‘Our guests like to eat’: The Maldives hotel with incredible food, gorgeous sealife and 24 hour butler service
At Malé Seaplane Lounge on the final leg of my journey to a rather gorgeous hotel in the Maldives, I found a glossy coffee table book. Inside were photographs of tropical sunsets, grinning locals, and thoughtful essays on Maldivian culture. I wanted a copy; it was a welcome shift from the influencer reels I’d scrolled in the weeks leading up to my trip. A quick search online turned up nothing, so I asked the staff where I might find this elusive book. “We’ll get back to you.”
Cut to my arrival and there it was – the book – placed neatly on my bed and topped with a perfect
frangipani flower. Was this my Miranda Priestly moment? A wish met before I’d even remembered
I’d made it. Welcome to Milaidhoo—where even the most casual request manifests like magic. Now, where’s my cerulean blue kaftan?
Milaidhoo sits within the Baa Atoll, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and one of the most biodiverse
areas of the Maldives. This boutique, understatedly luxurious property has just 50 villas. While
children aged nine and above are welcome, the atmosphere is intimate and quiet and much better
suited to adults seeking privacy and tailored experiences. Owned by the same group as Baros
Maldives, Milaidhoo is named simply after the island itself. It’s a 35-minute seaplane ride to the
island from Malé, and the arrival is every bit the dream sequence you’d expect. From above, the
ocean stretches like eternal silk.
A typical morning in The Maldives: I’m swimming above coral gardens, darting neon wrasses and curious turtles
A constellation of islands; reefs form perfect rings or taper into half-moons, sandbanks blaze white under the sun, and between atolls, the sea deepens, turning from clear turquoise to midnight blue. It’s a sight everyone should treat themselves to at least once.
I’m dropped at the bus stop for paradise (a pontoon in the middle of the sea) and a speedboat
arrives to collect me with gleaming mahogany panels and dark vanilla leather seats. I step aboard and meet my butler H, who over the next few days will also become my tech support, dining consultant, and guardian angel.
There is no main reception at Milaidhoo – just your butler, who handles everything. H leads me
straight to my villa: decorated a palette of blues with soaring vaulted ceilings, folding French doors
that dissolve the walls between indoors and out, and a thick thatched roof. A private infinity pool
fronts the villa, with a swinging seat, and a ribbon of the beach leading directly to the lagoon. The
bathroom steals the show: a freestanding bath shaped like a smooth pebble, Acqua di Parma
products, and an open-air catwalk flanked by lush plants leading to an alfresco shower. Later, I peek one of the overwater villas.
Decorated in coral pinks and perched above the reef, with the thrill of steps straight into the ocean from your deck. Book one for a better chance of swimming with friendly reef sharks.
The beach villa’s earthy charm draws me back and as luck would have it, my patch of sand opens
directly onto the house reef. Just a few strokes from shore I’m drifting above coral gardens, clouds of parrotfish, darting neon wrasses and curious turtles.
Milaidhoo arranges guided snorkelling led by resident marine biologists, including trips to nearby Hanifaru Bay to witness hundreds of manta rays – some with wingspans over four metres – gather to feed in hypnotic spirals.
This event occurs during the plankton-rich monsoon from June-November. You might spot a whale shark too. I’ve never fished before, but I sign up for a night fishing trip and somehow land the first catch – then another, and another, including a grouper, “very expensive” the captain tells me and shakes my hand.
I’m at sea with two young couples. The girls cheer and clap, the boys offer half-hearted high fives
and sulk, until one of them pulls in something so big that it thrashes across the deck and the crew
scrambles to pin down. Our butlers greet us as we dock back on the island, clipboards at the ready, asking: “How would you like the chef to cook your fish?”
Just an hour later, I’m eating my grilled catch under the stars, at Ocean, the hotel’s beachfront restaurant. I proudly show everyone back home, like I’m Bear Grylls, forced to hunt my own supper, and not a girl whose freshly hooked dinner came bathed in beurre blanc and paired with a glass of Whispering Angel. A waiter brings a plate of sashimi. “From one of your fishing buddies,” he explains, “who caught a big one and wanted to share.” I accept the sashimi with a smile. I can hear faint gloating from somewhere close by.
After a night of hauling in fish like some sort of barefoot Hemingway, I start the next day with a
massage at the open-air spa. Waves lapping below and snorkellers drifting nearby like lazy sea sprites.
For those of us without a Fortune 500 company to run, the idea of a butler sounds excessive. But then you get hooked
Milaidhoo has all the wellness staples, but it doesn’t pretend to compete with The Maldives’ more wellness-focused detox destination hotels like Joali Being, where our writer Damien Gabet was “swished through a water pool like a Disney prince” by his wellness guru, and put on a strict diet.
“Our guests like to eat,” a staff member tells me with a grin. And rightly so, for such a small island the resort offers serious breadth and originality in the kitchen. The signature restaurant, Ba’theli, is housed on a trio of traditional dhoni boats moored over the lagoon. It serves a menu built around ancient maritime spice routes, including a family-style Malafaaiy feast and delicious coconutty curries.
Order the banana rum cocktail for pudding and watch reef sharks swirl below you in moonlit water. There’s a weekly seafood market at Shoreline Grill, where the staff absolutely insist you load up on lobster. I won’t say no to that. Another evening brings street food from Asia: smoky skewers, pillows of bao and fiery sambals. The rotating chefs concept – drawing talent from resorts like Soneva Secret – keeps things inventive (the Maldives is no stranger to invention, one hotel recently started ageing wine underwater).
Sri Lankan chef Lakshitha Thudahewage does a fun Maldivian Afternoon Tea, a savoury reinterpretation where tuna takes centre stage, and don’t miss the tuna burger with mango chutney. I had it twice.
For those of us without a Fortune 500 company to run, the idea of a 24-hour butler might sound
excessive. Until you need one. I made the ill-fated decision to take my iPhone 15 on a sunrise
snorkel – after all, how else would I get that perfect underwater selfie? Ariel meets David
Attenborough.
Predictably, my screen went black so I call H in a panic from the landline. Within minutes he was at the door with two kilos of premium Maldivian basmati. “Leave it in there for 24 hours,” he said, with the calm authority of someone who’s seen it all. Sure enough, my phone came back to life. A private butler is table stakes in the Maldives. But at Milaidhoo it’s less silver tray, more sixth sense (there are cheaper ways to visit one of the world’s most Instagrammed destinations; a seven-night stay at all-inclusive Raaya by Atmosphere costs around £2,500 including flights).
By the time I board the seaplane back to Malé, I’m willing it to move at a glacial pace – just to
savour the views a little longer. I came alone, unsure if I’d feel out of place in one of the most romantic places on earth. I didn’t. Milaidhoo doesn’t care if you’re honeymooning or healing. It just
quietly gives you everything you didn’t know you needed. Including, in my case, a bag of rice.
Visit the Maldives yourself
To book: A seven-night stay at Milaidhoo with Kenwood Travel starts from £6,594 per person for two adults, with return flights from London Heathrow with a seaplane transfer, staying in a Beach Villa with a private pool on a gourmet all inclusive.
Read more: Diving for wine in the ocean paradise of the Maldives