JA Manafaru

We stayed at this wonderful location from December 21, 2025, to January 4, 2026. The island is breathtakingly beautiful, with fantastically well-maintained and naturally grown surroundings. Every morning, the paths and the beach are cleaned and perfectly prepared. We stayed in a Sunset Water Villa on the 200 side. From the spacious bed, you have a direct view of the ocean. The terrace and private pool are not visible from the beach, offering complete privacy. Access to the crystal-clear sea is via a staircase directly from the terrace. The beautiful and generously designed villas are cleaned twice daily by housekeeping. If you have any concerns or need assistance, the concierge is always happy to help. The entire resort staff is extremely friendly and helpful. The Christmas and New Year celebrations were planned with great attention to detail and were an unforgettable experience in the midst of this stunning natural setting.

A family heaven where your personal assistance keeps you tuned to life at the resort and makes the life easier for you! Her name is Farah and she was an angel for me during my stay. Location is a bit far as it is the farest island and the seaplane took almost 2 hours. The island must be one of the most natural islands with 7 big Banyan Trees which have their own stories. There was wind most of the times and the sea was raugh. İt rained also a few days but the wheather was still admirable with palm trees and the sand was pure white and silky. I got sick and never felt alone aith the help of my personal assistant Farah helped me for everything from my departure, flight organizations, doctors, everydays’ special dinner rezervations, spa arrangements and everything she was like a sister, with perfext organisation skills. Thank you so much Farah!!!

If I had to sum it up in one line: we arrived thinking the Maldives might be boring — and left after one of the best family vacations of our lives. And that’s entirely thanks to JA Manafaru! First impressions matter — and they nailed it. From the moment we landed in Male, everything felt effortless. Hotel representatives met us at the airport, guided us through the journey, and that feeling of being taken care of never stopped — right up to check-in for our flight home. Arriving by seaplane was a moment in itself. At the pier we were welcomed by the general manager and his team with smiles, waving hands, cold coconuts, and icy towels. Exactly what you want after a long journey. We stayed in an overwater villa, and it was perfect. Btw, choose odd-numbered villas (501, 503, etc.) for more privacy, quieter evenings, sunrise and sunset views. The opposite side faces restaurants and a bar, where music can be heard at night. We were genuinely impressed by the service. Housekeeping twice a day: you come back from breakfast — the villa is spotless, you return from dinner — a cool room, treats waiting for you. The staff are genuinely warm, attentive, and always ready to help. As for activities: it's impossible to get bored :) If you did 3–4 activities per day, you still wouldn’t manage to do everything in 8 days. Traditional sea fishing — we caught around 20 red snappers plus a few other fish. Dolphins — not once, but twice, swimming right next to the boat. Snorkeling: two piers packed with fish, starfish, and reef sharks, direct access to the ocean from every overwater villa, even near the shore: crabs, hermit crabs, starfish everywhere. Perfect for families: evening walks along the beach with a flashlight. The number of crabs is insane — from tiny ones to huge 10–15 cm giants. Kids were thrilled. Don’t miss the stingray pier in the evening — hunting fish, reef sharks almost every night, and we even spotted stingrays a couple of times. A surprise highlight. JA Manafaru is home to the first and only underground cellar in the Maldives. The collection is seriously impressive. Even if you’re not a wine lover — the tour alone is worth it. Food that's worth traveling for. We tried every restaurant on the island — and every single one delivered. Kakuni — excellent breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The Pad Thai is shockingly close to what you get in Thailand. Andiamo — great pizza and pasta. Even if your favourite pasta isn’t on the menu, the chefs will happily make it. Bonus: a large pool nearby where kids have a blast. Ocean Grill — unforgettable "Live Lobster" dinner. With Roberto’s help, we actually caught our own lobster. Yes, it’s fun. Very fun. White Orchid — this one deserves bold letters. Sushi, sashimi, crab, mango salad, incredible flavours everywhere. Hands down the best lunch of my life. New Year’s Eve — that was huge! Celebrating New Year here deserves its own paragraph. The Gala Dinner was unreal: sushi, sashimi, lobster, crab, king prawns, red and black caviar, fresh tuna, fish, meat, perfectly cooked steaks (pro tip: skip lunch that day and save your appetite ;) Final thoughts: JA Manafaru is an island where boredom doesn’t exist, food becomes a memory, and service feels effortless. We traveled as a big family and left truly happy. And yes — we’re already hoping to come back ☺️

Dear Roberto (General Manager) and all of your fantastic team, The Salvi family spent 10 nights with you over Christmas and the New year 2025/2026 and had the most wonderful time in your beautiful resort. The island location in the very north of the Maldives was well worth the extra travel time via sea plane. You don't really notice the time as you look down at turquoise and marine blue waters and numerous islands on the way. Our International flight was delayed 2 hours and from the moment I informed you, arrangements were made by your transfer team to ensure that a sea plane was waiting for us to take us to the resort without a minutes delay. What a really reassuring start to our holiday. For those worried that JA Manafaru only has two sea planes a day, as we did when we booked, please do not be as they showed great flexibility. On arrival at the resort plane jetty, which by the way is strategically positioned away from all water villas, we were met by the General Manager and all of his senior team waving at us with big smiles and a refreshment. The warmth we felt immediately from them all was an indication of what was to follow. House reef - there were plenty enough fish to keep us excited and we swam with a sea turtle on the majority of days we snorkelled. We spotted large sting rays, octopus, squid, very large nursing sharks (from the jetty at night in the lights) and dolphins passing by the island on two occasions. There was enough live coral and signs of regeneration to give me confidence that the plans the hotel have put in place to assist nature will be successful. We stayed in the 500 series over water villas with plunge pool and most days snorkelled directly from there with the reef wall within a minutes swim. Food & Beverages - we were on a full board package and the food in every restaurant exceeded our expectations. We were very impressed from the Maldivian cuisine, Arabian food and the freshly caught yellow fin tuna that the Maldives is World famous for. Mahi Mahi is my new grilled fish of choice !. Unlike some resorts with multiple restaurant options where you need to use their App to book ahead with disappointment often, we never had a day go by where we couldn't eat where we wanted to. We tend to drink wine by the glass on holiday and whilst I found a decent white wine, I would ask the hotel to look at their rose and red wine and maybe put a blush Provence option on the menu. We also would have appreciated the white/rose and beer to be chilled more before serving (a minor detail) in such a hot climate. Spa - the spa was excellent and my wife and kids made lip balm, bath soaks and scrubs using natural ingredients. Room - we were delighted with our over water villa and the extra room compared to many other resorts meant that our 8 and 11 year olds had their beds away from our bed albeit in the same open space layout. The glass bottom floor in their part was fun. The outdoor shower and toilet were private and well thought out. We wondered if we should book a sunrise or sunset villa but in the end were happy with our choice. If on the northern side (with the longer stretch of water villas in the 500 series), we would recommend one further away from the island for a view of the very close 'desert' island opposite as that is a nice view to have.We were the sixth villa along. Or villa was cleaned twice a day but never at an inconvenient time - thank you Ishan. Island - the landscaping was mature, well maintained and allowed us to cylce around under a much welcome shaded canopy. There was plenty of white, sandy beach to walk on with easy access to the sea with hardly any small bits of coral, meaning you could swim bare footed. My daughter loved feeding the resident rabbits opposite the kids club. Atmosphere - as we were there over the Christmas and New Year, there was a brilliant atmosphere created by Roberto and his staff and the resort really made sure that all their guests had a great time, including children. The gala dinners were truly spectaular with so much thought and effort put into them. The food choice was excellent with something for everyone. The NYE party was so much fun with a fire work display seeing in the New Year. Staff - I wanted to dedicate the last part of my review to all of the staff who made our holiday this Christmas so memorable. They were genuinely interested in chatting to us, were so kind to our kids, and showed the highest levels of professionalism, service and experience in looking after us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It was so nice to see them celebrating with all of the guests at midnight on NYE. They certainly created a feeling that we were all one big family which I am sure doesn't happen often and must be incredibly difficult to achieve. THANK YOU JA MANAFARU !

We stayed at JA Manafaru for 10 nights for our honeymoon. This was our first time to the Maldives and I spent considerable time researching resorts, picking Manafaru predominantly due to the reputation for good food, and also a more traditional Maldives experience, given its more remote location and natural landscape. After extensive research, and being our first trip for a special occasion, we had very high expectations. And I can say these were expectations were exceeded. Transfers by seaplane were easy. Service at the airport and lounge was amazing. The 75 min journey flies by while you are watching the beautiful islands out the window. The journey is definitely worth it to reach such a beautiful island. The island itself is beautiful. Everywhere you look there is a stunning view, and they still take your breath away even after 10 days. The beaches are stunning and the sea is a bright clear blue, and I don't believe there are any sea defences, walls, sandbags etc (we didn't see any). The island is so remote that the night sky is also truly stunning with so little light pollution. There is lots of natural vegetation across the island too. The decor is very traditional island feel which we personally loved, it felt really authentic and relaxed. We had an over water sunset villa in the 200s (208). This is the quieter side of the island away from most of the restaurants (the jetty without the two bed ocean residence on it), and I would recommend for couples who don't mind walking or cycling a bit further to the restaurants as I think the beach on this side of the island is the most picturesque, and it felt more private and quiet. The villa itself is stunning. It feels so private, we never heard our neighbours and we only really saw our neighbours when they were quite far out in the sea, and even then, they cannot see up into your villa. It is very spacious, the bathroom is great with the open air toilet and shower, and bath with sea views. The mini bar has around 8 soft drinks, 3 bottles of water, 4 beers and 4 bottles of wine, and some snacks that are restocked daily. The food is truly exceptional. We are foodies and good dining experiences are very important to us and we were not disappointed. Every restaurant is great for different reasons, the ocean grill for fresh fish and to eat with toes in the sand, a more romantic over water setting at white orchid and we especially loved the theme nights at Kakuni. Pizzas at the Italian for lunch were also delicious with a nice relaxed atmosphere. We also did the teppanyaki experience which is well worth it for both the food and Cipriano's entertaining! We also had a night in the wine cellar which was an unforgettable experience. The staff are amazing. Special shout outs to Ashraf, Sharalyn, Pranita, Coco and our villa housekeeping. However all the staff were great, really friendly and accommodating, we learnt a lot about the Maldives and the local islands from our conversations, and you can really tell how much they enjoy their jobs on the island. Communications with our butler was super easy via WhatsApp and all of our messages and requests were answered promptly. We also noticed that the General Manager, or another senior member of staff would make sure to check in with us at meal times at least once a day, which was appreciated. We did a few activities, including jet skis which was great fun (we went over to the castaway island), stand up paddle boards and the sunset dolphin cruise which was truly an amazing experience, incredibly moving and special to see so many dolphins in their natural habitat. We also snorkelled around the island and saw lots of fish without going too far out. One point to note on the All Inclusive package - there are dishes and drinks in each outlet that are additional charge. Personally, we found that there was a sufficient amount of included dishes and drinks and we only spent around $200 on extras our entire stay (a lobster, and a few starters). There is one or two white, red, rose and sparkling wines, two beer brands, 3/4 cocktails and a full list of premium spirits included. However, if you like particular wines/beers/cocktails, it is something to factor in to your decision, either to add additional cost, or go elsewhere. Menus are on the website so you can be informed before you go. Overall this island is absolute paradise and I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone. We did not want to leave and we will certainly be returning. JA Manafaru is now a very special place to us.