GHM touched down in the Indian Ocean after signing a deal to operate its first resort in the Maldives.

Scheduled to open in 2016, the new agreement was signed after six weeks after GHM announced it would launch three new hotels in Taiwan.

Located on a 55-hectare (136acre), crescent-shaped atoll and 20 minutes by speedboat from Hanimadhoo International Airport, The Chedi Dhapparu will include 90 hotel-managed residential villas and 40 hotel suites, half of which will hover over water.

Twenty of the hotel 90sq m (968sq ft) Chedi Club Suites will have private pools and all 130 units will offer direct access to the beach.

GHM has committed to ensuring the area’s ecosystem remains in proper balance, GHM plans to institute a program for maintaining the ideal levels of coral in the lagoon, which is popular among dolphins and other marine species.

Designed by Reda Amalou of Paris-based architecture firm AW2, the resort will also feature a spa with 10 double treatment rooms and a health club with a tai chi terrace.

GHM President Hans R. Jenni said: “The concept will be contemporary living with an Asian touch. Instead of thatched, Maldivian roofs, we’ll have flat roofs, and interiors with clean lines and high ceilings.”

Dining options will include four food-and-beverage outlets, including a dinner-only venue serving specialties from the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka, as well as a Japanese restaurant that takes advantage of the resort’s access to fresh seafood.

GHM currently has 12 resorts underdevelopment in Switzerland, Indonesia, India, Japan, Morocco, Sharjah and Taiwan.

http://www.ghmhotels.com