JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa

This was our second time visiting the Maldives and I must say that staying at the JW has been the best experience so far in all our travels! Our welcome team (Iqbal and Nashy) at the airport escorted us into the business lounge at the seaplane terminal to relax and have snacks and drinks prior to our 1 hour flight to the island. They were kind and professional. Upon arriving to the island, we were welcomed by the GM and team and were assigned a butler (Malla) and later his trainee butler (Siyaag) who gave us a nice tour of the island upon arrival. Even though the island was 95 percent full, we felt a level of privacy and exclusivity that made our trip feel more relaxed and laid back. Words cannot begin to describe how amazing this island is. We initially booked an overwater villa sunrise side for 3 nights and a duplex for our last 2 nights but our butler informed they upgraded our overwater villa to the duplex villa for all the 5 nights given our elite status. The duplex is huge and luxurious with two floors and 2 bathrooms and our unit could see the sunrise and sunset with a nice view of the lagoon and the Indian Ocean. Malla was very professional as well as Siyaag and Malla ensured our stay was more than comfortable, providing us with utmost care and even laying out little gifts and chocolate snacks every night after turndown down service. We opted for the half board first 3 days and full board last 2 days which was overkill as we ate so much food. The island has several restaurants and bars to choose from. Our favorites were the Thai restaurant which has two tables at the top with a wonderful view of the beach and reef area and the main restaurant Aiylaa which had many items to choose from. Every morning, we could see Jack fish, white snapper, crabs, nurse sharks, angel fish, parrot fish, etc right below our outdoor dining area for breakfast. They had live music from a couple (Ana and I forget the guitar player's name) who were exceptional and would take requests for any song you desired to hear. Ana was able to sing in Hindi, English, Mandarin and Spanish at a high caliber which was very impressive. The service at the restaurants was unparalleled and we connected so well with many of the staff. I would like to highlight several members including Rameez and Lalit who genuinely cared for our wellbeing and were willing to address any concerns (we had none lol) that we may have had. Their professionalism and thoughtfulness really made our stay feel comfortable and more enjoyable. Other staff at Aiylaa including Mizghona, Cindy, Sovia, Ibbe and Missbah were some of the staff we saw daily who treated us so well. We felt like family and they, on top of the island experience, would be the reason we want to return again in future. We got some packages at the spa and so went for massage treatments daily which was worth it. They have an IG worthy view of the ocean and you could see sharks, fish, eagle rays and even dolphins at a distance from their side of the island if you were lucky. All the staff there were so nice and warm. I would also like to highlight Damcho, Diah, Pari and Joyce (i forget the male staff at the front desk whom we saw daily) as they also were warm, genuine and gave us top quality treatments during our stay. I also highly recommend trying out the daily yoga at sunrise/sunset. I saw a pod of dolphins swim at a distance while we did the sunrise yoga session. Vishnu the yoga instructor, was so kind and informative and spent lots of time discussing many healthy habits and lifestyle changes to enhance our quality of life. He is a great addition to the team on the island. The house reef is very close to the island and so snorkeling was great especially with calm waters. Many of the guests saw turtles and manta rays amongst the many diverse fish and corals and sting rays/eagle rays in the lagoon. I wish I had done the adventure cruise/dolphins cruise as other guests told me how well worth the experience it was to swim with all the sea creatures as stated above. They also have a kids centre for the kids to do many activities and a games room with karaoke, pool table, video games, football, etc. I would also like to commend the housekeeping service as they delivered consistent cleaning service twice a day and kept everything fresh. They deserve a lot of recognition for the hard work they do daily. Overall, the island offers many activities to do, whether it be water sports like jet skiing/parasailing/kayaking; cruises; big game fishing experiences; snorkelling; or on island activities including photography (30min complimentary with one pic but we ended up taking 40 pics as a package, as they were done so well); dining, spa, gym, yoga. The views from the duplex and almost anywhere on the island were stunning. Lots of hermit crabs and shells on the beaches to take pictures of. I am impressed by the staff they have hired because even if an island is beautiful and picturesque, the staff can definitely make or break an experience and the staff here have exceeded all expectations and provided high quality service that augmented our experience at JW. My only regret is not staying here longer. We have already started discussing when to return to this resort so I highly recommend others to consider the JW Marriott when visiting the Maldives! Read less

A butler stays with you throughout your stay, taking care of various needs and providing support. They offer transportation to and from the villa no matter where you are on the island, and they handle restaurant and activity reservations as well as other detailed arrangements. The person assigned to us, Saddaam, was friendly and engaged us in conversation during transfers. He even surprised us with sweets, making our trip consistently enjoyable and memorable. All in all, it was truly a wonderful hotel and resort. Thank you very much! Read less

My husband and I just returned from a week at the JW Marriott Maldives celebrating our 10 year anniversary. The property, staff, food, ambiance and overall vibe of this resort exceeded ALL of our expectations. We stayed in an overwater sunset villa that was spacious, comfortable, well appointed and spotless each day with the help of our housekeeper, Mauman. We used the pool on the patio of our villa daily, as well as snorkeled off the patio every afternoon. We saw eagle rays, nurse sharks, manta rays and a ton of fish. The weather was beautiful during our stay, and we took advantage of the spa on the day that it rained. My massage with Damcho was easily the best massage I've ever had - book with her! We tried almost all of the restaurants and the food was wonderful at each place. We also booked the wine dinner with Lahiru and we're so glad we did - amazing wine, food and experience from Lahiru and Chef Bir who even customized the menu for us. The team at the bar was so much fun - Suraj, Arsufal and Kanishka who made great drinks and custom cocktails. Naawish was our butler, and he made the stay 5 stars for us. Restaurant reservations, a dinner on the beach, late checkout arrangements, golf cart rides to the beach - whatever we needed, Naawish was all over it. Overall this was a once in a lifetime trip, and the team at the JW made sure of it!! We can't wait to go back and if you're on the fence about booking the trip go for it - you won't be disappointed! Read less

We had high hopes and usually enjoy the Marriott brand and were super excited for our vacation but the resort definitely fell short of our expectations. Our villa was clean but dated and needed repairs. The attention to detail was not there and the waters were rough and a bit dangerous. Overall we felt pretty disappointed for the price we paid and wish we stayed at a different resort. Marriott definitely needs to work on their customer service too, the ac system also was not functioning properly which was not good and very important. This definitely did not feel like a jw Marriott - I think it’s an okay choice if you have no other options and price is right but we wish we had stayed elsewhere. Read less