ananea Madivaru Maldives

A luxury resort built from scratch and opened in 2025 on 2 North Ari islands joined by an overwater walkway, around a lagoon. It belongs to ananea, the lifestyle brand of DERTOUR Group’s hotel division, part of REWE; Google rates it 5 stars. The resort’s site speaks of 111 villas in 5 styles plus six 2- and 3-bedroom residences; the brand’s site of 111 units in 11 categories; the group’s releases of 2024 and November 2025 of 110 villas. Every one has a private pool.

East Island holds the 24-hour reception, the spa, the dive centre, the kids’ club and the main pool; North Island has the infinity pool, more restaurants, the Recreation Centre and most of the residences, as the facilities page sets out.

It opened in spring 2025, but no release from the group gives the day. DERTOUR Group announced it on 29 August 2024 for February 2025, and on 12 December 2024 for winter 2024/25. Trans Maldivian Airways, the seaplane operator, wrote on 9 April 2025 that it had opened in April, and a guest on 15 April that it had been open 4 days; another, in November 2025, says March. The brand’s site, read on 6 October 2026, still says «Opening in summer 2025».

For a few months only one island was open: 2 guests stayed in May 2025 on the «first half», and one of them came back in September to find it complete; a third writes that the second island took its first guests on 1 July 2025. No source announces a seasonal closure, and the offers run into spring and summer 2027. On 6 October 2026 Google had no prices for the nights of 7 to 31 October 2026, yet reviews written on 1 October 2026 come from guests still on the island.

In North Ari Atoll (Alifu Alifu), on the island of Madivaru, around its own lagoon: 66 km from Velana International Airport, about 20 minutes by seaplane, says the contact page. The nearest resort in the guide is Constance Halaveli, about 9 km to the south-west.

On the islands you get about by buggy, called from reception: a guest in May 2026 found the distances from one corner to another long, but the drivers always about. The seaplane jetty is mid-island, off the beach.

By Trans Maldivian Airways seaplane, about 20 minutes; one guest in August 2025 counted 20–30 minutes, with 2 stops. The meal-plan document promises every guest meet-and-assist at the airport on arrival and departure, the VIP lounge at the seaplane terminal on arrival and villa check-in there. The FAQ gives 20 kg of checked luggage and 5 kg of hand luggage.

Booking.com lists the return seaplane at $598.46 per adult, including service and government tax. The VIP lounge is included on arrival only: with an evening flight home, a lounge at Malé is paid for separately.

No: it is an island, reached by seaplane. The Google Hotels card still lists parking among its amenities, and free bicycle hire too, while the FAQ on the brand’s site says there is no cycling and no bike hire on the island. You get about on foot or by buggy.

11 types, every one with a private pool, at the sizes the resort’s site gives: Beach Pool Villa, 200 m²; Water Pool Villa and Water Pool Villa Lagoon View, 180 m²; Deluxe Beach Pool Villa, 240 m²; Deluxe Water Pool Villa and Deluxe Water Pool Villa Lagoon View, 255 m²; 2-Bedroom Beach Pool Villa, 280 m² over 2 floors. Then the residences: Kimbi and Kaani on the beach, 2 bedrooms and 620 m²; Vilu over the water, 2 bedrooms and 355 m²; Maavina and Moonima on the beach, 3 bedrooms and 760 m²; Thila over the water, 3 bedrooms and 465 m².

The brand’s site does not always agree: it gives the Vilu 350 m², swaps the sizes of the 3-bedroom residences and lists lower occupancies, for instance 3 guests at most in a Beach Pool Villa where the resort’s site says 3 adults and 1 child. The one-bedroom villas have a king bed and a daybed; the residences sleep up to 6 or 9.

The Beach Pool Villas have the sand in front and an open-air bathroom; the Water Pool Villas stand on stilts off East Island, with a ladder into the water, and the overwater Deluxe villas are off North Island. If you want the sand at your door, take the beach, knowing that the open-air bathroom lets in the heat and, with so much greenery around, the odd insect, as guests wrote in spring 2026; if you would sooner climb down a ladder into the sea, take the water, where you hear the waves at night.

The island matters too: according to the facilities page, East Island has the Water Pool Villas and the 2-Bedroom Beach Pool Villas, close to the spa, the kids’ club and the dive centre; North Island the Beach Pool Villas, the overwater Deluxe villas and most of the residences, beside the Paradise Beach Club.

The sand is white and wide, but to reach the water you walk over broken coral and stones: nearly every guest says so, and recommends reef shoes. Between autumn 2025 and Easter 2026 some also saw sandbags on the beach, and in August 2025 a group pointed to breakwaters close to the shore in front of the Deluxe villas. Over the water you climb down your villa’s ladder; for water-villa guests, the brand’s FAQ says loungers on the beach can be reserved free of charge.

Yes: according to the FAQ on the brand’s site, the outer reef, «one of the best in the area», is 10–20 metres off the beach on the island side, while from the lagoon side it is very far out. Masks and fins are free for the whole stay, says the resort’s FAQ.

Guests in 2026 write about it often: in January one describes a good house reef with rays, turtles, mantas and baby sharks; in July another finds it excellent for snorkelling and diving. It changes from one stretch to the next, with less life in the shallows close to shore: the staff will point out the best spots. The organised trips, from manta snorkelling to dolphin spotting, are on the excursions page; divers mention Maaya Thila, Manta Point and, in October 2026, a hammerhead.

Every villa and residence has its own pool. There are 2 shared pools: the main one beside the Sting Bar on East Island, with a children’s pool, and the infinity pool at the Paradise Beach Club on North Island. The brand’s site mentions a 65-metre infinity pool and a second pool, at the Paradise Beach Club, open to children from age 6. Kandu Spa has a pool in its wet area.

No source says any pool is heated. The FAQ on the brand’s site gives the depths: 1.2 metres in the villa pools, 1.5 in the main pool.

9 restaurants, 2 bars and in-villa dining, according to the dining page: The Gallery, a buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner; Asian Food Street, 4 restaurants, Kaage (Maldivian), Baan Talay (Thai), Seoul House (Korean) and Tamarind (Indian), for lunch and dinner; The Flame, a seafood and meat grill by the sea; Flores, Nikkei cooking; Ikigai, teppanyaki, designed for guests aged 15 and over; Luna, Mediterranean over the water between the islands, recommended from age 8. The bars are the Sting Bar, by the pool, with wood-fired pizza, and the Paradise Beach Club on North Island.

Not every restaurant opens daily and all must be booked, say the terms in the meal-plan document. The brand’s site counts 3 bars instead.

The meal-plan document sets out 3. Half board: breakfast at The Gallery and The Flame, dinner at The Gallery, bottled water, and a credit of $45 per person per day for dinner in another restaurant, for full-paying adults only, booked by 11am the same day. Half Board Plus, from 3 nights: selected alcoholic and soft drinks in every bar and restaurant as well, and a minibar with soft drinks, 2 beers and water, restocked daily.

Dine Around All Inclusive, from 3 nights, adds lunch and dinner in a restaurant of your choice, 3 courses and one outlet per meal, booked ahead; Luna and Ikigai at dinner only from 6 nights, and premium dishes marked separately on the menu. It also brings one sunset cruise per person and 15% off at the spa. Champagne and in-villa dining are outside every plan, and everyone in a villa must be on the same plan.

8 treatment rooms over the water with sea views, a relaxation lounge and a wet area with a pool and changing rooms, a sauna and a steam room, says the spa page; upstairs, the gym, with Technogym equipment and a Pilates reformer according to the brand’s site, and a separate yoga pavilion, plus manicures and pedicures. It is run by Origin Massage, a Swiss company.

The menu mixes Thai tradition, Ayurveda and Balinese massage: the Balinese Stress Relief, for instance, at $160 for 60 minutes, or the Kandu Pearl Experience at $380 for 120 minutes. Guests, especially in 2026, are warm about the therapists.

Treatments are paid for separately: the Kandu Spa menu includes 17% TGST and adds a 10% service charge. The gym is free for everyone, says the meal-plan document, and the brand’s site lists yoga among the included activities. Dine Around All Inclusive gives 15% off treatments, promotions excluded; the Slow Down in Paradise and residence offers give $45 per person, once per stay, towards a massage of 60 minutes or more.

No page publishes a day pass for anyone not staying on the island, which is reached only by seaplane or boat. In September 2026 some guests describe a short complimentary taster massage, at the spa’s invitation.

The website does not publish the spa’s opening hours. The menu advises booking at least 24 hours ahead and arriving 30 minutes early; changing or cancelling less than 12 hours before costs half the treatment, and a no-show the full price. The fitness and yoga classes on the timetable are booked the day before at the spa reception, 15 people at most, at 6am, 11am or 5.30pm.

Yes. The COMPASS Kids Club takes children from age 4, says the FAQ; younger ones may come with a parent, or there is paid babysitting. The brand’s site adds that the club is open daily for ages 4 to 11, and there is a children’s pool beside the main one. Luna is recommended from age 8 and Ikigai designed for guests aged 15 and over.

Families praise the club, its space and the people who run it, and describe boat trips to swim with mantas and sharks.

The PADI dive centre goes looking for mantas, sharks and turtles; water sports include windsurfing, kayaks, jet skis and parasailing, and kayaks, SUPs and windsurfing are free for an hour a day on every meal plan, windsurfing after a paid competency check. The excursions run from night snorkelling to big-game fishing. The Racquet Club has padel and pickleball courts, and there is a 24-hour medical service.

In the evening, according to the entertainment page, there is a DJ, live music, cinema under the stars and Le Club at the Sting Bar; the programme changes with the weather. Drones are not allowed: in July 2026 a couple were granted an exception only with a member of staff flying it, at about 5 metres.

The website does not mention them; the Google Hotels card says pets are not allowed.

Wi-Fi is free throughout the resort, in the villas, the public areas and the restaurants, says the FAQ; the villa TV streams Netflix and Spotify from your own accounts. The website describes no meeting rooms.

The offers read on 3 October 2026 are on the resort’s own site: Slow Down in Paradise, over 35% off every villa with breakfast and dinner at The Gallery, booked by 31 October 2026 for stays until 23 December; The Private Residence Escape, up to 40% off the residences until 31 October 2027, excluding 24 December 2026 to 10 January 2027. Airport meet-and-assist, the arrival lounge, masks and fins and Wi-Fi come to every guest, however they booked.

The resort is also sold through tour operators: in September and October 2026 guests wrote that they had booked through Kuoni and Check24. On the website every rate has the 10% service charge, taxes and Green Tax to add.

Besides Slow Down in Paradise and The Private Residence Escape, the site offers Festive Moments, from 24 December 2026 to 10 January 2027, over 35% off the one-bedroom villas with breakfast and dinner at The Gallery, and More Space, More Memories, 40% off the 2-Bedroom Beach Pool Villa on half board, 4 nights minimum, from 1 November to 22 December 2026.

According to the offer pages, read on 15 October 2026, More Space, More Memories covers stays until 22 December 2026 but gives no usable booking deadline, and Slow Down in Paradise saves over 35% on every villa category, with breakfast and dinner, for bookings made before 31 October 2026 and stays until 23 December 2026.

Only in a symbolic ceremony: the FAQ offers vow renewals and warns that the ceremony is not legally recognised. The ceremony menus cost $275 per person for a 5-course dinner, $45 for finger food and $125 for a cake, with 17% TGST included and a 10% service charge on top; the dedicated page publishes no other prices. In June and July 2026, 2 guests described a wedding celebration on the island on Google.

The Festive Moments offer carries 2 mandatory supplements, taxes included, payable at check-in: for the evening of 31 December $284 per adult and $142 for children aged 6 to 11, for 24 December $232 per adult and $116 per child. The website publishes no menu or programme for either evening. On 12 October 2026 Google showed $1,240 for 2 for the night of 31 December 2026 and $1,877 for 1 January 2027.

The website describes no course or golf package. There is the Racquet Club, with padel and pickleball, on the facilities page.

Google Hotels, read on 6 October 2026, for 2 adults and one night: $989 on 1 November 2026, $1,485 on 4 November, $721 on 4 December, the lowest price on the calendar, $1,723 on 24 December, $1,297 on 31 December and $1,975 on 1 January 2027, the highest; by mid-January it falls back to $994. There were no prices for the nights of 7 to 31 October 2026. For the Maldives market Google’s figures include taxes and service; the calendar does not say which villa or which meal plan. These are individual nights searched alone. For 7 nights from 16 November 2026, Google on 12 October listed both the lowest seller and the resort’s own listing at $1,535 per night.

The calendar is on the resort’s Google Hotels card. The website’s own rates, by contrast, are quoted before a 10% service charge, government taxes and the Green Tax of $12 per person per night.

On 3 October 2026 Google showed 4.9/5 from 399 ratings, Tripadvisor 4.9/5 from 455 with a Travellers’ Choice award, Booking.com 9.0/10 from 16 and Expedia 10/10 from 8. In the 290 Google reviews with text, from 1 April 2025 to 3 October 2026, the staff and services are praised by 91% of those who mention them, the setting by 94% and the villas by 91%.

Breakfast pleases 71% of the 21 who mention it. Guests mention dinners outside the meal plan and extras that the all-inclusive does not cover when describing their bill. 3 things to know before you go: the à la carte restaurants are booked well ahead, ideally before arrival; in-villa dining is charged extra on every meal plan; and from the beach you wade in over broken coral, in reef shoes.

The offer rates carry a 10% service charge, the government taxes in force for the travel period and a Green Tax of $12 per person per night, say the terms of Slow Down in Paradise. The spa and ceremony menus include 17% TGST but not the 10% service charge; in-villa dining is charged extra on every meal plan.

Check-in at 2pm and check-out at noon, says the FAQ; early arrival or late departure can be requested, subject to availability. Meal plans run from arrival until noon on the day you leave. Villa check-in is done at the seaplane lounge in Malé.