There are design hotels and there are designer hotels. Cheval Blanc Randheli is definitely the latter, a new and exclusive 45-suite hideaway resort in the Maldives, courtesy of luxury fashion group LVMH.
Sister property of the original Cheval Blanc Courchevel, a favourite haunt among Hollywood A-listers and luxury tycoons in Europe’s swankiest ski resort, Cheval Blanc Randheli is the second hotel (or 'maison', as they like to call it) from LVMH Hotel Management.
The guest experience starts at the airport in Male, where guests are escorted by a chauffeur to the awaiting Cheval Blanc seaplane, which has been handcrafted for the resort, with designer interiors and comfortable seating for the 40-minute flight to the Noonu Atoll.
The 45 spacious villas start from 240 square metres and all come with 12.5m infinity pool, sea views and oversized seven-metre high doors. Choose from an Island Villa with private beach, an Overwater Villa with spacious outdoor terrace above the ocean, or an Overwater Garden Villa with the ocean on one side and its own tropical garden on the other.
Despite the small number of guest villas, Randheli has four restaurants and three bars, including fine dining French cuisine at 1947, contemporary brasserie at White, and a mixture of Iberian and Japanese cuisine at Diptyque.
The hotel’s fleet of traditional Maldivian dhoni boats is on call to take guests for private excursions, which can be tailored by the ‘Experience Alchemist’, and the Cheval Blanc Spa will offer a series of signature treatments as well as yoga and pilates classes and beauty treatments.
Although it is the home of many world-famous luxury brands including Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy, LVMH has taken an independent approach to its hotel operations, keeping its ‘maisons’ free from any familiar branding or interior fittings from any of the companies that fall under its umbrella.
The fabulous villas were designed by architect Jean-Michel Gathy, who is responsible for some of the world’s most stunning resorts, including The Chedi, Muscat, Viceroy Snowmass and several of Amanresorts’ luxurious properties.
The company is currently working on several other Cheval Blanc properties around the world, including its upcoming flagship hotel in Paris, and resorts on Al Soda Island in Oman and Amoun Island in Egypt.
Cheval Blanc Randheli is set to open in summer 2013.