Ocean office, fitness overhaul and best Zoom backdrop at Vakkaru Maldives’ work well residency

Just because the office is out of bounds doesn’t mean you have to work from home. Offering the service of a dedicated vacation Vacay PA; a bespoke fitness and nutritional programme; tailored recreational activities; and an ocean office set-up that provides what might be the world’s most envy-inducing Zoom call backdrop, Vakkaru Maldives resort’s ‘work well’ package is custom-made for remote workers who during this strange time want to better their business, mind, body and soul in a setting that is nothing short of remarkable.

Available to guests who book a stay at Vakkaru Maldives for 21 days or longer, each ‘work well’ residency includes a complimentary upgrade to a bigger villa that will include a specially decorated study equipped with a printer and office supplies, but every new arrival can also expect special benefits that are adapted entirely to their needs.

Committed to setting new standards of considerate service and care in the Maldives through its industry-leading hospitality concept Vakkare, Vakkaru Maldives is dedicated to promoting wellbeing in all its forms, and so a complimentary, bespoke fitness programme will be developed for every Work Well guest. Devised in collaboration with the resort’s wellness team, a unique fitness programme will offer up to one hour of complimentary personal training, meditation or yoga per day, alongside frequent (and free) tennis-coaching sessions by world-class coaches from Tipsarevic Luxury Tennis on the resort’s palm-fringed, cobalt-blue tennis courts.

Whether to shift excess Covid kilos, gain mental clarity, limber up or simply achieve the perfect serve, every Work Well arrival will be supported in achieving their own personal wellbeing and exercise goal when not getting down to business.

To make maintaining such virtuous habits as easy as can be during working hours, a Brain and Body Fuel pick-me-up will be provided to each guest every afternoon: again complimentary, this special delivery will be a constantly changing rotation of delicious, natural and healthy snacks and drinks. They might include mini fruit kebabs; oatmeal and peanut butter cookies; homemade granola; or vegan smoothies made with berries, banana, coconut milk and honey. For those days dominated by looming deadlines, Vakkaru’s chefs can promptly prepare more substantial, reviving and off-menu room-service dishes perfect for fuss-free deskside dining.

For more practical considerations, guests can call on their personal Vacay PA to help with day-to-day tasks. Also trained to provide traditional butler services, they will be happy to print work documents, confirm flight arrangements, manage schedules, and assist with the organisation of meetings. Should Work Well guests decide a change of scene might be in order, their Vacay PAs can also move their workplace from their private study to a tranquil Ocean Office, a WiFi- accessible outdoor outpost where the brilliant blues of the Indian Ocean provide the most uplifting backdrop and gently lapping waves serve as background music.

For those who don’t mind irritating their colleagues back home, the setting provides a Zoom backdrop that is sure to draw awe-struck responses. For meetings, workshops and brainstorming sessions held on the private island itself, colleagues and groups who book the Work Well offering in unison can convene at their own Beach Boardroom, a barefoot meeting quarter pitched in Vakkaru’s white-sand beaches.

The hotel stands in Baa Atoll, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that is home to mesmerising sea life, and the resort’s dive centre Splash offers diving courses with PADI-certified instructors for all levels. An array of cooking classes, including a farm-to-table immersion held in the resort’s peaceful organic garden, will also be on offer.