OBLU SELECT Lobigili, in North Malé Atoll: 68 adults-only villas on an island 15 minutes by speedboat from the airport
A week here, month by monthOBLU SELECT Lobigili suits couples who want dinner under the sea and the bill settled before they leave home: nights from $970 from 1 May 2027, the lowest price any seller showed on Google for one night. A stay of fewer than 4 nights leaves out the dinner at Only BLU and the massage.
Official websiteDoes it suit you?
5 pairs of hotels, and the guide tells you whether this one suits you.
I would ask for the SunNest Beach Pool Villa: 62 m², an open-air bathroom and an 8 m² pool steps from the sand. A guest who stayed in both kinds, writing in April 2025, found the beach villas more private and all facing the sunset.
In the calendar read on 12 October 2026 the lowest week runs from 1 to 7 May 2027: 7 nights at $970. The dearest, 29 December 2026 to 4 January 2027, costs $2,135 a night.
Spa treatments and water sports are priced in dollars, with a 10% service charge and GST added on top. Water-sports prices are per person, except big-game fishing, which is per charter.
3 guests who wrote between April 2025 and August 2026 mention the bridge to the family resort OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi: one says guests have full access, another that they are welcome to visit, a third mentions its gift shop.
Lobigili sells a simple idea: land, step onto the speedboat and 15 minutes later you are on an island that children never reach and where you sign for almost nothing. The Lobi Plan covers 3 meals at Ylang-Ylang, unlimited wine, beer and spirits, a minibar restocked daily, a sunset fishing trip and a guided snorkel; every 4 nights it adds dinner at Only BLU, the restaurant under the sea, or at Gaadiya 17, and a 45-minute massage each. Stay fewer than 4 nights and those 2 are not included.
The 68 villas are much alike inside, say guests who tried both beach and water: what changes is the setting and the small 8 m² pool that 46 of them have. A bridge joins the island to OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi, which is built for families, and some villas look across at that resort; the same guests recommend the beach as the more private.
Lumina Guide 2027
On an adults-only island 15 minutes by speedboat from the airport, OBLU SELECT Lobigili settles the bill before you leave home: meals, wine, cocktails, transfers and, from 4 nights, dinner under the sea at Only BLU.
How we choose the hotelsWhat we found reading the hotel’s own pages, one thing at a time.
15 minutes by speedboat from Velana and a reef within a swim of the east shore; the family resort is across the bridge.
An island built for 2, with a personal hostess on WhatsApp, vow renewals and films on the beach.
3 types of 73 to 76 m² on the website, 62 to 75 m² in the brochure; 46 villas with a pool, all for 2 adults.
Ylang-Ylang all day and a special dinner every 4 nights at Only BLU or Gaadiya 17; what guests remember most is dinner under the sea at Only BLU.
ELE|NA Ayur with a sauna and steam room, 9am to 9pm; one 45-minute massage every 4 nights, size not published.
Google Hotels: single nights for 2 from $918 on 24 October 2026 to $2,135 at New Year, taxes included, with nearly everything covered.
A badge is an experience travellers look for, that is really here and that few hotels in the guide have.
Here: guests from the age of 18, and the island is kept for those who sleep on it: families stay on Ailafushi, across the bridge.
Minimum age 18, from booking.com. 8 hotels of 335 hold it.
Every hotel with this badgeHere: a water villa with a pool, dinner at Only BLU and a vow renewal on the sand.
50 of the 88 reviews that say who was travelling are honeymoons. 19 hotels of 335 hold it.
Every hotel with this badgeHere: 15 minutes by speedboat from Malé airport, both ways already in the price.
Stated by coloursofoblu.com. 20 hotels of 335 hold it.
Every hotel with this badgeWhat do OBLU SELECT Lobigili’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.
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. The island is 15 minutes by speedboat from the airport: guests write of the clear water, the reef you can reach from the villa and the quiet of an island without children.
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Roomy villas cleaned twice a day, with an open-air bathroom and, in 46 of the 68, a small pool: guests in the water villas write of snorkelling straight off the deck.
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. The personal hostess, who looks after guests on WhatsApp, comes up in review after review, along with the app for booking restaurants and activities and the staff at Ylang-Ylang.
Breakfast is the buffet at Ylang-Ylang, with live cooking stations and eggs made to order.
7 in 10 guests who mention the price find it fair. When guests write about the bill they write about the Lobi Plan, which covers meals, drinks, the minibar and transfers: on the island, they say, the wallet hardly comes out.
| What | Score out of 10 | Guests who mention it | Happy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | 8.6 | 94 | 88% |
| Room | 8.6 | 90 | 93% |
| Staff and service | 9.0 | 192 | 93% |
| Breakfast | 7.9 | 15 | 87% |
| Price | – | 26 | 65% |
The scores come from 242 Google reviews with text, left from 2 April 2022 to 25 September 2026. The other hotels are the ones weighed for a stay near Malé: for each we read its latest 500 Google reviews with text, or all of them where there are fewer, as of 6 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.
The hotels we weigh it against near Malé:
Price: for two on the night of 1 May 2027, from $970 (seen on Google Hotels on 12 October 2026).
On 12 October 2026 Google showed single nights for 2 adults at $970 from 1 May to 5 September 2027, against $1,156 to $1,292 from 10 to 30 April 2027 and $2,135 every night from 24 December 2026 to 4 January 2027. I would aim for May 2027 or later; for 4 October 2026, the reading of 3 October showed the hotel’s own listing at $918 and the lowest seller at $907.
| Period | Dollars a night |
|---|---|
| 13 October to 1 November 2026 | 918–1,465 |
| 2 November to 23 December 2026 | 1,465–1,613 |
| 24 Dec. 2026–4 Jan. 2027 | 2,135 every night |
| 5 January to 9 April 2027 | 1,549–1,897 |
| 10 April to 30 April 2027 | 1,156–1,292 |
| 1 May to 5 September 2027 | 970 every night |
The lowest price any seller showed on Google Hotels for one night searched alone, for 2 adults, read 12 October 2026; no room or meal plan is specified. The calendar stops on 5 September 2027; 16 nights between 14 October and 26 November 2026 have no price. Booked as 7 nights from 16 November 2026, the lowest seller Google listed that day asked $1,481 a night, and the hotel’s own listing the same.
Choose Lobigili for dinner at Only BLU under the sea and a crossing of 15 minutes, or OBLU SELECT Sangeli for a reef that begins a few metres off the main beach. Choose Anantara Veli for an adults-only resort in South Malé Atoll, where the shared transfer is charged.
| Hotel | A night, from | Speedboat |
|---|---|---|
| OBLU SELECT Lobigili | $1,465 | Included, both ways |
| Sangeli | $1,124 | Included, both ways |
| Anantara Veli | $1,028 | $354 per person, return |
The lowest single-night seller price in the week of 30 November to 6 December 2026, for 2 adults, read on Google on 12 October 2026; no room or meal plan is specified.
Dinner under the sea, a bar with an infinity pool and a spa designed for 2.
The resort bills it as the largest undersea restaurant in the Maldives: a horseshoe-shaped room with tables against the glass and the reef beyond, set menus of meat, seafood or vegetarian dishes and a glass of sparkling wine to start. Lunch is served from Tuesday to Sunday and dinner every night from 7pm to 10pm; the Lobi Plan includes one visit every 4 nights, booked ahead.
At West Beach Bar, open from 10am to 12.45am, 10 cocktails and 10 mocktails are poured without limit; Ylang-Ylang serves wine and sparkling wine, the minibar is restocked daily and the Hedhikaa Hut puts out Maldivian snacks from 4pm to 6pm. Still charged: shisha and cigars, Monday’s lobster night at Gaadiya 17 and motorised water sports.
Treatment rooms open onto the garden and the sea, and there is a sauna and a steam room, all open daily from 9am to 9pm. The signature ritual is the 150-minute Lobi Dhooni for 2, and there is a sound-healing session taken floating on the water; the menu also runs to Balinese, hot-stone, reflexology and Indian head massage.
Shisha and cigars, the lobster night at Gaadiya 17 and motorised water sports stay at a charge; extras, the spa included, add 10% service and 16% GST. Source: coloursofoblu.com
In places you walk into the sea over broken coral: guests recommend reef shoes. Source: 242 Google reviews read, 2 April 2022 to 25 September 2026
Lobigili is joined by a bridge to OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi, the group’s family resort: Lobigili guests may cross for its bar, pool and evenings, while the adults-only island is kept for its own guests, several reviews since 2023 explain.
The Lobi Plan’s special dinners and massages come in blocks of 4 nights: one dinner at Only BLU or Gaadiya 17 per guest every 4 nights, one 45-minute massage per guest for 4 to 7 nights, 2 for 8 to 11, and so on. Both offers on the website ask for a 4-night minimum.
Opening times change from page to page. Gaadiya 17 closes on Mondays according to the dining page read on 3 October 2026 and on Tuesdays according to the Lobi Plan page of 6 October, which puts its lobster night on a Monday; dinner at Ylang-Ylang starts at 5pm on the first and at 7pm on the second.
By speedboat from Velana, in a quarter of an hour
| Speedboat | 15 minutes from Velana airport, both ways included in the Lobi Plan |
|---|---|
| On arrival | Staff meet you as you leave the airport and walk you to the jetty, with chilled water and cold towels |
| Distance | About 13 km in a straight line from the airport, worked out from Google’s coordinates |
| Check-in | From 2pm, check-out by noon; for check-in the resort asks guests to download its app 24 hours ahead |
| By car | You cannot drive there: Lobigili is an island, with no roads and no parking |
From the official website’s «Lobi Plan» and «Villas» pages, read on 6 October 2026, and the May 2026 brochure. Google Hotels listed the transfer as an extra charge; the website includes it in the plan.
Lobigili · North Malé Atoll
Loading map…
Recommended for you
Breakfast at Ylang-Ylang runs from 7am to 10am, with live cooking stations.
West Beach Bar opens at 10am, with an infinity pool, cabanas, hammocks and swings.
Freshly prepared local snacks are served at West Beach Bar between 4pm and 6pm.
The Lobi Plan includes one sunset fishing trip per guest, weather permitting.
Only BLU, under the sea, serves dinner every night from 7pm to 10pm.
West Beach Bar stays open until 12.45am, with live music played daily.
The platforms’ scores, read on 3 October 2026, and what guests write about the service, the villas, the food and the setting.
On 3 October 2026 Google showed 4.7/5 from 394 ratings. We read all 242 Google reviews with text, from 2 April 2022 to 25 September 2026: they are accounts of stays we have not verified.
Google394 reviews4.7/5
Tripadvisor3,243 reviews5/5
Booking.com393 reviews9.6/10
Expedia113 reviews10/106 stays described on Google in 2025 and 2026.
GoogleIn August 2026 a guest marked a 50th birthday with 5 nights in a water villa with a pool: the plan covered meals, drinks and a few outings, the included massage was extended at a charge, and at Only BLU everyone ended up filming the fish rather than eating.
GoogleIn March 2026 a German couple split 2 weeks between the 2 pool villas and found them identical inside. The house reef disappointed them a little, with blacktip sharks but no turtles; for those they paid $120 plus tax each for a dedicated trip.
GoogleIn March 2026 a French guest found everything included except excursions, the buffets varied and the staff attentive; the one drawback, the guest wrote, was an island that is plainly artificial, facing a hotel with a giant slide.
GoogleIn September 2026 a Spanish couple on honeymoon heard planes and speedboats, found the food spicy and repetitive and the villas far from the lagoon they had pictured; the staff, they wrote, were attentive and kind.
GoogleIn July 2026 a couple married on the beach one afternoon, after an arrival with a flower garland and a saxophonist. Their water villa with a pool had a glass panel in the floor over the lagoon; at Only BLU a nurse shark swam past.
GoogleIn November 2025 a couple who moved from a beach villa to a Nest Water Villa preferred the first: more private, better for swimming; on the water you climb down a ladder into shallow water, facing the hotel next door, with no parasols.
What people ask before booking Lobigili, answered from sources read between 3 and 6 October 2026.
A 5-star, adults-only resort on its own island in North Malé Atoll, opened on 24 March 2022 by COLOURS OF OBLU, the Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts brand, according to its opening release. In Dhivehi «lobi» means love and «gili» island, hence its name, the island of love. There are 68 villas in 3 types, says the May 2026 brochure.
In 2024, a resort release recalls, Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice awards ranked it the world’s top luxury hotel; in 2026 it is among the Best of the Best, the top 1% of hotels. A bridge links it to OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi, which takes families.
3 types, all for 2 adults with a king bed: 22 Nest Water Villas over the water without a pool, 73 m²; 22 SunNest Water Pool Villas over the water with a pool, 76 m²; and 24 SunNest Beach Pool Villas on the beach with a pool, 73 m². Those are the sizes on the website’s villa pages, read on 6 October 2026.
The May 2026 brochure gives 75 m² for the water villas and 62 for the beach villas, with 8 m² pools. Every villa has an open-air bathroom, a minibar restocked daily, tea and coffee and free Wi-Fi; guests who tried both types describe them as the same inside.
On Lobigili island in North Malé Atoll, 15 minutes by speedboat from Velana airport: about 13 km in a straight line, from Google’s coordinates. The website says «Male’ Atoll», Google puts the address in Malé and Booking.com gives the postcode 20002.
With no children the island is quiet; a bridge leads to OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi, built for families, and some villas look across at the hotel opposite. Expedia describes Lobigili as a man-made island; the website does not mention it.
By speedboat, 15 minutes from Velana airport, both ways included in the Lobi Plan: staff meet you as you leave the airport and walk you to the jetty, with chilled water and cold towels. No seaplane or domestic flight is needed.
Google Hotels, read on 3 October 2026, listed the «airport shuttle» as an extra charge; the website and Booking.com say it is free. The website’s offers list it among their inclusions.
No: Lobigili is an island, reached only by speedboat from Velana, as the Lobi Plan page explains. On the island you walk, and the hostesses send a buggy if you ask. Google Hotels showed «free parking» on 3 October 2026; there are no roads or cars on the island.
The SunNest Beach Pool Villas open straight onto the sand, and the water villas have steps from the deck into the lagoon. Guests say the beach villas face the sunset and are more private.
In places you walk into the water over broken coral: several guests between 2023 and 2025 recommend reef shoes. On rough days, a couple wrote in 2025, the villa’s own pool came into its own.
Yes: the brochure describes a rich house reef «a short swim from the eastern shore», and the website offers guided trips to other reefs in the atoll. Masks and fins are free for the whole stay, and the Lobi Plan includes one guided snorkelling trip per guest, weather permitting.
Guests like it without raving: in March 2026 a couple often saw blacktip reef sharks but no turtles, and paid $120 plus tax each for a turtle trip; others snorkel straight from their villa.
The shared pool is the infinity pool at West Beach Bar, with a swim-up bar, hammocks and swings. 46 of the 68 villas have a private pool, the 22 SunNest Water Pool Villas and the 24 SunNest Beach Pool Villas: 8 m² each, says the brochure.
The 22 Nest Water Villas have no private pool.
Neither the website nor the brochure mentions heating or water temperatures. The West Beach Bar pool keeps the bar’s hours, 10am to 12.45am.
At Ylang-Ylang, the all-day restaurant: breakfast from 7am to 10am with live stations, lunch with pizzas, tandoor dishes and salads, and an à la carte dinner whose menu changes. The dining page gives dinner from 5pm to 10pm, the Lobi Plan page from 7pm. West Beach Bar opens from 10am to 12.45am, with Maldivian snacks from 4pm to 6pm.
2 more, booked ahead: Only BLU, under the sea, lunch from Tuesday to Sunday and dinner from 7pm to 10pm; and Gaadiya 17, the food truck at the island’s tip, 3 courses of grilled meat and seafood from 7pm to 10pm, closed on Mondays according to the dining page and on Tuesdays according to the Lobi Plan page.
Yes, every stay is on the Lobi Plan: the return speedboat, meals at Ylang-Ylang, unlimited spirits, wine and sparkling wine at Ylang-Ylang and West Beach Bar, 10 cocktails and 10 mocktails, a minibar restocked daily, the overwater gym, tennis by booking, kayaks, paddleboards and snorkelling gear, and one sunset fishing trip and one guided snorkel per guest.
Every 4 nights adds one dinner at Only BLU or Gaadiya 17 per guest, and 4 nights or more bring a 45-minute massage. Still charged: shisha and cigars, Monday’s lobster night, diving, motorised sports and private cruises. A couple in October 2025 also used the plan at Ailafushi’s bar and pool.
The ELE|NA Ayur page describes a spa for couples, with treatment rooms opening onto the garden and the sea, and thermal facilities with a sauna and a steam room. It is open daily from 9am to 9pm; the website publishes neither its size nor the number of rooms.
The menu lists 3 rituals for 2, led by the 150-minute Lobi Dhooni, then facials, coconut or coffee scrubs, massages and sun treatments. The spa page adds a sound-healing session taken floating on the water and a 60-minute in-villa ritual for the head, shoulders and feet.
Partly: the Lobi Plan gives each adult one 45-minute treatment for 4 to 7 nights, 2 for 8 to 11, 3 for 12 to 15 and 4 for 16 to 19, then one more every 4 nights. Anything else is charged to the room at the prices of the 2025 menu, plus 10% service and GST, 17% for tourism since 1 July 2025 (MIRA, read on 15 October 2026).
A day pass for people not staying on the island appears neither on the website nor in the plan or the menu, read on 6 October 2026; the island can only be reached on the resort’s speedboat.
9am to 9pm every day, for the spa and for the sauna and steam room, says the ELE|NA Ayur page. The menu asks guests to arrive 15 minutes early for a consultation form and to cancel 5 hours ahead, 24 for packages, or up to 50% may be charged; no-shows pay in full.
From the menu linked from the spa page, a file dated March 2025: the Lobi Dhooni, 150 minutes, $360 a couple; Hithun Hithath and Dhekanbalun, 120 minutes, $300 a couple; a Balinese massage $110 for 50 minutes and $140 for 75; hot-stone, deep-tissue and Thai massages $120 and $150; a 75-minute anti-ageing facial $140; a 30-minute coconut scrub $60.
Prices carry 10% service and GST on top, 17% for tourism since 1 July 2025 (MIRA). The 45-minute massage in the Lobi Plan can be extended at a charge, as a guest described in August 2026.
No: Lobigili is adults-only. Booking.com accepts guests aged 18 to 90 at check-in, and the Lobi Plan reserves its massages for adults from 18; the website says «adults-only» without a minimum age.
Families have OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi, the family resort across the bridge.
An overwater gym with floor-to-ceiling glass, an artificial-grass tennis court, and a water-sports centre with jet skis, flyboards, parasailing and water-skiing at a charge, says its price list of January 2025; private films on the beach, photo shoots and wine tastings among the experiences.
Wi-Fi is free, according to the brochure; Booking.com guests rate it 8.5/10. Check-in is at 2pm, check-out at noon. Booking.com accepts no pets. The website lists no meeting rooms.
Read on 3 October 2026 on the offers page: Forever Starts Here, 10% off with a floating or in-villa breakfast for 2; The Getaway, 20% off. Both include the Lobi Plan, one dinner under the sea, the speedboat and a 45-minute massage each.
The terms: at least 4 nights, all villa types, cancellation up to 14 days ahead (Forever Starts Here excludes the festive season) and a 25% deposit when booking.
The resort offers a beach vow renewal, which its experiences page also calls a «beach wedding celebration»: a decorated buggy to the water’s edge, a ceremony master, a 3-tier cake, Champagne and a 4-course candlelit dinner that evening, and next morning a floating breakfast or Champagne breakfast in the villa.
Its price, guest numbers and whether the ceremony is legally binding are not published. In July 2026 a couple wrote that they married on the beach one afternoon; many of the reviews are from honeymooners.
Yes: on 31 December 2026 Ylang-Ylang hosts the Great Gatsby Gala Night, cocktails from 6.30pm and the gala dinner from 7.30pm to 10.30pm, then a saxophonist, a violin trio, belly dancing, a fire show, the countdown and fireworks, according to the festive calendar. On 1 January there is a brunch from 8am to 3pm.
The calendar runs from 22 December to 7 January 2027 within the Lobi Plan. On 12 October 2026 Google showed $2,135 for 2 for the night of 31 December.
No: the website describes no course or golf package. For sport there is the tennis court, booked ahead, the overwater gym, yoga and water sports, says the experiences page.
The resort has been open all year since 24 March 2022 and the website announces no closures. On 3 October 2026 Google had prices for 103 of 120 nights up to 31 January 2027; nights without a price, such as 18 to 22 October, are unknown, not closed.
The website names no best season. Guests in June and October describe rain, wind and rough seas on some days.
On Google Hotels, read on 3 October 2026 for 2 adults and one night, taxes and fees included: $907 on 4 October, $901 on 8 October and $890 on 31 October 2026, a lone low night between dearer ones; then $1,433 on 1 November, $1,610 on 8 November, the night of Diwali, and $1,405 on 1 December; $2,135 on 24 and 31 December; $1,549 on 5 January 2027 and $1,897 on 22 January. There was no price from 18 to 22 October. The calendar does not say which villa.
For the night of 4 October the official website’s link offered the «LOBI Plan» with transfers at $918.47, of which $223.47 were taxes and fees, on Google Hotels; Booking.com and Priceline asked $944.
On 3 October 2026 Google gave 4.7/5 from 394 ratings, Tripadvisor 5/5 from 3,243, Booking.com 9.6/10 from 393 and Expedia 10/10 from 113. In the 242 Google reviews with text, from 2022 to 2026, 93% of those who mention the service like it, 93% the villas and 88% the location.
The personal hostess, who looks after guests on WhatsApp, comes up again and again. 26 write about value, and 65% of them are happy. A few extras stay at a charge, from motorised water sports to the lobster night, and some villas look across at the resort next door.
Google Hotels prices for the Maldives include taxes and fees: for 4 October 2026 the official link showed $918.47, of which $223.47 were taxes and fees. Extras, from the spa to water sports, are in dollars plus 10% service and GST, according to the 2025 spa menu and water-sports price list; GST has been 17% for tourism since 1 July 2025 (MIRA, read on 15 October 2026).
282 water and beach villas, 7 restaurants and all-inclusive plans, 20 minutes by speedboat from Malé
109 villas, each with its own pool, 20 minutes by speedboat from Malé, with a big kids’ club and 8 restaurants and lounges
20 houses with infinity pools and butlers on a private island, 30 minutes by speedboat from Malé
110 villas on the beach and over the water, 30 minutes by speedboat from Malé, with a kids’ club and the restaurants of 3 islands
70 pool villas between beach and reef, a free Kids Club and Hanifaru Bay’s mantas 18 km away
90 all-inclusive pool villas 35 minutes by catamaran from Malé, with a reef round the island and slides into the lagoon
9 villa types on a palm island ringed by its house reef, 10 or 15 minutes from Hanifaru’s manta rays
81 pool villas and residences in Raa Atoll, with Club InterContinental for every guest and manta rays in the lagoon
48 beach villas, each with its own pool, on a small island 25 minutes by speedboat from Malé, with a house reef
98 pool villas, 56 over the lagoon, on a small island 35 minutes by speedboat from Malé, with a house reef
125 beach and water villas with pools, 24-hour all-inclusive, 45 minutes by seaplane from Malé, with the reef just off
80 pool villas on the beach or over the water, 35 minutes by seaplane from Malé, with a PADI dive centre and the reef a few minutes away by boat
This guide is written with Lumina, the marketing system for hotels.
