Bulgari Hotels & Resorts will launch a new ultra-luxury hotel in the Maldives in 2025. Photo: Bulgari
Bulgari Hotels & Resorts will launch a new ultra-luxury hotel in the Maldives in 2025. Photo: Bulgari
Bulgari Hotels & Resorts will launch a new ultra-luxury hotel in the Maldives in 2025. Photo: Bulgari
Bulgari Hotels & Resorts will launch a new ultra-luxury hotel in the Maldives in 2025. Photo: Bulgari

Bulgari to open luxury villa resort in the Maldives — with private island residence


Hayley Skirka
  • English
  • Arabic

Luxury Italian brand Bulgari will open a new private island resort in the Maldives.

Scheduled to arrive in 2025, Bulgari Resort Ranfushi will be the newest addition to the Indian Ocean holiday hotspot and Bulgari Hotels & Resorts' 13th destination.

The Italian-designed, all-villa resort will be located on Raa Atoll, just a 45-minute sea plane ride from Male and its international airport.

Spread across 20 hectares with endless ocean views, the resort will have 33 beach villas with private pools, 20 overwater villas and an exclusive Bulgari Villa that's set on its own private island with uninterrupted ocean vistas.

An aerial view of Baa Atoll in the Maldives where Bulgari Resort Ranfushi is set to launch. Getty Images.
An aerial view of Baa Atoll in the Maldives where Bulgari Resort Ranfushi is set to launch. Getty Images.

With a contemporary design fusing Italian architecture and hospitality with the heritage and attention to detail of one of the world's longest-running luxury jewellery houses, travellers can expect a Bulgari-influenced stay with a strong nod to the surrounding island destination.

Bulgari says there will also be a key focus on environmental sustainability and will create a new island designed to give the local bird population a place to safely nest.

“We are particularly proud to have secured such an extraordinary location for the new Bulgari Resort Ranfushi, as the Maldives are a key dreamy destination for our clients from all over the world,” said Jean-Christophe Babin, chief executive at Bulgari.

Castaway Michelin-starred dining

Bulgari Resort Ranfushi will be home to the brand's second Il Ristorante — Niko Romito restaurant. The Dubai outpost of the same name has two Michelin stars. Photo: Bulgari
Bulgari Resort Ranfushi will be home to the brand's second Il Ristorante — Niko Romito restaurant. The Dubai outpost of the same name has two Michelin stars. Photo: Bulgari

The Bulgari Resort Ranfushi will have four gastronomic experiences, including Il Ristorante — Niko Romito. Curated by Chef Niko Romito, this upscale Italian twins with the outpost of the same name at Bulgari Resort Dubai, one of only two restaurants in the emirate to receive two Michelin stars in the recently launched Michelin Guide.

Chinese fine-dining will be on offer at Bao Li Xuan, sister restaurant of the two Michelin-starred restaurant at Bulgari Hotel Shanghai. La Spiaggia will serve Italian beach food and Hoseki, the one Michelin-starred Japanese concept originating in Bulgari Resort Dubai, is also scheduled for the resort.

The indoor pool at Bulgari Hotel Shanghai. Bulgari's Maldives resort will be the group's thirteenth destination. Photo: Bulgari
The indoor pool at Bulgari Hotel Shanghai. Bulgari's Maldives resort will be the group's thirteenth destination. Photo: Bulgari

Relaxed glamour will be on the menu at the resort's Bulgari Bar, and there's also a spa, fitness centre, yoga pavilion and a private library.

Retail therapy can be found at the Bulgari boutique and La Galleria, a concept store where guests can find a selection of curated items from international designers.

Bulgari Hotels & Resorts Collection currently operates seven hotels around the world, with properties in cities including Dubai, Milan, London and Shanghai.

New openings are coming soon in the brand's home city of Rome and Tokyo next year, plus Miami Beach in 2025 and Los Angeles in 2026.

Luxury island destination Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa ready to open — in pictures

Notable groups (UAE time)

Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Henrik Stenson (12.47pm)

Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Louis Oosthuizen (12.58pm)

Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood (1.09pm)

Sergio Garcia, Jason Day, Zach Johnson (4.04pm)

Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Adam Scott (4.26pm)

Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy (5.48pm)

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Five films to watch

Castle in the Sky (1986)

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Only Yesterday (1991)

Pom Poki (1994)

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Mobile phone packages comparison
The biog

Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer

Marital status: Single

Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran

Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food

Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo

Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish

Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com

The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos

Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km

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How will Gen Alpha invest?

Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.

“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.

Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.

He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.

Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”

White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Things Heard & Seen

Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton

2/5

New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

Updated: July 01, 2022, 12:36 PM