A luxurious resort with white sand beaches, beautiful private villas and the longest infinity pool in the Maldives
A trip to the Maldives is a getaway to a paradise where the water is a brilliant shade of blue, the beaches are stunning and the rest of the world fades away. It’s hard to think of anything else when visiting this remarkable place. There’s nothing quite like having the Indian Ocean stretch out before you, the sound of crashing waves creating a relaxing soundtrack in the background and watching the sunset with absolutely nothing to block your view.
Located on the Shaviyani Atoll, the Fairmont Maldives is on one of the 51 islands that make up this local area. They surround one of the largest resort lagoons in the country and the island the hotel is located on is called “secret water island” by the locals. We had seen pictures of the Fairmont Maldives on Instagram and it looked like one of those beautiful properties we just had to visit! It truly didn’t disappoint. The beach and ocean views are absolutely stunning and the infinity pool (the longest in the Maldives!) is a showstopper.
Getting There
The Fairmont Maldives is secluded – which is wonderful once you get there, but does require a bit more travel than other hotels in the Maldives. Once you arrive at Velana International Airport, the main airport in the Maldives, it’s still a bit of a journey. You’ll need to take a seaplane ride that’s over an hour to get to the resort.
My advice is to try and get to the airport as early as possible so you can take one of the first planes out. That will minimize the waiting time and get you more relaxing time – which is why you’re in the Maldives 😊
“The Fairmont Maldives is secluded – which is wonderful once you get there, but does require a bit more travel than other hotels in the Maldives. ”
Exploring the Resort
The property is very long and narrow with white, sandy beaches on either side. There are 120 villas here, all with locally-inspired designs and comfort in mind. The resort has a total boho beach vibe to it, with almost all common areas outside. This is wonderful for creating the atmosphere of a tropical paradise and ensuring you have a great view of the water at all times.
If you peruse Instagram, like us, you will most likely have seen some gorgeous pictures of the infinity pool here at the Fairmont. It’s the largest infinity pool in the Maldives and even more incredible to see in person. The pool runs the width of the island and ends right at the ocean. There are even palm trees growing right in the middle of it. It’s amazing during the day, but I recommend taking a dip in the pool at night to see it all lit up and twinkling in the moonlight. Just magical!
“The resort has a total boho beach vibe to it, with almost all common areas outside. This is wonderful for creating the atmosphere of a tropical paradise and ensuring you have a great view of the water at all times. ”
The property has a few secrets we discovered that you might not find online 😊 For example, you can go glamping (in total comfort with AC of course), surrounded by lush vegetation and in the middle of the island. That’s a totally different experience to have in the Maldives! It’s a great way to break up your stay and spend a few nights in a beautiful tent (okay, but really feels like a villa) and the team can set up a shisha lounge for you, a movie night or honestly probably anything you can dream up.
Our Villa
The Fairmont Maldives is an all-villa luxury resort, so you really can’t go wrong wherever you stay. There are villas with one, two or three bedrooms to suit everyone from couples to families or larger groups. The Beach Villas are located in the mangroves only steps away from the beach, Water Villas sit right over the turquoise water of the lagoon or there are Tented Jungle Villas.
We stayed in a Deluxe Beach Sunset Villa and it was absolutely beautiful. We arrived right at sunset and it was breathtaking to walk up to our villa and see it all lit up at night. We loved the design of the villa and the amount of room was perfect for our family of four. There was a separate little living room where the hotel’s team had set up a bed and crib for our two boys. It had a sliding door, so once they went to bed, we could get some privacy as well.
The bathroom and dressing areas were huge! We each had a walk-in closet, large shower, toilet room, spacious vanity area (which was like a separate room) and a beautiful outdoor shower and bathtub. We especially loved having our own private pool with an outdoor deck area facing the ocean – there are even stairs off the deck leading right into the water! The beach was only steps away too.
Dining at the Fairmont Maldives
The hotel has four restaurants and bars to choose from for meals to satisfy all your cravings with chefs who specialize in local and international flavors. Kata and Azure quickly became our two favorite places to eat.
Kata is the resort’s signature Japanese restaurant and has some of the BEST sushi we’ve ever had. Sure, there’s literally fresh seafood at their fingertips, but their sushi chef is one of the friendliest and most talented chefs we’ve come across in a long time. He even spent time showing Chris and I how to properly make nigiri and what makes his sushi rice better than the rest. There’s also a great rooftop lounge here to watch the sunset while you eat.
Azure is the hotel’s seafood restaurant and offers a creative menu with a stunning dining experience right on the water. It’s an absolutely gorgeous location! Eat here on your first night and it will just set the tone for you for your entire time here.
The Raha Market is the hotel’s all-day dining venue that is the hub of the resort. It’s a marketplace of flavors with food presented buffet style. This is where we typically ate breakfast and lunch. There’s an excellent array of options to fit all different tastes. They have a theme for dinner that changes frequently – make sure you don’t miss Indian night!
Traveling with Kids to the Fairmont
While most people think of the Maldives as a honeymoon destination or only for couples, we truly enjoyed experiencing it as a family of four. Our two kids Axel (3.5) and Zave (1) brought new magic to this incredible place. They had a blast getting to swim in the pool and the ocean, made new friends in the kids club and saw animals in the ocean. It was wonderful to watch them explore and make memories here.
When packing for the trip, we decided to bring the diapers and formula we needed with us. But to save packing room, you can arrange to have those items there before you arrive and waiting in your villa.
Both our kids were big hits with the chefs here. Any restaurant we went to, the chefs were just so excited to feed our little ones! The teams here went above and beyond to help the kids to the buffet or ask exactly what they wanted (like pizza!) and got it for them.
Babysitters are also available at the resort, so you can have a bit of time away from the kids for a nice meal or a trip to the spa. Make sure to give them as much notice as possible for the days and times you need when booking, because they can fill up fast!
The entire team at the Fairmont Maldives was so attentive and kind to our kids. It really blew me away just how genuinely nice they all were and how welcoming an environment it was for our family.
The Kids Club
The Kids Club here at the Fairmont Maldives is so fun and creative for little minds! It’s open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. You can leave kids here to enjoy all the fun activities once they are four, but younger than that, they have to be supervised by an adult.
It’s so colorful inside and they have a great selection of toys for all ages. Zave had so much fun playing with the toys here. Axel’s favorite part was the rope floor they had up above that he had to crawl across to get to the slide. The staff members were so patient as Axel constantly pulled them to go down the slide with him.
The club also organizes different special activities throughout the day. One day that Axel was here, he got the chance to build sandcastles.
Sustainability Efforts
The Fairmont Maldives has to be commended for all it’s doing to preserve the beauty of the islands and the surrounding area. The resort is implementing sustainability practices including solar panels, LED lights covering 99% of the resort, reducing water use, managing waste, buying local produce and protecting marine life.
The hotel is also creating a Sustainability Lab to recycle all the plastic, glass and aluminum used by the resort. Their goal is to become the first zero-waste generating resort in the Maldives as well as a recycling center for all the surrounding islands and communities. The recycled items will be turned into other items like luggage tags, custom-designed furniture or paving bricks...I’ve seen some examples and it’s pretty great!
The hotel also has a big focus on protecting the amazing creatures that share these waters. The beautiful Coralarium structure in the resort’s waters and the sculptures within it work as an artificial reef for marine life. The sculpture made by artist, Jason deCaires Taylor, is constructed with 500 ceramic starfish and made from non-toxic materials. It was first installed in 2018 and now has become a thriving underwater home to many different creatures including coral and thousands of fish.
Hotel guests can also actively participate in conservation efforts. The Fairmont Maldives works with the Manta Trust organization to collect photo ID tracking data on manta rays. Guests can help collect this data while diving or snorkeling with the creatures when they are near the resort. You can also help save baby turtles! The hotel helps guests look on the island for turtle nests and with the help of a marine biologist, move the eggs or dig a new nest if it is too close to the ocean or in danger of predators. If a baby turtle hatches while you are here, you can help release it into the ocean! So far, more than 500 baby turtles have been safely released here.
“The hotel is also creating a Sustainability Lab to recycle all the plastic, glass and aluminum used by the resort. Their goal is to become the first zero-waste generating resort in the Maldives as well as a recycling center for all the surrounding islands and communities. ”
Fun Activities – including an Art Studio!
The Fairmont Maldives has a HUGE variety of activities to help you enjoy your time on the island and create some wonderful memories. You can take a cooking class, go windsurfing, look for dolphins on a sunset cruise, go on a fishing expedition using traditional line fishing methods, snorkel right off the doorstep of a water villa or at the beautiful Coralarium or sail the open waters on a catamaran.
We loved our visit to the hotel’s Art Studio. It’s a great place to go when it’s raining. We had rain several of the days of our trip, so we headed here. It’s outdoors (but covered) and the boys were able to paint their own coconuts and chat with the artists. They have all the materials to paint, sculpt or draw and the resident artists were so nice. It was a great find.
The Willow Stream Spa
The Willow Stream Spa is a hidden retreat at the Fairmont Maldives offering a variety of treatments that are connected to the local culture. They use essential oils, aromatherapy and natural products like coconut and algae in the carefully curated treatments ranging from body wraps to facials and massages.
If I’m being picky, the spa did feel a bit outdated. But that didn’t really matter because our massages here were phenomenal! Following all treatments, the spa offers refreshments including freshly-prepared herbal teas to enjoy in the lounge facing the ocean.
Final Thoughts
The Fairmont Maldives was a great family spot – even better than we expected. The entire team here was so welcoming to our kids, we really felt at home. The villas were spacious, the food was amazing (I’m still thinking about that sushi!) and the infinity pool was incredible. It surpassed our expectations from the pictures we had seen online. If you’re looking for a mid-level resort in the Maldives that is accommodating to kids, this is a fantastic choice.
“The Fairmont Maldives was a great family spot – even better than we expected. The entire team here was so welcoming to our kids, we really felt at home. ”
