The JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa opened up in 2019 and has been a stable contender among the many luxurious properties within the archipelago. Yet 6 years later we needed to know if it’s nonetheless on prime of their recreation trigger the competitors in fierce and new resorts are popping up sooner than ever earlier than. Being branded as a household pleasant resort we felt this was the proper event to try it out.
So following our keep at Le Méridien Maldives we flew onwards to the gorgeous JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa. To be clear, this isn’t the brand new JW Marriott Kaafu Atoll Island Resort which equally seems spectacular but remains to be on our ‘to do’ checklist.
The welcome
From the second the doorways of your seaplane open, it feels such as you’re stepping right into a James Bond film and everybody on the island heard about your arrival. Truly a beautiful welcome by a small military of workers that clearly have unlocked the key of being completely happy at work trigger you couldn’t wipe the smile of their face, even when you tried.
The room
We stayed in a duplex seashore pool villa. A mouth full however so is the villa. Tons of house, 2 bedrooms, an higher stage which is sort of a tv-room that may double as an additional bed room in case your husband snores or your spouse is nagging about why it took this lengthy earlier than coming over right here.
From the second you stroll in you’ll discover the practicality of the villa. A large dressing the place you’ll be able to simply retailer all of your baggage, excessive ceilings, 3 loos (there are by no means sufficient when you keep as a household of 4), a great deal of home windows to soak up the verdant gardens and pool surrounding the villa and a giant backyard with a number of seating preparations simply to ensure you and everybody else in your loved ones finds their very own favorite spot within the solar.
The direct seashore entry is in fact perfect however to be truthful, it’s equally enjoyable simply to hold round your individual personal pool and sit back within the privateness of your individual backyard.
The lavatory
The loos are bathing in pure gentle and all of the little toiletries you may consider are at your disposal, thoughtfully introduced in eco-friendly packaging. Bathrobes for everybody, slippers for inside, slippers for outdoor, the checklist goes on and on however suffice to say that every part is effectively taken care of.
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The services
As with many luxurious resorts within the Maldives, there’s a plethora of services on the island, beginning off with the kids-and teenagers membership. Already splitting the 2 is a good way to make everybody completely happy. See, my youngest is 6 and my oldest is 11. While the primary one loves group video games and all that jazz, my oldest feels he’s too cool for that and slightly hangs out between the PS5 and the air hockey desk. Both golf equipment are actually welcoming and it allowed us as mother and father to extend our personal free time considerably.
It’s not exhausting to crack the code of youngsters membership, trigger it all the time comes all the way down to the workers working with the children so as to preserve them entertained and engaged. Still too many resorts preserve pondering that an overload of toys and house will preserve any youngster completely happy, however fortunately JW Marriott bought it proper over right here. Add to {that a} large pirate ship within the backyard, proper subsequent to the pool and you’ve got the proper combo.
So what does a middle-aged couple do after they get some kids-free time on a tropical island? Indeed….first cease is the spa! Spa by JW is right for {couples} that includes 6 couple’s remedy rooms and even a complete deluxe remedy suite. Of course went for the latter, I imply who wouldn’t?! And to be truthful, it was essentially the most spectacular remedy suite I’ve seen and skilled within the Maldives with a plunge pool, superb views exterior, expertise showers, leisure space,….to not point out the therapeutic massage itself which was completely executed.
Next cease? The wine room! JW Marriott Maldives really has a powerful wine assortment with over 300 labels which in a distant location as this, isn’t a given. Lots of alternative from each the outdated and new world. We even discovered wines from the South African wine property the place we bought married, so you’ll be able to already guess which one we picked.
Drinks are nice however what concerning the meals choices? Well, I’m completely happy to report that none of us even remotely remembered what’s was to really feel hungry after we left the resort because the meals is persistently of very top quality. There are 5 completely different eating places starting from Italian and Thai to worldwide and Japanese. Each of them providing a variety of meals choices, and for the children there’s equally an adjusted menu in every outlet which is way appreciated as a mum or dad and sometimes neglected by opponents. My favorite was Hashi, the Japanese restaurant. I immediately felt like I used to be again within the streets of Tokyo, making an attempt out every kind of yummy dishes.
An honourable point out goes to Kasha, the Thai restaurant. Not solely due to the outside kitchen that jogged my memory of the numerous open kitchens in Bangkok, however primarily due to the design of the restaurant. It’s situated on stilts in between the bushes, with small suspension bridges in between, making it really feel like you’re in a real jungle restaurant a number of ft up.
One culinary expertise I haven’t talked about but is the most recent addition Riha. Imagine a sunken eating and kitchen space on the seashore the place you go on a culinary 8-course journey via India. Thanks to the centuries of buying and selling between the Maldives and India, this expertise is one to not be missed. I might counsel making reservations on time trigger seating could be very restricted.
And did I point out the floating breakfast which seemed extra like a floating market because of the quantity of meals that was introduced? It didn’t even match on the floating machine, leading to our entire outside space being coated in essentially the most yummy breakfast unfold I’ve seen in a really very long time.
Let’s speak about how one can attempt to depart not less than of few of all these gathered energy on the island. There’s a fitness center with beautiful views over the lagoon and we noticed an abundance of marine life swimming proper beneath it. Same goes for the yoga deck which is situated close by and the place you’ll be able to follow your downward going through canine within the morning whereas the solar gently rises on the horizon. If you’ll be able to collect a couple of mates, or need to cheat and bribe the teenagers within the teenagers membership, you’ll be able to present your soccer abilities on the sector which is situated proper behind the children membership. And in fact you’ll additionally discover all potential water-sports out there when you’re uninterested in enjoying on land.
All of this makes you thirsty isn’t it? Luckily there’s this cool JW Garden the place you, accompanied by the in-house mixologist, can forage your individual components to create your private cocktail (or cocktail for the children). I actually favored this backyard to glass idea, and it’s a enjoyable exercise for the entire household which ultimately finally ends up with a cocktail in your hand. That’s a win-win in my books!
The location
The JW Marriott Resort & Spa is situated within the Shiviyani atoll, a couple of 90-min flight with the seaplane from Malé. It’s a bit additional than a lot of the different resorts which you fly to BUT….as a result of it’s a little bit extra distant, it additionally feels a little bit bit extra tropical island. Let me clarify.
Most resorts in and round Malé have planes flying over and ships crossing your horizon all day lengthy. I don’t thoughts that, however many individuals do. However, when you go someplace a bit extra distant like this resort, you’ll have countless views with hardly any ships passing via, and the one planes you’ll hear and see are the seaplanes dropping or choosing up visitor which is most a handful of occasions a day.
One last bonus of its location is the truth that you get a barely longer flight on one of many Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) plane, permitting you to soak in among the most beautiful surroundings on the planet without cost. And you get to expertise what might be the one airline on the earth whee the pilots rock up in shorts and slippers.
Other good touches
Another benefit of the extra distant location is the truth that you’ll be able to go on excursions the place few different individuals come. For instance, we went line fishing with the native workers on a dhow close to a abandoned island within the late afternoon. Literally simply 20-Half-hour out, dropping anchor and beginning to fish with some good camaraderie and banter amongst everybody. Experiencing this in such a distant location will not be all the time a given however right here it’s comparatively simple to do.
Best a part of all of it? Whatever we caught can be dropped at the cooks on the island and they’d put together it for us as dinner or lunch, relying in your desire. My son bought fortunate and as a lover of Japanese delicacies he had the perfect sashimi for dinner and lunch because of his large catch, placing me to disgrace in entrance of everybody.
Cost
Surprisingly the fee for staying at this luxurious resort within the Maldives begins from round 470 USD per night time for a 1 bed room seashore pool villa. Of course, taxes, charges and transfers nonetheless must be added (they usually do add up), however for that value you get a stable product in one of the high-end locations on the earth.
Our 2 bed room duplex seashore pool villa begin from round 700 USD per night time with out the taxes, charges and transfers. Of course being a Marriott Bonvoy property you’ll be able to guide an evening right here from as little as 79.000 factors which for my part is a steal!
The greatest bit
The individuals….no query about it. An expertise I’ll cherish was the one throughout our last night the place we organised a seashore dinner and unexpectedly a dozen of workers members got here to deliver our Maldivian feast however stick round to sing and make music underneath the gorgeous night time sky. Simply superb and an absolute deal with for the entire household.
The last verdict
While there’s a new JW Marriott resort simply opened up, the unique one remains to be shining vivid with tons of actions, very spacious and well-appointed villas and a thriving culinary scene. Very household pleasant however completely appropriate for {couples} too.
Disclosure: Our keep was sponsored by JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa.
Kristof Eyckmans
Kristof Eyckmans is a journey author from Antwerp, Belgium. He’s been dwelling all throughout the globe and whereas he loves wildlife and nature, he can nonetheless take pleasure in city jungle.
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