LUX* South Ari Atoll Resort & Villas

My husband and I were sincerely amazed by how professional, genuinely kind, fun, and amazing this resort was. The staff there does not hold back on how to make your stay there 100 + 10 percent. Two staff that I would love to mention would be Mode and Rachael. They did everything in their power to make our vacation perfect. My husband surprised me on my birthday with a lovely dinner by the beach, and the staff and Manager at the restaurant did their best to make sure it was picture perfect. I am also a big foodie, so I was amazed to see how perfect and delicious their dishes were prepared. Overall, I would give this resort 10 out of 5 stars if I could! I highly, highly recommend!

There is not enough I can say about our stay at Lux. The reception at the airport at Male was very smooth. Someone was there to receive us and help us with our bags as soon as we arrived. They helped with our check in on the sea plane and transferred us to the Lux lounge until our departure time. There was complementary cool refreshments and snacks, free WiFi and air conditioning! After our sea plane transfer we arrived at the resort with a lovely reception by the staff and Alessandra oriented us to resort and facilities. She provided us with her WhatsApp number to help us with any and all activity bookings and restaurant reservations throughout our stay. We booked an over water villa. The room was sunny with a large terrace. The bed was so comfortable and spacious bathroom with his and her sinks. The food at all the resort restaurants were d e l i c i o u s. We would hit Levi pool everyday for great lunch and cocktails. Masoud and Khan remembered all the guests that came through and were attentive to whatever we needed. The senses bar and pool is the adult only pool in the resort. They had light snacks and cocktails and provided all sorts of board games and lovely lounge chairs to relax throughout the day. The senses restaurant at night had a lovely ambience and some of the most delicious Indian food I’ve even had! Allegria is their Italian restaurant where we had our last dinner during our stay. Everything from the appetizers to the deserts were amazing and they took care of the wine pairings for each course. Beach rouge and Umami did not disappoint either. With great sea food at former and an interesting selection of different soy sauces to pair with the sushi at the latter. East bar had the most lovely hammock seating to enjoy your drinks during happy hour. Alaudin whipped us up some great drinks of his own creation after we just told him what we’re craving! The breakfast at east bar was one of the best hotel breakfasts I’ve ever had. Amazing French pastries and home made kombucha that I had to have each morning we were there. Cafe lux at the reception provides a wide variety of coffees that are complimentary before 10:30 am which I was very happy to have as a self-admitted caffeine addict! It was easy to get across the 1.4 km island with $5 a day bicycles you can rent. But when we walked it was fun to look for the “message in a bottle” treasure hunt bottles the resort hides around the island with prizes inside! We won a bag of island blend coffee beans to take home! The yoga grove with complimentary meditation and yoga sessions were amazing. The lux me spa won the best spa in the Maldives. I still think about that orange blossom face mist they spray on all the guests who come on. We took the evening escape couples massage. Fantastic. All in all, 5 days were not enough for us to to enjoy this resort and we will definitely coming back for another trip soon!