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Glass floors, butler service, infinity pools, private decks with direct access into a lagoon: these are just a few of the lavish touches we associate with overwater bungalows. But the concept of resort rooms perched over the sea has much humbler beginnings.
In the early 1960s, Don “Muk” McCullum, Jay Carlisle and Hugh Kelley travelled to the Society Islands of French Polynesia after being swept away by James Michener’s book South Pacific. After failing at vanilla farming, the trio of Californians, who became known as the Bali Hai Boys, decided to emulate the design of traditional stilted fishing huts by creating rustic overwater bungalows at their hotel on the island of Raiatea. The property lacked a beach but had a beautiful coral reef. In 1967, three small bungalows were built, and the Bali Hai Boys charged guests $34 a night with meals.
The idea was not an instant hit. But the entrepreneurial trio recognised the potential and quickly improved on the formula on the island of Moorea, crafting larger rooms and inserting glass panels in the floors and calling the concept Tahitian televisions.
The now defunct Hotel Bora Bora followed suit in the 70s, adding 15 thatched-roof overwater bungalows to its repertoire, offering 270-degree views of the surrounding islands and barrier reef and charging just $65 a night to sleep above the waves — only $10 more than a standard room.
Word spread, and everyone from Marlon Brando to Albert Finney travelled to the archipelago to check in, as much for the novelty as for exclusivity.
The trend took off across the South Pacific and beyond, and accommodations grew ever more luxurious. According to Roger Wade, who runs Overwaterbungalows.net, there are more than 160 resorts across the world offering this style of accommodation.
Most are in the Maldives, Wade says, which offers ideal weather and a multitude of white sand islets surrounded by still lagoons. French Polynesia also offers nearly perfect conditions; there are close to a dozen resorts with overwater bungalows on the island of Bora Bora, plus others scattered across the archipelago from the main isle of Tahiti to Moorea.
The concept has caught on, too, in unexpected locations. Dubai is known for its extravagant resorts, but there’s only one with overwater villas: the Anantara on man-made Palm Dubai island features low-slung, Thai-style bungalows.
There are glass-panelled floors to peep at what lies beneath and large decks from which to gaze at the metropolis’s night lights.
And Hotel Palafitte in Switzerland has 24 suites built on stilts over Lake Neuchatel, offering direct access to the water and views of the Alps from your bathtub.
Others are strung across the globe, from Malaysia to Mexico, Cambodia to the Caribbean. And forget getting change from $100 — most stilted villas today come with price tags just as breathtaking as the environs. One thing that hasn’t changed during the past five decades is the demand for seclusion.
For some destinations, such as El Nido Lagen Island in The Philippines, this has meant building bungalows in a region so remote you need domestic air, land and boat transfers to get there. But when you arrive, there are unbroken views of jagged limestone cliffs, and hidden bays and beaches all to yourself.
Other properties offer a chance to get away from the sand altogether. In the Maldives, Gili Lankanfushi’s seven Crusoe Residences are in the middle of the lagoon, accessible only by boat. The resort’s Private Reserve is a lavish 1400sq m penthouse, one of the largest of its kind and featuring spa suites, plunge pool with a slide into the sea, gym, full kitchen, customised wine cellar, jacuzzi and entertainment spaces across two levels; there’s also a private speedboat with crew on call at all times.
In French Polynesia, the freshly minted Conrad Bora Bora and InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa also have built up their bungalows, offering split-level suites over the sea.
Cambodia’s Song Saa resort, a speedboat ride from Sihanoukville, has added an extra dimension , hiring marine biologists to accompany guests on snorkelling and diving expeditions as part of the eco-luxe retreat’s commitment to regenerating the fragile reefs underneath its perched rooms.
Sandals Royal Caribbean in Jamaica, one of the newest and most extravagant offerings, also is giving guests the chance to witness the reef in unconventional ways. The property’s Over-the-Water Bungalows in Montego Bay come with submerged lighting, so you can take in ocean views day and night. Other niceties at this all-inclusive property, fashioned over the reef along a heart-shaped jetty, include overwater hammocks and private infinity pools.
At the new adults-only El Dorado Maroma, a Beachfront Resort by Karisma, in Mexico, bungalows take design inspiration from the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, where homes were built on stilts over Lake Texcoco. There are outdoor showers and private pools, and a butler on call.
Private butlers also set apart the St Regis Bora Bora from its neighbours. Imagine being able to check in and have your valet mix you a drink and unpack your socks while you contemplate whether to snorkel before or after lunch.
It’s all unrecognisable from the original Bali Hai concept, although the amenities of the competition haven’t driven McCullum and Carlisle back to California. While Kelley died in 1998, they’re still on Moorea at Club Bali Hai, hosting happy hour and telling tales of Tahiti in the 60s.
THE FAB FOUR
LAUCALA, FIJI:Despite its bountiful opportunities for marine pursuits, Fiji has been slow to adopt the sleep-where-you-swim trend. Likuliku Lagoon Resort opened its overwater bungalows on Malolo Island a decade ago and the new Marriott Momi Bay has dozens of stilted bure-style villas over a man-made lagoon. But at the private island of Laucala, a 50-minute flight northeast of Nadi, there is only one and it is spectacular. This Overwater Residence is so secluded you could stand naked on your deck and not worry about an audience, unless you have signed up to go sailing, in which case the yacht will dock at your private jetty. Covering 2000sq m, the two-bedroom villa is a bit like a tropical-themed MC Escher illustration, with indoor and outdoor spaces tiered towards the lagoon. Add alfresco hot tub, showers, dining and sunning area and a pool carved into black rocks.
LUX SOUTH ARI ATOLL, THE MALDIVES:This resort’s dazzling makeover, revealed last year, has set the bar very high. Just about every resort in this nation of scattered islands has overwater villas set amid soft-sand beaches and brochure-blue water. But at Lux the experience is elevated, not least in its designer-driven accommodation. There are 193 pavilions, suites and villas across seven floorplans, of which the pick are the boat-shaped overwater abodes. Hop down wooden steps into the lagoon or bob in that 7m infinity deck pool, a raised rectangle jutting towards sea and sky. Interior design is a modern take on the thatched norm; floors are limed and details include driftwood counters, irregular-shaped mirrors and pebble-like clothing hooks. A projection screen turns TV watching into a home theatre experience, but the real dramatic impact lies in that view beyond.
SONEVA JANI, THE MALDIVES: Among the offerings here are the first overwater observatory in the Maldives (with resident astronomer, no less) and huge pool villas, some with long slides dipping straight into the lagoon. Sister property to the acclaimed Soneva Fushi, with its “No News No Shoes” approach to barefoot luxury, and crew of Mr (and Ms) Friday butlers, Soneva Jani features the largest overwater structure in the island nation, with dining outlets, wine cellar, library and children’s den, plus “silent cinema” featuring an overwater screen and Bluetooth earphones for guests so as not to disturb nesting birds. The airy interiors have been designed by Soneva co-founder Eva Shivdasani and feature weathered timbers, natural linen and recycled glass. A snaking jetty connects the farthest flung villas with the main resort; guests are provided with bikes or can jump a shuttle boat.
FOUR SEASONS BORA BORA, TAHITI: Nowhere in French Polynesia is the confluence of postcard-poster views more dramatically realised than Bora Bora, the natural home of the overwater bungalow. Views from the air show myriad congregations of these stilted abodes reaching into lagoons like elongated wading birds. A quick dip is never more than a few hops down a ladder and top-tariff options feature swimming options on decks, which gives new meaning to that touted term of horizon pool. Among the top such offerings is Four Seasons, where pandanus-thatched bungalows are arrayed along runways stretching into the lagoon, the island’s 727m Mount Otemanu looming beyond as if prepared by a theatrical designer for the cast of South Pacific to pop out and break into song. This classic resort also has land-based accommodation, if you must.
Sоurсе: theaustralian.com.au
