I’ve had the good fortune of traveling to many luxury resorts all over the world in my life, both for business and leisure, and the W Maldives stands out even among them as the best. Everything, from the location - an idyllic island paradise with the best house reef in the Maldives - to the villas, the food, and the service, is incredible.
It’s hard to say what is the best aspect of this hotel because it’s outstanding in so many areas, but for me it was the staff. To say they went above and beyond is an understatement. It started before we even got to the island. The W rep, Ibrahim, met us at the terminal and escorted us to the seaplane terminal, where he informed us of a complimentary upgrade during our stay. We also had a dinner experience booked that evening that the hotel had to cancel for reasons outside its control. In its place was a custom 8 course menu prepared by the chef at Kitchen (1st photo) designed to give us everything we would have received at the canceled event and more. Chef Wasantha & Team at Kitchen (Nihal, Zahed, Adan, Faruk, Aidh, Siska, and the others - apologies for any I missed and any misspellings, team) consistently went above and beyond at every turn to ensure we had everything we could want.
Once on the island, the ‘wow’s continued. The W ethos of “Whatever/Whenever” truly stood out.
We split our time between the overwater villas and the beach villas, and it was wonderful to experience both. While of course the two are very different, they both share a very profound sense of place. The water villas have both bold and noticeable touches, such as the fish scale walls above the bed and the clear bottomed floor to the reef below, as well as more subtle ones such as the ombré closet doors blending the sand and sea tones, that all remind you of the ocean that surrounds you (photo 2). The beach villas are similarly arranged, with each one feeling as if you’re in your own private mangrove forest, with a private plunge pool of course, just steps away from the beach. The beach villas also come with a second floor outdoor balcony swing, as well as a semi-outdoor shower/tub setup that is unlike anything i’ve seen.
We were celebrating an anniversary, and Yam Prasad & the housekeeping team left us lovely surprises in our room in the form of bed decorations, cakes, snacks, a bubble bath, and a bottle of bubbly. It really made it very memorable. (photo 4)
The staff made us feel like we were truly the only ones there, especially Manny (apologies if it’s a misspelling friend!), the house mixologist/sommelier extraordinaire who always made sure we had what we needed, usually in the form of a custom cocktail or a glass of wine! He was also always ready with a recommendation and great conversation. Azit, Muhei, Shah and the team at the Wet Deck were similarly friendly, helpful, accommodating, and a joy to spend our afternoons with. Celine at Fish took such great care of us, and in chatting with her we learned about a bespoke dinner available to us at Sip. Chef Chris at Sip made us an incredible Peruvian Omakase tasting menu that was extraordinary, and something anyone visiting should try. John, Kai, Aidh, Edam, and so many others we weren’t able to chat long enough with to get their names made us feel so well taken care of.
All of the restaurants were fantastic. In addition to the team at Kitchen and Chef Chris at Sip, Chef Bakaa at Fish made us a couple of incredible meals as well. He prepared us a catch of the day a few ways and they were delicious. His set menu as part of Oceans of Flavor was a wonderful journey across the Maldives in food. Our evening at Fire treated us to steaks that would be right at home at a New York City Steakhouse.
The reef is a star as well, the best in the Maldives, we were told, and it lived up to the hype. Snorkeling, scuba, and all water sports were great ways to fill the day and our GoPro was very grateful for all the incredible footage.
Ultimately, for Bonvoy elites you have a lot of options when it comes to the Maldives. The W checks every single box.
