From the simplest of beginnings the Maldives has become possibly the most prestigious holiday destination in the world. How did it get there? The country's natural assets have never changed but every new resort and almost every resort upgrade has incorporated the very latest Unique Selling Point and then pushed on to find another unique idea or level of luxury to distinguish themselves. 

It was 40 years ago this year that the first resort was built, against all the odds. A United Nations body had written in a report that tourism wasn't worth pursuing in the Maldives because the obstacles were too big. There was no bank in the country, so no access to finance, there was no airport to speak of, there wasn't even a telephone. Yet Kurumba manage to open in 1972 and Bandos a few months later.

The rooms were built of the best local materials available; there were coral walls, coconut wood beams and palm-thatched roofs. There was a bed, a wardrobe, a luggage rack and a dressing table. That's all. Drinking water was from collected rainwater or a well. The meals were a repetition of tuna curry, rice, local fruit and vegetables and not very much else.

As you fly to your destination today think back just 40 years to when the only way to get around was by sail dhoni. Think how long that would take to get to your destination. In the same year of 1972, the first engine was put into a dhoni, much to the distrust of the fishermen. It wasn't until 1989 that helicopters came along and 1994 that seaplanes made their appearance. By the way, the telephone system was finally established in 1980. Before that all communication was by ham radio or Morse code!

Hot water was probably the first major innovation. And for many years afterwards, resorts would advertise 'Hot & Cold Water' . When ceiling fans moved to air conditioners this was something to shout about. Then in-room telephones were something a bit special and finally televisions were put into the prestige rooms. Of course, these have gone from small, wide and heavy to 50" wafer thin LED numbers with Bose surround sound, which is also connected to the blu-ray player and iPod dock. 

Bathrooms have been the growth area for a few years now. Once a small, neglected space at the back, they are now luxurious expanses of flowering plants, sand and green marble, with twin basins, showers inside and out, a jacuzzi and plunge pool. The amenities have gone from wall-mounted soap dispenser to Molten Brown skincare products and other such premium beauty brands. The inside/outside style of resort bathrooms derives from the first resort rooms that in turn copy the design of Maldivian island houses. The bathroom of those houses, called a gifili, is a fenced enclosure extending from the back of the house, with a well in the middle from which water is drawn using a large tin tied onto a long stick.

When I went around the resorts in 1996 for the first edition of 'Resorts of Maldives' a saltwater shower in your room was not uncommon. Desalination was a major boon for the industry and its guests. After sweet water in the rooms came sweet water in the new swimming pools but I distinctly remember a couple of occasions when I jumped into a resort pool at the end of a day's work to be unpleasantly shocked by a mouthful of saltwater. Today there is some competition to have the biggest pool but this doesn't seem to me to be a great prize in a country that specialises in private experiences.

As for food and beverage, set plates of local curry and vegetables was superseded by the simple buffet, which in turn became extravagant buffet spreads sourced from all around the world and transported in very carefully controlled and documented container shipments coming through Dubai and Singapore. The all-day coffee shop was once a bit of a novelty. Now, of course, we have Conrad's and Anantara Kihavah's underwater restaurants. 

It was many years after wine was first served that the first wine cellar was built in Soneva Fushi - an impressive feat in shallow coral sand. Shortly afterwards the sommelier appeared. Quite a few resorts have a sommelier now and some have several, one for each outlet, but only a few have that latest, greatest, a mixicologist who will design a cocktail around your selection of spirits, fruits and flavours (Constance Halaveli is one). On the other hand Niyama now has the country's first underwater nightclub to have that drink in.

Underwater is the new overwater. It is the thrilling new idea that has resorts feverishly playing off the cost against the prestige and instant international media chatter. We now have the underwater restaurant (that you can also book for a night as a bedroom), the underwater nightclub and the underwater spa. The latter belongs to Huvafen Fushi and is the culmination of the spa idea that, amazingly, only arrived in the country in the late '90's. It was such a perfect fit for the Maldives that it took off like wildfire and in just a few years almost every resort had one. In the same way, waterbungalows took off in the early '90's, a full 20 years after tourism began, and quickly spread to every resort that had enough lagoon to accommodate them (and a few that didn't).

The overwater bungalow is probably the greatest and certainly the most significant innovation of all. It is fair to say that it transformed tourism for the Maldives. It not only enabled more, and more expensive, rooms to be built without impacting the island but they delivered the lagoon and reef drop-off right to the wooden steps off your deck. If that deck is entirely private and faces the sunset, you are as close to heaven as you are going to get while still smiling.