"Getting to this island resort is the hard part: From Malé’s international airport, it’s another 45-minute domestic hop to the Gaafu Alifu Atoll, followed by 25-minute speedboat ride. But your reward for enduring the long transit is this indulgent yet eco-conscious resort’s unaffectedly chic ambience and abundant natural attributes—tide pools teeming with starfish, an electric-blue lagoon filled with coral and a variety of tropical fish. The 50 villas—20 with private pools and 14 of them overwater villas with spacious sundecks—are standouts in form and function, with high, angled timber roofs that keep accommodations cool and with recycled-glass bottles of water purified at the hotel. Attentive personal hosts run flower-filled baths, decipher complicated air transit schedules, and happily suggest their own recommendations on and around the island (diving enthusiasts will want to explore the atoll’s central lagoon, which plunges 300 feet). Want more? The resort's multiday itineraries can have you visiting nearby islands (encounters with locals are rare at most Maldivian resorts) or exploring the coral reefs around the atoll. The resort’s sand-floored restaurant, The Island Grill, serves up an array of regionally inspired dishes with flavors and spices native to the southern atolls, while The Dining Room has a more international-focused menu."
