Villingili is a

resort island A resort island (French ''Île-hôtel''; "hotel island") is a hotel complex located on an island; in many cases one luxury hotel may own the entire island. More broadly, resort island can be defined as any island or an archipelago that contains ...

Addu Atoll Seenu Atoll, historically known as Addu Atoll, is the southernmost atoll of the Maldives. Addu Atoll, together with Fuvahmulah, located 40 km north of Addu Atoll, extend the Maldives into the Southern Hemisphere. Addu Atoll is located 540& ...

, Maldives. In 1997, the government of the Maldives contracted the American firm Abonmarche to build a large resort and marina on the island to attract tourism. In 2000 the government withdrew this contract, and finding no other bidders, awarded it to another firm called "Energy Tours" to build a smaller resort. Energy Tours defaulted on this contract. In 2005, Maldives President

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ( ; born Abdulla Maumoon Khairi; 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician, statesman, diplomat and scholar who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Tra ...

contracted

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts () is a multinational hospitality company, founded in 1971 by tycoon Robert Kuok and bearing the name of a Far Eastern mythical land of contentment depicted in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon''. It is a subsidiar ...

, a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

–based company, to build the first luxury resort in Addu Atoll. The resort was developed by Addu Investment Private Limited (70%) and the Maldivian Government (30%). The resort cost an estimated 150 million

US dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

and opened in early 2009. Shangri-La's Villingili Resort & Spa features a range of 132 villas including two Presidential Villas. The Villingili Shangri-La Resort is currently closed indefinitely.Shangri-La's Villingili Resort & Spa
/ref> The island has the highest natural elevation in the Maldives, Mount Villingili. It stands at 5.1m (16.75 ft) above sea level, and is located on Villingili's golf course.

References

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External links

The Villingili Fiasco

Gayoom Awards Villingili Resort to Brother-in-Law Without a Bid Process; Resort Owners Angry

Shangri-La's Villingili Resort & Spa
Islands of the Maldives Highest points of countries Resorts in the Maldives