Vilamendhoo, closed for renovation until 14 November: it reopens on the 15th, under a new name
Vilamendhoo reopens on 15 November, with refreshed villas and a longer name. If your dates fall before then, I’d look at Lily Beach, the island next door: all-inclusive, with the reef a swim from the beach; if you can wait, the first night on sale is the 15th itself.
Photo: Crown & Champa Resorts
6 and a half months of works on a 900-metre island
Vilamendhoo lies in South Ari Atoll, 88 km from Malé and 25 minutes by seaplane; the island is 900 metres long and 250 wide.3 From 1 May to 14 November 20261 it is closed to refresh the villas and public spaces and for new sustainability work; it reopens on 15 November. The island’s dive centre had announced it as early as 9 October 20256.
It comes back with a new name too: Vilamendhoo Maldives Resort Island5, with a new logo. Divernet reports that a buffet restaurant has been redone,7 and there’s an optional all-inclusive package, the Dine Around.4
Arrive on reopening day, then, and you christen the rooms.
The rest is as you know it: 184 villas4, an adults-only area with the Romantic villas, their restaurant, the Sunset Bar and the infinity pool, and a pool for families. The island’s page in the guide tells of the reef and the diving; its photographs and reviews date from before the works.
The renovation’s dates
The last day closed
On Google Hotels, on 18 October, no one sold the nights of the 10th and the 14th.8
If you had booked Vilamendhoo
| Dates in the closure | Write to reservations@vilamendhoo.com or the agent you booked with; no rules for moving or refunding a stay are published.1 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +960 668 0637.1 |
| The first nights | On 18 October, on Google Hotels, the night of 15 November started at $430 for 2, the night of 15 December at $596.8 |
| The offers | 20% off from 15 November to 26 December 2026, and 30% off for May to October 2027, booking by 30 November.2 |
Where to stay in South Ari before 15 November
3 islands in the guide in the same atoll, all 25 minutes by seaplane from Malé.
Lily Beach Resort & Spa
For the island next door, 2 km away: all-inclusive, champagne included, with a reef you swim to from the beach, as a couple or a family.
Rates run from $930 a night in summer to over $1,600 in winter, but almost everything is included.
Why choose it
The island is small and busy. It’s 2 km from Vilamendhoo in a straight line.9
Machchafushi Island Resort & Spa
For snorkelling every day from the villa: a small island for families and couples, among the reef’s turtles and sharks, all-inclusive or half board.
The extras add up: the shared seaplane and its waits, the Green Tax and the excursions.
Why choose it
It’s 9.5 km from Vilamendhoo in a straight line.9
Angaga Island Resort & Spa
For a stay in the water: mask, fins and a reef a few metres from the shore, on a small island with a single buffet restaurant.
The 24 Premium Water Bungalows are the only recently built ones: if a new bed and new furniture matter, book one of those.
Why choose it
It’s 15 km from Vilamendhoo in a straight line.9
Straight-line distances between the islands, from the guide’s coordinates; the rest from each hotel’s page in the guide, each with its date.9
Vilamendhoo renovation, before you ask
Is Vilamendhoo closed?
Yes, for renovation, from 1 May to 14 November 20261.
When does Vilamendhoo reopen?
On 15 November 2026, under its new name, Vilamendhoo Maldives Resort Island5.
I had booked during the closure: what do I do?
Write to reservations@vilamendhoo.com or the agent you booked with; the reopening page1 gives no other rules.
What changes after the works?
Refreshed villas and public spaces, a redone buffet restaurant, Divernet reports,7 an optional all-inclusive package and a new name.1
Where to stay in South Ari while it’s closed?
At Lily Beach, the island next door, for all-inclusive; at Machchafushi for snorkelling from the villa; at Angaga for a small island with the reef a few metres away.
We wrote this on our own: Vilamendhoo Maldives Resort Island reads it as you do. We sell no rooms: the links go where we read it.
Where we read it
- 1 Vilamendhoo’s website, the closure and reopening page, 18 October 2026
- 2 Vilamendhoo’s website, the offers, 18 October 2026
- 3 Vilamendhoo’s website, the FAQ, 18 October 2026
- 4 Vilamendhoo, the fact sheet (PDF), 18 October 2026
- 5 Vilamendhoo’s blog, 15 September 2026: the new name, 18 October 2026
- 6 Euro-Divers, the island’s dive centre, 9 October 2025, 18 October 2026
- 7 Divernet, 14 October 2026, 18 October 2026
- 8 Google Hotels, Vilamendhoo’s nights, 18 October 2026
- 9 Straight-line distances between the islands, from the guide’s coordinates, 18 October 2026
