Four Seasons Kuda Huraa is a private island in North Malé Atoll, about 25 minutes from Malé by speedboat. It opened in 1998 and reopened in 2006, and its design takes after a Maldivian village, with thatched roofs, timber floors and lattice panels. Its 96 villas, 60 on the beach and 36 over the water, come with their own pools. There's no house reef off the beach, so snorkelling is by boat, on shark and turtle safaris; the island is better known for surfing, with Tropicsurf teaching guests from age six and taking them to six breaks nearby, and it hosts the Four Seasons Surfing Champions Trophy each year.
Sizes here are indoor space; most villas have as much again outside or more. On the island, the Garden Pavilions with Pool (46 m²) are the simplest, the Deluxe Beach Pavilions (55 m²) sit steps from the sand with an infinity-edge plunge pool, and the Beach Villas with Pool (63 m²) and Family Beach Villas (75 m²), on the sunrise or sunset side, are set in big gardens with pools of about 285 m². Over the water, the Water Villas with Pool (70 m²) and Family Water Villas (91 m²) suit couples and young families, and the two- and three-bedroom Water Suites (165 and 240 m²) take bigger groups. The Three-Bedroom Kuda Estate, a reimagined royal villa with 467 m² inside, its own beach and a 139 m² infinity pool, is the flagship.
Café Huraa is the all-day restaurant and main breakfast spot, looking over the infinity pool, with Maldivian curried lobster as a signature. Baraabaru serves Indian food in a Kerala-inspired building over the lagoon, Reef Club is Italian on the beach, and Kandu Grill cooks seafood and meat by the shore, with a Maldivian barbecue night on Fridays. The Poolside Bar has a swim-up bar, and the Sunset Lounge serves cocktails at dusk. The spa, ŪRJĀ Naturopathy Island, sits on its own islet two minutes away by boat, with seven treatment pavilions that have portals in the floor to watch the sea below; there's also a PADI dive centre, a Marine Discovery Centre and the Kuda Koamas Kids' Club.