The Maldives is set to gain yet another luxurious private island destination. Experiencing the colourful reef life and clear blue waters of the Maldives is not something that all holiday budgets can extend to. Still, around 1.8 million tourists manage to make it to the Indian Ocean paradise every year.
Now, though to provide an ultra luxury option for those who want to avoid “crowds” on the archipelago, Mohamed Ali Janah, group chairman of Hotels and Resorts Investment Maldives Group (HARIM Group), has announced he is “building the most exclusive private island in the world.”
Kudahithi Sands vacations by auction only
As a special advisor to UN Tourism, Janah took advantage of the UN’s World Tourism Day event in Tbilisi, Georgia, last week to reveal the project to the press. Janah, named by Forbes as the Maldives’ leading construction magnate, is the man behind several existing resorts across the atoll and elsewhere. But the planned Kudahithi Sands development will be a concept with a difference. Potential guests must bid in an auction to win the right to stay there. Just how the auction will work is still under discussion with real estate agents around the globe. Still, initial predictions are that every year, a limited number of nights will be made available to bid on in blocks, with the cap on available nights anticipated to drive demand.
But no matter how the auction details come together, Janah appears confident that there will be no lack of bidders. “In the Maldives, there are islands that are selling for $120,000 (€109,000) a night for a private island, so I believe that we will be able to beat that kind of price,” he told Euronews Travel.
Six villas and a private yacht
A 30-minute boat ride from the international airport in the capital of Malé, Kudahithi is a 14,000-square-metre island. Janah believes it is the perfect size for private meetings and time dedicated to family and friends, similar to Richard Branson’s Necker in the British Virgin Islands. Current designs propose a six-villa development and mooring with a private yacht.
Free of hotel branding or partnerships with other island hotels, rather than feeling like a resort, Kudahithi is intended to feel like a home away from home — that is if your home comforts include being able to bring your own private butler or housekeeper along on holiday with you.
“It will be sold as a single, isolated private island. In other words, you will not see anyone other than you,” Janah explains. “There won’t be any paparazzi or any news coming out,” he adds. “So it’s like a world exclusive, really high-end.”
