Honest review
Thilamaafushi translates from Dhivehi as "the island surrounded by a wide lagoon" — and that is an honest description of the place. A natural island of nine hectares in the south of Lhaviyani Atoll, it has kept its rich flora and fauna: coral reefs, seagrass meadows and mangrove forests all around.
The resort opened in September 2021: 141 villas and the tone of a French chain with the motto "travel is an art", with the romance and European chic of grand mid-century journeys.
Evenings are staged as a ritual: the weekly Au Soleil sunset gatherings with the chef's canapés and Rosé-based cocktails, hand-made Le Scoop ice cream, an omakase-style dinner in the open pavilion of the Japanese restaurant Tabemasu.
A genre of its own is Bodu Finolhu, the resort's private uninhabited island nearby: a picnic on the ocean shore, a sunset, the stars and, if you wish, a photographer with a drone.
For the curious there is the Thilamaafushi Marine Master's course, created with the resident marine biologist and dive partner Sub Oceanic: modules on mangroves, sea turtles, rays and coral health, adapted to any age.
The island is a 35-minute seaplane flight away. A resort for couples and families for whom the Maldives means more than a sun lounger.
