Welcome to the Maldives: Manager’s Cocktail Reception at the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa

We had an incredible journey from Baltimore to the Maldives. Our first day here could not have been any better. We started with a gourmet complimentary breakfast, snorkeling and swimming with reef sharks, lounging by the gorgeous infinitely pool overlooking the azul waters, and then enjoyed a complimentary manager’s cocktail reception on the beach at sunset.

For the cocktail reception, we were greeted at the beach by staff holding silver trays of mango daiquiris, white wine, red wine, and a few non-alcoholic options. Coconut water was served in coconuts and looked quintessentially tropical. We were escorted to some comfortable seats on the beach looking out onto the ocean and the sunset, and then enjoyed a friendly conversation with the office manager Nancy, who expressed genuine interest in us. While chatting about our travels and family with Nancy, we devoured 3 tiers of canapés, which included a spicy, sweet, and salty treat to satisfy even the most discerning tastes. It was so delicious that we asked for another, and they graciously brought us a second.

The setting was so beautiful that we enjoyed snapping some photos on the beach at sunset, and staff were kind enough to capture some photos of us together. This incredible vacation was an early celebration of our 10 year wedding anniversary since February is one of the best times to visit the Maldives (rather than coming in August on our actual anniversary) and we could also celebrate Valentine’s Day here. More about that to come.

While sipping our cocktails, which were refilled by staff walking around to make sure everyone was happy, the entertainment began. Local Maldivian staff performed their traditional Boduberu performance with drums and dancing, and guests were invited to join in the fun.

Here is a 5 minute video Bertaut took of the Boduberu performance, which was very entertaining to watch and had me dancing in my seat. If you watch until the end you can see more of the inviting setting and the sun setting beyond the water villas.

Normally we would have jumped in, since we both love to dance, but we were enjoying our conversation so much with the general manager Mariano Sylvestri that we stayed in our seats.

That engaging conversation with Mariano continued on into the bar with other great guests until nearly midnight. We had so much fun discussing anything and everything, including our families (he has a beautiful daughter about the same age as our son and a lovely wife). We felt like old friends by the end of the night and finally had to slip away to get some shut-eye, since we were still playing catch up from the lack of sleep over the past few days. It was a wonderful evening and we felt very welcome at this place that must be the closest thing to paradise that we’ve ever experienced. Attention to detail is outstanding here, and they assign you a personal host who makes sure your every need is satisfied. The staff are encouraged to interact with the customers often and on a personal level, which made us feel very much at home on this tiny island the farthest from home we’ve ever traveled.

Day one was quite a success. For more about our adventures in the Maldives, check out our posts about the different villas (Park Villa, Park Pool Villa, and Park Water Villa), the gourmet complimentary breakfast, the beautiful resort, the Vidhun spa, the Valentine’s Day private romantic dinner on the beach, and Bertaut losing his brand new drone somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Gasp! Now we want to hear from you. What is your favorite activity in the Maldives? We want to swim with whale sharks and try scuba diving on our next visit. If you liked this post, please sign up for our RSS feed to get updated every time we have a new post and our email newsletter to get our tips to travel like a millionaire.