Velaa Private Island

I can only be a bore and repeat what I have written before - Velaa is absolutely wonderful. The landscape, buildings, villas, facilities, food, boats, beaches, gym, spa, sports are all built and run to the highest levels, staffed by the most welcoming and professional people and superbly maintained. Our fifth annual visit was again a highlight of our year thanks to all these high standards. All the staff welcoming one and clearly even those we never have interacted with know that we are ‘regulars’ to other colleagues. At Velaa the management team greet you on arrival and gently appear throughout your stay as they want to know how your visit is going. You are managed by a butler - in our case Muiz again, thank you, lucky us - who is a total star with levels of consideration that we recognise as outstanding. Normally a hotel doesn’t have the staff gently keeping an eye on everything, co-ordinating all our needs, requests and activities. We have that at home and hugely appreciate it at Velaa. Return guests are a huge feature of this island’s visitors and that tells you something good about Velaa doesn’t it ? This year I asked if someone could teach me padel and in typical Velaa fashion I found that padel, tennis and several other racquet sports have four young professionals present who have all had outstanding international competitive careers. The high international standards brought to this island I have to write yet again are so clearly a tribute to the owner and management. My diving was wonderful with the great instructor Beybe but also with superb boatmen on every outing and boats indulgently-equipped and scrupulously well-maintained. I wish there was another Velaa in another part of the world that showed as much appreciation and affection for its’ location as this island shows its devotion to the Maldives and the Maldivian people.

Velaa delivers an incredible sense of privacy and intuitive service where every detail feels personally tailored. The island’s boutique scale, world-class cuisine, and unique experiences — from the snow room to the exceptional spa — make it truly unforgettable.

We recently returned from a holiday with the family at Velaa and we had the most amazing time, and one of the best family holidays ever! It surpassed all expectations. Where to start about what made it so great? Firstly it was the outstanding level of service we received. The island is, we understand, the owner's passion project and that truly shines through. The staff all seem to share the passion he has for the island and many have been with the island since its inception, and this gives it such immense heart and soul and makes it fairly unique (although we have stayed at Nihi Sumba, where this was also the case and had an impact). The butlers, Ess Ess and Naufal were impeccable, they sensed our every need, but were discreet and just a joy to be with. The villas were beautiful and their place on the lagoon ideal. Being able to have sun, shade and easy access to the water was perfect. They took great care to place the family in villas next door to each other, which made a great difference. The views from every room were idyllic and being able to open all the doors to feel at one with the lagoon outside was very special. Swimming in the lagoon and the good sized villa pool were such a luxurious way to start every day. What also deserves special mention was the activities. My sons are both passionate about golf and the Velaa practice course was a huge reason behind the booking. They were not disappointed and absolutely loved it. Gavin, the golf pro was amazing and my son said he had learned more in the one hour lesson he had with Gavin than from all the many lessons he had in the UK. Gavin instantly saw the flaws in his technique that needed fixing.My sons would start most days with an hour on the course. Other activities were also great- the water sports- they tried out all the fun stuff and the tennis and padel facilities were first class. Tomas the tennis instructor drilled down into my son's game and gave him some incredibly useful tips for improvement. The spa facilities were amazing with so many new adventurous treatments to try. Great massages and some fun was had trying out the dream pod. I can't think of many activities they didn't offer, although if they could fit in a surf simulator that would be amazing! The food was incredible, so much choice with specialised chefs for each international cuisine. Possibly the tepenyaki was a bit expensive for the experience and the venue for it could be a bit more scenic, when you are in it. It would be possible to eat at the main restaurant Athiri (our favourite) every night without getting bored, given the wide selection of foods on offer. We had a little tour of the staff facilities and it was so heartening to see that they have really great facilities too! It is a very beautiful island and it is impossible not to fall in love with it, with the biggest single factor in its favour being its authenticity and how it radiates a desire to make sure you have the very best holiday of your lives- which makes it really difficult not to!

We have been there four years running, every January, and we are already booked to go again next year. We just love it, and it is faultless!!! Staff, food, service, spa, sports, even the magnificent gardens, all is exceptionally high quality and exceptionally well run!!! It's expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for, i.e. the Very Best!! Even if I wanted to be picky and difficult (.... which I normally can be), Velaa is just faultless! Thank you to all the management and staff, for giving us some very special memories over the years!

We had a chance to stay at Velaa after having stayed at another resort in the same atoll; couldn’t help but to compare those 2 resorts since the villa designs were very different which had made this trip quite exciting. We stayed at the Beach Pool Villa (villa 10) that I believe has the widest view of the ocean which I love. The pool in the villa was not big considering that it’s a 2-bedroom villa; the villa was also not spacious but thoughtfully designed with high quality furniture and decor. We love the island, it’s so mesmerizing! The landscaping was so beautiful and when we biked around the island, we could smell the wonderful scent coming from the different kinds of vegetation grown there. Also loved the golf course! What let us down was the lack of attentive service we encountered; definitely this was not what we expected from an ultra luxury resort. Also there’s no poolside service in this resort, on day 2 my daughter & I decided to check out the main pool, nobody approached us to offer the usual poolside amenities; then on day 3, the four of us decided to hang out at the main pool again, sat at the outdoor dining table, nobody from either Avi or Tavari came to ask if we needed anything. My husband then had to approach the staff to order drinks. On the positive note, our butler, Yasir, was amazing. He made sure that we’re comfortable throughout our stay, and he was genuinely very kind & polite, and always had a smile on his face. Thank you so much!