Maldives of your dreams: The new resort everyone's talking about now

It's mid-afternoon when we arrive at Raaya by Atmosphere, the sea almost a mirror image of the sky. The staff are all standing on the pier ready to greet guests spilling out of the 12-seater seaplane that flew here from Male. And the appeal of the Maldives is obvious from the minute the seaplane skids across the sea and judders to a halt.

The archipelago with about 1190 coral islands, of which 187 are inhabited, is on travel wish lists the world over for this precise palette of greens and blues. And it doesn't disappoint. Raaya by Atmosphere is the latest resort to open in the Maldives (in August) and its island location in the Raa Atoll is fringed with the very shade of aquamarine I've seen on Instagram. Cue the posh castaway fantasies that start to play out from the get-go in reception, which is decked out with flower-filled vases and some seriously fancy flotsam. Here, the check-in process is performed over a cool towel and cocktail while reclining on a lounge in the lobby.

The resort's general manager tells us that the entire resort has been built around the concept of a fictional shipwreck survivor named Seb. But before we learn more of Seb's made-up world, we're taken by buggy along the boardwalk leading to our overwater villa. The compact one-bedroom villa has a sun-bleached palette of timber and teal tones with an infinity-edged plunge pool that juts out over the Indian Ocean and a ladder to access the crystal-clear water. In addition to the 60 overwater villas set on stilts along two separate walkways, the 167-room resort comprises seven distinct styles of accommodation including spacious family-style villas just steps from the sand.

Despite the resort's infancy, the island is thick with established forest and mangroves, which I'm scheduled to explore on a mangrove tour the next day with Najid Ibrahim, who hails from Felidhoo island, in the Vaavu Atoll. While Najid is head of recreation, arts and craft, he is also charged with conjuring up stories of Seb the shipwrecked artist.

"Seb was an artist and a sailor who was travelling from Thailand to Istanbul for an art exhibition," says Najid. "He was halfway into his journey when he hit a storm and ended up on this uninhabited island. He was stranded here for eight years, and he built a watchtower in that time to spot passing boats. After eight years, Seb finally flagged down a passing dhoni and the fishermen saved him."

Although Seb's fictional story is entertaining, I'm more inclined to hear actual accounts about life in the archipelago from Najid, who is passionate about art and the environment and preserving Maldivian traditions. When I meet Najid, he's bent over a paint-splattered work bench holding a long, thin brush which he's using to create intricate strokes on a circle of wood. He's joined by two aspiring artists dabbing paint onto paper as part of a workshop in the Art & Craft Studio.

The studio is akin to a stage set for our fictional friend Seb, who it seems passed his time productively while isolated here. "The Maldives now is famous for tourism but when I was young there were only a few resorts," says Najid. "I learned the art of liyelaa jehun [painting and lacquering wood] from my father. He was the captain of a dhoni [fishing boat], but he was also a keen craftsman. Twice a week the tourists would come to my island and buy souvenirs my father made with his own hands. He taught me those skills."

Najid says being from the small island of Felidhoo, which has a population of just 700, means he learned a lot about cultural traditions. From his perspective, Seb's story acts as a conduit for Najid to set the scene and share stories about his culture.

"Telling the story about Seb is a way to introduce visitors to the historic tales of the shipwrecks that occurred around the archipelago," he says. "There are a lot of Maldivians who are descendants from survivors of ships that sank here more than 1000 years ago. Some of those shipwrecks were from East Africa and that has had a huge influence on our culture."

We see examples of that rich history and African influence later that night during a hypnotic boduberu performance delivered by some of the male staff members after dinner at the resort's Raaya Life eatery. Boduberu is a Dhivehi word that translates to "big" (bodu) "drums" (beru). And while the rhythmic drumming starts out slow and steady, the tempo soon builds until the 10-strong troupe appear to be in a trance, all flailing limbs and strangled vocals. The group is led by Sajid Hussain, who hails from the island of Innamaadho, one of the inhabited islands of the Raa Atoll.

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By day, Sajid is a bell boy. At night, he's the lead singer of the Blue Ray boduberu group, who perform every Saturday night. The drums are made from the trunk of a coconut tree and are used to accompany the dance of the same name. "History tells us that the boduberu has been performed in the Maldives since the 11th century," says Sajid, who is dressed in the traditional costume of a sarong and loose white shirt. "My grandfather always performed the boduberu at celebrations when I was growing up. Now I feel like it's up to me to continue the tradition. I'm one of the few performers who can sing and drum at the same time and I get so involved when I perform that I start shaking."

The performance of boduberu can become so frenzied it is often described as "vibrating the island". It's one of the many thoughtful inclusions that made our visit here more memorable. Add to this the evening strolls, overwater cinema, snorkelling expeditions on the Raa Atoll, stargazing from one of Seb's watch towers, and movie under the stars and Raaya rates very high on our index of satisfaction.

There are also six different dining options, from all-day dining at Raaya Life to rooftop cocktails, pasta served poolside and fine dining at Ampersand. The resort also draws an international crowd for experiences such as swimming with whale sharks, diving when the Indian Ocean is lit up by bioluminescent plankton and bespoke beachside BBQs. And while the story of Seb's ill-fated expedition is etched out in 3D, it's the real-life stories, scribbled in the margins, that give you a sense of the real rhythm of the Maldives. Good vibrations indeed.

The writer stayed with assistance from Raaya by Atmosphere

Getting there: Singapore Airlines flies from Melbourne and Sydney to Male Maldives via Singapore. Raaya by Atmosphere is connected via daily seaplane flight from Male Airport.

Staying there: Rates, which include meals, activities and daily spa, start at $US710 ($1080) a night for two.

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