Jumeirah Vittaveli

"Eighty-nine suites and villas lace the slender island of Bolifushi Island, accessible via a 20-minute boat ride from Malé. Sunken treasures, blooming coral, and clown fish weave their way through the calm waters that surround the resort, which might make you feel you have a starring role in Castaway (there are only three inhabited islands here), with arguably the best diving center north of the equator. Families and wellness seekers will feel at home here: the resort has one of the largest children’s club in the Maldives, with activities ranging from pizza-making to painting coconut shells and the spa team makes its own sheer, pure coconut oil. Villas, with their hedonistic private “L”-shaped swimming pools, semi-open showers and curvaceous wooden sunbeds, are the way to wing it. Don’t pass up a chance to dine at Swarna, an Indian beachside restaurant that opened in late 2015, with traditional thalis that make second helpings a given."