Joali Maldives

Art is the first thing guests notice on Muravandhoo, an island in Raa Atoll in the northern Maldives. Sculptures stand in the gardens, installations hang in the pavilions and commissioned pieces line the sandy paths. Joali Maldives opened here in 2018 as the first resort of the Joali brand, and it built its identity around design and art, with the Istanbul studio Autoban shaping the look of the island and artists from several countries contributing work.

History

The resort arrived in late 2018, during a decade in which the Maldives added new islands at a fast pace and each had to find a clear idea to stand out. Its Turkish owners chose art and craft, and worked with designers and artists from Turkey, Japan and elsewhere. The name comes from the joali, the netted rope seat found outside homes on Maldivian islands, and the seat appears in different forms around the resort. In 2021 the brand opened a second island in the same atoll, Joali Being, devoted entirely to wellbeing programmes, so the two can be combined in one stay.

Architecture and design

Autoban, the Istanbul practice founded by Seyhan Özdemir and Sefer Çağlar, gave the resort its curved timber forms, woven textures, brass details and furniture designed for the island. The Japanese designer Noriyoshi Muramatsu of Studio Glitt created Saoke, the Japanese restaurant, with timber screens and counters. Art is placed so that a walk to dinner passes several works, and the gardens were planted to give shade and privacy between villas. The overall tone is warm and tactile rather than minimal.

Rooms and suites

The 73 villas are divided between the beach and the lagoon, and each has its own pool. Water villas stand on stilts along curving jetties with steps into the lagoon, while beach villas sit behind planting for privacy, with direct access to the sand. The largest residences add several bedrooms for families and groups. Interiors follow the Autoban palette of pale wood, rattan, woven panels and soft colours.

Dining

Saoke serves Japanese cooking, with teppanyaki and sushi at the counters. Other restaurants cover Italian and Mediterranean menus, and an all-day restaurant facing the lagoon handles breakfast and casual meals, with a bar for evenings over the water. Private dinners can be set up on the beach or in a villa.

Wellness

The spa offers massage and body treatments in pavilions set apart from the villas, and yoga and fitness sessions run through the day. Since 2021, guests have also been able to spend time at Joali Being for a dedicated wellbeing programme. The dive centre runs snorkelling on the house reef and boat trips to dive sites across the atoll.

Weddings and events

Weddings here, as at other Maldivian resorts, are symbolic ceremonies held on the beach or a sandbank, because foreign visitors cannot legally marry at resorts in the Maldives; couples complete the legal formalities at home. The island suits couples and small parties rather than large weddings.

Location

Raa Atoll lies north of Malé, and the usual transfer is a seaplane flight of about 45 minutes from Velana International Airport, with a long view of reefs and islands on the way. Its waters hold coral gardens, reef sharks and turtles, and the neighbouring Baa Atoll, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, draws manta rays to Hanifaru Bay in season. As a luxury resort in Raa Atoll, Joali trades the quick boat transfer of the islands near the capital for space, quieter reefs and the slower rhythm of the north.