Assessment: JW Marriott Resort & Spa, Maldives

The JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa opened up in 2019 and has been a stable contender among the many luxurious properties within the archipelago. But 6 years later we needed to know if it’s nonetheless on high of their recreation trigger the competitors in fierce and new resorts are popping up sooner than ever earlier than. Being branded as a household pleasant resort we felt this was the right event to check it out.

So following our keep at Le Méridien Maldives we flew onwards to the gorgeous JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa. To be clear, this isn’t the brand new JW Marriott Kaafu Atoll Island Resort which equally appears to be like spectacular but continues to be on our ‘to do’ listing.

The welcome

From the second the doorways of your seaplane open, it feels such as you’re stepping right into a James Bond film and everybody on the island heard about your arrival. Really a beautiful welcome by a small military of workers that clearly have unlocked the key of being joyful at work trigger you couldn’t wipe the smile of their face, even when you tried.

The room

We stayed in a duplex seashore pool villa. A mouth full however so is the villa. Tons of area, 2 bedrooms, an higher degree which is sort of a tv-room that may double as an additional bed room in case your husband snores or your spouse is nagging about why it took this lengthy earlier than coming over right here.

From the second you stroll in you’ll discover the practicality of the villa. A large dressing the place you may simply retailer all of your baggage, excessive ceilings, 3 loos (there are by no means sufficient when you keep as a household of 4), a great deal of home windows to soak up the verdant gardens and pool surrounding the villa and a giant backyard with a number of seating preparations simply to be sure to and everybody else in your loved ones finds their very own favorite spot within the solar.

The direct seashore entry is in fact superb however to be truthful, it’s equally enjoyable simply to hold round your personal non-public pool and relax within the privateness of your personal backyard.

The toilet

The loos are bathing in pure gentle and all of the little toiletries you may consider are at your disposal, thoughtfully offered in eco-friendly packaging. Bathrobes for everybody, slippers for inside, slippers for outdoor, the listing goes on and on however suffice to say that all the things is nicely taken care of.

The services

As with many luxurious resorts within the Maldives, there’s a plethora of services on the island, beginning off with the kids-and teenagers membership. Already splitting the 2 is an effective way to make everybody joyful. See, my youngest is 6 and my oldest is 11. Whereas the primary one loves group video games and all that jazz, my oldest feels he’s too cool for that and somewhat hangs out between the PS5 and the air hockey desk. Each golf equipment are actually welcoming and it allowed us as dad and mom to extend our personal free time considerably.

It’s not laborious to crack the code of children membership, trigger it all the time comes all the way down to the employees working with the youngsters in an effort to maintain them entertained and engaged. Nonetheless too many resorts maintain considering that an overload of toys and area will maintain any baby joyful, however fortunately JW Marriott bought it proper over right here. Add to {that a} large pirate ship within the backyard, proper subsequent to the pool and you’ve got the right combo.

So what does a middle-aged couple do after they get some kids-free time on a tropical island? Certainly….first cease is the spa! Spa by JW is right for {couples} that includes 6 couple’s therapy rooms and even a complete deluxe therapy suite. After all went for the latter, I imply who wouldn’t?! And to be truthful, it was essentially the most spectacular therapy suite I’ve seen and skilled within the Maldives with a plunge pool, wonderful views outdoors, expertise showers, rest space,….to not point out the therapeutic massage itself which was completely executed.

Subsequent cease? The wine room! JW Marriott Maldives actually has a powerful wine assortment with over 300 labels which in a distant location as this, isn’t a given. A number of alternative from each the outdated and new world. We even discovered wines from the South African wine property the place we bought married, so you may already guess which one we picked.

Drinks are nice however what concerning the meals choices? Properly, I’m joyful to report that none of us even remotely remembered what’s was to really feel hungry once we left the resort because the meals is persistently of very top quality. There are 5 completely different eating places starting from Italian and Thai to worldwide and Japanese. Every of them providing a variety of meals choices, and for the youngsters there’s equally an adjusted menu in every outlet which is way appreciated as a father or mother and sometimes ignored by opponents. My favorite was Hashi, the Japanese restaurant. I immediately felt like I used to be again within the streets of Tokyo, making an attempt out all types of yummy dishes.

An honourable point out goes to Kasha, the Thai restaurant. Not solely due to the out of doors kitchen that jogged my memory of the numerous open kitchens in Bangkok, however primarily due to the design of the restaurant. It’s situated on stilts in between the timber, with small suspension bridges in between, making it really feel like you’re in a real jungle restaurant a number of ft up.

One culinary expertise I haven’t talked about but is the latest addition Riha. Think about a sunken eating and kitchen space on the seashore the place you go on a culinary 8-course journey by way of India. Because of the centuries of buying and selling between the Maldives and India, this expertise is one to not be missed. I might recommend making reservations on time trigger seating may be very restricted.

And did I point out the floating breakfast which appeared extra like a floating market because of the quantity of meals that was offered? It didn’t even match on the floating machine, leading to our complete out of doors space being lined in essentially the most yummy breakfast unfold I’ve seen in a really very long time.

Let’s discuss how one can attempt to go away at the very least of few of all these gathered energy on the island. There’s a health club with beautiful views over the lagoon and we noticed an abundance of marine life swimming proper beneath it. Identical goes for the yoga deck which is situated close by and the place you may observe your downward going through canine within the morning whereas the solar gently rises on the horizon. If you happen to can collect just a few associates, or wish to cheat and bribe the kids within the teenagers membership, you may present your soccer abilities on the sector which is situated proper behind the youngsters membership. And naturally you’ll additionally discover all doable water-sports accessible when you’re bored with enjoying on land.

All of this makes you thirsty isn’t it? Fortunately there’s this cool JW Backyard the place you, accompanied by the in-house mixologist, can forage your personal substances to create your private cocktail (or cocktail for the youngsters). I actually appreciated this backyard to glass idea, and it’s a enjoyable exercise for the entire household which ultimately finally ends up with a cocktail in your hand. That’s a win-win in my books!

The situation

The JW Marriott Resort & Spa is situated within the Shiviyani atoll, a few 90-min flight with the seaplane from Malé. It’s a bit additional than many of the different resorts which you fly to BUT….as a result of it’s a little bit extra distant, it additionally feels just a little bit extra tropical island. Let me clarify.

Most resorts in and round Malé have planes flying over and ships crossing your horizon all day lengthy. I don’t thoughts that, however many individuals do. Nonetheless, when you go someplace a bit extra distant like this resort, you’ll have infinite views with hardly any ships passing by way of, and the one planes you’ll hear and see are the seaplanes dropping or selecting up visitor which is most a handful of instances a day.

One last bonus of its location is the truth that you get a barely longer flight on one of many Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) plane, permitting you to soak in a few of the most beautiful surroundings on the planet free of charge. And also you get to expertise what might be the one airline on the planet whee the pilots rock up in shorts and slippers.

Different good touches

One other benefit of the extra distant location is the truth that you may go on excursions the place few different folks come. For instance, we went line fishing with the native employees on a dhow close to a abandoned island within the late afternoon. Actually simply 20-Half-hour out, dropping anchor and beginning to fish with some good camaraderie and banter amongst everybody. Experiencing this in such a distant location is just not all the time a given however right here it’s comparatively straightforward to do.

Greatest a part of all of it? No matter we caught can be dropped at the cooks on the island and they might put together it for us as dinner or lunch, relying in your desire. My son bought fortunate and as a lover of Japanese delicacies he had one of the best sashimi for dinner and lunch because of his large catch, placing me to disgrace in entrance of everybody.

Price

Surprisingly the fee for staying at this luxurious resort within the Maldives begins from round 470 USD per evening for a 1 bed room seashore pool villa. After all, taxes, charges and transfers nonetheless should be added (and so they do add up), however for that worth you get a stable product in one of the crucial high-end locations on the planet.

Our 2 bed room duplex seashore pool villa begin from round 700 USD per evening with out the taxes, charges and transfers. After all being a Marriott Bonvoy property you may ebook an evening right here from as little as 79.000 factors which for my part is a steal!

The most effective bit

The folks….no query about it. An expertise I’ll cherish was the one throughout our last night the place we organised a seashore dinner and rapidly a dozen of employees members got here to deliver our Maldivian feast however stick round to sing and make music beneath the gorgeous evening sky. Merely wonderful and an absolute deal with for the entire household.

The ultimate verdict

Whereas there’s a new JW Marriott resort simply opened up, the unique one continues to be shining shiny with tons of actions, very spacious and well-appointed villas and a thriving culinary scene. Very household pleasant however completely appropriate for {couples} too.

Disclosure: Our keep was sponsored by JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa.

Kristof Eyckmans

Kristof Eyckmans is a journey author from Antwerp, Belgium. He’s been dwelling all throughout the globe and whereas he loves wildlife and nature, he can nonetheless get pleasure from city jungle.