Overwater Bungalows with Private Pool in Maldives (2023 Update)

Why We Like It: The 5 Star, adults only Anantara Veli Resort has 67 chic overwater bungalows in a sublime setting just half an hour by speedboat from Mali’s International Airport. The location is more private and secluded than other water villa resorts in The Maldives, and is very much designed for romantic getaways. It is still though just a two-minute speedboat shuttle to the busier (& family-friendly) Anantara Dhigu Resort across the lagoon. There you’ll find a broad range of facilities and entertainment; restaurants, bars, shops, water sports, etc. Antara Veli also has facilities of its own though with tennis courts, a fitness center, an outdoor spa, and three very fine restaurants serving Japanese, Thai, and international food at your doorstep. The service here is consistently impeccable, and you are allowed as much, or as little, interaction with staff and other guests as you would like. Water Villas & Other Accommodation: You can choose between a classic water villa/overwater bungalow on the lagoon or an ocean bungalow set on a secluded cliff edge overlooking the ocean. All the accommodation choices are doubles and all come with a suitably grand king-size READ THE REVIEW

Why We Like It: All-inclusive resorts can tend to fall short when it comes to real luxury but Ozen Maadhoo is the Maldives’ finest example of how to get it right. It is a fabulous place: the setting is stunning, as is the accommodation, there is a generous supply of top quality food and drink and, if staying more than 4 nights, complimentary activities to enjoy too – spa treatments, scuba diving, and a meal at the resort’s very special underwater restaurant, just to give you an idea. All that plus tremendously high levels of service make Ozen All Inclusive excellent value compared to other similar resorts in the Maldives. Water Villas & Other Accommodation: You have a choice of classic water villas and beach villas here, ranging in size from 85 m² to 285 m². They are all doubles, with king size bed and a sofa bed in the lounge area if needed, with the exception of the large ‘Beach Pool Pavillion‘, which has two bedrooms – a master bedroom and one twin bedroom. The water villas are a classically romantic choice with direct access to the water and READ THE REVIEW

Why We Like It: W Maldives is a sophisticated 5-star, private (heart-shaped!) island resort with cutting-edge design and facilities. It receives its fair share of international celebs and is a glamorous and fun place to hang out. Facilities include high-quality restaurants and bars, a sublime sauna & fitness center, and a water sports & dive center. The resort sits by what is considered the best house reef in the Maldives and you can admire a vast amount of sea life directly from your water villa: reef sharks, angel fish, stingrays, and glow-in-the-dark plankton and jellyfish. Water Villas & Other Accommodation: Most of the accommodation units at W Maldives are overwater bungalows. Their entry-level overwater villas are listed as Fabulous Overwater Oasis and Spectacular Lagoon Oasis. Entry level or not these are incredible places to stay and could be marketed as pretty much presidential suites in a lot of other resorts less extravagant than W Maldives. They are sleek and stylish and cover 1570 square feet/146 square meters of space which includes one double bedroom, a lounge with glass floor panels, a bathroom, and an outside terrace that has lounging space, READ THE REVIEW

Why We Like it: Sun Siyam Iru Fushi is an award-winning 5-star all inclusive with water villas on a stunning private island in The Maldives’ Noonu Atoll. The resort has a great reputation for family vacations, winning the World Travel Awards’ category of Best Family Resort in the Indian Ocean for three years running from 2016 to 2019, while also being nominated multiple times for the world’s best family resort. It is also though a popular place for a romantic getaway – this being the Maldives adults/couples dominate anyway, there are also dedicated adults-only zones and the resort is large enough to find plenty of space for rest, relaxation, and romance. It offers various options – b&b, half board, full board and all inclusive. For a multiple award-winning, 5-star resort in The Maldives Sun Siyam Iru Fushi is pleasantly very reasonably priced, with the all-inclusive being overall the best value package. Water Villas & Other Accommodation: It has a nice choice of accommodation on offer, villa style, around the beach or overwater. All of them fit a maximum of two adults and two children up to the age of 12. They READ THE REVIEW

Why We Like It: Soneva Jani is one of The Maldives’ most exclusive private island resorts and has water villas that are almost uniquely spacious, stylish, and luxurious. The very largest of them, the two and four-bedroom ‘water reserves’ around the end of the walkway, being really quite extraordinary. These opulent wooden palaces come with private pools, water slides, and retractable roofs that allow stargazing direct from the master bedroom. All-inclusive packages have been available here since 2021. Check below for details as to what is included. Most of the island is left natural and wild so, anytime the feeling takes you, you can have a wander through mangrove forests and deserted beaches, and feel yourself enticingly detached from civilization. Water Villas & Other Accommodation: The first stand-out feature of Soneva Jani’s water villas is their sheer size – all of them are spread over two floors and their very smallest one-bedroom units still cover 4477 square feet/416 square meters while their largest, the four-bedroom water reserve, covers a whopping 15295 square feet/1421 square meters. There are five other categories between those two extremes none of which will disappoint. The READ THE REVIEW

Why We Like It: Lily Beach Resort is a 5 Star all-inclusive with water villas on a stunning private island in southern Ari Atoll, Maldives. Their all-inclusive plan offers a generous array of quality services, with a range of free water sports activities and excursions and lots and lots of premium quality food and drink. It is a well-known resort and consistently popular; people return here year after year, so advance bookings are recommended. Water Villas & Other Accommodation: They have a choice of water villas, beach villas and lagoon villas at Pearl Beach. The typically romantic overwater villas come in two categories: their ‘Deluxe Water Villas’ have 1356 ft² of space including a private outdoor deck with a jacuzzi plunge pool. Their ‘Sunset Water Villas’ then are a step ahead with 1960 ft² to play with, a proportionally larger deck and larger pool, as well as a 24-hour personal butler service. All the overwater choices have a section of glass floor panels so you can gaze at the sea life below from the comfort of your bungalow. The Lagoon Villas are at the edge of the lagoon and cover READ THE REVIEW