Condé Nast Traveller has included Huvafen Fushi Maldives in their 2007 Gold List - a compilation of the hotels around the world that have the best service, rooms, food, ambience & design, location and leisure facilities.

Starting with the properties that received the highest ratings in the Readers’ Travel Awards 2006 survey and adding the Editors’ choices and the stand-out quality for each hotel, the result yielded the ultimate guide to the world’s hotels featuring those establishments which set the Condé Nast Traveller Gold List standard.

Mark Hehir, Area General Manager Maldives, commented on this wonderful news: “We are delighted to be recognized in the Gold List, especially in the category for Best Service. It reflects the hard work and dedication of the team at Huvafen Fushi. It is service from the heart. Every hotel operates on service standards and that is what we have implemented here. From Food and Beverage to Housekeeping, Front Office, Kitchen and all other departments, everyone plays a part to ensure the operation is run smoothly and all guests’ needs are met or exceeded in expectation”.

Recently implemented, FISH ( Fast Island Service Host ), which consists of Food and Beverage, Front Office and  Housekeeping specialists, working together as a team to provide our guests with anything, anytime, anywhere”. “With just a touch of a button, expect to get extra towels, pillows, restaurant reservations, pick-up, CD’s & DVD’s, In-Bungalow Dining and so much more!”, says Mark. The Pavilions on the other hand come with a 24-hour Butler service.FISH is conceptualized around the idea of providing guests with a one-touch access to anything, to be delivered anywhere and at anytime. Guests communicate with only one team member and the action takes place behind the scenes to get
the food and beverage request, delivered within 30 minutes and everything else within 10 minutes.

Huvafen Fushi is managed by Per Aquum Resorts ?Spas ?Residences, a division of Universal Enterprises, which is extensively involved in the tourism industry of the Maldives. Tom McLoughlin, CEO of Per Aquum, attributes Huvafen Fushi’s deserved recognition to The Per Aquum Difference. “From the beginning we decided that we didn’t want to be another big brand with ‘cookie-cutter’ resorts. We are a young company with a lot of fresh ideas, passion and enthusiasm and we wanted this zeal to come through in our properties. Our passion is within our belief that we make a difference, not only to guests and shareholders but to our team members as well. This Per Aquum Difference is what really sets us apart. The Per Aquum Difference is made up of four key elements ?Passion, Vision, Naturally Modern Design and Imagination. These elements ensure we offer the utmost in guest experience which in turn means that our partners and stakeholders will realise unprecedented returns from this vision.”

Lewis Gordon Pugh, the famous endurance swimmer, is currently attempting to swim across the entire width (160km) of the Maldives – world renowned tropical holiday destination.

The purpose of this swim is to raise awareness about the challenges faced by low-lying countries like the Maldives who have done virtually nothing to contribute to the current negative climate changes but stands to lose most due to global warming and sea-level rise.

The Maldives – an archipelago comprising about 2000 coral islands, some of which are no more than barely a meter above sea level – are the lowest lying islands in the world. Thus they are the most threatened by global warming and even the slightest rise in the sea-level.

Pugh is the first person to have completed long distance swims in all five continents and over the past 2 decades has pioneered more swims around famous landmarks across the globe than any other swimmer in history.

His current challenge to raise global warming awareness by swimming across the width of the Maldives started on February 12, 2007 and is expected to be completed in 10 days.
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Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa has won the Best Luxury (4 and 5 star) in the World in www.tripadvisor.com 2006 Traveler’s Choice Awards as well as Best Luxury (4 and 5 star) in Asia.

‘We are very proud to have won these awards because tripadvisor.com reflects the opinions of genuine travellers from around the world who have visited the Hilton Maldives and experienced the resort in person,’said General Manager Carsten Schieck, ‘Our team works hard to provide our guests with the best service possible so we are delighted to be chosen the best luxury hotel in the world.’

The six-star Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa is no stranger to international accolades. Previous awards include Best Hotel in the World 2005 by the Sunday Times, Leading Resort in the Indian Ocean 2006 by the World Travel Awards and Most Exclusive Hotel in the World 2006 by VIP Traveller Magazine. A stunning, romantic resort offering sophisticated barefoot luxury on two tropical islands, the Hilton Maldives offers a sybaritic combination of three distinct resort experiences, surrounded by a vibrant coral reef and lagoon. The resort is home to the world’s only all-glass undersea restaurant and the Maldives’ only destination spa.