The Maldives has had a strong awards season, with Marriott's Luxury Group properties and several other resorts picking up recognition from the MICHELIN Guide, Tatler, Condé Nast Traveler and the South Asian Travel Awards.
The headline news is The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, which has been upgraded to Two MICHELIN Keys in the global MICHELIN Keys for 2026 — a step up from its One Key in 2025 and a signal it now sits among the world's most exceptional hotels. Sister property The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort made the Best 100 Hotels list in the third edition of Tatler Best Asia Pacific 2026, announced in October, which celebrates 300 hotels, restaurants and bars across the region.
Both resorts also ranked in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards 2026 on both sides of the Atlantic: St. Regis Vommuli came in at No. 2 in the US edition's top Indian Ocean resorts, with the Ritz-Carlton at No. 5, while the UK edition placed the Ritz-Carlton 14th among Best Resorts in the World – Indian Ocean. The Maldives itself topped both US and UK rankings for Best Islands in Africa & the Indian Ocean, so the destination's pull isn't fading.
Beyond the Marriott portfolio, Alila Kothaifaru Maldives in Raa Atoll was named Best Resort of the Year at the AHA Asia Hotel Awards in Bangkok, adding to a Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice award earlier in 2026. The island resort offers 41 beachfront villas, 36 overwater villas and a small number of larger two-bedroom options, all with private pools, plus guided house reef snorkelling and a private-dining sand cay called The Shack.
Cinnamon Hotels also had a good night at the tenth SATA ceremony in Malé on 8 October. Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives took Gold as Leading Surf Resort for the eighth time — it's home to the Pasta Point break, a genuine draw for travelling surfers — while Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives retained Gold as Leading Beach Resort and picked up Silver for a CSR programme that put nine teenagers from local islands through PADI Open Water training. Wellness brand ELE|NA, which runs spas at resorts across the country, was named Leading Wellness and Spa Brand.
For travellers, this is a useful shortcut through the crowded Maldives market. If you want the biggest names in luxury, the Ritz-Carlton at Fari Islands and St. Regis Vommuli now have third-party validation to match their price tags. Alila Kothaifaru is a smaller-scale option in a quieter atoll, and Cinnamon Dhonveli is one of the few resorts where a surf holiday and an island resort actually combine — and its track record suggests it's not a fluke.
