Maverick Hotel Maldives

Mundoo is a working island in Laamu Atoll, home to 160 Maldivians and, on its edge, a hotel built around a reef channel rather than a lagoon of postcard blue. The Maverick is the country's first hotel pitched at surfers and divers, though neither pursuit is required to enjoy it. Twenty-five tented lodges sit under tree cover behind a white sand beach, each with an indoor bathroom, an outdoor one, and an open-air living area furnished in what the hotel calls expedition chic. Rooms run to 36 square metres inside, with a further 30 square metres each for the outdoor bathroom and terrace.

The channel out front carries reef on both sides and enough current to draw dolphins through most afternoons, often close enough to hear them surface. Divers and snorkellers work the house reef or the deeper Mundoo channel; surfers paddle straight out to Sarongs, a right-hander breaking off the beach, or take a five-minute boat ride to Machines. Seven more breaks lie within twenty-five minutes by boat. Laamu itself has stayed largely outside the tourist routes that shape other atolls, with fishing and farming still the main occupations on neighbouring islands. Getting here takes a domestic flight or seaplane followed by a short speedboat transfer. Dining is beachfront, with a second bar afloat on the lagoon for sunset drinks.