Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa, Maldives

We were eager to get through the doors of Emerald and were one of the first operators to visit the island during the soft-opening period in August 2019 and we've since returned for a second visit now the island is fully operational. We’re delighted to report that the resort is as good as it looks on paper, perhaps better. There are many familiar faces on the management team, recruited from other well-established Maldives resorts, and the level and depth of experience is impressive.

Villas are very spacious, décor more to the minimalist side spruced-up with colourful nature-inspired artwork, and huge bathrooms with a distinct flavour of Italian luxury. The king-size beds are some of the most comfortable we’ve experienced in our travels. All the villas have easy beach access, and we particularly like the two-bed family units – these will undoubtedly prove highly popular during peak holiday time. The Superior Beach and Water Villas are massive, almost too big for a couple, while the Royal & Presidential Villas are designed to take your breath away. The design of the villa exteriors is very pleasing with clever use of slanted roof lines, living walls, and even palm trees on the water villa jetty.

Dining options are excellent – Aqua is a great main restaurant with a varied buffet, live cooking stations and nicely-designed seating areas so that when you’re at your table it can be surprisingly intimate for a large outlet. On the other hand the specialty restaurants, all part of the Deluxe All Inclusive package, take the experience to a higher level. The Beach Grill offers feet-in-the-sand seafood dining, as well as other welcome fare, such as perfectly prepared Italian pizzas. Asiatique invites guests to sample a range of Asian cooking, including a very entertaining Teppanyaki bar, while Amazonico, also sand-floored, is one of the best South American restaurants we’ve experienced anywhere.

The main bar and beach area has a distinctly 'resort' feel to it, with the indoor bar fine for containing the noise of evening entertainment, but we’d love to see a more rustic beach bar for low-key sundowners. There’s certainly space for that on the large island, and perhaps it’ll come.

Facilities are generally very good. The kids’ club makes you want to be 10 years old again, and the sports centre is ideal for battling the extra pounds you’re likely to add during your stay, and a yoga instructor is on the way. The attractive interior spa is quite large and offers a range of tempting treatments. The dive centre seems very well-equipped and run, while the watersports outlet is quite small and tucked away and could probably do with an upgrade, although there's a good variety of equipment.

The house reef is very close in parts and easily accessible from the area in front of Aqua, near the family villas, and for a longer snorkel we recommend swimming out from the beach by the water villa jetty and following the drop-off eastwards back to Aqua, or indeed the reverse subject to conditions.

Overall, Emerald makes an impressive contribution to the high-quality, all inclusive market that continues to grow in the Maldives, becoming an instant hit with Angelfish clients. Highly recommended, especially for families of all ages.

The Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa is a new 5 star deluxe Resort, and proud member of The Leading Hotels of the World.

The Resort located in Raa Atoll, Maldives, is surrounded by 1.5 km of white sandy beach on a 20-hectare private island, and it boasts 120 luxurious Villas with both contemporary and tropical design, divided between 60 beach villas and 60 overwater villas.

Each Villa features: Two flat satellite TVs (room and bathroom), direct dial phone, king size bed or interconnecting room, modern air-conditioned bathrooms with walk-in shower, outdoor "under the stars" shower, bath tub for two, separate WC and bidet, dressing room and walk-in closet, luggage rack, hairdryer, bathrobes, personal safe, tea and coffee making facilities, daily refreshed minibar, twice-daily maid service, room controlled air conditioning and overhead fans, working desk and also Wi-Fi internet access which will also be available all over the Resort.