JOALI Maldives

It’s not easy for a new resort to truly stand out, especially in a destination teeming with some of the most attractive hotels in the world. But Joali managed to do it — indeed, it made a great impression on us, earning a place among the Top Resorts in the Maldives we named as having the real wow factor.

The Maldives is one of our all-time favorite destinations and hearing of new luxury hotel openings in the country always perks our interest. So was the case with Joali, and we couldn’t pass on the opportunity to visit it.

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The essence of luxury

When designing a resort in the Maldives, its creators inevitably come across a problem: how to make it stand out among other top hotels in the country? What to add to the blueprint that others have not thought of before?

So, could a new brand, such as Joali, propose anything different from all the other luxury resorts in the Maldives? Here is a refreshing thing: Joali didn’t much try. Instead, they went for refined simplicity, placing the bet on “getting it right.”

Joali emphasizes the essentials of luxury experience, solid craftsmanship, and service — all honed to perfection. The resort is well built and beautifully designed, it serves terrific food and is staffed with people who care about their work and the experience of their guests. And this, dare we say, is quite enough to create magic.

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Arrival

This magic revealed itself from the moment we stepped to the Joali airport lounge. Here we were treated with a warm welcome, glasses of prosciutto, plenty of snacks, and excellent coffee. And the ambiance was just right. But soon, we were soaring above the intensely blue Indian Ocean on our way to the resort. The seaplane splashed down some distance from the island, docking to a floating platform, and a speedboat then took us to the arrival jetty, only minutes away.

The jetty ends in a mooring platform, placed at the lower end of an extraordinary arrival lounge, which looks more like a contemporary sculpture than a building. Despite comparisons to a “manta ray” or “two fish kissing,” we were happy to think about it as abstract, merely a beautiful thing on its own. The welcome party received us there, and it included our butler, or, as Joali prefers to call them, our Jugadar.

Timeless

If the arrival jetty made one strong impression, our villa made another. The sense of spaciousness, as we entered, was astonishing. From the lounge area to the bedroom, and from the freestanding bathtub in the middle of the bathroom to the sundeck with the absolute beast of a swimming pool, we were simply awed.

The villa’s interior design well complements its show-stopping architecture. The theme is neutral beige-to-brown, but we loved the small details and splashes of color. Ther are salmon pink fabrics, rose copper bathroom fixtures, and the emerald, bamboo-inspired tiles in the outdoor shower. It all creates a sense of timeless elegance.

The Joy of Living

The design of the resort in other parts of the island pulls on different strings of the overarching theme with an emphasis on playfulness in the commissioned art pieces and fun structures. Dinner in a house-sized manta ray, anyone? A photo-op in a bird’s head, weaved out of wicker? You’ve got it.

But this, in a way, is just a decoration. The core of the resort experience is reflected in the vision behind the brand, captured in the “Joy of Living” slogan. For us, this joy came through the service, the atmosphere, and the culinary offering. The other sides of the joie de vivre we found in the extensive water sport activities, and in the beautiful spa, which boasts an extensive menu of treatments and sessions.

As difficult it is to surprise and wow with something that has seemingly been offered before, Joali has pulled the trick. It was our sixth time in the Maldives, and we couldn’t have found a better cap to this latest trip than to end it at a high note, at Joali Maldives.

in our opinion

Quietly fabulous and effortlessly sophisticated, Joali Maldives introduced its own new brand of luxury to a destination that has seen it all. We had a fantastic time here and would return in a heartbeat.

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What we love

• First impressions! Joali gets them right. The airport lounge is a very comfortable space, and it feels like part of the resort, with a tranquil ambiance. Then the welcome jetty is just fantastic, and walking into the villa for the first time beats all (and not only because of the welcome bottle of Ruinart champagne and a set of handmade chocolate and coconut sweets. See below)
• Our water villa was enormous! The spaciousness felt like part of the physical design, contributing to the sense of beauty. We loved the sophisticated interior design as well (by the Istanbul-based studio Autoban). The concept combines Maldivian character and solid craftsmanship with high-tech and contemporary art.
• The villas are equipped with an iPad that gives you control over light, music, AC, and the blinds. You can even program them to open at a selected time (this was great to have at the wake-up time).
• The island is tiny, but it has lush greenery, and many mature trees incorporated into the beach villas rather than cut during the construction. The beach is quite broad in places and extends into a long sandbank near the water villas.
• Every guest is given a stylish bicycle. The bicycles (different “for her and for him”) are old school, as in, you break using the pedals. We loved them!
• The food was one of the highlights for us, especially dinners at the Japanese restaurant Saoke. Not only all of what we had was simply delicious, but it was a fun experience of navigating the unfamiliar menu and creating our own selection of sushi and sashimi. Breakfasts at Vandhoo were another high point every day, with some of the most abundant buffet ever.
• Every member of staff seemed to remember our names, and our own Jadugar (butler, or personal concierge) was always available, always picked up the phone, and always anticipated what we needed.
• The three-bedroom Ocean Residence is the highest category of accommodation. It is a sprawling structure that has two bedrooms, two pools, a spa, and a sauna. Highly indulgent, and with a jaw-dropping night rate. Oh well. Maybe in the next life.

What you should know

• The hotel is well geared towards couples but also families. Families with young children may want to go for the beach residences more than water villas, as it will be a safer option (plus, sand under your feet!).
• Activities in the children’s club include cooking classes, junior spas, treasure hunts, and so on. The resort also has a special semi-submersible for sea life watching, designed to look like a toy submarine.
• There is plenty to do here for adults, too. Water sports include jet-skis, sea bobs, kayaks, paddleboards, and even parasailing and diving. The Joali organizes snorkeling and diving trips to spots more attractive than the island’s immediate shores, but even here there is more fish and sea life than you’d expect from the bleached coral reefs.
• Odd-numbered rooms are on the sunrise and even-numbered rooms on the sunset side. However, the jetty is positioned in a way that ensures uninterrupted sunset views from only a few villas.
• The difference between the water villa standards is not much more than the additional lounge and the size of the outdoor sun deck.
• Some parts of the island suffer from significant erosion, due to strong currents and wet season storms. The resort tries to combat it with artificial wave breaks which is not really working. That said, they rebuild the beach in the low season.
• Joali is one of the most expensive hotels in the Maldives. Rates for the beach villas can go up to $3k per night for the sunset luxury water villas. But, you pay for privacy and exclusivity, which is appreciated by people in the spotlight (we did spot a celebrity).
• The resort has recently announced the launch of a new luxury private branded seaplane, seating up to eight people, for exclusive use by guests to and from Male Airport. This should help to avoid the waiting times associated with standard Maldives seaplanes. Alternatively, there’s is also the option of boarding a regular internal flight to the nearby Ifuru airport. From there the resort is only some 15 minutes away by a speedboat.
• Joali is currently building a second resort, which will be dedicated to wellness. It’s scheduled to open in 2021. (We expect to mention it in our annual Top Hotel Openings feature for that year. Have you seen the 2020 Openings release?)