Regular readers know that I love the Maldives. I’ve been 5 years in a row. It’s the only place I’ve found where I can really unplug. The distance is a feature not a bug, by the time I get there I’m really ready to relax and the time difference helps me to do it — I can answer work emails in the morning, and everyone is gone from the office the rest of the day so I can just enjoy myself.

I’ve gone to the same place each time, because I could use points, but there are some fantastic properties that I’d love to try some day. One that’s really worth checking out is Loama Resort.

A new property, a 45 minute sea plane from the airport in the capital, this was a Buddhist refuge dating back centuries. Artifacts from the Ching dynasty were unearthed during the construction of the hotel. The property was listed in Conde Nast Traveler Middle East as one of the Best New Hotels in the World.

A beach villa here runs ~ $840 plus taxes. And I’m giving away 3 nights there with breakfast.

The resort looks fantastic, and gets a certificate of excellence from TripAdvisor.

Whether you want to dive, snorkle, spa or just relax this is going to be tough to beat. Combine it with a points stay somewhere else in the country, or drop in on nearby Sri Lanka (flights from Male are cheap and it’s less than 500 miles) and make a bigger holiday of it.

This is a very special giveaway, thanks to my good friends at Luxury Travel Diary. Regular readers know them as a high-end travel blog with great reviews. They’re based in the UK and run travel auctions with real bargains.

As I’ve said before, folks who already know about these auctions don’t like this added attention, because there don’t seem to be enough bidders for many of their best offerings relative to the value available. Some of their items go way too cheap.

• Here are their auctions. The auctions in Asia are super deals.

• Here are their auctions in North America for those who prefer to stay on this continent.

• And here are the auctions ending soon which are probably the best to check out right now – to get an idea of just how good a deal you’re likely to get.

  
  
  Seriously, these deals about to end are insane

This prize is being given away by the hotel and Luxury Travel Diary, I’m just helping to highlight it and randomly select the winner.

To enter: leave a comment on this post with your favorite item up for auction at Luxury Travel Diary, or why you would choose to stay at Loama Resort. You may enter two times if you wish and answer those two questions one time each in separate comments.

Contest deadline and drawing winner: Entries close Sunday, September 4 at Noon eastern. I will draw winner with the assistance of random.org.

The fine print: Advance booking is required and it’s subject to availability. Terms and conditions apply. Winner will have one week to respond to email notifying of the prize, otherwise the prize will be forfeit and made available to another reader.

For avoidance of doubt, I have no affiliation with Luxury Travel Diary or Loama Resort. I am not getting anything in exchange for running this giveaway other than an opportunity to share the place with readers.

The hotel is solely responsible for providing prize to winner. All decisions made in the course of running this giveaway are final and unappealable and your entry signifies your acceptance. The goal here is to make readers aware of a pretty cool auction opportunity, and to give away a stay. So please don’t make it hard on me for doing so!