JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa

On Vagaru Island in Shaviyani Atoll, in the north of the Maldives, 55 minutes from Velana International Airport by seaplane. There are 60 villas on the island, and every one has its own pool.

By shared seaplane, about 55 minutes from Velana, and the return seaplane is in the price on this page. Seaplanes fly in daylight only, roughly 06:30 to 15:30, so your international flight needs to land by 15:00. A resort Welcome Ambassador meets you at the airport and takes you through the seaplane lounge. Land later and you spend the first night in Malé, so send us your flight times before you book them.

Five one-bedroom villas and one family villa, all with a private pool: the Beach Pool Villa Sunrise and Sunset (248 m²), the Overwater Pool Villa Sunrise and Sunset (234 m²), the two-floor Duplex Overwater Pool Villa (274 m²), and the 2-Bedroom Duplex Beach Pool Villa (285 m²) for families. There are only three Beach Pool Villas Sunset, so ask early for those.

Yes. Every villa has butler service, called a Thakuru here, who looks after dining reservations, activities and anything you need during the stay.

The resort features 6 dining venues: Aailaa (international all-day dining with live cooking stations and the Wine Room), Fiamma (Italian poolside with wood-fired pizza), Kaashi (Thai treetop restaurant), Hashi (Japanese teppanyaki overwater), Shio (fine-dining overwater grill), and RIHA (intimate 6-seat Indian degustation by reservation). Destination dining, including floating breakfasts and candle-lit beach dinners, is also available, as is 24-hour in-villa dining.

Half board is breakfast plus lunch or dinner, full board is breakfast, lunch and dinner, and all inclusive adds a set list of drinks. Everyone in the villa has to be on the same plan. On all inclusive, drinks come by the glass rather than the bottle apart from beer, soft drinks and water, you cannot take drinks back to the villa, and you cannot buy for guests who are not on the plan. Ask us for the drinks list.

The Spa by JW is a fully overwater wellness complex. It has six couples' treatment rooms, a Deluxe Treatment Suite with its own steam room, ice room and plunge pool, a hair salon, a spa boutique, a 24-hour overwater gym and an open-air yoga pavilion. It is open daily from 10:00 to 20:00, and booking ahead is recommended.

Yes. There is a kids club, FAMILY by JW, a teen lounge and babysitting. On the prices on this page, children under sixteen stay free and eat from the kids' menu. Children aged two to eleven pay only their seaplane seat and green tax, and from twelve the seaplane is charged at the adult fare. Parents sign a disclaimer for children under twelve in the overwater villas, and the 2-Bedroom Duplex Beach Pool Villa is built for families.

The resort offers PADI diving across the dive sites of Shaviyani Atoll, jet skiing, kayaking, parasailing, stand-up paddleboarding, kite-surfing, windsurfing, catamaran sailing and water skiing. Excursions include dolphin cruises, sandbank picnics, local island visits, sunset and big-game fishing, and private yacht charters. Snorkel gear and the non-motorised water sports are free.

Check-in is at 15:00 and check-out at 11:00. Early check-in and late check-out depend on availability, so book the extra night if you need the villa for certain. The island keeps its own clock, one hour ahead of Malé, which gives you an extra hour of daylight.

Not from the prices on this page: the festive period is not priced here. The Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve gala dinners are compulsory, nobody can check out from 31 December to 2 January, and the beach villas need seven nights over the festive period. Ask us and we will price those dates for you.