Naladhu, which means pretty little island, is located on Velighandu Hura, a private Maldives island in South Malé. The resort features 19 houses, each named after a Maldivian plant. Coconut palms, white sand beaches and Indian Ocean coral gardens surround Naladhu.
Each 225 square meter villa has living, dining and bedroom spaces, with glass paneled doors, white clapboard shutters and a white-gabled roof. Maldivian architect Mohammed Shafeeq and Thai-based interior designer Julian Coombs gave Naladhu a colonial-era design, mixed with Sri Lankan elements.
How to get to Naladhu
When guests arrive at Malé International Airport, their personal House Master, a professional butler, welcomes them. They board a private luxury boat and enjoy cocktails, snacks and music on an iPod sound system during the 13-kilometre, half-hour cruise to Naladhu.
Hardwood and antique furniture, such as an early 20th-century writer's desk, furnish the private houses. White-washed wooden wall panels and Indian motifs merge modern facilities with historic décor. Beds have feather mattresses, 300-thread count cotton bed linens and goose-down pillows.
In-room entertainment
Each Naladhu house has an espresso machine, a fridge stocked with foie gras and cheese and a wine cellar pre-stocked with guests' preferred vintages. WiFi is in all rooms. Bose surround-sound theater systems and a large LCD satellite flat-screen TV offer in-room entertainment, along with an iPod and CD player.
Ocean houses feature large terrazzo bathtubs and open-air showers. Enclosed, for privacy, is a personal plunge pool, landscaped garden and large teak sundeck. Outside, there's an infinity pool surrounded by a hardwood deck.
Where to eat at Naladhu
Guests can dine outdoors in The Living Room, overlooking the lagoon. The menu features the chef's daily selection of Asian and Western dishes, complemented with vintages from the restaurant's wine cellar.
Naladhu also offers 24-hour private dining under the stars or in the sun on guests' private terraces. Diners can select from set Thai, Indian, Maldivian and Western dinners. The House Master can arrange champagne breakfasts and villa barbecues, with a private chef.
Outside Naladhu, House Masters can book a sunset cruise and dinner on a local dhoni (Maldivian sailboat) or a meal on the Wave Breaker dining platform over the Indian Ocean. Guests can also escape to a nearby Indian Ocean deserted island for a private beach picnic.
Spa treatments and packages
Guests can enjoy spa therapies like four-hand massages, herbal steams and al fresco floral baths in their rooms, on the deck overlooking the ocean or at a spa on nearby islands in the lagoon.
The Naladhu five-day Spa Journey package includes five nights in a Naladhu Ocean House, daily breakfast and round-trip speed boat airport transfers. Spa treatments include yoga, jet lag massage, his and hers Elemis facials, aloe sun soothers, and pro collagen marine cream applications.
A dhoni transfers participants to the Anantara Spa, across the lagoon, for an Anantara detoxifier treatment and a spa drink at the Aqua Bar. Another day, a Naladhu Roller rickshaw brings spa package participants to the Reflections Spa on BoduHuraa Island for hot stone ginihila therapy, coconut indulgence treatments, yoga and a spa drink at the Dhoni Bar.
The SS Anantara pontoon boat brings guests from Naladhu to the Anantara Spa for an ayurvedic consultation by a certified ayurvedic doctor, a personalized ayurvedic healing ritual and yoga.
Things to do at Naladhu and in the Maldives
Naladhu has a fully equipped air-conditioned fitness center and beachfront lap pool. House Masters can arrange windsurfing, kayaking, snorkeling, deep-sea fishing, sailing to deserted islands and seaplane flights. Guests travel by motorboat to Malé, the capital city, for shopping or take an underwater dive trip or diving course with the Naladhu PADI Dive Center team.
