15 hotels
The great hotels of the Maldives
15 luxury hotels in the Maldives are documented in this guide, ordered by international renown. The oldest, Soneva Fushi, opened in 1995; the most recent, The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, in 2021. Each page gives the history, the key figures and a direct line to the events team.
Soneva Fushi
The 1995 original of the barefoot Maldives, where guests hand over their shoes on arrival and get them back at departure.
59 rooms
Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru
The resort in Baa Atoll's UNESCO biosphere reserve where the Manta Trust was founded, with 103 villas and a seaplane from Malé as the only way in.
103 rooms
One&Only Reethi Rah
An island of six kilometres of coastline and a dozen beaches in North Malé Atoll, designed by Jean-Michel Gathy and opened in 2005.
134 rooms
Soneva Jani
Over-water villas with roofs that slide back so you can watch the stars from bed, and slides that drop you into a 5.6 km lagoon.
79 rooms
Velaa Private Island
A Czech financier's private island in Noonu Atoll with a snow room in the spa, a wine tower and a short golf course designed by José María Olazábal.
67 rooms
Gili Lankanfushi
Forty-five over-water villas built of timber and thatch twenty minutes from Malé, rebuilt after the fire of January 2019.
45 rooms
Cheval Blanc Randheli
Every one of the 45 villas at Cheval Blanc Randheli has a 12.5-metre pool, and the spa occupies an island of its own across the lagoon.
45 rooms
Six Senses Laamu
The only resort in Laamu Atoll, 97 villas on Olhuveli island with a surf break off the reef and a marine biology team on staff.
97 rooms
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
Bamboo dining pods raised in the treetops and a private island with its own staff, about 40 minutes by yacht from Malé.
136 rooms
Joali Maldives
Seventy-three pool villas on Muravandhoo in Raa Atoll, with interiors by Istanbul's Autoban and commissioned art along the island's paths.
73 rooms
Patina Maldives, Fari Islands
A James Turrell Skyspace and pavilions by Marcio Kogan's Studio MK27 mark the first Patina resort, on the Fari Islands of North Malé Atoll.
123 rooms
Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas
An underwater restaurant with its own wine cellar and an overwater bar with a stargazing deck, on an all-villa island in UNESCO-listed Baa Atoll.
89 rooms
COMO Cocoa Island
Overwater suites modelled on the dhoni, the Maldivian wooden boat, on a 33-suite island in South Malé Atoll opened by COMO in 2002.
33 rooms
The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands
Round villas set like ripples on the lagoon, drawn by Kerry Hill Architects for the first Ritz-Carlton resort in the Maldives.
116 rooms
Huvafen Fushi
Spa rooms below the waterline with glass walls onto the reef, and a wine cellar beneath the island, on a 44-bungalow resort in North Malé Atoll.
44 rooms