Need to know
Rooms
Fifty suites.
Check–Out
Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
More details
Rates include breakfast (a buffet of home-made bread and pastries, fruit salad, yoghurt and porridge) at Ocean.
Also
The hotel has a coral ‘adoption’ programme (part of its conservation scheme), where guests can choose a reef, plant it, and then watch it grow over the years. Aim even higher (literally) with the Milaidhoo’s honeymoon package, which includes a real star named after the newlyweds.
At the hotel
Dive centre; yoga pavilion; watersports (kayaking, windsurfing, catamarans, paddle boards, snorkelling); free WiFi; laundry service. In rooms: flatscreen TV; DVD player; iPod dock; air-conditioning; private pool; minibar (with a free bottle of champagne on arrival); tea- and Nespresso coffee-making facilities; Acqua di Parma bath products; Jacuzzi (in Beach Residences only).
Our favourite rooms
Milaidhoo's rooms are classically decorated with every conceivable luxury, including a private infinity pool. If we had to choose, the Beach Residence just clinches it: set right on the powder-soft sand, these huge, thatched-roof villas open up all along one side, so you can make the most of the sunshine. After dark, slip into the Jacuzzi for late-night soaking with a cocktail in hand.
Poolside
The unheated infinity pool has sunloungers on one side and panoramic views of the Indian Ocean. There’s the Compass Pool Bar too, which serves fresh juices and cocktails throughout the day. If you get peckish, there’s also a menu of wood-fired pizzas, bento boxes, sandwiches and salads.
Spa
Choose from an extensive menu of treatments in the traditional, thatched-roof spa, with its open-air yoga pavilion and four overwater treatment rooms. Treatments use TheraNaka products enriched with African plants and minerals, said to have natural healing properties. Try the couples’ spa retreat, which combines a creamy coconut scrub with a bubble bath, hour-long massage and 30-minute facial.
Packing tips
Milaidhoo’s so romantic, you may never leave your room – pack some sexy silk pyjamas for suite-lounging. Boys, bring your best swimming trunks: the competition round the pool is fierce for the brightest, boldest prints and patterns.
Children
Children under nine aren’t allowed at Milaidhoo. While you can bring tweens and teens, this is more suited to Smiths on a romantic getaway.
Sustainability efforts
The hotel has plenty of eco-friendly measures in place, including a water plant and a coral-regeneration programme. The team also works with local charities such as MantaMatcher and the Manta Trust, who protect the native manta rays.