Como Cocoa Island in South Male Atoll has been redesigned with a focus on holistic wellness, and a third of the island is now dedicated to the Como Shambhala Retreat. 

Facilities at the retreat include four treatment rooms, expanded for couples; a Pilates studio; an elevated yoga studio with 360 lagoon views; and a hydrotherapy pool for specialist water-based treatments such as joint-mobilising massage. 

There are also 34 overwater villas, designed with thatch roofing, Maldivian coral-rock walls and wood.

The retreat’s spa manager will continue to design each guest programme, and vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and additive-free Como Shambhala Cuisine meals are also available.

Reef diving, UV night snorkelling, whale shark expeditions, kayaking and paddle-boarding are all on offer at Como Cocoa Island’s Padi-certified dive centre.

“The moment I first encountered Cocoa, something about its spirit snagged me,” said Christina Ong, owner of Como Hotels and Resorts.

“When I walked to the end of the island, and looked back along its sandbank, it felt so graceful and healing – an effect I wanted to amplify for every guest when I first created the resort in 2002.”

Olivier Jolivet, chief executive of the Como Group, added: “Luxury hotel companies keep raising the ante, from building reclaimed islands, to tunnelling out underwater wine cellars in the Maldives.

“Sometimes we forget that nature is powerful, and simplicity has a very important role to play in modern luxury.”

The island is reopening on 9 January and when it first launched in 2002, it was Como’s first private island in the Maldives. In 2014, the company expanded into Thaa Atoll with the opening of Como Maalifushi. 

Find out how to win a place on the TTG Luxury Experience trip to Como Maalifushi, Como Cocoa Island and Gili Lankanfushi, travelling in March 2020, here.