwoorthreehovingintoviewthroughthewindowtotheright.Allwithreefs,turquoiselagoons,paperwhitesandandaliberaltoppingoftrees.Well-formedwavesarebreakingoffthereefsandatollsthatinterspersetheislandgroup. Getthelatestnewsandupdatesemailedstraighttoyourinbox. BysubmittingyouremailyouareagreeingtoFairfaxMedia's termsandconditions and privacypolicy. NowonderTheMaldivesisthesurfers'ElDorado.Thewaterdownthereisabout27degreescentigrade,theairtemperaturearound32.Onetropicalparadiseafteranother,whereveryoulook.Aparadiseforseagoinganglers,too,byallaccounts. 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Forseafarersofanotherage,thelocalssay,itwouldnothaveappearedsoattractive.Itsshallowwatersandreefswerenotoriousforsnavellinglargercraft.Ifourseaplanehadkeptheadinginthesamedirectionforanotherhourorso,wewouldhaveseenhundredsmoreoftheMaldives'1196islandsandmyriadatolls.About200oftheislandsareinhabited,butthetotalpopulationislittlemorethan300,000,andthecapitalMaleaccountsfor100,000ofthose.Touristsarehelpingfishingholdupthesmallnation'seconomy.Andtouristslovethosebungalowsinthesea.Bythetimeourseaplanebanks,turnsandheadsbacktowardsmytouringparty'sownislandparadise,thesheernumberoflagoondwellingshasbecomeapointofinterest.Foryears,I'dbeendrawnbythesightofthesethatchedroofbungalowssittingonstiltsinthesea.Iwantedtostayinone-andobviouslyIwasn'tRobinsonCrusoe.Tocaterforthedemand,manyoftheinhabitedislandshavetheirfingersoflagoonroomsandwalkwaysreachingoutintotheshallows.Andtherewasmine,attheseawardendofoneofthesixjettiesand70-plusbungalowsofftheislandofKani.Fromitsshutteredwindows,I'dwatchedtheseaplanestouchdown,taxiintotheresort'swharfandtakeoffwithbatchesofsightseers.Itwasaspellbindingexperience,settlingintothatlagoonsuite,withtheconstantlappingofthewaterbelow,theviewtoasmallislandbeyond,theluxuryofaking-size,mosquito-nettedbedandahugebathroomthatlookedoutontothewater.Theverandah,whichisaccessedviathebedroomorlivingroom,hasaladderleadingdowntothewatersothatguestscantakeadipatanytimeofthedayornight.Andno,there'snoneedtoworryaboutsharks-theydon'tgrowbigaroundhere.Butluxurybringsitsproblems,andtheprobleminthisinstancewasthatIdidnotwanttoleavethatbungalow-ever.ClubMedKaniwouldnothaveforgivenmeifIhadnotventuredoutduringmyfivedaysontheisland,andIwasobligedtowhileawaysomeofthehoursaroundtheresortvillage.MosthoursarehappyonesatClubMed-thedrinksarealwaysonthehouseaspartoftheall-inclusivepackage.Happyhour,however,takesonnewmeaninghere.Manyoftheguestsareintoxicated-andnotbecauseofanythingthey'vehadfromthebar.It'sthelovethat'sintheair,yousee.ClubMedKaniisnotexclusivelyforhoneymooners,buttheycertainlyaccountforalargeswagoftheclientele.Apartfromlove,they'rehereforthepearlywhitebeachesthatseparatecrystalclearwatersfromacanopyofpalms,therelaxingbars,themouthwateringrestaurantmenusand,ifnotalagoonsuite,abeachsidebungalow.Liketheislandsoffilmandstorybookfameitresembles,Kinawouldnotbeagoodplacetobeshipwreckedwithoutitsresort.WiththeMaldivesshortonproduce,ClubMedKanihastofendforitself,andmostofthefoodforitsinternationalcuisinehastocomefromSriLanka.Fishisanexception.AtunacatcharrivesatKanieveryfewdays,providingatreatforsushimilovers.AsatallClubMeds,thefoodcomes"free"aspartoftheall-inclusivepackagethattakesintheflightandairporttransferstogetthere,twin-shareaccommodationandarangeofactivities.BuffetmealsandsnacksareavailablemosthoursofthedayattheexpansiveVelhiRestaurant.AswellastheabundantEuropeanandAsiandishesavailable,eacheveningfeaturesatraditionalnationalmenusuchasIndian,Thai,KoreanorItaliancuisine.AlacartediningatthesophisticatedKanduResaurant,whichoverlooksthesoftly-litlagoonandoffersanintimateandsereneexperience,isnotincludedinthepackage.Ifyou'regoing,theadviceisthesameasforanyvisittoanyClubMed:Leaveanydietingresolutionbehind.Thetemptationsaresimplytoogreatforallbutthemostresolute.Forthosewhowanttodosomethingotherthaneat,drink,lollintheseaorswimmingpoolorlieunderapalmtree,sailing,snorkellingandwindsurfingarefree.Soistuition,andyoucanalsohavelessonsinaerobicsandcookingifyouwant.Notincludedinthepackagearescubadivinglessons,theseaplaneflightovertheislands,thehalf-dayBlueLagooncruise,half-daytoursofthecapitalMali,deep-seaanglingandindulgentspapackages.TheBlueLagooncruiseisamustforthosewhowanttotrysomesnorkelling.There'savisittoadesertedatollandanothertoashallowreefbeforeastopoverontheislandofTolishdoo,aboutanhour'soutboardridefromKina.About1200liveontheisland,andinoneoftheshopsyou'llseeblow-upphotosofthewater-coveredislandwhenthetsunamicamethroughonBoxingDayin2004.Otherfeaturesofthewalkaroundareoriginalcoral-builthomes,amosqueforwomenandanotherformen,theschool,whereEnglishissecondlanguagetothenativeDhiveni,andtheisland'sboat-buildingsites.Themid-afternoonarrivalbackatKanigivesthevisitorplentyoftimetorelaxandpreparefortheresort'seveningevents.There'slivemusicatthebarafterClubMed'sGOs,orgentleorganisers,haveputontheirwell-rehearsed,themedeveningshows.TheyworkhardtheseGOs-aroundtheclock.Anditdoesn'tstopthembeingthefriendliestlotofhostsyou'relikelytofindanywhereintheworld.AsiaPacificcommercialgeneralmanager,OlivierHorps,saysfriendlinesshasalwaysbeenoftheutmostimportancetotheClubMedexperience."Andasweupscale,movingintomoreandmorecountriesandgoingmoreupmarket,friendlinessremainsthethingwecontinuetostrivemostfor,"hetoldourtourgroup.TheFrenchgroupnowhas80resortsworldwide-53ofthemso-calledsunresortslikeClubMedKaniand27snowresorts.Horpssaysitwantstheirinformalitytodifferentiatethemfromtheusualtraditionalluxuryhotelmarket."Weseeourselvesasveryupscalebutveryconvivial,friendlyandwarm,whileofferingabeautifulplacetobe,"hesays."Andwewanttomakepeoplehappy.Idon'tthinktherearethatmanyhotelsaroundtheworldwhichsetouttomakepeoplehappy."Butallgoodthingsmustend,andit'shardtoremainhappywhenthespeedboatarrivestotakeusawayfromourislandinthesun.IFYOUGO:Packagesavailablesaving30percentonlowseasonlandstayonlyand15percentlandstayonlyinthecominghighseason.OnsalefromSeptember14untilNovember30fortraveluntilApril30,2010.Offersubjecttoavailability.Eightnightall-inclusivepackageonatwinsharesuperioraccommodationstartfrom$3,986foranadultfromMelbourne,Sydney,BrisbaneandAdelaideflyingSingaporeAirlines,andfrom$3,712fromPerth,basedonMarch1,2010departuredate.ClubMedKanipackageincludesairfares,transfersandtaxes,compulsoryClubMedone-yearmembershipfee,fullboardincludingwine,beerandsoftdrinkswithlunchanddinner,twinshareaccommodationwiththeoptiontoupgradetoaDeluxeBeachVillaoranoverwaterbungalowsuite,dailyandnightlyentertainment,openbarandsnackingserviceandarangeofsportsandactivities.ThewriterwasaguestofClubMedandflewSingaporeAirlines.FollowTravelleronTwitter.AAP 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