Maldives resorts had a strong showing at this year's Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Choice Awards, with a small boutique island in Lhaviyani Atoll stealing some of the spotlight. Fushifaru Maldives came in at No. 4 among Indian Ocean resorts, a notable result for a property that sits on its own compact island and trades on intimacy rather than sheer scale.
Fushifaru's headline attraction is the largest natural sandbank in Lhaviyani Atoll — a strip of white sand a short boat ride from the resort that appears and disappears with the tide. The surrounding waters sit within a Marine Protected Area, and nearby Fushifaru Thila is a well-known manta ray cleaning station, so encounters with mantas, turtles, reef sharks and dolphins are a genuine draw rather than a brochure promise. Snorkellers can start on the house reef, while divers get access to the atoll's channel sites. The resort itself, part of BeKind Hotels & Resorts, leans into modern Maldivian design and a hospitality style its general manager, Ahmed Siaar, describes as rooted in local culture and personal gestures rather than scripted service.
Fushifaru wasn't the only Maldivian name on the Condé Nast list. The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort in Dhaalu Atoll took the No. 2 spot — a fitting 10th-anniversary gift, given it opened in 2016. The resort is known for its architecture inspired by the island's surroundings, a large inventory of overwater and beach villas, a vibrant house reef and the signature St. Regis butler service, and it caters to couples and multigenerational families alike.
Away from the Readers' Choice Awards, the South Asian Travel Awards (SATA), now in their 10th edition, handed out further Maldivian honours. Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu in Baa Atoll won Silver for Leading Eco-Friendly Resort, with GM Siraj Ali Waseem named South Asia's Best GM for the Maldives. The island, inside the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll, runs its own farm and hosts the Marine Turtle Rescue Centre in partnership with the Olive Ridley Project — a collaboration marking a decade in 2026 — where injured turtles are treated and guests can join education programmes. Sun Travels, meanwhile, was named Best Inbound Travel Agency, credited for its shift to a tech-driven B2B platform with real-time inventory and API connectivity for international agents.
For travellers, this run of awards is a useful shortlist. If you want a small-island feel with easy access to mantas and a famous sandbank, Fushifaru fits the bill. If you're after full-scale luxury with a big resort's facilities and polished service, Vommuli is the established pick. And if sustainability is a deciding factor, Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu lets you pair a beach holiday with hands-on turtle conservation in one of the country's richest biospheres. Awards are subjective, but reader-voted lists like Condé Nast's reflect real guest experiences — and right now the Maldives is collecting plenty of them.
