After a 10-hour international flight, it’s a godsend when the final stretch to reach your destination is short and seamless. Thankfully, that was the case when I arrived feeling a tad weary at Male’s Velana International airport, collected my luggage and breezed through a refreshingly fast passport control process. Walking through the exit doors to the airport, I practically stumbled on to the docks and the sleek speedboat waiting to whisk me away to the new JW Marriott Kaafu Atoll Island Resort.

A short 15-minute ride over some choppy waters later, and the resort seaped into view. As the boat neared the sweeping curves of the resort’s unique arrival jetty, the smiles and waves of the waiting welcoming committee came into focus – a scene that awaits all island arrivals, who are also presented with a star garland handwoven from palm leaves to represent the beauty and tranquillity of their new surroundings.

Ocean idyll

Kaafu has joined a portfolio of 125 hotels and resorts across 40 countries under the JW Marriott banner, one of Marriott Bonvoy’s 30 or so hotel brands worldwide. As you’d expect from such a big hitter, no expense has been spared in the creation of the resort’s features 80 private pool villas, 47 of which are overwater, with the rest occupying idyllic beachfront locations.

At the very top end of the scale, there’s the signature Ocean Residence, which offers expansive opulence for families with its three bedrooms, three bathrooms, living area, kitchen galley, sauna, treatment room, gym, outdoor infinity pool and waterpark-style ocean slide. The price of paradise here starts at $15,000 per night, off peak.

My accommodation is a little more modest but no less stylish, as I’m checked in by iPad at a one-bedroom beach villa with pool. Like all the villas at Kaafu Atoll Island, the design – led by acclaimed Turkish architect Cuneyt Bukulmez of Atolye4N – echo traditional Maldivian gedhoru huts with their tall thatched roofs and interior touches that feature a calming palette of neutral tones.

All furnishings are of the highest quality, including the spacious bathroom with freestanding tub and both indoor and outdoor showers, while there’s a nod to local artisanship in the black-and-white lacquered-wood bases of the double vanity unit. The bedroom rugs are unique to each villa, with soft red shapes symbolising swaying anemones against a blue and white ocean background.

Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors lead out to a decked area featuring a covered section with sofa, chairs and table next to a private pool and sun loungers, while a mere 20 paces take you to the beach, with stunning views of the Indian Ocean and the sweeping, curved jetties on which the overwater villas elegantly sit. 

Global cuisine

I would have loved to have whiled away the hours in the sun catching up with a good book by the pool, but unfortunately my February stay was punctuated by some unseasonably bad weather (locals were blaming a storm front coming in from Mauritius) including torrential showers and some pretty spectacular lightning. It’s worth mentioning to clients that such conditions are more common from May to October, while November to April is normally drier and sunnier when average temperatures can reach 31C.

For some however, the wet weather provides the perfect time to try the spa, with six overwater treatment rooms, steam room, sauna, whirlpool, and relaxation pavilion, along with exclusive treatments using Babor products— a first in the Maldives. There’s also a state-of-the-art gym where you can pound the treadmill while looking out to sea. 

Determined not to let the rain dampen my mood on my first visit to the Maldives, I set out to discover what else the resort has to keep guests happy, beginning with its gastronomic offering. Bearing in mind the resort only opened its doors on 5 February, the menus across the seven restaurants were already extensive and I was impressed by the levels of service attained by such a fledgling team.

The main area of the resort comprises four of the dining options including Tito’s patisserie for speciality coffee, tea and sweet treats and infinity pool bar Wahoo with its range of snacks and light dishes. For a more expansive menu, Veyo offers anything from western classics such as burgers and club sandwiches to pizza, pasta, risotto and Asian comfort food, while the adjacent Riva specialises in traditional Indian dishes served with Maldivian and Sri Lankan twists.

The culinary highlight for me, though, was to be found a few days later at the other end of the atoll. Usually just a 10-minute stroll away, another bout of pesky rain and lightning found me pressing the dedicated button on my villa phone to order an electric buggy ride to whisk me to Athiri, set beneath Nikkei bar on the ground floor of a spectacular two-storey structure enjoying views out across the Indian Ocean.

Here, Peruvian chef de cuisine Jose Carlos Penafiel treated us to a sumptuous South American-Asian fusion tasting menu comprising melt-in-the-mouth red tuna tiradito, grilled lobster tail with beurre blanc and a truly delicious black angus tenderloin steak with spicy Japanese ponzu sauce.

Changing times

For a destination traditionally associated with romantic breaks and dream honeymoons, the clientele at the resort was refreshingly diverse, with small families and large multi-gen gatherings co-existing happily with couples and friend groups, and overhearing the chatter at the dining tables I could detect American, British, Dutch, French and Spanish voices, alongside a sizeable contingent from South Korea.

Chatting to general manager Srikanth Devarapalli over a south-east Asian tasting menu at Riva, he explained that post-Covid, there had been a distinct change in the dynamic of guests at resorts in the Maldives, with more emphasis now placed on families. As if to illustrate the point, our private room was gatecrashed by a little boy wandering in from the main restaurant who proceeded to excitedly high-five all the guests around the table.

Kaafu Atoll Island Resort also seems to be on point with this new family vibe, boasting kids’ and teen clubs where younger guests can undertake a variety of activities such as interactive cooking classes using produce grown on the island. There’s also a Family by JW programme that offers personalised, curated experiences suitable for the whole family to enjoy together.

Being surrounded by water provides Kaafu with aquatic activities aplenty, from swimming and snorkelling excursions to kayaking, paddleboarding, waterskiing and fishing trips.

Embodying its commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility, and motivated by the shifting tides and global warming challenges faced by island nations, the resort collaborated with climate technology company Invena to create a pioneering 30-metre-long underwater coastal structure to reduce wave action and combat beach erosion.

The structure will also double up to support marine eco-systems by creating a reef habitat that attracts diverse fish and coral. Guests will have the opportunity to interact with this innovative project and contribute to scientific efforts addressing climate challenges.

After a final morning attempting to sample yet more of the hundreds of options available at the phenomenal breakfast buffet (you could stay here a year and never have the same combination twice) it was time for me to tick the Maldives – and JW Marriott Kaafu Atoll Island Resort – off my travel bucket list. I can’t fault the quality of the resort and the warmth and kindness of its staff – let’s just hope the weather gets the memo on my next trip to shine more of a light on this little piece of paradise.

How to Book It

A beach villa with pool at JW Marriott Kaafu Atoll Island Resort starts from $1,200 per night (based on two sharing) including breakfast. Direct British Airways flights from Heathrow to Male start from £752pp.