Maldives

Soneva Jani

Our verdictUnmatched luxury in everything.

Our villa stood over the lagoon at the end of a winding boardwalk. It had a pool on the deck, a slide straight down into the water, and a roof over the bed that rolls back to the sky. Meenu went through every room first, opening doors as she went.

We spent as much time on land and under water as in the villa. The team walked us through the island's organic garden and cut fresh sugarcane for us to taste. We found the chocolate room, played table tennis under the trees, and swung in hammocks on the beach. On a dive with the resort's team we met a hawksbill turtle that swam straight at the camera, over reefs crowded with orange anthias, and a stingray resting in the shallows.

Evenings were the best part. We watched Pixar's Luca at the open-air cinema, went looking for crabs on the sand after dark, and caught a purple sunset from our own pool.

Thank you Falak, Siri and the Soneva diving team.

Hurawalhi

Our verdictUnique fun and adrenaline choices.

Hurawalhi was the busy part of the trip, in a good way. We had lunch at 5.8, the restaurant under the lagoon, while schools of fish streamed past the glass. A boat took us out to a sandbank where a shaded cabana and lunch were waiting.

Then came the adrenaline: parasailing high enough to see the whole island, snorkelling the reef, and sitting on the swing that stands in the middle of the lagoon. After dark we played tennis under floodlights.

Thank you Gasim.

Kandolhu

Our verdictFeels deserted, and we love it for its sea life.

We booked Kandolhu as one stop and then added three more nights, so it became six, longer than anywhere else on the trip. It's a tiny island and it feels like it's yours. From our Ocean Pool Villa we watched sunsets over the lagoon and baby sharks patrolling the shallows under the deck.

The sea life is the reason to come. On snorkelling trips we swam with turtles, a reef shark and a ray gliding over the sand. We paddled a red kayak across the lagoon, rode the boat out to a sandbank, and ended evenings at the teppanyaki counter, where the chef cooked with flames as a show.

Thank you Ana, Monica and Ibby.

Gili Lankanfushi

Our verdictExperience bliss and forget your belongings!

The last stop. We left Kandolhu by seaplane, covered the final stretch by speedboat, and a buggy met us at the jetty. Bikes waited at the villa door for getting around the boardwalks. On a boat trip, a pod of dolphins swam alongside us.

Between swims in the villa pool we tried the spa and sauna, unrolled a yoga mat on the deck, lay in hammocks under the palms, and walked the long white sand spit at the tip of the island. At night the villa glowed with lamps around the big bathtub.

When we left, the team stood on the jetty waving, and the speedboat had us at the airport soon after. That makes Gili an easy final night before the flight home.

Thank you Rasheed and Mathew.

Heritance Aarah

In December 2023 we tried somewhere new, on a year-end trip that also took in Bali and Sri Lanka. We flew in from Bangalore and took the seaplane north to Heritance Aarah in Raa Atoll, for five nights in an overwater Ocean Suite with its own infinity pool.

Di at Addicted to Maldives booked it, as she had our first trip, and arranged a floating breakfast in our pool. Evenings were at the infinity pool bar, and one ended on a dhoni at sunset, out on a fishing trip.