DESIGN
The Whale Bar at sunset
The container , or so goes the folklore created around it , was lost with the Titanic and washed ashore . John Jacob Astor , millionaire owner of the original St . Regis in New York and not as lucky as the container , went down with the ship . Does it work ? “ It ’ s extremely popular ,” says Alec Blair , the resort ’ s general manager . “ We only have 20 seats there , but it ’ s full every night .”
The opens sides of the Whale Bar precluded the resort from creating the “ St . Regis mural ” behind the bar , so it went on the ceiling . The mural employs traditional Maldivian pyrography to tell a story in pictures . Hidden among the animal imagery are the owner and his young son . “ You have these small , small details that build on the legacy of St . Regis ,” Blair says . “ You get this real sense of place .”
Astor is invoked with more appropriate opulence in the 16,500-square-foot , three-bedroom John Jacob Astor estate , possibly the largest over-water residence in the Maldives . It includes an infinity pool , exercise and spa rooms , butler and nanny accommodations , and a home cinema if guests tire of the sweeping views . In peak season , it goes for upward of US $ 30,000 per night , says Blair , who joined the hotel in May from the Hotel Al Khozama in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia , where he was complex general manager . “ It ’ s totally over the top .”
NATURE ’ S LESSON Building it over water was a useful marketing play , says Wong , who has transitioned his role to property management . But in the process , nature provided a reminder that it was capable of not only inspiring design but destroying what was designed in its image .
Placing the residence at the extreme west of the island provided unobstructed sunset views , along with unbroken exposure to the elements . “ After we built it , when the rains came in during the monsoon season , you could physically feel the whole building shake as the waves crashed through the reef . It was actually quite scary ,” Wong says .
A sea wall – disguised as art – was built to break the force of the waves .
Cargo , a café in a shipping container
Living room of the John Jacob Astor Estate
44 hotelsmag . com July-August 2017