Joy Island suits families who want a kids’ club for ages 3 to 12 and the Family Beach Villa of 100 m², with the lowest seller on Google from $775 for one night for 2 adults. Anyone after silence and a large reef all round may prefer another island.
Co-founder & CEOMarco Di CesareHe spent weeks comparing hotels and kept finding that the detail deciding the trip was missing from the hotel website. 10 years in marketing technology, 2 of them building with AI.About MarcoHow we write the guideLinkedIn
For families I would ask for the Family Beach Villa: 100 m² with a connecting door off the veranda, for up to 4 adults and 2 children. For a pool, the Lagoon Suite Pool has 100 m² and a wade-in pool on the sundeck.
The weeks that cost less
In the calendar read on 12 October 2026 the lowest week runs from 1 to 7 April 2027: at $775 a night. The dearest night is 24 December 2026, at $2,411.
On top of the rate
Rates add a 10% service charge, GST and a $12 green tax per person per night. The seaplane is $300 per adult return, taxes included; Booking.com lists a compulsory gala dinner at $500 per adult for stays over 31 December 2026.
The free lounge at Velana
On arrival day the Cocoon Collection Lounge at Velana airport is free for all Joy Island guests; on departure day it costs $35 per adult and $20 per child aged 2 to 15.
What Joy Island is
Joy Island opened on 1 September 2023 on Kassanfushi island in North Malé Atoll (LuxAtolls), the third Maldives resort of The Cocoon Collection (Southall Travel), the group behind Cocoon Maldives and You & Me (official site). There are 151 villas, 91 on the beach and 60 over the lagoon (villas); in 2026 the resort marked its third anniversary (events).
The entry point is the Beach Villa, 50 m² on the sunrise side with an open-air bathroom (Beach Villa); the top is the Beach Residence, 300 m² with 2 bedrooms and a pool (Beach Residence). Over the water the range runs from the 60 m² Lagoon Villa to the 280 m² Lagoon Residence (Lagoon Villa, Lagoon Residence); the site gives a private pool only to the 2 Suite Pools and the 2 Residences.
The all-inclusive covers breakfast, lunch and dinner at The Market, afternoon tea at Palm Beach, drinks by the glass from 10am to midnight and a minibar with 2 bottles of wine and 4 beers a day; it leaves out Japanese Corner, Il Basilico, in-villa dining and destination dining (meal plan, January 2026). Kiddie Cove takes children from 3 to 12 (Kiddie Cove).
It has 4.9 out of 5 on Google from 2,598 reviews and 4.9 on Tripadvisor from 2,948 (Google Hotels, Tripadvisor). The house reef is on the sunrise side: guests tell of seeing stingrays and small sharks there, and several call it small (Google).
One Lume
Lumina Guide 2027
Gives more than the other hotels of its place and price range.
Joy Island is the all-inclusive resort that makes the Maldives easy for a family: 151 villas 40 minutes by speedboat from the airport, The Market’s buffet and Kiddie Cove, the club for children aged 3 to 12.
500 reviews read: the staff and service please almost every guest who mentions them, the location more than 9 in 10.
Ours
On the resort’s site we counted 9 kinds of villa, from the 50 m² Beach Villa with its open-air bathroom to the 300 m² Beach Residence with a pool, then the Oasis Spa, a gym open round the clock, tennis and padel.
Those who come back
Among Joy Island’s regulars, 6 write of the staff, from a host who runs the whole programme to a butler and a restaurant greeter who remembers guests a year on. Another 4 find the island greener than on their previous stay, and the guest on a third stay says the hotel improves with every visit. Two, writing in April and August 2025, were met as returning guests: a welcome table, wine and fruit in the room, a room category raised. A family who wrote in October 2025, in a second year running, found that no day and no excursion repeated.
19 of the 1,799 reviews with text say it is not a first stay
A second stay for most, a third for one
One family writes of stays in May 2024 and May 2025
The 5 things that matter look at the 500 most recent reviews; here, the candidates among all 1,799 with text, read one by one.
Our reading, point by point
What we found reading the hotel’s own pages, one thing at a time.
Location
North Malé Atoll, 40 minutes by speedboat or 10 by seaplane; building work on the islands opposite in March 2026.
Character
An island opened in 2023, its planting still young, with entertainment and a DJ at night.
Rooms
9 kinds of villa from 50 to 300 m²; a private pool in only 4.
Food and social life
The Market’s buffet is much praised; teppanyaki and the pizzeria sit outside the all-inclusive.
Wellness
Oasis Spa from 10am to 8pm, a gym open round the clock, yoga, tennis and padel.
The stay as a whole
From $775 a night for 2 on Google; the resort’s own offers are all inclusive.
What makes it rare
A badge is an experience travellers look for, that is really here and that few hotels in the guide have.
Here: the island host checks in every day and rearranges your plans when needed, the day you leave included; for birthdays and anniversaries a cake arrives and the room is decorated.
467 of the 477 guests who write about the staff and service are pleased. 18 hotels of 335 hold it.
Here: at The Market the buffet changes theme each evening, from sushi to Sri Lanka, and desserts have a room of their own; at the island’s tip Palm Beach does paella at lunch and a grill at night.
1,021 of the 1,060 guests who write about the food are pleased. 30 hotels of 335 hold it.
What do Joy Island’s guests say? They write it in their reviews, even those who only came for a drink or dinner: we read every one and tell the 5 things that matter, from the location to the bill.
Location
Nearly every guest who mentions it is happy with it. They write about the white-sand beaches, the lagoon and the 40 minutes by speedboat it takes to arrive from Malé.
Room
Nearly every guest who mentions it is happy with it. Guests describe spacious, spotless villas, the open-air bathroom of the Beach Villas and, over the lagoon, steps from the villa down into the sea.
Staff and service
Nearly every guest who mentions it is happy with it. Guests thank the staff by name: their own host, the villa attendant and the waiters at The Market.
Breakfast
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Breakfast is the buffet at The Market, part of the all-inclusive: guests describe a wide choice that changes every day.
Price
When they write about the bill, guests write about the all-inclusive: 3 meals at The Market, afternoon tea and drinks by the glass until midnight are already in the rate.
Where Joy Island leads
Location
On location it shares first place with Siyam World Maldives among the 5 hotels compared in the Maldives.
Breakfast
On breakfast it comes ahead of the 4 other hotels it is compared with in the Maldives.
The numbers, and how we count them
Joy Island in numbers
What
Score out of 10
Guests who mention it
Happy
Location
9.0
173
96%
Room
8.4
156
95%
Staff and service
9.4
477
98%
Breakfast
7.9
27
89%
Price
–
18
56%
The scores come from 500 Google reviews with text, left from 23 February 2026 to 4 October 2026. The other hotels are the ones weighed for a stay in the Maldives: for each we read its latest 500 Google reviews with text, or all of them where there are fewer, as of 5 October 2026. The score is the average of what they say, from 0 if they speak of it very badly to 10 if they speak of it very well. Where only a few mention something, the score stays close to the guide’s average: a handful of voices does not make a reputation.
Price: for two on the night of 1 April 2027, from $775 (seen on Google Hotels on 12 October 2026).
What a night costs, season by season
For 2 adults the lowest seller on Google showed $775 a night from 1 to 7 April 2027, against $2,411 on 24 December 2026. I would start with early April, then check the same dates again before booking.
Period
Dollars a night
13 October to 27 October 2026
678–796
28 October to 19 December 2026
743–1,493
20 to 26 December 2026
888–2,411
8 January to 31 March 2027
874–1,187
April 2027
775–1,182
1 May to 5 September 2027
923–993
The lowest price any seller showed on Google Hotels for one night searched alone, for 2 adults, read on 12 October 2026; no room or meal plan is specified. No price is shown from 27 December 2026 to 7 January 2027, and the calendar stops on 5 September 2027. Booked as 7 nights from 16 November 2026, the lowest seller Google listed that day asked $932 a night; the resort’s own listing, $1,036.
Joy Island, Cocoon or Centara Grand
Cocoon Maldives, the group’s sister island, is also all inclusive with a kids’ club, and suits families happy to take a charged seaplane. Centara Grand Lagoon is another North Malé resort for families and couples, sold all inclusive and reached by a compulsory speedboat.
Lowest one-night price for 2 adults in 16–22 November 2026, read on Google on 12 October 2026; room and meal plan unspecified.
The Market, Palm Beach, the Rainbow pool, Oasis Spa, the reef and Kiddie Cove
The everyday buffet, dinner at the tip of the island, pizza and teppanyaki at extra cost, the cocktail pool, massages, the reef and the children’s club.
The Market
The main restaurant, a buffet with cooking stations from round the world: breakfast from 7.30 to 10am, lunch from 12.30 to 2.30pm and dinner from 7.30 to 9.30pm (The Market). The all-inclusive adds tea, coffee, juices, soft drinks, beer and selected wines by the glass (meal plan).
Palm Beach
A restaurant and bar at the tip of the island, under sails and palms, facing the sunset: paella at lunch, the grill at night (Palm Beach). The all-inclusive applies at the bar and for tea with snacks from 4.30 to 5.30pm (meal plan).
Il Basilico and Japanese Corner
Wood-fired pizza from 11am to 11pm at Il Basilico (Il Basilico); teppanyaki cooked at the table at Japanese Corner, lunch from 1.30pm and dinner from 7pm (Japanese Corner), closed on Wednesdays. Both are charged separately (meal plan).
Rainbow Bar and the pool
The main pool sits beside the Rainbow Bar (Rainbow Bar); the all-inclusive cocktails, beer, wine and spirits are poured from 10am to midnight, after which they are charged (meal plan).
Oasis Spa
Open from 10am to 8pm (spa). On the May 2026 menu a 50-minute Balinese massage costs $140, hot stones $175, and Soulmate’s Serenade for 2, a massage, a facial and a candlelit dinner, $695 (spa menu).
The reef and diving
The resort places its house reef on the sunrise side, near the Beach Villas and Lagoon Villas (FAQ). The dive centre is SSI: an afternoon dive cost $100 with guide and boat, taxes included, on the July 2025 list (dive list).
Kiddie Cove
The club for children from 3 to 12, from 10am to 1pm and 2 to 6pm (Kiddie Cove), free for every guest (meal plan); the 2026–27 festive offer also includes the island’s water park (offer). Joy Arcade has 4 virtual-reality stations, at a charge (Joy Arcade).
Good to know before you book
Rates carry a 10% service charge, 17% GST and a $12 green tax per person per night, according to the 2026–27 festive offer. Source: joyisland.com
Rates are subject to 10% service, 17% GST and a $12 green tax per person per night, according to the 2026–27 festive offer (offer); 17% is the tourism GST set by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority from 1 July 2025, read on 15 October 2026, and it applies to diving and to the resort’s offers too.
The resort places its house reef on the sunrise side, near the Beach Villas and Lagoon Villas (FAQ). Guests in 2026 describe fish, rays and small reef sharks there. Between May 2025 and September 2026 several Google reviews call the reef small, and 5, since December 2025, write that there is no real house reef. The lagoon is shallow, and at low tide the water draws back from the shore (Google).
This is a new island, made with dredged sand, as several guests wrote in 2025 and 2026: the planting is still young, and in March 2026, 2 islands under construction opposite could be seen from the beaches and the pool (Google).
The all-inclusive leaves out Japanese Corner, Il Basilico, in-villa dining, destination dining, picnics and excursions; after midnight drinks are charged, and every adult needs their own package (meal plan). Between May 2025 and March 2026, 3 Google reviews write that on departure day lunch is not covered by the package (Google).
Anyone staying over 24 December 2026 pays for the compulsory Christmas Eve dinner, $450 per adult and $225 per child; on 31 December the gala costs $500 and $250, tax and service included (Booking.com). On Google that night a room cost $7,993 (Google Hotels).
Island time runs an hour ahead of Malé, GMT+6; English is the official language, with multilingual staff (FAQ).
Wi-Fi is free across the resort. Between January and July 2026, 4 Google reviews describe a connection that is slow, unreliable or does not reach the beach; others, in the same months, find it good across the island.
9 kinds of villa, on the beach and over the lagoon, from 50 to 300 m²
From Malé airport to Joy Island, by speedboat or seaplane
By shared speedboat, 40 minutes at any hour; by seaplane, 10 minutes, daylight only.
Speedboat
40 minutes from the airport on the resort’s home page, 40–45 in its FAQ (official site, FAQ); the shared transfer follows your flight times, day or night (Booking.com).
Seaplane
10 minutes with Trans Maldivian Airways, daylight only: $300 per adult and $190 per child aged 2 to 15, return, taxes included; infants without a seat fly free; 20 kg checked and 5 kg in hand, $5 for every extra kilo; book at least 7 days ahead (seaplane).
Speedboat price
On Booking.com $200 per adult and $100 per child until 23 December 2026, $250 and $125 from 24 December, taxes included (Booking.com); the 2026–27 festive offer gives $250 per adult (offer). The Beach Residence includes a private speedboat (Beach Residence).
Times and lounge
Land after 3.30pm and it is the speedboat; return seaplanes leave between 6am and 4pm, for flights after 9am. The Cocoon Collection Lounge at Velana is free on arrival and costs $35 per adult and $20 per child on departure (seaplane).
Read on the resort’s site and Booking.com on 5 October 2026.
Joy Island, Malé airport and Hanifaru Bay
The resort, the airport 40 minutes away by speedboat and Hanifaru in Baa Atoll, the longest trip on the list. Tap a place for details.
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A day at Joy Island
7.30am
Breakfast at The Market
Breakfast is served at The Market between 7.30am and 10am.
10am
A morning at Kiddie Cove
Kiddie Cove, for children aged 3 to 12, is open from 10am to 1pm and again from 2pm to 6pm.
12.30pm
Paella at Palm Beach
Palm Beach, at the tip of the island, serves lunch from 12.30pm, with its classic Spanish paella.
The afternoon
A massage at Oasis Spa
Oasis Spa is open from 10am to 8pm, with Balinese and hot stone massages among its treatments.
4.30pm
Afternoon tea at Palm Beach
Afternoon tea is served at Palm Beach from 4.30pm to 5.30pm.
7.30pm
Dinner at The Market
Dinner at The Market runs from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
Joy Island Maldives reviews
Platform scores and what guests write about the reef, the family villas, the food and an island that is still young.
From the resort’s Google listing, March to September 2026: the reef, a villa for 5, low tide, an island still young and a second stay.
Google
The reef from the resort
A honeymoon couple, the last 2 weeks of June: the house reef is reached straight from the resort, where they saw a stingray, reef sharks and fish of every colour; a varied buffet, and pizza passed by an Italian.
2 parents and 3 children aged 4, 8 and 11 in the 2-room family villa, on a beach almost to themselves; they praise the buffet and Kiddie Cove, and note that some restaurants are charged and the excursions are dear.
A family of 3 in a 50 m² Beach Villa at the end of August: soft drinks, 2 juices, 4 beers and 2 small bottles of Chilean wine in the minibar; there is no proper reef, they write, and at low tide they went to the beach by the pool. 4 stars.
Young planting, 2 islands opposite under construction, a crowded buffet and an all-inclusive that ended after breakfast on departure day; the pool and the beaches are lovely. 3 stars.
Prices, hours and price lists read on 5 October 2026.
How much is a night at Joy Island?
On the Google Hotels calendar, read on 5 October 2026 for 2 adults, a night cost $949 on 16 November 2026, $772 on 5 December, $2,079 on 24 December and $7,993 on 31 December; $856 on 11 January 2027, $708 on 3 April, the lowest, and $923 on 10 May and 15 August. For 27 and 28 December and from late August 2027 Google showed no price.
For a stay from 16 to 19 November the resort’s own site asked $1,036 a night for the Lagoon Villa all inclusive on its private offer, Agoda $973 and Booking.com $1,011; the Agoda and Booking.com totals already included tax (Google Hotels). The transfer is extra (seaplane).
Joy Island all inclusive: what is included?
The site publishes a single meal plan, all inclusive (meal plan), while LuxAtolls also lists bed and breakfast, half board and full board (LuxAtolls). It covers breakfast, lunch and dinner at The Market with tea, coffee, juices, soft drinks, beer and selected wines by the glass; 4.30pm tea at Palm Beach; cocktails, sparkling wine and spirits by the glass at the Rainbow Bar and the Palm Beach bar from 10am to midnight; a minibar with soft drinks, water, 2 bottles of wine and 4 beers a day; kayaks, snorkelling gear and paddleboards (meal plan, January 2026).
It leaves out in-villa dining, destination dining, Japanese Corner, Il Basilico, excursions, picnics and weddings; every adult needs the package (meal plan).
How do you get to Joy Island? What does the transfer cost?
By shared speedboat, 40 to 45 minutes from Malé airport, at any hour (FAQ, Booking.com): on Booking.com $200 per adult and $100 per child return until 23 December 2026, $250 and $125 from 24 December (Booking.com). By seaplane, 10 minutes, daylight only, $300 per adult and $190 per child aged 2 to 15; land after 3.30pm and it has to be the speedboat (seaplane).
Does Joy Island have a house reef?
The resort says yes: the house reef is reached from the sunrise side, near the Beach Villas and Lagoon Villas (FAQ). Guests in 2026 describe fish, rays and small reef sharks there; several call the reef small, and some write that there is no real house reef. Anyone who wants to snorkel from the villa books the sunrise side (Google).
Which villa should you book at Joy Island?
On the beach the 50 m² Beach Villa is on the sunrise side, while the 70 m² Beach Suite and the 100 m² Beach Suite Pool, with its private pool, face the sunset (Beach Villa, Beach Suite, Beach Suite Pool). Over the lagoon the 60 m² Lagoon Villa is on the sunrise side, and the 70 m² Lagoon Suite and the 100 m² Lagoon Suite Pool face the sunset (Lagoon Villa, Lagoon Suite, Lagoon Suite Pool).
For a family there is the 100 m² Family Beach Villa, 2 spaces with a connecting door, for up to 6 (Family Beach Villa); for 6 adults the 2 Residences, 300 m² on the beach and 280 m² over the water (Beach Residence, Lagoon Residence).
Is there a kids’ club at Joy Island?
Yes, Kiddie Cove, for children from 3 to 12, from 10am to 1pm and 2 to 6pm (Kiddie Cove), free for every guest (meal plan). Children of all ages are welcome; a cot is free on request and an extra bed costs $170 a night (Booking.com). The 2026–27 festive offer includes the water park (offer); a try-dive for children of 8 and 9 cost $204 on the July 2025 list (dive list).
What taxes are added?
Rates are subject to 10% service, 17% GST and a $12 green tax per person per night (2026–27 festive offer), the rates set for resorts (MIRA GST, MIRA Green Tax, read on 15 October 2026). The published transfer prices already include tax and service (seaplane, Booking.com).
What is the spa like? Is there a sauna or steam room? Is it part of the all-inclusive? Is there a day pass?
Oasis Spa has its treatment rooms over the water, above the lagoon, some for couples, and outdoor spa areas, according to Hotels.com and Resortlife (Hotels.com, Resortlife); the resort publishes neither its size nor the number of rooms, nor a sauna or steam room. It opens from 10am to 8pm, with Balinese and hot-stone massages, aromatherapy and couples’ treatments (spa); treatments are charged: on the May 2026 menu a 50-minute Balinese massage costs $140, the 80-minute one $165, a private yoga class $50 (spa menu). The gym on the sea is open round the clock, with sunrise and sunset yoga (experiences); for bookings made from 1 August to 31 October 2026 the festive offer takes 10% off treatments (offer). The all-inclusive does not cover treatments, and the resort publishes no spa day pass for visitors.
What restaurants are there at Joy Island?
The site speaks of 4 restaurants and 2 bars (official site); its dining page announces 3 and then lists 4 (dining). They are The Market, a buffet (The Market); Palm Beach, at the tip of the island, its bar open from 10am to 9.30pm (Palm Beach); Japanese Corner, teppanyaki (Japanese Corner); Il Basilico, a pizzeria from 11am to 11pm (Il Basilico); and the Rainbow Bar beside the pool (Rainbow Bar). In-villa dining runs from 7am to 2am (meal plan); sandbank picnics and lagoon dinners are booked through the island host (destination dining).
What excursions are there? Can you see manta rays?
Yes, on paid trips. On the July 2025 list the 2.5-hour speedboat manta search cost $243 per adult and $122 per child; Turtle Point by dhoni $79 and $40; Coral Garden $63 and $32; night snorkelling $82; and the 4-hour whale-shark trip to Hanifaru in Baa Atoll $505 and $253, taxes included (water sports list). The site also lists a sunset dolphin cruise, fishing and a visit to a local island (excursions).
Is it worth booking direct? Are there offers?
Booking on the site adds a further 2% off. Early Bird takes 20% off when booking 60 days ahead and 30% at 180 days, from 4 nights, paid 21 days before arrival and free to cancel up to 7 days before (Early Bird); couples get 15% off one-bedroom villas (honeymoon), families 15% off 2-bedroom ones (offers). For 16 to 19 November, though, Agoda on Google asked $973 a night against the site’s $1,036 (Google Hotels).
Can you get married at Joy Island? What does it cost?
Yes, with a symbolic ceremony: the packages in the April 2026 brochure cost $1,600 (Joy Momento), $2,000 (Bliss) and $2,850 (Joy Island Wedding), with a coordinator, bodu beru drummers, a cake, a bouquet and 15 to 50 photographs; the 2 dearer ones include a couples’ massage, and the Joy Island Wedding adds a night in a Lagoon Suite with a flower bath, a floating breakfast, a video and a sunset or dolphin cruise (weddings brochure). For events and meetings Joy Connect Hall measures 270 m² and holds up to 120 people (Joy Connect).
What happens at Christmas and New Year?
Anyone staying on 24 December 2026 pays for the compulsory Christmas Eve dinner, $450 per adult and $225 per child; on 31 December the New Year’s Eve gala costs $500 and $250, tax and service included (Booking.com). The programme is not yet published. The festive offer, for bookings until 31 October 2026 and stays until 31 January 2027, takes up to 20% off (offer); on Google a night on 31 December cost $7,993 (Google Hotels).
What pools are there at Joy Island?
The main pool sits beside the Rainbow Bar, outdoors and included in the stay (Rainbow Bar, Google, February 2026); wood-fired pizzas are served by it (Hotels.com). The Beach Suite Pool, the Lagoon Suite Pool and the residences have private pools: the Beach Residence’s measures 6.8 by 3.6 metres, 1.2 deep (Beach Residence). The water temperature is not published.
Is Joy Island open all year?
Yes: it opened on 1 September 2023 and publishes no seasonal closure (Southall Travel). On 5 October 2026 Google showed no price for 27 and 28 December 2026 or from late August 2027 (Google Hotels); anyone on the island on 24 and 31 December pays for the compulsory festive dinners (Booking.com).
Is there Wi-Fi? What are the check-in and check-out times?
Wi-Fi is free across the resort, villas included; there is a clinic with a doctor and a nurse; drones are not allowed (FAQ). Check-in is at 2pm and check-out at noon (Google Hotels); the restaurants’ dress code is “island chic” (meal plan).
What do guests say about Joy Island?
4.9 out of 5 on Google from 2,598 reviews, 4.9 on Tripadvisor from 2,948 and 9.5 on Booking.com from 137, read on 5 October 2026 (Google Hotels, Tripadvisor, Booking.com). The praise goes to the staff, often with their host named, The Market’s buffet and the beaches. The island opened in 2023 and its planting is still young, the house reef is on the sunrise side, and extras sit outside the all-inclusive, from à la carte dinners to excursions (Google).
Do you need a car at Joy Island?
There is no car transfer: from Velana airport guests reach Joy Island by shared speedboat, 40 to 45 minutes, or by seaplane, 10 minutes, in daylight only.
Children’s kingdomHeld by a hotel whose club takes children aged 4 or younger, and where at least 30 guests write about children and nearly all of them write well of it.8 hotels of 335 hold it.They read your mindHeld by a hotel in the guide’s top 8% for what guests write about the staff and the service: at least 30 of them must mention it.18 hotels of 335 hold it.Doing nothing, very wellHeld by a hotel in the guide’s top tenth for what guests write about the beach and the lagoon: at least 30 of them must mention it.18 hotels of 335 hold it.A spa worth the tripHeld by a hotel in the guide’s top tenth for what guests write about the spa, when at least 30 of them mention it, or by a hotel whose spa has, in our reading of its official pages, one of the highest readings in the guide.28 hotels of 335 hold it.A table worth the tripHeld by a hotel in the guide’s top tenth for what guests write about the food, when at least 30 of them mention it, or by a hotel whose table has, in our reading, one of the highest readings in the guide.30 hotels of 335 hold it.