This Is The Winter Sun Destination Everyone Will Be Booking
If you’re already thinking about your next escape, let us save you some scrolling. Tucked away in the Baa Atoll region of the Maldives, Amilla offers the perfect antidote to the UK’s bleak winter, all barefoot luxury and turquoise water. Whether you’re planning a family trip or a couples getaway, this is one destination that keeps delivering year after year.
In Partnership With Amilla Maldives
Rooms worth writing home about
Set in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, one of the first things you’ll notice at Amilla is just how much room you have. The resort is built around generous pool villas that feel more like private homes than hotel rooms, giving families and couples alike the freedom to spread out and settle in fully. There’s none of that cramped, stacked-on-top-of-each-other feeling you sometimes get at island resorts. Instead, you get privacy, space and a slower pace that allows you to actually relax and switch off.
A stay at Amilla has gone straight to the top of my travel bucket list. The stunning ocean views paired with the hotel’s impressive dining and activity offerings makes it truly hard to beat.
Amelia, Culture & Lifestyle Writer/Creator
It’s no surprise this has helped Amilla rank among the Maldives’ Best Resorts for Families for three years running. Kids have plenty to keep them entertained, parents get real downtime, and everyone ends up on the same page about wanting to come back.
Sea life right on your doorstep
Some resorts have a pool as their main attraction. Amilla has a house reef that pulls you underwater within minutes of arriving. Just steps from the shore, you’ll find a thriving stretch of coral brimming with reef fish and turtles gliding past. The beauty of this is you don’t need to book a boat trip or travel far to experience the very best wildlife that the Maldives has to offer up close. For anyone who loves the ocean, this alone is reason enough to add Amilla to the shortlist.
A table for every night of your stay
I think we can all agree that a holiday lives or dies on the food, and Amilla understands this better than most, offering no shortage of places to eat.
Between the resort’s restaurants and a run of weekly themed dinners, you could easily stay a fortnight and enjoy a completely different meal every night. Maldivian Night brings authentic local cuisine and tradition to the table, Treasure of the Sea is built around a seafood feast with options for anyone who’d rather skip the shellfish, and the Lobster and Champagne Dinner is exactly the sort of meal that you will be dreaming about long after you’ve returned home. All three offerings are held right on the sand, turning the dinner into an experience that’s hard to forget.
Between the resort’s restaurants and a run of weekly themed dinners, you could easily stay a fortnight and enjoy a completely different meal every night.
Fancy a nightcap or a snack at 2am? The 24-hour-in-villa dining menu pulls together dishes from every restaurant on the island so you’re never far from your next meal. Wine lovers are looked after too, with the resort’s Cellado wine cellar and a resident sommelier running pairing dinners, plus a wine club for anyone keen to learn a bit more before dinner.
Food here isn’t just about eating well either, but rather, it’s tied into the island’s entire community. Local ladies are brought in to host authentic Maldivian dining evenings, giving guests a real taste of the culture while supporting nearby islands directly.
Craftsmen also sell their work during dinner, and a local group performs traditional Maldivian music and dance, so you end up with food, culture and community wrapped into one evening rather than three separate ticks on a checklist.
Activities for every kind of traveller
While many associate the Maldives with complete rest and relaxation, Amilla has plenty on offer for those after a little more adventure. On land, try your hand at tennis, padel and pickleball or opt for a quiet stroll under the island’s banyan trees. At sea, there is an exciting array of activities to get stuck into, from snorkelling vibrant reefs and encountering impressive marine life to sailing across turquoise waters.
While many associate the Maldives with complete rest and relaxation, Amilla has plenty on offer for those after a little more adventure.
Sustainability at the forefront of your stay
Now, all this is one thing, but what really sets Amilla apart is how seriously it takes looking after the place that makes it so special. The resort is EarthCheck certified, IncluCare accredited and part of SLH’s Considerate Collection, with recognition from Forbes Travel Guide to match.
None of that is just for show either. A good chunk of what lands on your plate comes straight from Amilla’s own on-island garden, topped up by partnerships with local farms that keep things homegrown and organic. There’s even a farm-to-table option where you pick ingredients from the garden yourself and hand them to a chef to cook there and then, whether that’s on the beach or in the garden itself. Reef conservation, sustainability and inclusive hospitality run through everything Amilla does, meaning your holiday isn’t just memorable, it’s helping protect Baa Atoll for years to come.
Reef conservation, sustainability and inclusive hospitality run through everything Amilla does, meaning your holiday isn’t just memorable, it’s helping protect Baa Atoll for years to come.
