Need to know
Rooms
80 villas.
Check–Out
Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
More details
Rates include breakfast (with genuinely, hand-on-heart good coffee).
Also
Unfortunately this rugged island isn’t accessible for wheelchair users.
At the hotel
Watersports and dive centre, library, indoor and outdoor games facilities, and boutique. In rooms: private freshwater pool, dedicated villa host, WiFi, TV, portable speaker, tea- and coffee-making kit, hairdryer, beach bag, hat, and Alila amenities including sun protection and insect repellent.
Our favourite rooms
The best kind of dilemma: we’d suggest to start in a over-water villa – the postcard-perfect Maldivian idyll, where schools of fish, turtles and rays frequently stop by to say hello – then switch halfway through to a beach villa, for the ultimate in peace and privacy. Beach villas are slightly more spacious, with high-romance alfresco bathrooms and a separate lounge area for, well, lounging.
Poolside
Where the palm-dotted sands taper towards the Indian ocean, you’ll find a teal-tiled infinity pool, edged by parasol-shaded day-beds – and of course there’s your private freshwater pool at your villa – but there’s also the bath-like Maldivian ocean, so…
Spa
Separated from the rest of the island, the spa has been cleverly designed to feel like somewhere else entirely: at this suspended jungle cocoon, each of the treatment rooms is set on stilts with canopy-facing relaxation areas and indoor-outdoor bath tubs to indulge in, post-treatment. Therapists hail from Bhutan, Indonesia and Thailand, and treatments combine contemporary approaches and ancient healing techniques, all while using Alila Living products. There’s a bijou glass-walled gym on the ground-floor of the spa building, too, with Technogym equipment, and an elevated yoga platform for sun salutations.
Packing tips
A film camera, to bring some grainy texture to the sharp design and sleek lines of your holiday photos.
Also
If you want your little Smiths to accompany you in an Overwater Villa, you'll need to sign a disclaimer at check-in.
Children
Welcome: under-12s stay free. Beach villas can be made family-friendly thanks to the lounge area that will sleep up to two children. And there’s a small kids’ club, though we’d say that the overall atmosphere is more adults-focused.
Sustainability efforts
Alila Kothaifaru Maldives is, importantly, a natural island – and its current owners have worked hard to conserve over 70 per cent of the vegetation and native trees (including tamanu, banyan and Indian almond). Motorised watersports are banned, in favour of protecting the reef, and the resort uses eco-friendly alternatives to single-use plastics, plus has its own bottling plant on site. Paper products and vegetable waste are converted into fertiliser, and the team makes its own salt and soy sauce on the island – given the heavy use of those ingredients in the restaurants. Alila Spice Garden is located in the middle of the island (which has a chef’s table in the works), and social sustainability is equally well nurtured. Alila is passionate about fostering a sustainable future for locals, and supports the development of neighbouring communities through internship, employment and partnership opportunities.