Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives
Reaching a private island thirty minutes by speedboat from Malé
Kuda Villingili is a private island in North Malé Atoll, thirty minutes from Velana International Airport by speedboat. The resort holds 75 villas and residences, set either along the beach or raised over the lagoon on stilts. Sunrise and Sunset Water Villas run to 182 square metres, each with its own pool and a patio angled to the light for which it is named. Larger residences stretch further: the Three-Bedroom Beach Retreat covers 764 square metres and adds a private wine cellar, while the Four-Bedroom Beach Residence has its own infinity pool facing the water. A 150-metre pool, the largest in the Maldives, sits within the gardens with cabanas and a family splash zone. Eight restaurants cover twelve cuisines, from Japanese-Peruvian at Mar-Umi to plant-based Maldivian fare at Earth, alongside three bars and a leather-fitted whisky and cigar lounge with lagoon views. Surfers reach Chicken's Break, a reef break known for its long left barrels, directly from the shore between May and October. It is a short walk from villa to wave. Guests can also arrange snorkelling trips over the house reef or dolphin-watching by traditional dhoni. A retail village, gym, padel and tennis courts, and a children's club round out the grounds, alongside a spa built for slower days.