W Maldives is a sophisticated 5-star, private (heart-shaped!) island overwater bungalow resort with cutting-edge design and facilities.
It receives its fair share of international celebs and is a glamorous and fun place to hang out.
Facilities include high-quality restaurants and bars, a sublime sauna & fitness center, and a water sports & dive center.
The resort sits by what we consider the best house reef in the Maldives and you can admire a vast amount of sea life directly from your overater bungalow: reef sharks, angel fish, stingrays, and glow-in-the-dark plankton and jellyfish.
Overwater Bungalows & Other Accommodation:
Most of the accommodation units at W Maldives are overwater bungalows. Their entry-level overwater villas are listed as Fabulous Overwater Oasis and Spectacular Lagoon Oasis.
Entry level or not these are incredible places to stay and we think they could be marketed as pretty much presidential suites in a lot of other resorts less extravagant than this.
They are sleek and stylish and cover 1570 square feet/146 square meters of space which includes one double bedroom, a lounge with glass floor panels, a bathroom, and an outside terrace that has lounging space, a plunge pool, and direct access to the water below.
The only difference as far as we could see between these two is that the ‘Spectacular Lagoon Oasis’ has an overwater hammock on the terrace and the ‘Fabulous Overwater Oasis’ doesn’t.
For such a minor difference you’d expect them to be priced very similarly but for some reason, as we can see here at booking.com, the Spectacular Lagoon Oasis will cost you a couple of hundred dollars more per night.
Nice feature but definitely not worth that much more, we feel.
Then on to the Vice Presidential and Presidential Overwater Villas. These are jaw-dropping two-bedroom units that are enormously spacious, the former being 3476 square feet/323 square meters and the latter a full 5295 square feet/492 square meters.
They share the same general facilities and features of the more er…’ basic’ villas, what you are mainly paying for here is their much greater space and a greater sense of privacy.
On land, there are the Beach Villas which share the same touch of class and come as doubles with king-size beds or two twin beds.
Their setting may even be preferred by some guests – nestling in the jungle just at the edge of the beach they are thoroughly secluded and romantic.
Prices & Availability:
Check out all the details at Booking.com here and at the resort’s own website (Marriott-Bonvoy) here.
Resort Facilities & Things to Do:
Their AWAY® Spa has a sublime setting and a range of massage, Ayurvedic, and facial treatments.
Water sports are of course a big attraction here too with the resort sitting by what is considered the Maldives’ best house reef.
You can snorkel around and see an incredible array of sea life, or equally so by just looking through the glass floor panels in the overwater villas. Further out you can dive and swim with dolphins, turtles, and sharks.
We have a resident marine biologist at the resort who gives educational tours and talks about this uniquely rich environment.
Other educational events at the resort take in native culture from food and drink to crafts and music, while they also host fun social events, live music, DJ nights, etc.
The food at W Maldives is legendary, both Asian and international, as are its cocktails. It is a sophisticated place – the staff go out of their way to please and seem genuinely happy to rise to challenges from the most demanding clientele.
Note: W Maldives might not see a lot of children but it is child-friendly. Though it doesn’t have a dedicated Kid’s Club they do offer babysitting/child minding services and all the activities will have special equipment for children.
How to Get There:
W Marriott has its own private, heart-shaped, island within the North Ari Atoll. It has a private W Lounge at Malé International Airport and from there can be reached via a 25-minute seaplane or one-and-a-half-hour speed boat ride.
Resort Reviews:
“Paradise – What a beautiful experience. They made our honeymoon so very special. Every detail will be remembered for a lifetime….”
“An unforgettable vacation at one of the most magical places. This was my second visit to the Maldives and I, once again, fell in love with its beauty, the friendliness of the people and the relaxed atmosphere. I definitely recommend W Maldives as it offers everything we were looking for. The house reef and the diving are excellent….”
See all the reviews right here
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