Luxury resort responds to interest from visitors from the United States
Laying on special events for Thanksgiving is still a fairly rare occurrence in the Maldives. But Grand Park Kodhipparu is joining the handful of resorts hosting Thanksgiving celebrations for guests from the U.S. on November 26 this year.
The boutique North Male’ Atoll resort is marking Thanksgiving for the first time in response to growing interest from American travellers. Over the past decade, the U.S. market’s appetite for the Maldives has continued to grow as more travellers catch on to the allure of the Indian Ocean destination.
At the centre of Grand Park Kodhipparu’s celebrations will be a Thanksgiving dinner at the resort’s signature overwater restaurant, FireDoor. The meal will offer a Maldivian twist on Thanksgiving traditions. Couples, families and groups of friends will be able to come together for a unique meal overlooking the Indian Ocean.
Just as traditional Thanksgiving dinners are inspired by the original 1621 harvest meal made from the local ingredients the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people could hunt, fish, and grow, Grand Park Kodhipparu’s interpretation is inspired by its own surroundings – the ocean. Grand Park Kodhipparu’s family-style Thanksgiving menu features roasted shrimp, sautéed scallops, roasted beets, home-cured salmon and artichoke mille-feuille, lobster with mushroom ravioli, sous-vide lamb shank and chocolate dessert.
General manager, Rafaelle Solferino, said: “As we welcome growing interest from the United States, it felt like the right time to bring this celebration to Koddhipparu for the first time and give our guests the opportunity to mark the occasion together in the Maldives”.
A resort spokeswoman added that Grand Park Kodhipparu’s proximity to Velana International Airport – only 20 minutes by speedboat – is an important advantage for travellers making the long-haul journey from the U.S.
Currently, the fastest way to the Maldives from the U.S. is by booking a direct six-to-nine-hour flight from New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, or Raleigh-Durham to a major European hub such as London or Paris, where you can hop on a direct flight to the Maldives (10 hours). We compiled a list of all the airlines currently offering direct flights to the Maldives (mitigating the risk of transfers in the Middle East) here.
While the Caribbean has been a popular tropical island vacation spot amongst Americans for decades, the Maldives offers a different type of holiday experience. One of the biggest distinctions is that each resort in the Maldives (except the Crossroads development) is on a tiny private island of its own. There are also more private island resorts in the Maldives than anywhere else in the world. We explain the major differences between the Maldives and the Caribbean here.
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