Velaa is a privately owned island resort in Noonu Atoll, ringed by a 360-degree walkable beach and planted with more than 350 species of plants and trees. Its 47 villas, 18 of them over the water, each have a private pool and a butler, and they range from one-bedroom beach and water pool villas to two-bedroom pool houses and four-bedroom private residences such as Nika, designed by Patricia Urquiola. The Romantic Residence stands apart from the rest: a one-bedroom overwater house of 598 square metres for two guests and a child, with a 17-metre pool, set out in the lagoon and reached only by boat. Days can be busy or slow. There is a nine-hole golf course designed by José María Olazábal, covered tennis and padel courts, and one of the largest water sports fleets in the Maldives, Seabobs included. The spa has the country's only snow room, and the Eveylaa Wellbeing Village offers Ayurveda, manual medicine and Reformer Pilates. There are four restaurants, among them Aragu and Tavaru, the island's architectural landmark, where the wine pairings come from the island's own cellar. A kids' club with an outdoor aqua park and room service around the clock fill out the island. It suits a couple who want to be almost entirely alone on the lagoon as well as a family taking a residence with room for everyone.
- Nearest airport
- Maafaru International Airport, then 15 minutes by yacht; Velaa also runs its own seaplane
- Rooms
- 47 villas, houses and residences
- Taken whole
- The whole island: all 47 villas, houses and residences
Insider tip Leave time for the wellbeing village, where Ayurveda and manual medicine sit side by side.
Why I choose it A private island where a couple can take the Romantic Residence out on the lagoon and a family can take a four-bedroom house, with golf, wellbeing and a remarkable cellar all on the island.
