A Private Paradise

The newest luxury retreat to open in the Maldives, Hurawalhi offers a blissfully adults-only respite from the urban coalface.

- Nick Walton

If you haven’t been to the Maldives yet, then it’s time you did yourself a favour and booked the next flight to paradise. The Indian Ocean playground has never been more sought after, and the arrival of its newest adults only retreat only adds to its glorious seduction.

We arrive at Hurawalhi, as all guests do, by seaplane, vibrant turquoise seas wreathing submerged coral gardens racing past below as we descend, 40 minutes after leaving the resort’s signature seaplane lounge in Male. You know you’ve arrived somewhere special even before pontoon touches lagoon; a string of overwater bungalows branches out from a tree-encrusted island framed by white sand beaches. As the sun rises the colours leap to life; deep greens in the canopies that hide luxurious beachfront bungalows; aqua and turquoise blues in the lagoon’s waters; blazing white in the uniforms of traditional Maldivian drummers that greet new arrivals. It’s as if someone’s nudged the saturation levels – everything just pops.

A clutch of 90 villas set against breathtaking house reefs in the heart of the Lhavayani Atoll, this beautiful new hideaway epitomises the Maldivian escape to perfection, and with an adults-only policy that welcomes guests 15 years and up, you won’t have to share your romantic escape with everyone else’s ‘little darlings’.

What an escape it promises to be, thanks to brilliant, infinitely-cheerful staff, gourmet dining, sophisticated accommodation, and all-inclusive packages that implore you to order another cocktail, take up a poolside perch, and make the most of every moment.