Renovated And Renewed, COMO Cocoa Island Reopens Its Doors

This year was supposed to be one of celebration and renewal for COMO Cocoa Island, as the private island resort in the Maldives underwent substantial renovation in 2019. However, not long after doors reopened on January 9, Covid-19 forced them closed once more. And even when the Maldives announced the reopening of its borders to global travelers on July 15, COMO Cocoa Island has waited just a little bit longer to make sure everything is perfect.

On September 1, guests will finally be able to experience that perfection and the simple luxury of this resort's renovations. Fittingly, a big part of last year's effort was to increase the privacy and amount of space guests will enjoy, and now more than ever social and physical distancing are crucial to the success of travel.

At the time of the resort's intended reopening, COMO Group CEO Olivier Jolivet referred to COMO Cocoa Island as the company's jewel and praised its "unique soul," which relies on the island's simplicity and natural beauty in showcasing the resort's elegance. 

Each of the 34 overwater villas has received a contemporary makeover, boasting modern furniture and dynamic white shiplap walls, which essentially frame the tall glass doors that provide views of the stunning surroundings. With new kajan thatch roofing and neutral colors throughout, the key to the villas' style is tranquility. After all, the serve as meditative spaces for guests to recover and sleep after a long day of being pampered in the incredible COMO Shambala Retreat.

While some resorts use renovation as an excuse to go bigger for the sake of serving more guests, COMO Cocoa Island saw this as an opportunity to make the experience bigger. The Shambala Retreat takes up one-third of the island, but its experience is one of heightened exclusivity. There are only four treatment rooms, and the renovation only made two of them larger, allowing for couples' treatments. 

Here, the treatment rooms are spread out far enough that guests will feel isolated in their quest for relaxation, and the rooms are large enough that half- and full-day multi-treatment sessions can be completed without the guests ever leaving the rooms. 

In addition to the elevated, open-air yoga studio, which offers 360-degree views of the lagoon, COMO Cocoa Island now features a Pilates studio, and the hydrotherapy pool remains one of the best in the region.

Because the focus of this resort is health and wellbeing, the "COMO's Commitment" program has been applied for the sake of monitoring guest and staff health in conjunction with international health guidelines. Guests will experience elevated cleaning standards, hand sanitizing stations in all public spaces, and the strict enforcement of social distancing throughout the property. Although, if you're in your villa or at the Shambala Retreat, you're probably fine not seeing anyone else for days.