COMO Cocoa Island
Thirty-three overwater rooms shaped like Maldivian fishing boats, and a wellness programme underneath.
Cocoa Island occupies Makunufushi in South Malé Atoll, forty minutes by speedboat from the airport. The island is very small — a sandbank with a spit that shifts through the year — and one resort holds it. The house reef drops away close to the jetty, which is the reason the property has always attracted divers as well as spa guests.
Thirty-three rooms and suites stand over the water, several of them shaped after the dhoni, the traditional Maldivian fishing boat, which is the property's founding architectural idea. COMO Shambhala's wellness programme runs here as at the group's other houses, with a resident Ayurvedic doctor and a menu built to it.
Rooms in the shape of a working boat. A design decision made before the Maldives had a design vocabulary, and still the most distinctive silhouette in the atoll.
Wellness as the house style. COMO's programme is not an add-on here; it shapes the kitchen, the schedule and the kind of guest the island attracts.
Who it is not for
Cocoa Island is wrong for guests wanting a beach villa, since almost everything is over water. It is wrong for families, given the scale and the atmosphere. And it is wrong for travellers who want a large resort's dining choice at thirty-three keys. And it is wrong for anyone indifferent to wellness, which shapes the food and the pace. Families should look at Four Seasons Kuda Huraa; those wanting beach villas should look at Baros.
Sources
- comohotels.com — thirty-three rooms and suites, Makunufushi, South Malé Atoll, COMO Shambhala
- Room count and island dimensions unverified. Confirm before publication.
Booking
Private Island Resorts arranges each stay on request, quoting the rates available for the island and dates. No benefit should be assumed unless it is confirmed in writing for the individual reservation.
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