JA Manafaru stands alone on its own island in Haa Alifu, the northernmost atoll of the Maldives, far from the busy atolls around Malé. You arrive by seaplane, or by domestic flight to Hanimaadhoo and a speedboat. It belongs to JA Resorts & Hotels, whose other hotels are in Dubai and Scotland.
All 84 villas and residences have a private pool and a personal butler. The Beach Villas (200 m²) have a garden terrace with a pool and gazebo and a dining cabana on the sand; the Deluxe Beach and Deluxe Garden Villas (400 m²) add a family-size pool and a separate living room. Over the water, the Water Villas (135 m²) face sunrise or sunset with an infinity pool on the deck. For groups there are interconnecting Beach Villas and three residences, up to the 5,800 m² Royal Beach Residence with three bedrooms, two pools and a spa pavilion.
Breakfast and themed dinners are at Kakuni, Andiamo serves pasta, pizza and gelato beside the Jungle Pool, Ocean Grill puts tables on the sand, White Orchid does Japanese teppanyaki on an overwater terrace, and Veli Bar has cocktails, live music and karaoke. Kuri is a five-course Maldivian dinner for one or two couples in a treehouse, and The Cellar is a wine cellar carved into volcanic rock. There's the Calm Spa Sanctuary in the forest, the CoolZone kids' club, tennis, futsal, an arcade, PADI diving, sailing and windsurfing, cinema under the stars and seasonal manta trips.