Atmosphere Kanifushi
Best known for its diet of fish, fish and more fish, the Maldives is now home to it’s first luxury resort with a 100% vegetarian restaurant called ‘Pure Veg’. That’s right, Atmosphere Kanifushi not only has all the luxury qualities that the Maldives are so famous for but it’s also doing it’s bit to spread some plant-based love by going veg friendly. We have white sand, turquoise sea, palm trees. We have luxury beachfront villas with open air bathrooms. We have activities like snorkelling, kayaking and paddle boarding that put you in touch with nature and excursions to a local island for a touch of culture. So we thought we’d take our Vegan Food Quest (on a sea plane) to go and see how this unique resort is helping the world discover plant based eating. One of the things that we loved the most about Atmosphere Kanifushi was meeting so many people that were opting to eat in Just Veg despite not being vegetarian or vegan. They were full of praise for the food they’d been served, and most of them went back for more – it’s great to hear that it wasn’t just us that thought this place was impressive!
The Vegan Food
Atmosphere Kanifushi is an all-inclusive resort, so the first thing to mention about the food and drink (which included wine and premium spirits that were vegan) is that it’s freely available everywhere as part of your ‘Platinum Plus Package’. Breakfast is served buffet style in the main restaurant ‘Spice’, there are plenty of vegan options from more traditional western cooked breakfasts, continental breakfasts (with amazing vegan bread) and a regular offering of spicy lentil dahl too. nOur favourite thing about breakfast though was the ‘fruit bar’ where one of the Atmosphere Kanifushi team awaits to freshly prepare your chosen fruit from the huge variety on offer, then expertly chops it up right in front of you, before sending you off with a huge, healthy fruit plate. There are a few different options for lunch, with the DIY salad from the fresh salad bar in Spice being a great quick and healthy option.
For a longer lunch then visit Just Veg, and enjoy a delicious selection of la carte vegetarian and vegan delights. The restaurant which has a menu full of dishes from around the globe is in a beautiful setting, surrounded by the amazing turquoise blue sea, meaning we could enjoy lunch whilst watching baby sharks and baby sting rays swimming right by us. It won’t come as a surprise that Just Veg was also our ‘go to’ place for dinner. We loved the miniature canapés that would arrive alongside the freshest bread made in the Tandoor oven. A whole array of chutneys and pickles added spicy, salty, sour and sweet flavours as needed with the garlic pickle and pineapple and date chutney being particular Vegan Food Quest favourites. There was so much to choose from and the Just Veg chefs were on hand to ‘veganise’ dishes with no fuss at all, meaning we could just pick something from the menu and they’d work their magic, sending out dish after dish of delicious vegan food. n=We ate flavour rich soups, lightly fried samosas and pakoras, decadent pasta dishes and our very first (and very amazing) Maldivian Curry.
One of the great things about Atmosphere Kanifushi is that there’s so much choice for vegans (and vegetarians too); not only could we eat in Just Veg but the other a la carte restaurants were equally as inviting. We had our very first Japanese meal of the year at ‘Teppanyaki Grill’ where a vegan menu had been prepared and we were presented with delightful, fresh, healthy and tasty dishes.
We also ate at ‘Sunset’ where we had a menu full of vegan favourites like a mezze plate, lentil soup and falafels (cooked with a twist where the falafels had been lightly fried in batter) and a sticky semolina pudding that was heavenly delicious. As vegan guests, we had the same amount of choice as everyone else there (even down to our mini bar being stocked with vegan friendly Oreo cookies) and who could be unhappy with that?
The Vegan Essentials
We had the choice of feather or non-feather pillows on our bed (we chose non-feather obviously) and we were happy to see our duvet was non-feather too. Now we could enjoy the beautiful sea views each morning when we woke up after a good vegan night’s sleep. The in-room amenities were from luxury brand ‘Kimrica’ and were all 100% vegan and cruelty free. Not only is this absolutely amazing, but the products (which included a luscious shea and coconut lip butter, natural insect repellant and SPF 30 Sunscreen) felt so good to use; we loved seeing other guests using their vegan lip butter and talking about how good the insect repellant was too. The beautiful Akiri Spa by Mandara was a great place to go and get a vegan massage, and stock up on some natural vegan luxury spa products from companies such as Elemis; we had a blissful Balinese massage that really smoothed out every knotted muscle, using wonderful plant based essential oils (highly recommended!).
The Vegan Food Quest Verdict
Book a visit to Atmosphere Kanifushi for a vegan luxury holiday of a lifetime; be amazed by the natural beauty that surrounds you and enjoy being able to eat delicious vegan food wherever you choose within the resort. You must of course eat in Just Veg (try the vegan Maldivian Curry and the Almond Pesto Pasta) where the stunning scenery matches the stunning vegan food. Choose from a great variety of dishes that showcase vegan (and vegetarian) food from around the globe. Visit the spa for a top quality, essential oil packed massage and treat yourself to some lovely vegan spa products; also make sure and enjoy all the vegan amenities left generously for you in your room each day (the lip butter is wonderful).
We were guests of Atmosphere Kanifushi but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views
Atmosphere Kanifushi
Kanifushi Island
Lhaviyani Atoll
Maldives
Telephone: (+960) 662 0066
Email: reservations@atmosphere-kanifushi.com
Cost From: £700 / $1050 per night (May 2015)