24-05-2025
OZEN Reserve Bolifushi: Maldives glamour reaches new heights
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The OZEN Collection opened Reserve Bolifushi in 2020, after the success of its first property, OZEN Life Maadhoo. But if Maadhoo is the indulgent kaftan, Bolifushi is the sparkling tuxedo.
Plonked in a cerulean lagoon in South Malé Atoll, this private resort pushes the boundaries of luxury. It's buzzy and built-up, oozing sultry glamour and is dazzlingly lit up at night. You're still on a lush tropical resort, surrounded by the pristine beaches and turquoise waters you'd expect – but the vibe is less off-grid escape than happening destination: a place to see and be seen.
This hotel was named the world's best all-inclusive in the 2023 Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Awards, and second in the overall 'Best of the Best Hotels' category. The rankings were compiled using data from more than 1.5 million reviews of the most upmarket hotels imaginable – and the award is wholeheartedly deserved.
The OZEN Collection has its own private lounge at Malé's Velana International Airport, so the luxury begins the moment you're through passport control. The resort is only a 25-minute catamaran from the island, where you're greeted with your own private butler, or hiyani. But in no way is it stuffy: this is a surprisingly family-friendly resort with one of the Maldives' biggest kids' clubs and, believe it or not, its first ice-skating rink.
In no way could the accommodation be described as "rooms": these are luxury apartments. They divide into 'Earth' villas on the beachfront, and overwater 'Ocean Pool' suites on stilts, just a walk (or jump) down into the lagoon. They vary between one and two bedrooms but all boast private pools.
The smallest villa is a two-storey, 88 square-metre behemoth with a huge L-shaped pool and a thatched gazebo to bask in the shade. The dark timber interiors are brightened with floor-to-ceiling windows and pale upholstery, and furnished with all the mod-cons you could imagine.
The villas go all the way up to the elite of the elite: the Reserve versions of both 'Earth' and 'Ocean Pool' villas. The overwater ones have slides, down which you can catapult into the Indian Ocean. There's even one 'Royal' Reserve, with a main villa and two guest versions. It has a spa pavilion, gym, six-person Jacuzzi, overwater bar, its own restaurant and a fully stocked kitchen with a wine cellar. To put it bluntly: the accommodation is ludicrous.
There are seven – yes, seven – restaurants and bars, including three specialty restaurants, all served by a chef's garden and the Maldives' first indoor hydroponic farm over on neighbouring Maadhoo.
Vista del Mar is the all-day dining option that offers "world cuisine" (translation: just about anything you could imagine) from Spain, Italy, Mexico, Japan, the US and even Russia. SOYI is the ubiquitous pan-Asian – but with a fun, child-friendly twist, like the sweet'n'sour pork ribs or the shokupan honey toast dessert.
Saffron, the traditional Indian restaurant, offers guests a Thali experience: a selection of multiple (mostly plant-based) dishes on a platter, like charred sweet potato chat, sprouted lentil curry and crispy-fried okra. Each meal begins with a rose-water hand ritual and a tamarind-infused gin martini. Sangu offers Moroccan and Levant mezze or tagines, and a sensuous beach bar where you can bury your feet in the sand to watch the belly dancers. Ozar, the bar next to the main pool, is where you dangle your feet over the water to watch the sunset, enjoying a shisha pipe and the live DJ.
But Origine is the standout specialty restaurant. It offers modern European elegance – extraordinarily fresh – via a meat, seafood or vegetarian set menu with wine pairings. It could win awards in any major city.
It shouldn't surprise you to learn that Bolifushi has a world-class spa, where you can organise a traditional Ayurvedic wellness consultation. The practitioner looks at you and feels your pulse to assess the balance of the three doshas (humours) in your body, vada, kapha and pitta, and what imbalance of each might be responsible for any skin, digestion or inflammation issues. Best not to try after a night of indulgence.
There's all the customary stuff like windsurfing, canoeing and paddleboarding, surpassed by the option to charter a private yacht. Bolifushi is also one of the only islands in the Maldives that's fully surrounded by coral reef, so you can snorkel to your heart's content if you don't fancy scuba diving around nearby shipwreck sites. You can explore the island by bike, charmingly decorated with your name on the number plate.
The in-villa "floating breakfast" is a wonderful idea. But in practice, tackling cooked eggs and coffee from a tray determined to drift away is trickier than it sounds. My butler is probably still fishing croissant crumbs out of the pool.
But there's one experience that stands out. Before the sun sets, guests gather on the wooden jetty, cocktail in hand. As if an alarm clock sounds in the water, enormous stingrays swoop out of nowhere and steam towards the shallows, begging to be fed. The hotel staff dole out handfuls of sashimi to the puppy-like rays, while reef sharks and jack fish dart here and there for bloody scraps. It's mesmerising, oddly moving and utterly unique.
Bolifushi is perhaps more suited to families and glamorous young professionals than it is to digital detoxxers after a deserted-island escape. But if there is a better all-inclusive hotel in the world, I can't imagine it.
Yes, it's opulent, and everything is of the highest quality and spec imaginable. Yes, there's a wealth of activities and restaurants to keep you entertained. But what makes it special is its warmth, its whimsy and its sense of fun.
Harriet was a guest at OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI, with flights by Inspiring Travel, a luxury travel operator that specialises in personalised experiences.
Inspiring Travel offers a seven-night stay at OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI from £5,782 per person, based on two sharing the all-inclusive 'Reserve Plan', including return flights from London Heathrow and catamaran transfers.
