Sun Siyam Iru Veli
All 125 villas with their own pool.
Dhaalu AtollSeaplane
A quiet island in Dhaalu Atoll with the Turtle Kidz Club for ages 3 to 11 and a family pool. Eat at Aqua Orange, Grouper Grill and Roma, and book the Wine Cellar or Teppanyaki for a special night. Dolphins pass often enough that a villa category is named after them.
InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort
Young manta rays live in the lagoon.
Raa AtollSeaplane
81 villas, each with its own pool and a butler. The overwater AVI Spa, a PADI five-star dive centre and the Planet Trekkers kids' club, and children aged 2 to 11 stay free.
Ayada Maldives
A butler for every villa, and eight restaurants.
Gaafu Dhaalu AtollDomestic flight + speedboat
Your butler books the restaurants. Mizu, the teppanyaki counter, has only a few seats, and Kai and Ocean Breeze are worth booking on day one. A massage for two and a sunset cruise come with the stay, and the dive centre goes out four times a day.
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
Eleven restaurants across three islands.
South Malé AtollYacht
Three connected islands, every villa with its own pool, and eleven restaurants and bars including Li Long, Glow, Zuma, Yasmeen and The Ledge. The kids' club takes ages 4 to 11, and honeymooners get a one-hour photoshoot.
The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
A butler for every villa.
Dhaalu AtollSeaplane
Every villa has a private pool, four of the six types sit over the water, and a butler looks after each one. Dinner is at ALBA, drinks at the Whale Bar, and two children under twelve stay free.
OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru Resort
A family villa that sleeps three children.
South Ari AtollSeaplane
A small island in South Ari Atoll. The Beach Family Villa takes two adults and three children, children aged 2 to 12 stay free, and snorkel gear, paddleboards and kayaks come with the stay.
Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru
A working marine research centre in Baa Atoll.
Baa AtollSeaplane
Four Seasons has backed the Manta Trust's founding project since it began, and Hanifaru Bay is in the same atoll. 103 villas across 44 acres, four restaurants and four pools. The kids' club is free from four to twelve, and teenagers can take a marine biology course.
Vakkaru Maldives
1.6 km of beach and a wine cellar.
Baa AtollSeaplane
111 villas and residences along the beach in Baa Atoll, with several restaurants, a wine cellar and dinners on the sandbank. The Parrotfish Club takes ages 3 to 12, and the Beach Pool Villa gives you 250 m² and your own stretch of sand.
Villa Nautica, Paradise Island
Eight places to eat and drink, and Wavy Navy.
North Malé AtollSpeedboat
A big, lively island with a kids' club called Wavy Navy and ten villa types, from a Beach Villa to a two-bedroom suite over the water. The Deluxe Beach Pool Villa runs to 150 m² with its own plunge pool.
Angsana Velavaru
Villas standing out in the sea, apart from the island.
Dhaalu AtollSeaplane
The InOcean villas sit in their own cluster away from the island, with a restaurant and bar of their own and a ferry across seventeen times a day until 23:00. One child aged four to fifteen stays and eats free with two adults.
Kandima Maldives
A go-kart track, a bowling alley and a hospital.
Dhaalu AtollDomestic flight + speedboat
Three kilometres of island and 270 rooms, loud on purpose. The hospital has German doctors, a dentist and a decompression chamber, which is rare in the Maldives. Two children aged 2 to 11 stay free on most dates.
W Maldives
SIP, the overwater bar, and FISH over the lagoon.
North Ari AtollSeaplane
Six places to eat and drink on Fesdu Island, from KITCHEN, the all-day restaurant, to FISH and SIP out over the water. A resident marine biologist runs guided and night snorkels, and the gear is free.
Kagi Maldives Resort & Spa
Fifty villas, every one 105 m² with a pool.
North Malé AtollSpeedboat
Every villa is the same size with its own pool, so you choose by where it sits, not how big it is. Only five sit over the water. A small, quiet island in North Malé Atoll with a spa and speciality restaurants.
Patina Maldives, Fari Islands
Design-led, with a land programme that is almost all free.
North Malé AtollSpeedboat
Yoga, bicycles, paddleboards, kayaks, workshops and marine talks run on a weekly programme at no charge. Every stay comes with a Patina Essentialist, the Footprints kids' club for ages 4 to 11, and the dhoni between the Fari islands.