Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa Review: A Big Island for Food and Families in Raa Atoll

Visited by 360 Degree World in October 2022 · Updated October 2026

Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa is a large island in Raa Atoll, 40 minutes north of Malé by seaplane, with 120 villas, a long beach and a wide choice of food, including Indian and vegetarian dishes in every restaurant. The compromise is the water: the snorkelling is one good spot rather than a reef to swim around, and the water villas take the wind.

What stood out on the visit

The 360 Degree World team visited Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa in October 2022, and Afzal showed them around, including the grand two-bedroom Presidential villa over the water. They arrived on a rainy afternoon and stayed inside the villa for a while before they could step out and explore.

The food, and the sheer variety of it, bowled the team over. The evening entertainment, the team joked, got a little too relaxing. Cycling around the jetties was a challenge in the strong wind blowing across the island. Two nights felt far too short, and the team could easily have stayed a couple more.

What the island is like

An atoll is a ring of coral reef with islands scattered around it. Raa Atoll lies north of the capital, away from the busy resort belt around Malé.

The resort sits on Fasmendhoo, an island with about 1.5 kilometres of white beach. Half the 120 villas are on the sand and half stand over the lagoon, the shallow water inside the reef, on jetties running out from the island. Buildings use bamboo, natural stone and Langhi Langhi palm leaves, and the seaplane lands at the resort's private marina.

It is a big, full-service island rather than a quiet hideaway, and guests get about by bicycle. The sister resort, Emerald Faarufushi, is a short boat ride away in the same atoll.

Arriving

There are two ways in from Velana International Airport in Malé.

The seaplane takes about 40 minutes and lands at the resort's marina. Seaplanes in the Maldives fly in daylight only, so the last same-day connection is in the mid-afternoon, and anyone landing at Velana after that cannot fly the same day.

The other route is a domestic flight from Velana to Ifuru, the airport in Raa Atoll, followed by a speedboat to the island, about an hour in all. It runs later than the seaplane, so it can save a night in Malé for flights that land too late for the seaplane. Check your landing time against the current cut-off for both routes on the Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa page. The return works the same way in reverse, so an early international departure can mean leaving the island the afternoon before.

The villas

The resort lists twelve villa types, all large. On the beach, the Beach Villa is 176 square metres with a garden and no pool, the Jacuzzi Beach Villa adds a hot tub in the garden, and the Beach Villa with Pool adds a private pool. The Marina Garden Villa with Pool faces the marina rather than the beach. Larger again are the Superior Beach Villa with Pool, the Two Bedroom Family Beach Villa with Pool, with a separate children's room, and the Three Bedroom Royal Beach Villa with Pool.

Over the water there is a matching ladder: the Water Villa, the Jacuzzi Water Villa, the Water Villa with Pool and the Superior Water Villa with Pool. At the end of a pier sits the Two Bedroom Presidential Ocean Villa, 640 square metres with its own lounge, bar and kitchen.

Water villas give direct steps into the lagoon and the open view, and they feel the wind most when the sea picks up.

Eating and drinking

The resort's food is its strongest card, and every restaurant cooks Indian and vegetarian dishes, not only the buffet.

Aqua is the main restaurant on the beach, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with an international buffet and cooking stations, one of them vegetarian. The Beach Club Grill looks over the lagoon and cooks Mediterranean food, with seafood, grilled meats, pizza and pasta. Amazònico, open for dinner, brings Latin American cooking from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Peru, with an open kitchen. Le Asiatique, also for dinner, cooks Asian food and has a teppanyaki grill, where the chef cooks at a hot plate in front of the table.

The Sunset Pool Café serves drinks and light refreshments. It is worth booking dinner at the speciality restaurants ahead.

The spa, the children and sport

The Emerald Spa sits inside the island rather than over the water. It is built in a Balinese style, with ten treatment bungalows, Balinese and Thai treatments, a pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna and a Turkish bath.

The Dolphin Kids Club covers about 1,500 square metres, with a playground, a pool, indoor and outdoor activities and its own children's restaurant. It takes children from three to twelve.

For sport there are two tennis courts, two padel courts and a gym. The water sports centre lends kayaks, Hobie Cat sailing boats and windsurf boards, and runs jet skis for a charge.

The water

A house reef is the coral reef you can swim to from the resort itself. At Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa it is one good spot rather than a reef you can circle. The place to go is the water outside Aqua, about twenty metres out, with a shallow entry and a light current, fine for a first-time snorkeller. Resident baby sharks and good fish live there.

The coral took a heavy hit from bleaching and from the building of the resort, and visibility drops when the current stirs the sand. Off the water villas the snorkelling is an out-and-back swim, not a loop.

The PADI dive centre takes divers out to the thilas of Raa Atoll. A thila is an underwater reef pinnacle that rises close to the surface and gathers fish, and Raa has sites to suit both beginners and experienced divers.

Where the compromises are

The reef is the first. Anyone who wants a long, colourful house reef should look at other islands.

The second is the weather on the water side. Several recent guests found the sea too rough to swim from the water villas on windy days. The 360 Degree World team felt the same wind cycling along the jetties.

The third is scale. With 120 villas, Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa is a big, sociable resort rather than a private retreat.

Who will love it, and who won't

Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa suits families and couples who put food, space and things to do ahead of snorkelling, and Indian and vegetarian travellers who want real choice at every meal. The kids' club and the family villas make it a strong choice for children. It suits keen snorkellers, and anyone after a small, silent island, considerably less well.

Common questions

How do you get to Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa?

By seaplane from Velana in about 40 minutes, landing at the resort's own marina, or by a domestic flight to Ifuru and a speedboat, about an hour in all. Seaplanes fly in daylight only, and the domestic route runs later, so check your landing time against the current cut-off.

Does Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa have a good house reef?

It has one good snorkelling spot, about twenty metres out from the Aqua restaurant, shallow and gentle, with resident baby sharks. The coral was damaged by bleaching and construction, and off the water villas it is an out-and-back swim. Keen snorkellers may prefer another island.

Is Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa good for Indian vegetarians?

Yes. Every restaurant cooks Indian and vegetarian dishes, not only the buffet, so Aqua, the Beach Club Grill, Amazònico and Le Asiatique all work for a vegetarian family. That makes the island a straightforward choice for Indian travellers with dietary needs.

Is Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa good for families?

Yes. The Dolphin Kids Club takes children from three to twelve, with a pool, a playground and its own restaurant, and the Two Bedroom Family Beach Villa with Pool has a separate children's room.

Should you choose a beach villa or a water villa?

Choose a beach villa for a garden and easy access with children. Choose a water villa for direct steps into the lagoon and the open view, accepting that on windy days the sea off the jetties can be too rough for swimming.