A cluster of Maldivian resorts have picked up major international accolades in recent months, and the winners tell you a lot about where island holidays are heading — family-first design, all-inclusive luxury and classic overwater living.
RAAYA by Atmosphere, a private-island resort in Raa Atoll that opened in July 2024, was named Best Family Resort in the Maldives 2025 at the Travel Time Awards in Moscow, its second consecutive win after taking Opening of the Year 2024. The resort builds its whole experience around a fictional castaway character, Seb, a shipwrecked artist whose story threads through island exploration, creative workshops and ocean activities. It has 167 beach and overwater villas and runs on its own all-inclusive-style package, The RAAYA Plan. The award was handed over during a stay by Russian actress Katerina Shpitsa — a signal of how important the Russian market has become for the property.
Also recognised for family travel was Kuda Villingili, Highly Commended for Best Long-Haul Family Stay at the UK's Family Traveller Awards 2026. It's a practical choice for parents: just 30 minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, so no seaplane transfer with tired children. Its 75 private-pool villas include multi-bedroom residences with separate entrances and internal connecting doors — ideal for grandparents and cousins travelling together. There's a Kids Club with its own beach on a shallow lagoon, a 150-metre pool with shaded shallows, beginner surf lessons at the Baby Chickens break, and racquet sports and diving for teens. Children under 12 eat free across the eight restaurants.
At the luxury end, THE OZEN COLLECTION took two World Travel Awards titles. OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI won Maldives' Leading Luxury Hotel Villa for the fourth year running, thanks largely to the Royal RESERVE — a 3,000-square-metre villa with private beach, spa treatment room, personal chef and 24-hour butler. Sister resort OZEN LIFE MAADHOO in South Malé Atoll was named Indian Ocean's Leading Villa Resort for the second time, with its INDULGENCE plan covering unlimited dining across seven restaurants, including M6m, an underwater restaurant.
Rounding things out, Baros Maldives was named Indian Ocean's Leading Water Villa Resort 2026. Baros is one of the older, smaller islands in the country, and its selling point is proximity: the house reef sits minutes from the overwater villas, so you can step off your deck and be snorkelling over coral gardens almost immediately. Water Pool Villas add 126 square metres of space and a private plunge pool above the lagoon.
For anyone planning a Maldives trip, these awards are a useful shortlist. If you're travelling with kids, Kuda Villingili's short transfer and multigenerational villa layout remove the usual friction; RAAYA suits families who want structured activities and storytelling. Honeymooners and splurgers should look at the OZEN properties for all-inclusive fine dining, while Baros remains the pick for snorkellers who want the reef on their doorstep.
