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

THESE DAYS, RUSSIANS are to luxury resorts what Latin types are to theme parks. Go to Universal Studios or Disneyland in California and you will see thousands and thousands of Mexicans, essentially because they’ve never been before.

The same is true of the Russians. Now they have the wherewithal, they can be found ticking boxes all over paradise.

This is certainly true of Soneva Fushi in the Maldives, and when we went in October, a private planeful had just landed. ‘They’re here for a birthday party,’ said one of the managers. ‘I just hope they keep the noise down.’ Because sometimes they don’t.

I wanted to tick a box too, which is why I was there, spending half-term at two Indian Ocean island resorts, Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili, with wife Sarah and daughters, Edie, nine, and Georgia, seven. It was the best holiday ever, according to the girls. We’ve stayed in outrageous luxury at some of the most illustrious resorts. Since we’ve had children, the fly and flop holiday has become increasingly popular with my wife and me.

I used to hate the idea of staying in a compound, no matter how upmarket, and never having contact with the outside world or the people in it – but now that’s pretty much all I want to do.

Having been to the Maldivian island of Baros and fallen in love with it, the thought of taking the family back to the islands was extremely appealing.

Both Soneva resorts are extraordinary. Set in a lagoon that is so large you can see the waves crashing but never hear them, Soneva Gili is made up of 44 stilted villas that sit just off the coast, some of which you can reach by narrow wooden walkways, others by rowing boat or electrically operated pontoons.

Zen like state of mind

Even the smallest villas are enormous, containing sumptuous daybeds, outdoor showers, a sophisticated music system and the sort of rustic-yet-chic interiors being copied all over South-East Asia. The resort is a short boat ride from Male international airport, just next to the capital, and as you arrive you feel you’ve landed in the Kevin Costner movie Waterworld – all you see is a pretty palm-filled atoll and lots of wooden villas sitting on the water, looking as if they’re floating.

Once you’re there, you can indulge yourself in the spa, sit by the pool and wallow in the ridiculously attentive service or cycle around the island on one of the bicycles left outside your villa (they have lots of bikes on Soneva Fushi too, and whenever we got on them in the rain, you must be prepared for it to rain, especially in November, we looked like a family of tanned ETs).

Because Soneva Gili is the more remote, it is very popular with honeymooners, who tend to surface only when it’s time to eat – you can walk from end to end of the island and not bump into another guest. When we went, half of the villas were occupied by honeymooners, which made it seem we had the place to ourselves.

If you’re feeling particularly romantic, you can ask the staff to set up a table and chairs at the edge of the sand so you can have a private meal, quaffing champagne as the sun goes down.

Fringed by white-sand beaches that shelve gently into an azure-blue sea, Soneva Fushi is a larger island, 110 acres, and slightly less private (there are 65 villas). It takes 25 minutes by seaplane from the airport and you are set down in the sea before being picked up by speedboat. It is very James Bond. If Bond had a wife and two small jet-lagged daughters, that is.

Both Sonevas have a ‘No News No Shoes’ policy, making you feel even more adrift from reality. You feel like castaways. I would say that Gili is the more upmarket , but some find it a little claustrophobic.

There is simply nothing to do here, so you must get into a Zen-like state of mind or else you’re done for. However, Soneva Fushi definitely has the best food and every night was a veritable smorgasbord of Indian, European and Maldivian cuisine, all exceptional.

Our youngest would regularly tour the buffet as though it had been organised simply for her benefit, and there wasn’t anything she didn’t try (or like). Fushi also has the Organic Garden Restaurant, a gigantic wooden structure bang in the centre of the island, open to the elements,where you eat on a huge platform 13ft above a beautiful vegetable garden. In the middle is an open kitchen where you can see everything prepared.

Everyone has a beaming face

Another highlight of Fushi is Cinema Paradiso, an open-air movie theatre where you sit on the beach and watch the likes of Casablanca or Shrek.

We go on holiday to spend as much time together as a family as possible. So, although both Sarah and I loved the resorts, the final verdict should really be from the girls – and here it is:

‘The people are very kind and friendly. The food is lovely. There are not so many cars. The snorkelling is good. The food is nice and there’s lots of it. There are not so many people. It’s hot. And nice.

‘And we want to go back. Did we mention the food? And the people? They’re very nice, you know. Very nice. And we really, really do want to go back, Daddy.’

They’re right, the snorkelling is amazing and even if, like me, you’re not a great swimmer, you can still see wonderful fish in shallow water. You can dive here too.

The resort has its own fully equipped PADI diving school plus a variety of water activities and the staff will ferry you out to various places surrounding the island where the diving is more than exemplary.

The Maldives is made up of 1,200 islands, 600,000 tourists a year and 300,000 residents.

A necklace of lovely atolls is sprinkled on the Indian Ocean like jewels, each of them surrounded by aquamarine – no, make that neon – water.

Each of the 88 tourist islands (more are being developed each year) has four, five or six-star cuisine, luxurious beachside villas and first-rate service.

There are no mosquitoes (most islands are sprayed daily, so you never get bitten) and they are about the closest thing imaginable to paradise.

The indigenous, largely Muslim population live in less tranquil surroundings than us tourists and recently there have been an increasing number of public protests against the heavy-handed president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Last autumn a bomb exploded in Male, injuring 12 people, including two Brits, although this doesn’t appear to have affected tourism.

You’ll be paying by credit card and tipping in dollars (which means it’s a great place to visit right now), so you don’t even need any local currency. In fact, I’m not even sure I know what the local currency is.

Also, at least 15 per cent of visitors are honeymooners, unlikely to leave their villas save for a snorkel or a quick bike ride – leaving you to treat the place as your own personal fiefdom.

The people here can’t do enough for you, and everyone has a beaming face, a kind word and exquisite manners (on both Fushi and Gili you are allocated Mr Fridays, basically personal butlers who look after everything and anything for you). Do make sure you tip heavily, because you will definitely be back.

And when you are, be sure to wave. I’ll be the one over by the pool, lolling on a sun-lounger, drinking a Corona, applying the coconut milk, reading a Scott Turow and wishing it were dinner time.