Male’, Maldives, 4th October 2022 – The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands has been voted ‘Best Resort’ by AHEAD Asia 2022, celebrating the achievements of those shaping the hospitality industry across the region. With outstanding architectural merit, designed by Kerry Hill Architects, The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands has been commended by judges for its idyllic overwater escape in the North Malé Atoll. Standing with Asia’s most compelling hospitality projects, demonstrating an array of original concepts debuted over the past year, the resort was celebrated for its stand-out design.
In The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, Kerry Hill Architects created a design for the future, introducing the popular resort-landscape of the Maldives to a forward-looking environment in which to experience the destination. The master plan invites guests to explore a two-kilometre-long island chain along a single thread of circulation, from total immersion in sea-scape through to its forest ‘breather spaces’.
The Ritz-Carlton Maldives consists of three verdant islands and a fourth ‘water’ island, on the eastern rim of the Fari Islands Lagoon, forming part of the Fari Island chain of the North Malé Atoll. The simple geometric shape of the islands is a pragmatic response to oceanographic conditions, with the resort’s spherical series of interconnected villas hovering over its turquoise lagoon, representing the cyclical flow of island life.
The resort design equally masters the aesthetic challenge of retaining simplicity whilst integrating its structures and complex mechanical requirements. Its creation has challenged design expectations and allows a variety of exceptional guest experiences through its master planning. With sustainability taken in to account in a holistic manner, the resort’s operating life will also ensure a low carbon footprint, existing within its natural elements.
Organised by industry-leading publication Sleeper, AHEAD comprises four regional annual award programmes from Asia, the Americas, MEA and Europe. The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands will go head to head in a global finale with regional winners in January 2023.
