An ice rink is quite possibly the last thing you would expected in a tropical paradise such as the Maldives; but then again, it’s a dream destination, so you are allowed, if not urged, to dream a little! The Jumeirah Vittaveli has made this particular and unlikely dream come true and opted for Glice®, when installing the first synthetic ice rink in the Maldives. Read the full story, as seen on CNN, below. To find out how Glice® synthetic ice rinks are rewriting the physical laws of ice sports, visit https://www.glicerink.com

Here is the story, published on CNN:

Is this the most unlikely place for an ice rink?

(CNN) — A tropical island nation in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is best known for its 1,000-some islands and over-the-top experiences.

The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island offers an “Instagram Butler” service and an all-glass, underwater restaurant; Soneva Jani provides private water slides for all its overwater villas; and The Private Reserve is the world’s largest overwater villa.

But this spring, there’s another reason to visit: the destination‘s first ice rink.

Dubbed “Ice Ice Maybe…,” the1,829-square-foot (170-square-meter) rink opened in March at the Jumeirah Vittaveli resort, located about 20 minutes by boat from the capital of Malé.

“We named it ‘Ice Ice Maybe…’ to imply that it’s not a traditional cool-down ice skating rink,” Amit Majumder, general manager of Jumeirah Vittaveli, tells CNN Travel.

“It’s a synthetic rink that’s built on the beach, so you can go swimming in the tropical waters then go skating right after — or vice versa.”

The Maldives’ first ice rink

The idea for the ice rink first began percolating in December 2016, right around Christmas time.

“We had some regular guests who have been staying with us for many years now,” says Majumder.

“The family’s daughter sort of challenged us to build the rink. She said she wanted to have a skiing and adventure holiday, but her parents wanted to keep coming back to the Maldives.”

So Majumder set out to deliver the best of both worlds.

“The project was challenging in the Maldives — it’s not like Europe, where people already know about ice rinks,” says Majumder.

“It was a steep learning curve. We did a lot of research to learn about the equipment we’d need, how high the safety boundaries should be, the optimum size of the rink ….”

A zero-energy ice rink

A non-negotiable component of the project was finding an environmentally friendly solution.

“While researching, we actually visited a few real ice rinks,” says Majumder.

“This is where I met Olympic gold medalist Evgeni Plushenko (who performed at the rink’s opening ceremony). I went to see his rink in Russia, which is made of real ice. That’s where I learned how much energy a traditional rink really uses.”

To keep a conventional rink frozen, you have to refrigerate it, which requires constant electricity and water.

“We’re an island, so we have to be very careful about our impact,” says Majumder. “Every kilowatt hour of energy we use causes burning of diesel or fossil fuels, so a traditional rink was out of the question.”

Instead, the hotel enlisted Swiss company Glice to build an artificial, zero-energy rink.

“A regular guest, whose daughter ice skates, told us about the synthetic Glice ice rink,” recalls Majumder.

“We experimented in a small area first and, when we saw that it worked well, we expanded.”

Composed of 25-30 interlocking plastic ice sheets, the rink’s synthetic sheets — made of silicon and plastic — do not require chilly temperatures to produce that gliding sensation.

As such, the rink can withstand the fiery Maldivian temperatures, which hover around the mid-80s Fahrenheit most of the year.

“Some people assume it is going to be cold, since it’s an ‘ice’ rink, but that’s not the case,” says Majumder.

“The atmosphere is slightly cooler, because of the shade, but there’s no artificial cooling needed since it’s a synthetic rink.”

A cool perk

At first glance, the ice rink looks like any other Maldivian villa with its wooden stilts and thatched roof.

“We wanted to blend the rink into the architecture of the Maldives,” says Majumder.

“The only big difference is that we have added some glass panels on the roof to let some natural sunlight come through. It’s unlike any ice rink I’ve ever seen.”

A fast favorite among families, in particular, the rink is exclusively available to hotel guests.

“We try to keep the experience as private as possible for the residents on the island,” says Majumder.

“The only exception would be that we open the rink to locals from time to time, so our neighbors can experience the sport.”

For hotel guests, each two-hour skating session ($75 per person) includes skate rental, protective gear, souvenirs and an ice cream sundae afterward — to ensure you’ve properly cooled down before gliding back to the beach.

Glice® synthetic ice rinks leverage the superb glide effect of a complex molecular technology and allow for climate-independent installations anywhere and anytime. Get to know the green future ice here: https://www.glicerink.com/synthetic-ice-rink-technology/

Top hotels like the Jumeirah Vittaveli trust the premium quality of Glice® synthetic ice rinks. Discover our leisure solutions here:  https://www.glicerink.com/synthetic-ice-rink-products/leisure-plastic-ice-skating-rink/

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