Take a look at any league table of aspirational travel destinations and the Maldives is up there. An archipelago nation of nearly 1,200 islands graces crystal clear seas, sugar-white beaches. The Maldives will always appear as one of the world’s dream destinations: pristine Robinson Crusoe landscape meets contemporary luxury living.
Veligandu Maldives Resort Island, a micro island of lush green jungle surrounded by soft-sand beaches, is paradise enhanced. Closed for 18 months, the resort has been reinvented as 5* luxury.
“Natural. Seclusion. Luxury.” Veligandu chants the new mantra seductively. It’s a quiet, almost impossibly beautiful corner of the planet for a honeymoon or simply escaping to paradise.
welcome
Fly into Male International Airport and then transfer via the neighboring seaplane terminal. Veligandu-bound guests relax in air-conditioned business lounges, with meals and beverages included, before boarding a 20-minute flight across the azure Indian Ocean. Their cameras are geared towards irresistibly photogenic atolls. It’s a thrilling ride, provided by barefoot pilots, even before you reach your destination.
Like Maldivian monarchs returning to their island kingdom, white-shirted Veligandu staff clap to the beat of drums to welcome us as we step from the sea-plane onto the jetty.
Jadhi, our lifestyle assistant welcomes us with cold fermented passion-flower juice. We were then taken on a tour of the resort’s many facilities and the golf buggy took us to the villa.
Sunset Ocean Pool Villa
Ocean-facing windows, floor-to-ceiling sliding doors, a huge light-enhancing wall of glass. When we wake up, we use the bed controls to open the curtains. Beyond, the opulent villa’s own infinity pool, shades of azure, turquoise and teal melt into the horizon.
Beside the bed is a well-padded, spacious cushioned banquette for chaise-long style lounging. A teak ceiling fan, the size of a seaplane propeller, rotates alongside the air-conditioner. When needed, a 65 inch flat screen television, with countless international channels, protrudes from the midnight blue wall. The decor is contemporary chic with touches of traditional Maldivian colors and textures.
When you enter this new over-the-water detached villa in November 2024, the glass viewing panel beneath your feet will act as a rectangular portal to Nemo’s world below. Backstage from the ocean-view bedroom, there are his-and-hers wardrobes, a dark wooden shelf with enough room for two cases, and a mini-bar. Thoughtfully, in the mini-bar, the top-shelf is included, the bottom-shelf is chargeable. Bottles from the chilled wine cellar are also chargeable.
Our Sunset Ocean Pool Villa, available with two bedrooms, each with its own plunge pool, is just one of 100 villas in Veligandu. Choose from Ocean Pool Villa, Sunset Ocean Villa, Ocean Jacuzzi Villa, Sunset Jacuzzi Beach Villa, Jacuzzi Beach Villa and Beach Villa. There are hard choices to be made in paradise.
the bathroom
An exceptionally spacious light-marine blue tiled shower room has both a rainfall and hand-held directional shower. His and her wash facilities feature citrus themed toiletries from Veligandu
The half-egg bath has its own open-air room: secluded but overlooking the sea.
Everything you need to plan your trip in 2024
convenience
The open-sided Dhonveli buffet restaurant with white sand floors is cooled by Indian Ocean breezes and fans: aptly named Dhonveli for the white sands of the Maldives.
Start breakfast by making your own smoothie before selecting from an impressive array of tropical fruits: both fresh and poached. Then let the chefs create your personal egg favorites.
At lunchtime these chefs cook fish and seafood to order alongside a wide selection of salads and hot dishes. They’re back for dinner, too: carving steaks, making your designer pasta dishes.
Taking its name from the manta, Madivaru Restaurant offers a fusion of Mediterranean and Asian cuisine, including Chinese, Thai and Indian dishes. Madivaru pays homage to the ancient spice routes that helped flavor oriental dishes such as nasai noreng, Vietnamese caramelized pork, shrimp pad thai and other exciting flavors of the Orient. That is if you can resist the lobster and wagyu beef…
As its name suggests, Thundi leads to a sandy beach lined with sun-umbrellas and loungers, where waiters serve drinks and snacks throughout the day. These waiters also tend guests to sun-loungers by the white-flowered frangipani and palm-fringed infinity pool.
Raalhu, Maldives for Waves, is a spectacular fine-dining restaurant, strategically located for sundowners in its Champagne Pavilion. From the arrival of a grilled courgette and salmon amuse bouche, through succulent octopus to a mojito sorbet, the service is exemplary.
At Hymen Spa, with five overwater treatment rooms, including four for couples, guests relax and rejuvenate with a variety of treatments provided by experts.
You are unlikely to miss your home gym at the excellently equipped VFitness center with treadmills and exercise bikes overlooking the ocean. For a calm, harmonious start to the day, a handful of guests join professional teachers for sunrise yoga.
Although the courts are shaded, morning and evening are the best times to play tennis and paddle courts.
location
Veligandu’s overwater villas are just 600 meters by 150 meters from an island: 50 minutes by speedboat and 20 minutes by air from Male.
Drop by the Ocean Watersports and Excursion Center to choose from a plethora of aquatic opportunities. From the curious beginner to the qualified diver, the seas around Veligandu offer something for everyone: gentle kayaking, exhilarating jet-ski expeditions, serene paddle boarding, snorkeling trips and sunset cruises in search of dolphins. For the ultimate in luxury, charter the resort’s yacht for a private excursion.
Other nice touches
Guests can take a snorkel pack to the dive center to look for turtles and countless tropical fish in the lagoons around Veligandu.
Apart from providing your daily itinerary, the Veligandu app also keeps a running total of your bill.
For a special treat Veligandu offers destination dining perhaps on the beach or on the sand.
Solar panels provide the roof of recently built villas. All in part to reduce Veligandu’s environmental footprint.
cost
Starting from US$ 508 per night for a double occupancy Beach Villa with breakfast for Summer 2025. All-inclusive dine-around packages for a beach villa start at US$ 1,068. Seaplane transfers are an additional cost.
The best bit
Jadhi our lifestyle assistant takes care of everything, booking restaurants for us, picking us up from restaurants in golf buggies or even taking us to breakfast if we are not in the mood to walk.
When it was time to go, he contacted the airline for our departure time and connection via our hotel in Male.
Final verdict
A wonderful infinity pool shaded by white-flowered frangipani and palm trees should be the island’s beating heart, yet there’s always a sense of quiet calm and sun-loungers to spare.
In Veligandu, solitude and tranquility are luxuries. Veligandu’s new villas are raised on their columns to insure future insulation, against rising sea levels. It will be the leading destination in Maldives for decades to come.
Disclosure: Our stay was sponsored by Veligandu Maldives Resort Island.
Michael Edwards
Michael Edwards is a travel writer from Oxfordshire, UK. Although Michael published his first travel piece nearly four decades ago, he continues to find new luxury destinations to travel and write about.
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