A Touch of Elegance

Found on the southern tip of the Maldives archipelago, Raffles Maldives Meradhoo is a remote and pristine island where only the sounds of nature will disturb you.

After taking a domestic flight from Male to Koodoo Airport the island is a further 1 hour by speedboat. This is the distance you have to travel for absolute perfection. All the journeying fades away the minute you arrive at Raffles. Whites, blues, chandeliers, shutters, crystal clear waters, the sights you are greeted with at first look are beyond beautiful. The decor is exquisite yet minimal, timeless yet modern. The island has its own rhythm and it’s not hard to get in tune, just relax, reconnect and realign yourself.

Raffles Maldives Meradhoo is made up of two islands around a 5 minute boat ride apart; a beach island and overwater island. The overwater island was still being renovated during our stay but looks divine, we will definitely be returning once it’s completed in October ’19.

We enjoyed our time over on the beach island, staying in a deluxe beach villa. We’ve been fortunate to stay in a few places in the Maldives and never have we stayed in such an expansive and luxurious beach villa. The space inside is split into 3 sections, an entrance hall complete with mini bar and seating, to the left is the bathroom, the LARGEST bathroom we have ever seen. With free standing dual sinks, a walk-in closet for him and her, sunken square bath big enough for 6 (!!) and indoor and outdoor rain showers. From what looks like a pristine beach shack from the outside is everything and more inside. Through to the living room come bedroom which leads out to your private pool, outdoor living space and personal pathway to the sea, we never wanted to leave.

The beach island has 3 dining rooms including Long Bar for drinks and bar snacks. Thari is the main restaurant, all-day dining can be enjoyed here and the food is delicious. A balance of healthy and indulgent from around the world. The perfect place to start your day, as is an in-villa floating breakfast. For 2 nights a week The Firepit restaurant is open, depending on the weather you are treated to an indulgent 4 course barbecued dinner whilst dining in a sunken sand built table and bench. It’s such a special night watching the sunset while the stars fill the sky and the lanterns light up the beach.

The underwater life in southern Maldives is incredible. Said to be better in the south we were totally blown away by the amount of fish we could see when we headed out on our guided snorkel trip with our butler. Seeing sharks, manta rays and hundreds of fish in only 30 minutes. At Raffles Maldives Meradhoo they encourage you to get out and enjoy the water with a PADI certified diving school, complimentary paddle boards and see-through kayaks. We also tried our hand at jet-skiing when we headed out to see just one of the few sandbanks located around Meradhoo island.

One final activity that we were so fortunate to experience during our stay was the morning dolphin cruise. Departing at 10am you set off by luxury speed boat in search of dolphins. As the island itself is located near three dolphin channels the dolphins swim into the atoll in the morning and swim back out in the afternoon back to the ocean. Never have we ever seen so many dolphins, hundreds if not thousands swam with the boat that morning. We rode the waves seeing them swim and flip, all whilst enjoying champagne under the sun, if that’s not what dreams are made of we don’t know what is.

Raffles is known for its touch of elegance and discreet luxury and we couldn’t describe this place any better. The service was exceptional, the staff were intuitive and gracious and the place is just beautiful, elegant and natural, we don’t know anything else you could wish for.