9 dream hotels in the Maldives

One of the musts in the Maldives, with its underwater villa and restaurant!

Cool luxury! That's what you feel when you set foot on Rangali Island. A hotel worthy of its brand, with a relaxed, friendly feel! A real treat if you can afford it! The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island boasts a unique underwater restaurant and underwater villa!

The Conrad Maldives is located on Rangali Island, in the South Ari Atoll, 30 minutes by seaplane from Malé airport. Since November 2018, the establishment has been home to the world's first underwater hotel villa! Called The Muraka, the villa has two suites: one on the surface and a second 5 metres beneath the waves. Its transparent dome offers an unprecedented panoramic view of the Indian Ocean.

The Ithaa Undersea Restaurant is the world's first underwater restaurant, and for a long time was unique to the Maldives. Other resorts have since added this unforgettable experience! Barefoot (shoes must be removed), you first walk down a wooden corridor. Next, you'll be served delicate, rather Western cuisine, inspired by the Maldives. The only drink is champagne: Louis Roederer! You can admire the fish and sharks. At night, the sea is lit up. It's magnificent! It's a unique experience!

Here, we ask you to take off your shoes. You can even dress coolly if you wish. Part of the Hilton Group's Conrad Hotels and Resorts chain, the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is built on two islands: Rangalifinolhu (created in 2000), where most of the activities are grouped together, and Rangali (built in 2005), a more exclusive, more intimate island accessible by pontoon (10-minute walk) or by dhoni if your feet get too hot (every 10 minutes from 7 a.m. to midnight).

The Maldivian dream in all its splendour! A real gem.

Inaugurated in 2019, the LUX* North Malé Atoll, which became Jumeirah Maldives Olhahali Island in 2022, features 67 huge villas with contemporary decor on a small island paradise surrounded by magnificent coral reefs. Whether you're on stilts or facing the beach, you'll enjoy your own private pool and a rooftop terrace where you can gaze at the stars and contemplate the dreamy lagoon on either side. Spa on stilts where you can watch the fish through a glass hatch, lunch floating in your pool, cinema on the beach, swimming with the turtles, breakfast watching the fish, dinner in the company of baby sharks, catamaran cruise at sunset watching for dolphins, live the Maldivian dream in all its splendour!

Each villa has its own beach area right in front of you! Place your towel directly in the room, pack your snorkelling gear and set off to explore the crystal-clear lagoon, to meet the multicoloured fish and coral! And who knows, with a bit of luck, you might even swim with a turtle? On the picture-postcard beach of soft, fine white sand, you can enjoy free snorkelling (fins, mask and snorkel), kayaking, windsurfing and paddle boarding.

Other activities include transparent kayaking, sailing, water-skiing, jet skiing, fly boarding, sea bob, sunset catamaran cruise, fruit and champagne included, dolphin watching, sea turtle watching, red submarine diving and PADI diving centre. Offshore, a sandbank provides an idyllic setting for picnics and snorkelling.

One of the largest islands in the Maldives and one of the only places on the planet where you can swim with a whale shark.

Lying on one of the largest islands in the Maldives, the LUX* South Ari Atoll is a benchmark address in the archipelago for a stay of relaxed luxury with a hint of fashion. A hotel to be enjoyed by two, but which will also meet the expectations of families and groups of friends. What more could you ask for: top-class cuisine, 4 km of dream beaches, the chance to swim with a whale shark, a spa on stilts, villas on stilts or with private pools?

The aptly named LUX* South Ari Atoll is located on Dhidhoofinolhu, one of the largest islands in the Maldives at 1.8 kilometres long - a major asset for an island hotel! We are in the south of Ari Atoll, about 25 minutes by seaplane from Malé International Airport. The holiday begins at the seaplane base, where LUX* has a lounge for guests waiting for the seaplane transfer to the hotel - a real adventure in the footsteps of Tintin and Indiana Jones! An air-conditioned area with a view over the lagoon, refreshments, treats and massages at your discretion, staff on hand to take care of you even before you fly over the atolls for a final hop back to the hotel.

One of the great things about LUX* South Ari Atoll is that you won't have seen everything in 5 minutes. So there are plenty of surprises in store for you during your stay and good reasons to get out of the cocoon of your room. The ubiquitous white sand beach that encircles the island for 4 km, the breathtaking blues of the atolls, the languid coconut palms... all the magic of the Maldives is here. There are also two swimming pools, including an infinity pool with overflow. A treatment at the spa, snorkelling on the reef in a choice of 42 sites, a diving session with the whale sharks... you're sure to find what you're looking for!

A luxury resort with a telescope on stilts and an underwater restaurant.

Opened in February 2011, the hotel is undoubtedly one of the most stylish in the Maldives. Awarded 5 stars, the hotel offers its guests a refined décor where every detail is not just a detail! Here, nature is like the guest: queen. It also boasts an underwater restaurant and the most powerful telescope in the region. In short, one of our favourites in the Maldives. But you still need to be able to afford this princely stay...

The Kihavas Villas are located in the north-west of the Baa atoll, 30 minutes by seaplane from the capital, Malé. As with most hotels in the Maldives, we're not talking about rooms, but real villas! The term takes on its full meaning here, given the size (258 m²) and facilities of these luxury accommodations.

Despite the four different categories, all guests are treated equally, because here the notion of 'standard' does not exist! Whether they're set above the water or on a private beach, all have spacious, refined interiors.

As for the bathrooms of the villas on stilts, they give a foretaste of what awaits you in the lagoon thanks to an ingenious system of glass in the bathtub... and on the toilet floor! Villas on the beach will have to make do with a magnificent outdoor bathroom.

A resort that stands out for its villas with water slides!

Incredible, to make you dream! This luxury hotel offers villas with a slide connected directly to the lagoon, so you can glide through the turquoise waters on Medhufaru Island. From the bed to the lagoon, discover this little treasure in the Maldives!

The villas are among the largest and most luxurious in the Maldives: 51 on stilts and just three on the beach. On the programme: sliding down the waterslides, of course, but also a candlelit dinner on the beach, a film under the stars, relaxation at the spa, a sunset cruise to watch for dolphins, snorkelling with a guide...

The Maldivian dream under the sign of music, 20 minutes by boat from Malé, at Crossroads Maldives, with marina, Café del Mar, Hard Rock Café...

The Hard Rock Hotel Maldives is located on the artificial island of Akasdhoo, in the South Malé atoll. A long pontoon several hundred metres long crosses the paradise lagoon and links the Hard Rock Hotel Maldives to Crossroads Maldives, a complex unique in the Maldives, featuring a large circular marina, a spa, a Café del Mar, a Hard Rock Café, a spa, numerous boutiques and restaurants, as well as a very interesting marine discovery centre. All accessible during the day to local visitors from Malé and elsewhere. Just 12 km away, the capital Malé, whose buildings can be seen in the distance, and its international airport (8 km away) are just a 20-minute boat ride away.

The access to the Hard Rock Hotel Maldives is magical! You have to cross a huge pontoon several hundred metres across a heavenly lagoon. The buggy drops you off in front of the reception area, which has been cleverly raised to give you a 360° panoramic view of the villas on stilts, the huge swimming pool and the incredibly colourful sea. The architecture blends Maldivian culture with contemporary design. Facing the lagoon or on stilts, the villas are spacious and comfortable.

It's a Maldivian paradise, with soft, fine white sand and crystal-clear turquoise water, where you can watch baby blacktip sharks swim right up to the shore in 15 cm of water! The lagoon is a paradise, the water crystal clear and waist deep. Underwater, coral and multicoloured fish, and from time to time, the chance to swim with a sea turtle, 50 metres from the shore! The lagoon is also home to six underwater sculptures of sharks! There are plenty of other water-based activities on offer, some of them quite original, such as seabobbing (underwater scooters) to make you feel like James Bond, and flyboarding (a nautical jetpack invented by Frenchman Franky Zapata)!

A tranquil resort with its feet in the sand.

Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa is a 4*sup island-hotel located in the South Ari Atoll, with a distinctive lobby, bars and restaurants right in the sand! Spa on stilts, superb bungalows and a dream beach await you. Free Wi-Fi everywhere and a 24-hour all-inclusive package (optional) complete this idyllic picture.

This resort nestles on the island of Vilamendhoo, 900 metres long and 250 metres wide, in the South Ari Atoll, 30 minutes by seaplane from Malé international airport. Arriving by seaplane is an adventure!

Meals are buffet-style at the main Funama restaurant, whose floor is covered in fine white sand. Come barefoot, it's so pleasant!

Ari Sud is the only atoll in the Maldives, and one of the few places in the world where you can be sure of seeing them all year round!

A paradise island-hotel that ticks all the boxes of the Maldivian dream.

Just 56 km from Malé, in the North Ari Atoll, Kuramathi is a paradise island-hotel that will delight lovers of well-being with its spa, gastronomy with its 11 restaurants, and nature with its botanical gardens, hermit crab trails and huge banyan trees while watching for giant bats. This 4-star establishment is more reminiscent of a 5-star resort, with its villas on stilts and those with their own swimming pool! Underwater excursions and swimming with sea turtles are also among the many activities on offer on this island, which also boasts a great mini-club for children. The island's 1.8 kilometres of coastline can be explored with the help of the island's buggies, culminating in a dreamy sandbank!

Kuramathi Island is located in the egg-shaped Rasdhoo Atoll, one of the smallest in the Maldives, around 9 km north-east of Ari North Atoll, 56 km north-west of Malé. Allow 20 minutes for the seaplane transfer and 1? hours by speedboat!

With its 1.8 km length and lush vegetation, Kuramathi offers a vast terrain for adventure! The resort has three pools, including two infinity pools with overflows that merge with the sea and another family pool next to the spa, with a lovely waterfall.

As on all the beaches in the Maldives, the white sand is hemmed in by magnificent turquoise water. Only a few spots have been equipped with plastic deckchairs with mattresses. The presence of trees on the beach means that fragile skin can enjoy the area without fear of sunburn. On the other hand, choose your side carefully - you can't snorkel just anywhere, so be sure to follow the instructions! The best spot is to the south of the island, to the right of the pontoon.

A 5* resort 10 minutes by boat from Mahé, the first hotel in the Maldives.

Opened in 1972, the Kurumba, just 10 minutes by boat from Malé airport, is an old hand on the Maldives planet. It was the very first hotel to open its doors in the archipelago! But while the hotel is not new, it is renovated every year and stands out for the variety and quality of its leisure facilities, especially for children, its luxurious and spacious villas, its spa, its heavenly beach and its eight restaurants for lovers of fine dining.

Kurumba is located on the island of Vihamanaafushi, 300 metres wide and 500 metres long, covering 18 hectares, in the North Malé atoll, 10 minutes by boat from Malé airport, 3 km away. It is the closest resort to the airport.

The hotel has no fewer than eight restaurants and four bars! They are all grouped around the main swimming pool, the nerve centre of the resort, where everything happens! It's a chance to try something different every evening if you're staying for a week! As well as the two buffets, there are six à la carte restaurants to choose from: Japanese (Hamakaze, teppanyaki on stilts), Indian (Mahal, with a gong at the entrance), Thai (King Thai), Oriental (Lebanese and Moroccan under a large, superbly decorated tent, at the Al Qsar restaurant), Italian (Isola, adults only), and the signature Thila restaurant, where you can feast on fish and seafood right on the water.