A private island at the far north of the Maldives where every villa has its own pool, with seven places to eat, including a treehouse and a wine cellar carved into volcanic rock.
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.
Rates start at about $860 a night for two with breakfast, and the resort doesn't publish its transfer times or prices. The house reef isn't described on the resort's own website.
Among tropical greenery steps from the sand: a lounge opening onto a garden terrace with a private pool and shaded gazebo, a bathtub and walk-in rain shower, and a dining cabana on the beach. Two adults and a child under 12, plus an infant.
Super king bed
On the beachfront among gardens, with a garden terrace and a family-size pool, a separate bedroom and living room, a deep freestanding bathtub and a private beach cabana. Two adults and two children under 12, plus an infant.
Super king bed
Set in tropical gardens, with a terrace, a family-size pool and sun deck, a separate bedroom and living room and a freestanding bathtub. Two adults and two children under 12, plus an infant.
Super king bed
Over the lagoon, facing either the sunrise or the sunset, with a private infinity pool on the sundeck and a bathtub; the Sunset Water Villas also have a glass floor and direct access to the sea. Two adults and a child under 12, plus an infant.
Super king bed
Two beachfront villas joined into one, each with its own pool and cabana, so a family or friends can share space and still have privacy. Four adults and two children under 12, plus two infants.
Overwater at the far end of the island's longest pier, with floor-to-ceiling windows, open-air bathrooms with couple-size bathtubs, and a deck with a family-size infinity pool, a cabana and direct access to the ocean. Four adults and two children under 12, plus two infants.
King beds
A two-storey residence whose living room opens onto an infinity pool with daybeds, plus a second pool and gazebo on the main suite's terrace, open-air bathrooms, a private sauna and an upstairs lounge with a balcony. Four adults and two children under 12, plus two infants.
King beds
A two-level beachfront residence on 5,800 m², which the resort calls the largest three-bedroom beach residence in the Maldives: an infinity pool off the living room, a second pool and gazebo for the main suite, and a spa pavilion with steam room and sauna. Six adults and three children under 12, plus two infants.
King beds
The same resort and the same villa, booked through people who live here.
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Breakfast buffets, international lunches and weekly theme nights, from a Maldivian feast to an Asian street night and a seafood barbecue
Handmade pasta, wood-fired pizza and homemade gelato, 11am to 6pm
Seafood from local fishermen, grilled meats and vegetarian dishes for dinner
Contemporary Japanese and teppanyaki
A five-course Maldivian dinner for one or two couples, with a slide to get down afterwards
Private dining with rare wines, by reservation only
Cocktails, wines, kombucha and tonics, with live music and karaoke in the evening, 5pm to midnight
Restorative therapies and Maldivian healing traditions, plus complimentary yoga classes
Kids' club with crafts, stories and games
PADI-guided dives in Haa Alifu Atoll, plus kayaking, sailing, windsurfing and wake sports
Tennis, futsal, an arcade, cycling, cinema under the stars, cooking classes, dolphin cruises, fishing, visits to Utheemu and seasonal manta trips
The shape comes from OpenStreetMap, simplified: a guide to the layout, not a survey. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
By seaplane from Malé, or by domestic flight to Hanimaadhoo and then a speedboat. The resort doesn't publish journey times; travel sites give 70 to 90 minutes by seaplane.
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