27 Dec 2019
COMO Cocoa Island: Christina Ong to unveil upgraded Maldivian resort
BY Megan Whitby
COMO Hotels and Resorts is gearing up to reopen Cocoa Island, the Maldivian private island resort, following a seven-month refurbishment. The property will open on 9 January 2020.
“The Maldives has become a highly competitive market,” said Olivier Jolivet, COMO Group’s CEO.
“Luxury hotel companies keep raising the ante, from building ‘reclaimed islands’, to tunnelling out underwater wine cellars. Sometimes we forget that nature is powerful, and simplicity has a very important role to play in modern luxury."
COMO Cocoa Island is home to 34-overwater villas inspired by local Dhoni boats, the accommodations have been recast top-to-bottom with clean-lined, contemporary interiors created by Singapore-based Lekker Architects.
The villas have been inspired by the island’s nature and now include wood, traditional Maldivian coral walls and Kajan thatched roofs.
The resort has also gained an open-sided Pilates and yoga studio, which sits in an elevated position above the lagoon offering 360-degree views.
COMO owner, Christina Ong, said “The moment I first encountered Coco, something about its spirit snagged me. When I walked to the end of the island and looked back along its sandbank, it felt so graceful and healing – an effect I wanted to amplify for every guest when I first created the resort.”
A third of the private island is occupied by the COMO Shambhala Retreat, the island’s wellness centre, which offers Asian-based wellness therapies, nutritional advice and exercise.
Set among the palm groves, the retreat has four treatment rooms, two of which can accommodate couples and overlook the rainforest.
Treatments are supplied by COMO’s internal product house under the COMO Shambhala brand, while Guinot and Sundari have been selected to provide facials treatments.
The resort includes a two-floor gym and hydrotherapy pool with purpose-built high-pressure jets used for water-based treatments such as joint-mobilising massages and the treatment of injuries.
COMO is also providing activities to complement the holistic wellness offering, such as a PADI-certified dive centre, reef diving, wreck diving, UV night snorkelling and whale shark expeditions.
COMO Cocoa Island also has a sister-site in the Maldives – COMO Maalifushi in Thaa Atoll.
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