Edgy US brand The Standard offers ‘Stowaway’ packages for WFA (Work From Anywhere) guests.
Despite having travelled to the Maldives solo,my bathroom is begging for company. A giant disco ball hangs ironically over a gleaming white tub that could easily fit four. In front of the shower,through the baguette-cut glass floor window separating me and the turquoise lagoon beneath,a large,omnipresent tropical fish hovers as if waiting for the party to start. Working from paradise is a hoot.
This dazzling overwater villa is my office for the next four days. Located on a speck of white-sand that’s tightly knitted with palms and surrounded by liquid topaz lagoons,The Standard Huruvahli Maldives in the Raa Atoll,is not a bad place to tap away on your Macbook.
Ocean Overwater Pool Villas.
Commuting to it doesn’t disappoint either. Delivered to the island via a robust seaplane,I arrive to a vivid lick of colour:villas in 50 shades of pink,orange,yellow and blue jut out over the piercing atoll like a rainbow. Those distinctive grey timber walkways stretch into spines between the overwater bungalows and the island. “I’ve had to retrieve a lot of bikes,” laughs front-of-house manager Shail as he transports me to my villa.
There’s a name for ‘my type’ here. They call us ‘Stowaways’. Some come to holiday for a week,others for two. But what they really want is for you is ‘WFA’ (Work From Anywhere) and make yourself at home. Inevitably,this now means blending work and play.
Not a bad place to work.
“Since the pandemic,we’re seeing that many people are looking to stay and work from our properties for much longer periods of time,” says Jesper Soerensen,general manager at the resort.
“In some ways,the brand’s Stowaway program anticipated this growing market years ahead of the curve. Now we’re seeing remote workers taking longer trips beginning to replace traditional midweek corporate travellers.”