A lively all-inclusive island 15 minutes from the airport, with an underwater restaurant and a big kids club.
Ailafushi opened in 2022 on a newly built island in North Malé Atoll, 15 minutes by speedboat from the airport. 'Aila' means family in Dhivehi, and the resort is built around that: a busy, social place with a pool bar, live music most nights and a kids club over several floors with its own pool and arcade.
There are 268 rooms and villas in four types. Most numerous are the 106 Water Villas, shaped like a dhoni and reached along a jetty, followed by beach villas with garden showers, compact duplex Ocean View Rooms and two-bedroom family rooms with a bunk-bed room for children.
Every stay is on the all-inclusive Fushi Plan: buffet dining at Element X, house spirits, beer and wine, an evening cocktail fountain, the minibar, snorkelling gear and the speedboat transfer. Only BLU, which the resort calls the largest underwater restaurant in the Maldives, sits 6.8 metres below the surface and is charged separately.
This is a busy, lively resort with live music and a lot of children in school holidays, not a quiet hideaway. The island is newly built and the resort doesn't advertise a house reef, so snorkelling and diving mean boat trips; Only BLU and the Copper Pot food truck cost extra.
The entry rooms: duplex-style rooms set back from the shore, with a window seat, a balcony or veranda with a daybed, and ocean views.
King bed
Steps from the sand, with a garden veranda and daybed, wooden floors and a semi-open bathroom with an outdoor rain shower.
King bed
The most common villa here, 106 of them: shaped like a dhoni, reached by jetty, with a private deck and steps down into the lagoon.
King bed
Two bedrooms and two bathrooms near the kids club: a master bedroom linked to a storybook-style children's room with bunk beds.
King bed, and bunk beds in the children's room
The same resort and the same villa, booked through people who live here.
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All-day buffet with international, Indian Ocean and South-East Asian stations, live cooking and self-service drinks
Modern gourmet menus in a horseshoe-shaped dining room 6.8 metres under the sea; charged separately
Seafood and meat grills from a food truck, with wine pairings; charged separately
Main bar with an infinity pool, games on the upper deck, and a DJ or live band every evening
The island's shopping street, with a café, sweets and a wine boutique
Two-storey spa with four couples' rooms, four single rooms, a beauty salon and an ocean-view thermal area
Multi-level kids club with a pool, a game arcade and a buffet area for children
The shape comes from OpenStreetMap, simplified: a guide to the layout, not a survey. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
About 15 minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, and the round trip is included in the Fushi Plan.
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All-inclusive
Premium all-inclusive