Mr & Mrs Smith

Cocoa Island by Como

Maldives, Maldives

If Robinson Crusoe had hung out with Kevin McCloud and Giorgio Armani instead of Man Friday, his desert-island dwelling would probably have looked a lot like Cocoa Island by Como hotel: beautifully designed, this resort in the Maldives is the embodiment of understated elegance. Resembling a collection of Keralan boathouses, the individual over-water villas have soothing white-on-white interiors and teak flooring to create an ambience of laid-back romance. The scuba diving here is terrific, and after an afternoon of reef watching you can soothe away any aches and pains in the world-class Como Shambhala spa…

Need to know

• Rooms 33 dhoni-style suites and villas.
• Rates Double rooms from AU$861.74 ($800), excluding tax at 18.8 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional government tax of $8.00 per person per night on check-out.
  The price shown represents the lowest nightly rate for a double room available at this hotel over the next 21 days. Any price conversions from the hotel's local currency ($800) have been conducted using today's exchange rates from xe.com.
• More details Rates include breakfast. For stays from 1 January 2013, tax will increase to 18.8 per cent.
• Facilities Gardens, beach, spa, steam room and hydrotherapy pool, gym, yoga pavilion, watersports centre, dive centre, library, boutique, free WiFi. In rooms: minibar, LCD TV, DVD/CD player, iPod dock, coffee maker.
• Poolside You're not exactly short of places to swim here, but if you don't do saltwater, there's a beautiful beachside infinity pool to splash around in.
• Check-out Noon; check-outs up to 6pm are charged at 50 per cent; later, check-outs incur the full room cost. Earliest check-in, 2pm. A guest lounge is available for those leaving late or arriving early.
• Children This isn't somewhere you want to come with screaming infants, but under-threes stay free (you'll still have to pay US$8 tax a day, though); 4–12 year olds cost US$55 a night; 13–16, US$110. Babysitting (from US$10 an hour) and kids' menus available.
• Also Smoking is not permitted indoors anywhere.

Food and drink at Cocoa Island by Como

• Hotel restaurant

  Set in an open-sided wooden pavilion, Ufaa offers a daily-changing menu of fresh-from-the-sea, plucked-from-the-branch goodness, Malabar Coast and Thai-style dishes, as well as a raw-food spa menu and naughtier staples including pizzas and paninis.

• Dress code Barefoot and sunkissed.
• Top table Get a poolside table or go one step further (literally) and dine on the beach. And dining on your room's private balcony is pretty hard to beat, too.
• Last orders Lunch wraps at 2.30pm; for dinner, it's 10.30pm. Drinks are poured at Faru bar until 11pm.
• Room service The amazing breakfast menu (fry-ups, cereals, buttermilk pancakes, organic egg-white omelettes…) is available 7am–11am; and from noon till 11pm there are light snacks and full-blown meals on offer (we'll have the tandoor-roasted lobster, please).
• Hotel bar

  Poolside bar Faru spins a mixed-up selection of chilled-out tracks and jazzy sounds. Enjoy while you sup on lethally tasty fruit punches or ginger mojitos.

Also worth knowing

• Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...

Cocoa Island by Como Makunufushi South Malé Atoll, South Male' Atoll, 08180