Joali Maldives is one of the most luxurious resorts in the Maldives and has quickly built a reputation as one of the most exclusive properties in the country. Located in Raa Atoll, this ultra-luxury resort combines striking architecture, artistic design and large private villas, making it a favorite for travellers seeking a sophisticated island experience.
In this review of Joali Maldives, we share our full experience at the resort, covering everything from arrival and villas to dining, service, snorkeling and overall value for money.
Class:
★★★★★
Location:
Raa Atoll
Transfer Type:
Transfer Duration:
Seaplane
45 minutes
Island Size:
Medium
Total no. Villas:
73
Highlights:
Reviewed by Florian– December 2025
With only a limited number of villas, beautiful interiors that feel like a modern art gallery, and a team delivering exceptionally attentive service, Joali Maldives clearly positions itself among the top luxury resorts in the Maldives. However, as we will explain throughout this review of Joali Maldives, the experience is not perfect in every aspect, especially when considering the very high price point.
Our journey to Joali Maldives started at Malé International Airport where we were greeted by the resort’s ground staff. Unfortunately, this was not the warmest welcome we have experienced in the Maldives. The agent assisting us was efficient but not particularly friendly, which was a little disappointing given the ultra-luxury positioning of the resort.
From the airport, we were escorted to the Joali private lounge, which is spacious and well designed. The lounge itself is very pleasant with comfortable seating areas, complimentary drinks and snacks, and even a small kids club space for families travelling with children.
While the lounge was good overall, it was not particularly memorable compared to some of the best seaplane lounges in the Maldives. Communication about the departure time was also not ideal. We ended up waiting around 2 hours and 30 minutes before boarding the seaplane, and the updates regarding the departure schedule were quite limited.
The seaplane flight itself took about 45 minutes, offering beautiful aerial views of the atolls before landing at the resort. Upon arrival at Joali Maldives, the welcome from the resort team was much warmer and far more in line with what one would expect from a property of this level.
One of the highlights of this Joali Maldives review is undoubtedly the villa experience.
We stayed in the Two Bedroom Overwater Pool Villa number 70, and it was absolutely stunning.
Joali villas are incredibly spacious, beautifully designed and filled with artistic touches that make them feel very unique. The design philosophy of the resort is clearly focused on blending luxury with art, and this is visible everywhere throughout the villa.
The living spaces are large, the bedrooms extremely comfortable, and the overall layout is perfect for families or groups travelling together. The outdoor area includes a large pool and plenty of seating areas overlooking the lagoon.
On arrival, we were welcomed with a bottle of Ruinart champagne, which was a very nice touch and immediately set the tone for the stay.
Overall, the villas are clearly one of the key selling points of Joali Maldives and among the most impressive in the country. You can learn more about our favorite overwater villas in the Maldives here.
During our stay, we also had the opportunity to visit several other villas at the resort.
Among them were the Three Bedroom Water Residence number 73, the Four Bedroom Beach Residence number 6, and the Three Bedroom Beach Residence number 16.
These villas are truly enormous and are clearly designed for large families or groups of friends travelling together. The living spaces are incredibly generous, the outdoor areas huge, and the level of comfort extremely high.
This is something that really stands out in this review of Joali Maldives: the resort offers some of the best multi-bedroom villas in the Maldives, making it a fantastic option for travellers who want to share the experience with a larger group.
Let’s continue our review of Joali Maldives with something that truly sets this resort apart. Service is one of the areas where Joali Maldives really excels.
Aside from the slightly disappointing experience with the airport ground agent and the seaplane lounge, the service throughout the resort itself was absolutely phenomenal.
The team is incredibly attentive, professional and genuinely caring. Every interaction with the staff felt warm and thoughtful, and the level of attention to detail was impressive.
In many ways, this was one of the strongest aspects of our Joali Maldives review. The service truly feels next level and ranks among the best we have experienced in the Maldives.
The dining experience at Joali Maldives was very good overall, although we must admit we were expecting slightly more considering the resort’s positioning and pricing.
The quality of the food is certainly high, but it does not quite reach the exceptional level found at some other ultra-luxury Maldivian resorts such as Kudadoo Private Island, The Nautilus or Cheval Blanc Randheli.
Our favorite dining experience was clearly Saoke, the Japanese restaurant. The dinner we had there was outstanding and easily the best meal of our stay. The quality of the ingredients and the execution of the dishes were excellent.
Breakfast is served as a large buffet combined with an à la carte menu, offering a huge selection of dishes and fresh products.
Overall, dining at Joali Maldives is very good, but in this review of Joali Maldives we feel it falls slightly short of the absolute best culinary experiences in the Maldives.
Island beauty is always a very important factor when evaluating resorts in the Maldives.
The area near the overwater villa jetty is very beautiful, with lovely lagoon colours and nice beach sections. However, the rest of the island unfortunately has quite a large number of groynes, which are visible along several parts of the shoreline.
These structures are necessary to protect the island from erosion, but they do impact the overall natural feel of the beaches.
Because of this, Joali Maldives is not among our favorite islands in the Maldives in terms of natural beauty, which is an important point to mention in this honest review of Joali Maldives.
The main pool area at Joali Maldives is very pleasant and located near one of the nicest beach sections of the island.
The atmosphere around the pool is relaxed and stylish, with comfortable loungers and beautiful views of the lagoon. It is a great place to spend the afternoon and enjoy the laid-back luxury vibe of the resort.
The gym at Joali Maldives is excellent.
It features brand new Technogym equipment and is extremely well equipped. For guests who enjoy maintaining their fitness routine while travelling, the gym is definitely one of the best we have seen in the Maldives.
We also had the opportunity to experience a couple massage at the spa.
The spa itself is very charming and located in a peaceful part of the island surrounded by lush vegetation. The treatment rooms are beautiful and the atmosphere very relaxing.
The quality of the massage was excellent, making it a very enjoyable experience during our stay.
Unfortunately, we did not have the chance to try the house reef during this visit as we were both a bit sick and did not feel like going for a swim.
The reef at Joali Maldives is generally considered decent but not exceptional. It is not known as one of the top snorkeling resorts in the Maldives, but it still offers a reasonable underwater experience with some marine life.
For travellers whose main priority is snorkeling directly from the beach or villa, there are other resorts in the Maldives that offer stronger house reefs. You could look at Park Hyatt Hadahaa, Anantara Kihavah, W Maldives or Milaidhoo, to name just 4.
Joali Maldives is an extremely expensive resort, even by Maldives standards.
Given the very high price point, we were somewhat surprised to discover that certain sports facilities are not included. For example, simply using the tennis court or padel court costs around $135 plus taxes per hour, which feels quite excessive.
At this level of luxury, most travellers would expect these facilities to be complimentary, especially considering that many other resorts in a similar price range include them.
This was probably the biggest disappointment in our review of Joali Maldives, as it makes the overall value proposition harder to justify.
Pros
Cons
To conclude this Joali Maldives review, there is no doubt that Joali Maldives is an exceptional luxury resort with beautiful villas, outstanding service and a very refined atmosphere.
However, the extremely high price point combined with certain shortcomings, such as the island’s groynes and additional charges for sports facilities, makes it slightly harder to justify compared to some other ultra-luxury resorts in the Maldives.
Overall, Joali Maldives is still a fantastic property and many travellers will absolutely love it. But when looking at the overall experience, it may not always represent the best value for money among the very top luxury resorts in the Maldives.
Contact us for more information or to book your stay with the most competitive rates.
