The Maldives coral island atolls are located in the tropics, are influenced by monsoons but enjoy a lovely sunny climate and are warm all year round.

The islands of the Maldives host some of the most diverse marine life to be seen on our planet, and it is therefore no wonder that they have become a center of excellence for snorkeling and diving alike.

Resorts like the Bandos Island resort are both a PADI Gold Palm Resort and a Platinum Facility of the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers. If you do not wish to get too involved with the technical side of things then the snorkeling at resorts like Bandos and Filitheyo is amazing and trips are scheduled each day to local reefs if you wish to see more than the house reef.

The beaches on most Maldives islands are some of the most amazing in the world. At the Filitheyo island resort for example, the superb beaches are unbroken on each side of the island offering great walks and views and furthermore these beaches are definately not crowded.

Many of the island resorts are equipped with modern conveniences such as internet hotspots, and conference rooms but the tropical beauty of the islands are mostly unspoilt, this is what most people come to experience after all. Private accommodation and beach areas are shaded by tall palms and other vegetation.

Most, if not all, resorts offer the luxury water villa accomodation as well as other comfortable beach-side rooms. The resort of Bandos offers superior two storey Beach villas with bathrooms that are half inside and half outside the villa that come with an outside thatched jacuzzi. Other accomodation suites are generally along the water front and are designed to give you the feeling of tranquility and solitude.

Many Maldives resorts also cater specially for getting married during your holiday with wedding parties that can be pre-arranged in advance. Bandos island resort pushes the boat out, so to speak, by offering the “Kuda Bandos Sunset Wedding” featuring a traditional island ceremony complete with a private cruise for the newlyweds on a Dhoni (Maldivian boat).

James is a freelance writer and writes about the Bandos island resort and about Holidays in the Maldives.

It might be obvious to many that the Hot Tub industry has not really been thought of as a GREEN industry before. The major reason being that most hot tub companies spray fiberglass and resins, use plastics and steel without much regard for the environment, except to follow EPA guidelines and call it a hot tub. Times have changed now and the “The California Energy Commission (CEC)” decided to set the trend. They created some of the most rigid standards in the USA that monitors energy efficiency. CEC recently revised a bill called “title 20″, which sets a standard amount of allowable energy used by a portable spa/hot tub. The amount of allowable energy per the new guidelines, was not met by 65% of hot tub manufacturers. These hot tubs failed an independent study done by California Polytechnic State University. Softub, a 20 year old company, was the only manufacturer to pass these new guidelines without having to make any changes to its manufacturing process.

There are now some hot tubs that comply with these new regulations or have since complied with manufacturing changes, Softub is a first in the Hot Tub Industry considering its unique design, function and in its green industry standards that have been a part of the “Green Movement”, since its inception. Many states are now adopting the CEC standards and implementing these energy requirements.

So what is a Softub? It is a soft sided hot tub. The company was formed in 1985 and is considered to be one of the leading spa manufacturers worldwide. Softub has had to make minimal changes to the product over the years including the “patented ozone water sanitation system” and “smart chip power monitoring system”. It is these elements that have added to this green product to make it the most energy efficient hot tub on the market. Below are some reasons that Softub has been THE Green Leader in the hot tub industry:

1. Energy Efficiency is Softubs strong point – While the state of California was the first governing body to adopt energy efficiency guidelines for hot tubs. All Softub models have long operated well under the required baselines for the units. These guidelines are similar to fuel economy standards for automobiles so now all hot tubs sold in the state of California and soon other states as well, must meet a baseline energy usage level.

2. SmartChip Technology – The patented Softub Smartchip is able to recognize low power events, such as brown outs and will and shut off your tub before any damage occurs. Along with this is also programmed to have a patented energy efficiency system. When the Smartchip senses a voltage drop it will shut down the pump. It will continue to monitor the in-coming power and will automatically restart the spa when the voltage returns to a normal level. In the event of a power outage, Smartchip automatically resets at 100 degrees. The patented “Energy Efficiency Program” monitors the filtration system. If the system filtrates during standard heating cycles, the programmed filter cycles are by-passed to save energy. If adequate filtration does not occur during heat cycles, the automatic filter cycles occur. Thanks to the Softub Smartchip, you can run all electrical appliances normally, without fear of damaging your spa or other household appliances.

3. Softub Patented Ozone Water Oxidizing System – For sparkling clean water and less chemical use, all Softub units come with a built-in ozone system. In Softubs, ozone is distributed evenly through all jets as opposed to other spas that utilize only 1 jet as a delivery port. This system is the only method that controls ozone delivery throughout the entire body of water. Ozone attaches to dirty chorine and oxidizes the contaminant and makes the chlorine new again, thus utilizing fewer chemicals.

In conclusion we can see that Softub has many aspects that make it your green hot tub solution. It is Softub’s simplicity of operation, durability and true portability that are its biggest assets. If you enjoy the noise and splashing of 57 jets and waterfalls and sitting on a hard acrylic seat than Softub is not for you. However if you desire a quiet, theraputic experience than Softub just might be what you are looking for. Most hot tubs require 220 v 50Amp service that can cost between $800 and $2200 dollars to install, they require special foundations costing from $400 to $800 and the bigger the tub, the more maintenance. Softub was designed to overcome all the complaints of hot tub users and to this day, is the most advanced hot tub on the market for therapy and/or pleasure. And Softub is now considered the greenest hot tub in the market today.