Sea, sand and silence: a holiday in the Maldives without underwater restaurants, no golf buggies and no floating 'beach butlers'… but plenty of luxury

The phrase 'back to basics' has been much mocked since John Major used it at a Conservative Party conference in October 1993.

But it also applies here at Nova Maldives. There are no underwater restaurants; no golf carts traveling ridiculously short distances; no floating 'beach butlers'. But there's plenty of luxury after a £12 million revamp a few years ago.

Located in the South Ari Atoll, a 30-minute seaplane flight from capital Male, the island is just 358 meters long and 179 meters wide – one of the smallest in the Maldives. It is surrounded by a spectacular house reef teeming with multi-coloured marine life.

Nova's three restaurants, bar areas and 76 villas – 26 of which are waterfront, the rest beachfront – offer simple designs that reflect a palette of ocean colours. The villa rooms feature top-of-the-range amenities, including virtually silent air conditioning and ocean view shower rooms.

The villas, some of which have private pools and jacuzzis on the rear terrace, have steps leading down to the Indian Ocean – ideal for snorkellers.

Nova's three restaurants, bar areas and 76 villas – 26 of which are waterfront, the rest beachfront – offer simple designs that reflect a palette of ocean colours, according to David

Chef Sanjeet Gopee oversees a Maldivian cooking class for guests for an additional fee. My wife and I tried this but were unable to replicate his delicious tuna curry despite several attempts.

The culinary highlight is Nova's teppanyaki restaurant over the water, Mizu. The dimly lit, minimalist wooden structure and sliding doors all around allow you to watch the sunset as the ocean waves lap around you.

Nova is close to a large community of manta rays and whale sharks, which live year-round in the Maldives, especially in the protected South Ari Atoll. We were taken in the resort boat by the entertaining and experienced manager 'Toby'.

The villas, some of which have private pools and jacuzzis on the rear terrace, have steps leading down to the Indian Ocean – ideal for snorkellers, says David

The island is surrounded by a spectacular house reef teeming with multi-coloured marine life, David recalls. Pictured: A tasseled scorpionfish in the surrounding waters (stock image)

We could tell by his fish-like swimming skills that he was a local and thanks to his intimate knowledge of the ocean we were lucky enough to see a giant whale shark within an hour.

It was a heartbreaking moment to watch the six-metre-long behemoth gracefully soar past a moving distance and just a few meters above the coral below.

A few days later we were treated to a display of intricate aerobatics by a pod of dolphins that made the sleek lines of the boat shine by swimming alongside them.

Another highlight was playing real-life Robinson Crusoe one afternoon by taking two jet skis to a deserted sandbar about a 30-minute drive from the resort.

On his last night at Nova, David dines on the beach under the stars, where the staff had set the table in a lighted heart etched into the sand, he says. Pictured: an example of a beach villa at the hotel

Here our only companions were crabs, scurrying across the shell-white sand of no more than five by fifteen meters.

We sat with them in awe as the sun set. The easiest activity we could fit into our 'busy' week was an immersion into Maldivian culture.

While this sounds impossible while staying at a luxury resort, Nova hosts a weekly 'Holhuashi' event where we learned about local traditions, heard stories and ate traditional snacks.

The meeting takes place under a native banyan tree in a special clearing in the center of the island, where we also played Maldivian board games.

On our last evening in Nova, we ate on the beach under the stars, where the staff had set our table in a lighted heart etched into the sand. Well, it was our honeymoon. And a beautiful one too.