Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, will open Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa Male, Maldives, the first luxury resort located in the south of the equator in the Maldives, on July 26, 2009.

Located in Addu Atoll, the resort is surrounded by nearly 2 kilometres of beautiful white-sandy beach and more than 6 kilometres of breathtaking white sandy beach.The landscape of Villingili is dominated by 17,000 coconut trees and 45 plant species, including the noni plant.

The Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa Male offers 142 spacious stand-alone villas and 16 luxury tree house villas, uniquely designed in five distinct styles with panoramic views. Each villas is fully equipped with all the luxurious amenities such as iPod docking station, DVD player and an espresso machine.

Shangri-La's signature spa brand, CHI will offer treatments, therapies and well-being programmes based on Chinese, Himalayan and Asian healing rituals. CHI spa is located in its own spa village in the resort, with spacious individual treatment villas, offering "spa within a spa" privacy and luxury.