The Maldivification of luxury holidays

Marlon Brando fell in love with French Polynesia while filming Mutiny on the Bounty in the 1960s, around the same time that three Californian entrepreneurs upped sticks and moved to Tahiti, bought a little hotel, and then two more, and built the world’s first overwater bungalows. For these three men, it was a matter of practicality – their second hotel was on a spectacular coral reef but had no beach, so they decided to build three rooms on stilts over the water, inspired by local Polynesian fishing huts, allowing guests to head straight from their room onto the astonishing reef below. They were an instant hit.

Yet today it is the Maldives with which we most associate overwater accommodation, despite the concept not arriving there until the late 1980s. Now, after four decades spent finessing the concept, it’s safe to say that the Maldivian take on luxury holidays has become a benchmark to which much of the world aspires, with barefoot resorts such as Soneva Fushi, opened in 1995 by Sonu Shivdasani, with his wife, the former model Eva, leading the charge.

“Eva first went to the Maldives in 1981 to do a fashion shoot, and back then there were about five resorts and nothing to eat but bananas and fish at plastic tables,” Sonu recalls. “When we decided to open a resort there, Eva did a market survey of 40 tour operators, asking what feedback their clients had given them about the Maldives. The two big complaints were the quality of the food and that there was nothing to do. So [these became] a big part of our offering.”

It’s not difficult to see why so many resorts around the world want to emulate the Maldives, especially now its standard of hospitality is so high. Obviously there’s the extraordinarily beautiful Indian Ocean setting, its cerulean waters – the sound of which will lull you to sleep at night – speckled with 1,200 atolls, each ringed by white powder sand and coral reefs, ideal for snorkelling and diving. But there’s also some psychology at play.

“The world feels like a tumultuous and overwhelming place at the moment,” says Geoffrey Kent, founder of luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent. “Which makes the idea of escaping to a remote, idyllic haven like the Maldives highly attractive. It provides a sanctuary where one can disconnect from the noise and the chaos, and find solace in nature’s embrace.”

While a growing number of resorts in the Maldives attract families and groups of friends, it will always be primarily a destination for couples – after all, what could be more romantic than an overwater villa for two? But hotelier Alex Polizzi offers a slightly different perspective.

“I like barefoot luxury as much as the next person,” she tells me. “I’m a huge fan of Coral House, a fully serviced villa on the main island of Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, which is right on the beach and wonderful. You can be in a bikini all day if you want and a butler will wade into the sea to bring you a cocktail. But then later you can go and find some local life. The idea of being stuck on a private island, forced to eat a resort’s overpriced food and drink their overpriced booze? I’m not chilled enough to find that relaxing.”

And as for disconnecting and finding inner peace? While it’s probably easier to do this in the Maldives than sitting in a traffic jam on the M25, we also agree that you take your emotional baggage with you wherever you go – and it doesn’t suddenly disappear thanks to some mythical moment on your Maldivian holiday.

Polizzi then confesses that she’s about to go to Four Seasons Resort in Bora Bora with her boyfriend – to stay in an overwater villa for the first time. “There’s this idea that because you’re with someone you adore, you just want to spend 24 hours a day with them, leave the world behind and not to be disturbed by the petty irritations of life or other people,” she says. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve rarely felt like that about anybody, and certainly not for a whole week. The only reason I’ve been persuaded is because, very unusually for a man, my boyfriend is happy to sit and read for hours like I am. Plus, he’s done all the research on water taxis and nearby restaurants, so I’m not going to feel like there’s no escape. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be a convert.”

Six pretenders to the Maldives’ throne

1. Rosewood Mayakoba, Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Indoor-outdoor living at its finest, Rosewood Mayakoba’s 18 one-bedroom Deluxe Overwater Lagoon Suites sit on a lagoon surrounded by dense mangrove, and have outdoor decks with heated plunge pools and boat docks, plus hammocks and garden showers. Interior design is tastefully pared down, with lots of natural wood, woven baskets and terracotta pots. This being Mexico, the rooms also come with a mezcal bar.

Overwater Lagoon Suites from $1,200 (£897) per night  

Maldivification rating? 3/5

This lovely resort looks and feels the part, but you can’t swim in the lagoon (it is home to crocodiles), which does make it a very different proposition (the nearest beach is a 10-minute bike ride away).

2. Sandals Royal Caribbean, Jamaica

Sandals was the first hotel group to offer luxury overwater bungalows in the Caribbean, launching them at Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 2016. Now all of its Caribbean properties offer them, including Sandals St Vincent, which opened earlier this year. But the originals offer the most Maldivian experience of all. There are both overwater bungalows and villas on offer, reached by elevated walkways, plus butler service, glass floor panels for watching the sealife below, hammocks and terraces with daybeds. The bungalows have freestanding outdoor tubs while the villas have small infinity pools.

Private Island Butler Honeymoon Bungalows from £6,719 for three nights (the minimum stay)

Maldivification rating? 5/5

Every aspect of these well-designed bungalows and villas feels like the Maldives.

3. The St Regis Red Sea Resort, Saudi Arabia

This is the first private island resort to open in the Red Sea, a vast and ambitious sustainable tourism project in Saudi Arabia’s Ummahat Islands, and part of a drive to change the world’s perception of the country. It offers a mix of spacious one to four-bedroom beachfront and overwater villas, each with a private pool, sundeck and outdoor shower. Shell-shaped, the overwater Coral Villas are also reached via elevated walkways over the crystal-clear water and offer direct access into the sea from the deck. The development is surrounded by the world’s fourth-largest barrier reef, offering wonderful opportunities to dive and snorkel.

Overwater coral villas from £2,111 per night

Maldivification rating? 4/5

It’s a pretty close vibe to the Maldives, minus the boozy cocktails.

4. Nayara Bocas del Toro, Panama

You can choose between treehouses and Balinese-style overwater villas at sustainably designed Nayara Bocas del Toro, set within an archipelago where tropical forest meets deserted sandy beach. Neither will leave you feeling short-changed. The vibe here is luxurious rustic chic and the resort’s 18 overwater villas, linked by extensive boardwalks, have bedrooms with canopy beds and glass floor panels to view the marine life below, huge bathrooms, private decks with swim-up staircases, firepits and either plunge pools or saltwater pools.

Overwater villas from £777 per night

Maldivification rating? 4/5

Really beautiful and as fabulous as the Maldives, just a different, more rustic feel.

5. Bawah Reserve, Indonesia

A short seaplane-hop north of Singapore, this impressively sustainable resort is spread across six private islands and offers the ultimate Robinson Crusoe experience without skimping on home comforts (except there are no televisions). It has several on-land room categories but also 11 beautiful recycled bamboo overwater bungalows with freestanding copper tubs and decks with daybeds, right on the lagoon.

Overwater bungalows from £1,988 per night

Maldivification rating? 4/5

Every bit as lovely and exotic as the Maldives, it feels a little different, as the bungalows are set just off the shore rather than farther out into the water.

6. Stella Island Luxury Resort & Spa, Analipsi, Crete

This adults-only resort on Crete’s north coast is one of the only places in Europe offering overwater bungalows, although they sit over a large lagoon pool rather than the sea. Each of the simple, stylish, thatched timber bungalows has an expansive veranda with chairs, tables, sunbeds and a hammock, and the grandest version has an outdoor jacuzzi.

Overwater bungalows from about £430

Maldivification rating? 3/5

You’re not over the sea and the villas are close together, so this is probably the least Maldivian in feel. But if you’re young and sociable, it’s a great option for the overwater vibe – and much more affordable.