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London, March 2013: The Residence Maldives is inviting guests to explore the underwater realms of Gaafu Alifu, part of one of the world’s deepest and most remote atolls. The dramatic reefs, abundant corals (over 250 species) and the atoll’s almost untouched eco-system are of particular interest for divers as they escaped the worst effects of El Nino in 1988 when the warming of the seas damaged much of the coral elsewhere in the archipelago.

New to The Residence Maldives’ diving programme this Spring:

• Night snorkelling and Fluo Night Diving: an amazing experience using special torches and mask filters to see fluorescent coral and fish that are invisible during daylight hours. (From USD169)
• Underwater digital photography course: PADI certified divers are taught over two dive sessions by the resort’s team how to take high quality images using simple but effective techniques. (From USD400 including camera rental)

The Residence Maldives’ PADI 5-Star Dive Centre, in partnership with Euro Divers,offers guests the chance to explore this underwater world with excursions and classes ranging from snorkelling for beginners to advanced PADI Open Water Diver Courses.

Gaafu Alifu has maintained a rich marine life of over 1,200 species of fish and coral including five different species of sharks, often seen in schools of up to 200. From the hotel, guests can spot spinner and bottlenose dolphins, green turtles, manta and eagle rays, as well as the extremely rare guitar rays and other unusual species including ribbon eels, leaf fish, frog fish and ghost pipe fish. Swimming alongside the colourful hard and soft corals, divers will find jack fish, trigger fish, oriental sweet lips, tuna, parrot fish, reef sharks, snappers, sea turtles and more.

Beginners and complete novices can take advantage of the resort’s daily snorkelling excursions to nearby reefs or simply explore the house reef at leisure. Children aged 8 years and above can take part in a ‘Bubblemaker’ dive in the lagoon with one of the multi-lingual instructors. More advanced divers can enjoy exciting, new diving experiences in Gaafu Alifu’s walls and channels which attract huge schools of fish and sharks, and which also create currents that will offernew challenges to even the most accomplished divers. The PADI Open Water Diver Course is available at The Residence Maldives and, because of the level of advanced diving possibilities, continued education courses such as Drift Diving and Nitrox Diving are also available.

Hidden away on the south end of the rich Maldivian landscape, The Residence Maldives’ 94 beachfront and over-water villas have been built using natural materials and decorated with local artefacts, to reflect the archipelago’s history and landscape. The Spa by Clarins is the only one of its kind in The Maldives and offers a range of treatments created exclusively for the hotel. Following its soft opening in early 2012, The Residence Maldives has now become even more accessible for UK guests thanks to the opening of Kooddoo Airport in September 2012. The domestic airline carrier Maldivian now flies direct from Malé to Kooddoo in just 55 minutes* and operates twice daily.