JOALI Maldives sits on Muravandhoo Island in Raa Atoll, a natural island so lush and beautiful it feels almost impossibly cinematic, with white sand beaches, dense tropical foliage, and turquoise water stretching in every direction. What separates it from the crowded field of five-star Maldivian properties is a commitment to art, design, and creative living that permeates every corner of the resort, down to the glassware in your villa’s minibar. Read on for everything you need to know before you book!

Location: 5/5

JOALI is about 40 minutes from Malé by seaplane and is a stunning natural island with interior foliage dense enough to make a bike ride exciting and peaceful at the same time, and a sandbar adjacent to the main pool area near the jetty that is the perfect photo opp. The beach is protected by some breakers around the water that helps maintain the bays so it’s not completely untouched as you walk around the island, but does help to maintain the beaches. Raa Atoll is also home to an astonishing variety of marine life – manta rays, turtles, and healthy coral systems – with 38 dive sites within a 15- to 60-minute boat ride.

Lobby & Check in experience: 5/5

This was one of the most impressive arrivals we’ve experienced in a long time, and that’s saying something. If you’re traveling from another property in the Maldives – we came from Velassaru – JOALI sends a beautiful air-conditioned car to the arrivals dock and transfers you to the seaplane check-in at the new international terminal in about 20 seconds. Guests arriving on international flights are met directly outside customs by a JOALI host, so there’s never a moment of confusion about where to go next.

The private seaplane lounge is where JOALI truly makes its first statement. The design is immaculate. Beautiful chairs, carefully selected books, art installations, and a level of visual detail that already tells you this property is different. But the lounge is more than beautiful: it functions like a full-service restaurant, with a menu offering snacks, sandwiches, salads, coffee, juice, tea, water, and ice cream, all served by a dedicated waiter. Waiter service in a seaplane lounge is a first for us. Easily top three lounges we’ve experienced anywhere in the Maldives.

The plane itself deserves its own mention. JOALI operates a custom 8-seater seaplane – newer and notably nicer than Soneva’s plane that is a 10 seater. This plane has individual seats, actual legroom, and reclining capabilities. Cold towels and water were served on board, which is also a first. On arrival, the island greets you with bodu beru drumming, cold towels, and your butler waiting at the jetty. From there, a brief tour of the property before being taken directly to your villa to check in. The entire sequence is executed beautifully and swiftly which is much appreciated after a long day of travel.

Rooms: 5/5

JOALI has 73 villas and residences spread across the island, offering beach villas, water villas, and multi-bedroom residences. We stayed in a Beach Pool Villa, historically not our preference,  and it converted us. Here’s what changed our minds: the total area comes in at around 680 square meters, meaning what you’re actually getting is an entire lot. You enter through a keyed garden gate into a private space that includes a wraparound infinity pool, a pergola with lounge seating and a hammock, an outdoor bathroom, direct beach access, and beautifully maintained tropical hedging that makes it feel completely private and apart from the rest of the world.

Inside, the villa has towering vaulted ceilings that give the space an almost cathedral-like quality. The dressing area features dual closets stocked thoughtfully, separate robes and kimonos hung up for each guest as well as perfectly-to-size flips flops and slippers, thanks to the pre-arrival sheet used to tailor the room setup before you arrive. The bathroom is exceptional: enormous green marble slabs line the walls, an indoor shower large enough to be a studio apartment in New York City, dual vanities with individual amenity kits, and both an outdoor bathtub and outdoor shower. The bedroom itself is spacious, anchored by a king bed, and comes equipped with a full bar (with a beautiful retro cabinet), a seating area, TV, and a speaker system. The minibar is stocked with elegant crystal glassware and handmade ceramic cups for the in-room coffee machine, with high-quality spirits including Monkey 47 gin available for purchase. Every choice feels considered. If there was one thing that I would change it would be the in-room technology. The table was a bit dated and didn’t function quite as expected but a quick call to the butler helped resolve that.

Art is woven throughout: each villa contains original artwork as part of the broader installation and our villa had a gorgeous self-portrait of the island rendered in deep blue tones. We weren’t able to visit the water villas on this trip due to occupancy, but the standout entry-level villa here is the Beach Pool, something we genuinely did not expect to say. For those seeking water villa seclusion, the Water Villa with Pool starts at 240 square meters total area and goes up from there, with the Luxury Sunset Water Villa offering a 35-square-meter infinity pool and nightly sunset panoramas (which would be my preference of the water villas due to location). Multi-bedroom residences are also available, starting at two bedrooms and going up to a four-bedroom duplex, ideal for families or groups who want a full-time buggy and driver included.

Service: 4.5/5

The overall service at JOALI is warm, knowledgeable, and genuine. Staff across all departments seemed to actually enjoy where they work. Notably, JOALI is owned by a woman and employs the highest number of female staff of any property in the Maldives, which adds a dimension of grace to the service culture throughout. Our butler was fun, helpful, and always responsive. Dining staff were efficient and personable without a trace of the jadedness that can creep into service at many resorts.

The one place to grow is proactivity. JOALI has guests complete a detailed pre-arrival preferences sheet that asks, among other things, your favorite music artist and your preferred bellini flavor. It’s a wonderful idea, and on our stay, nothing came of it. We’d hoped to find our favorite artist playing through the villa sound system on arrival, or at minimum a complimentary bellini at their aptly named Bellinis restaurant. Neither happened. These are small gestures, but at this tier, small gestures are the difference between a five-star stay and a mind-blowing five-star stay. The preference sheet raises an expectation, and the follow-through needs to match it. On a brighter note, our last evening included a beautiful bed decoration reading “see you soon” along with a personalized dessert at dinner. The resort clearly cares about guests and it shows. A bit more proactivity on the front end would complete the picture.

It’s also worth knowing that each villa shares a butler. For most guests, the shared butler model works perfectly well: they are your single point of contact and there’s never a reason to call anyone else.

Dining: 5/5

Dining is one of JOALI’s clearest strengths, and it would be hard to overstate how well-curated the restaurant lineup is for a property of this size. Every restaurant sits along the beach, the menus are diverse, and at least one venue features live music every evening. We’d strongly recommend planning your reservations around the music schedule, because the combination of beachside dining with live performance at sunset is exceptional.

Saoke is the crown jewel, an award-winning overwater Japanese restaurant recognized by the Forbes Travel Guide’s Global Partnership. The setting alone earns the reservation: vast stone slabs, dramatic over-water architecture, and a design that manages to feel both monumental and intimate. The sushi is as fresh as anywhere we’ve eaten in the Maldives, the variety across the menu is impressive, and the sake and champagne program is excellent. One of our favorite moments of the trip was being invited to choose our own chopsticks before the meal, a small ritual that sets the tone elegantly.

Vandhoo is the main all-day restaurant and has a champagne breakfast. It operates as a semi-buffet paired with a proper à la carte menu, and the quality carries through both formats. The fresh fruit selection is extraordinary, the avocado toast was my daily order, and the champagne, Gruet, is a great choice for a morning champagne.

Bellinis is the Italian restaurant, and while we went in wondering if this is where the pre-arrival bellini question would come in (the name raises that hope naturally), it did not come up. That aside, the food more than compensates: pastas, meat, and fish were all exceptional, the table settings were beautiful and featured a specialty presentation that felt custom to the evening, and the toes-in-the-sand service was efficient and warm.

Mura Bar is the main cocktail bar and sits adjacent to the main pool area. The cocktail menu arrives in a beautiful hardcover book, the drinks are inventive and served in artfully chosen glassware, and service is excellent. There was no DJ during our visit, which was the only quiet note, live music and a DJ at Mura would elevate the sunset hour and make it more of a vibe. The bar also has a dedicated whiskey and cigar lounge.

JOALI does offer a half-board package in low season, and given that the pricing at all outlets is quite high, it’s worth asking your travel advisor.

Facilities: 5/5

The facilities here are incredible and the detail in each one reflects the same creative investment as the rest of the property. The main pool area beside Mura Bar is stunning, a beautiful sandbar, impeccably comfortable seating, and because every villa has a private pool, the communal pool never feels crowded.

The spa is operated as a JOALI BEING Cure Wellness Centre, a curated extension of the wellness philosophy from their sister property, JOALI BEING. While JOALI BEING has a much larger spa complex, the one here is perfectly sized for what we needed. Beautiful steam facilities, a hammam (available as a private paid add-on, and worth it), a relaxation pool, and a sauna. Our treatment was exceptional and I would 100% book again.

The gym is equipped with high-end machines and everything you’d need for a serious workout. Directly above is a hangout lounge, sofas, a pool table, a coffee machine, and water, that functions as a peaceful refuge on a rainy afternoon. There’s also an outdoor gym with real free weights and lifting equipment that’s wonderful early in the morning before it gets too hot. Tennis and padel courts round out the sports programming, and tennis lessons are offered, which is a fun way to meet other guests.

The art studio may be the most distinctive facility on property. We had the chance to check out a ceramics class with the resident artist, who was an absolute blast! We made our own bowls on a wheel-thrown machine, splattered paint in the studio, and left so proud of what we’d created.

There are also over 20 art installations around the resort and it’s so fun to go explore and see them all.

The water sports center has everything from high-powered jet skis to a jet ski boat designed to look like a luxury sports car, which is as absurd and fun as it sounds. Every guest also receives a fat-tire bicycle with their name on it. Biking around the island is one of our favorite things to do in the Maldives. The interior paths through the foliage are beautiful, and the island is compact enough to be leisurely without feeling limited.

The boutique on property is well-stocked with luxury brand swimwear, dresses, bags, and local Maldivian lacquerwork art. Notably, the hotel actively showcases Maldivian artists, and you can also purchase the handmade ceramic coffee cups from your room from a Turkish artist, which we almost talked ourselves into.

Style: 5/5

JOALI’s style is on point. Villas feature soaring vaulted ceilings and Norwegian marble in bathrooms, alongside handcrafted woodwork that blends international influence with local Maldivian craft. The restaurants each have a strong and coherent visual identity. Saoke’s dramatic stone slabs and overwater architecture feel totally different than the toes-in-the-sand warmth of Bellinis or the sophisticated cocktail atmosphere of Mura Bar. The common thread is a complete absence of generic resort aesthetics. There are no off-the-shelf aesthetics here. Even the arrival jetty is designed to resemble a manta ray gliding through the water. The custom seaplane, the crystal glassware, the handmade ceramic cups, the cocktail glasses at Mura – the style intention runs all the way down to objects most guests will never consciously register. It’s a property that has been built to be beautiful, and the discipline to maintain that across 73 villas, five dining outlets, a spa, a gym, and 20+ art installations is so incredible and rare.

Overall: 4.9/5

JOALI Maldives is, without question, one of the best properties in the Maldives – and the right property for a specific kind of traveler: someone who wants ultra-luxury with a creative soul, who cares about design and food as much as they care about the beach, and who wants a Maldivian resort experience that doesn’t feel like every other Maldivian resort. It is equally exceptional for families and couples. The Beach Pool Villa is our surprise recommendation, for the first time, we can say that an entry-level beach villa at a Maldivian property is mind-blowing. A bit more proactivity in the service experience and this becomes a flawless stay.

If you’re looking to book JOALI or any other resort, be sure to reach out to me at team@voyagerguru.com for special rates and perks :).