Maldives

• Go in the summer silly! - Indian Ocean
• Lovers in Luxury - Maldives
• Feet first into the Maldives - Maldives
• No news, No shoes - Maldives
• My wedding pact with David Walliams - Maldives
• Push the boat out - Seychelles
• Relaxation Addict - Seychelles
• Mauritius the Delicious - Mauritius
• Mr Perma-Tan in Paradise - Mauritius
• Never seen you looking so lovely - Mauritius
• Island Iffy No Longer - Sri Lanka
• Having a swell time! - Seychelles
• Perfect, even for the world’s pickiest guest! - Maldives
• Do not disturb - Mauritius

THERE IS OFTEN A TENSION between the urge to experience the thrills of an unspoilt, natural environment such as the Maldives and the reluctance to forgo the charms of civilised luxury.

There is the nagging little voice of conscience: ‘Should I really be having a pedicure when I could be out sailing with the dolphins?’ Well, two resorts I have recently visited have a way to take the guilt out of this type of trip.

They set out to match the natural, magical attractions of the turquoise oceans – deep-sea fishing, snorkelling, dolphin-spotting etc – with ingenious luxury alternatives on land.

So this is the story of how I came to have the pedicure that changed my life.

The Maldives lie to the west of Sri Lanka and consist of 1,200 islands. Only 200 are inhabited and 90 have been converted into resorts. Choose carefully because, despite the uniform beauty of this area, the standards of service and experience vary enormously.

The two I visited were Kanuhura and Reethi Rah, sister islands owned by the One & Only group which have become a quiet favourite of A-list celebrities such as Liz Hurley and Sienna Miller.

Staggering scenery

The scenery at both is staggering, particularly when observed from the seaplane that carries you on the 45-minute trip from Male airport to Kanuhura.

And then there is the silence that wraps itself round the island. It is the first thing that hits you when you get off the plane.

The setting is a mixture of Robinson Crusoe isolation and James Bond bling. While my companions headed straight for the snorkelling opportunities, I made an appointment for a Bastien pedicure.

These pedicures are a bit of a yummy mummy secret in London. The only way to have one is to wait for Bastien Gonzalez himself to fly in from Paris.

There is, therefore, a long and exclusive waiting list. Being a slummy, rather than a yummy, mummy, I can’t even get on the waiting list for his telephone number.

However, Bastien, a fully qualified podiatrist, has trained a handful of apostles who now operate exclusively out of One & Only resorts.

The experience is almost sacramental. Using any kind of nail polish is forbidden, even though your feet and nails emerge looking miraculously shiny and new. The therapist works with a small bag of sterilised tools that soften and reshape the feet and finishes off with a chamois leather buffing and the application of a special lotion.

The results are stunning. I was so impressed by the pedicure in Kanuhura that I had a manicure using the same method when I arrived at Reethi Rah.

There, the treatment room opened straight on to the ocean – unforgettable. Although these two islands are only half an hour apart by seaplane, they offer quite different experiences.

At Reethi Rah, each beach villa is huge with high, cathedral- like ceilings and bamboo arches, giant terrazzo baths, flat-screen TV sets, espresso machines, Egyptian cotton, 300-thread-count sheets and a pillow menu.

Each villa occupies its own stretch of sand with unobstructed views of the ocean and you have the choice of a bicycle or chauffeur- driven golf buggy for getting around.

Enviromentally friendly

The over-water villas have split-level verandas with large netted ocean hammocks suspended from the deck for sunbathing. On Kanuhura, the beach villas, though smaller, are like mini stage sets with back lighting, draped beds suspended over driftwoodpoles, woven grass rugs and raffia double doors leading on to an open-air bathroom.

For special occasions, you can book to stay on an adjoining private island where, after a Thai massage, the staff leave you alone to sleep under the stars on a kingsize, canopied, four-poster bed with a bottle of champagne and a mobile phone – in case you have a row, I suppose.

It’s a must for honeymooners or special anniversary couples. It was the thought of swarms of smug honeymooners that always put me off the Maldives, so I was relieved to find that no single type of tourist was dominant on either of these islands.

In fact, some of the happiest holidaymakers seemed to be the multi-generational groups with grandparents and extended families.

The kids’ clubs are located a respectable distance away from the resort’s main facilities so it’s fine if other people’s children are the last thing you want around on holiday.

The environment is a big issue in this area and among the fashionable clientele. Non-toxic insect sprays are used, all tap water is sourced from the sea and desalinated by reverse osmosis and solar panels are used for heating much of the water.

Plastic, metal and glass refuse is sent weekly to government-run recycling depots. The manager at Kanuhura, Jan Tibaldi, a Robert Redford lookalike and a golf nut, is planning to install a golf driving range at the end of their pier using biodegradable golf balls which will disintegrate and become fish food.

Reethi Rah, where the resort opened only last year, is the larger of the islands with nearly four miles of coast and 109 acres of tropical forest.

Up close with nature

Land-based seductions here include a Japanese restaurant called Tapasake, which has daily deliveries of fish from Tokyo; a gym with equipment that would require a degree in quantum mechanics to operate if they didn’t have a gang of professionals to push the right buttons for you; a wine cellar that is a powerful magnet for the rich and famous who regularly moor their yachts close by; and a spa which sits in its own palatial gardens on the ocean shore. Ocean vitality pools, crystal steam rooms, lifestyle showers and sumptuous individual treatment pavilions make the spa a worthy destination in its own right. By the end of the trip even the men in our group had been lured in.

And because all those amenities are unique, you can hold your own in the conversation at night when the divers and the snorkellers are regaling everyone with tales of their exotic underwater encounters. But I have to admit my all-time favourite experience did involve going on the water. It was 6pm on our last night in Kanuhura. My companions persuaded me to board the hotel dhoni, a beautiful traditional sailing boat, to go in search of dolphins.

The sun was setting and three local men sat on the deck beating drums and singing a strange chanting song interrupted by melodic whistles.

As the sea got choppy the chanting grew louder. I stared at my perfect feet and concentrated on not being sick. Suddenly the drumming became wild and triumphant and I looked up to see that the fading light had turned the turquoise waters to blue-black and we were surrounded by dolphins.

More than 100 of these magnificent creatures leaping, dancing and racing. They stayed with us for 20 minutes. We were transfixed. Nobody even took a photograph and I completely forgot about my seasickness – and even my pedicure.