Discreet nods to local culture include lacquerware on the walls, an undhoalhi (swinging daybed) by the pool in each villa, and candy-colored front doors modeled on those of native homes.
Barefoot luxury takes on a distinctly Maldivian flavor at this 50-villa island.
Barefoot luxury takes on a distinctly Maldivian flavor at this 50-villa island in the UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve of Baa Atoll. Discreet nods to local culture include lacquerware on the walls, an undhoalhi (swinging daybed) by the pool in each villa, and candy-colored front doors modeled on those of native homes. Less subtle but entirely welcoming is Ba’theli, a modern-Maldivian restaurant and lounge set above the lagoon in a trio of faux fishing boats. In the afternoons, the teardrop-shaped isle seems cloaked in silence with its guests out on excursions to nearby Hanifaru Bay, at yoga sessions on a nearby sandbar, or being pampered in the overwater spa. Later hours bring champagne and sundowners in the sand-floored Compass Pool Bar, or in-villa evenings of room-service meals designed to promote good sleep with dips in those large private pools, whose floors light up with LED stars at dusk.
960/660-0484; Milaidhoo Island, Baa Atoll; doubles from US$1,900
This article originally appeared in the October/November 2017 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“The Luxe List 2017: Milaidhoo Island, Baa Atoll”).
