Nova Maldives

Paulomi Lodh

Refined luxury with exceptional service at Nova Maldives We visited Nova Maldives from India in October for five nights on a Full Board Plus package, and the experience was nothing short of exceptional. An upgrade to a Water Villa with Jacuzzi added an extra layer of indulgence, making our stay truly memorable. From Malé Airport to the seaplane transfer, everything was seamlessly coordinated by Farish, setting the tone for a refined and stress-free arrival. Anar at Reception ensured a smooth and welcoming check-in, reflecting the resort’s understated elegance and a truly customer-centric approach. The Soul Kitchen team — Salil, Sabo Hassar, Shivangi, Sagar, Lavish, Saho, Pawan, Bhisma, and Anggun — delivered impeccable service and elevated dining experiences throughout our stay. Special appreciation for the thoughtful care taken with my husband’s pure vegetarian preferences, which were handled over and beyond expectations. Vijay at Wink Bar added charm and sophistication to our beachside evenings, while Ashraf from Housekeeping maintained exceptional standards of comfort and cleanliness. A special mention to Thaol, the in-house photographer, for capturing beautiful, timeless moments from our fifth anniversary with remarkable finesse. Thanks to Ablo for making this experience memorable for the lifetime A few minor areas for improvement were handled professionally — concerns regarding brown water in the washroom were promptly acknowledged and resolved. The checkout experience could have been smoother, as a two-hour seaplane delay resulted in waiting during the afternoon heat after vacating the room. The return journey with Manta Air seaplane was also uncomfortable due to the heat. Overall, Nova Maldives is a destination where luxury feels effortless, personal, and deeply memorable. Highly recommended.

Bijal Shah

Amazing place. Went with five other couples. Staff could not do enough for us, always going out of their way, even making specific food for us. The rooms were amazing, having everything that you would need. Onsite, there was a gym, infinity pool, badminton and volleyball courts. Set on a beach among trees and plants. Snorkeling and canoeing facilities on site. You can book sessions to be taught how to Snorkeling, diving and boats to take you to see whale sharks etc. Onsite, you could see baby sharks, sting rays and tropical fish. Even when Snorkeling, I experienced baby sharks swim near. Paradise for honeymooning couples, great location for photos,having hired a professional photographer onsite. Food was just wow, and staff really made us welcomed. You could see the sunset in the infinity pool, and staying in the beach accommodation, it felt like we had our our private beach to walk straight on to. Entertainment kept our evening and days busy. The resort took dollars, euros and credit cards ... Great place to come to.

Felix K

We spent two wonderful weeks at the Nova Resort in the Maldives and truly enjoyed every moment. The atmosphere on the island is incredibly relaxing and absolutely perfect for switching off and leaving everyday life behind. The resort is beautifully designed, very well maintained, and offers everything you need for a peaceful and relaxing holiday. Our stay was perfect in every way. What truly elevated our experience to the next level was the exceptional bar team. With remarkable friendliness, motivation, and genuine passion for their work, they not only served fantastic drinks but also created a special atmosphere that left a lasting impression on us. Their dedication, positive energy, and great teamwork deserve the highest praise. A big thank you to this amazing team: Fayyash - Vijay - Sandun - Nirosh You were the absolute highlight of our stay! Thank you very much for your service once again! We can highly recommend the Nova Resort and would definitely return - especially because of the wonderful people who make this place so special.

Keira Hunston

We had an amazing week at Nova! I can see that there have been a few one-star reviews recently, from guests who were staying at the resort at the same time as us, and I have to say that our experience was completely different from theirs. A couple of the things said in those reviews are also simply untrue, so I wouldn’t let them put you off. Our transfer to the island was smooth – we were waiting at Male airport for a couple of hours, but this was because our flight landed early. We were met at arrivals and taken promptly to the seaplane terminal, with all the baggage handling and checking-in being done for us. The island and hotel are beautiful! Beaches of soft, white sand and impossibly blue water. We stayed in a beach villa and then spent our last two nights in a water villa, and we loved them both (especially the beautiful outdoor shower/bathroom in the beach villa, and the sounds/view of the ocean in the water villa). Housekeeping was great – we always returned to a clean and tidy villa with fresh water bottles. We also found all the staff to be very kind and attentive. We were never short of things to do at Nova – we went on a few excursions and were able to swim with turtles and manta rays. Unfortunately we didn’t find a whale shark on our whale shark excursion but the Aquaholics team tried their best and gave us a lot of extra time to try and find them. We also went on a snorkelling safari to a beautiful coral reef. You can also snorkel in the reef around the resort – we saw loads of different tropical fish and reef sharks (just remember to wear reef-safe sunscreen and don’t step on the corals! One thing I think the resort could improve on is to give guests more information on how to be respectful of the reef, as we did see other guests standing on the corals which is very damaging). We also did lots of watersports at the resort including wakeboarding and the banana boat fun-ride. The whole Aquaholics team were amazing but special mention to Agy for doing all the watersports with us, being really flexible with timings, and for being an excellent guide on the excursions – we had the best time! The food at Nova was a highlight. We had the full-board package which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Soul Kitchen buffet (and soft drinks, teas and coffees at meal times). We actually never went to the other two restaurants because we were so satisfied with the buffet. There were loads of options at the buffet including meat dishes, fish dishes, vegetarian dishes, different kinds of vegetable and potato sides, curries, lots of fruit, little desserts, and ice cream. There are also chefs on hand to prepare things like pasta, noodles, fried rice etc. I noted that another review says the options at lunch were extremely limited to just burgers and pizza – this isn’t true (every day the lunch options were different and included loads of options. We were there for a week and only saw pizza and burgers come up once – and they were delicious!). The restaurant staff were always really attentive and friendly. I also enjoyed an amazing coconut oil and coconut shell massage at the spa, with a pot of tea made for me afterwards – the treatments are a little expensive but definitely worth it! Overall, we had a fabulous week at Nova and were really sad to leave at the end. We will definitely be back!

Chen Whittle

Our first time in Maldives and we’re so happy it was at Nova. Can’t wait to come back again!!!! If you’re a snorkelling enthusiast, Nova is the place to go! We were in villa 225, north western corner room at the end of the pier, from our room in the mornings we saw rays, sharks and a resident turtle whom we saw in the reefs outside our villa almost everyday. The room had a beautiful view of the sunset (although it was overcast the majority of the time we were there.) The room was immaculately clean and kept that way the entire time we were there, could not fault the room at all. The bed was so comfy as well. The private pool was cleaned daily, never any floaties insight. Aquaholic excursions were 1000/10, we did ALL of the snorkelling excursions: snorkel safari, night snorkelling, whale shark, turtle, manta ray and had the best time on all of them, so worth it! The house reef at Nova is incredible, the marine species at the house reef is so diverse, I wish i had another few days to just float around the house reef! The staff at Aquaholics were also amazing, and educated the guests on marine sustainability. Mid stuff: My partner and I got the all inclusive package but next time I think we’ll be just as happy getting the half board. We’re not big drinkers and found all the cocktails suuuuuper strong (they’re definitely not skimping on the booze). We’re not picky eaters and found the buffets really good considering the logistics involved in running a remote resort. I see a lot of complaints about the food and for context, we stayed at another well known resort chain and their buffet variety were almost half that of Nova. There were a lot of curries but considering that curries are a staple Maldivian dish it made sense. Only complaint was that the ice cream fridge is not cold enough, the ice cream was always melted.. The bad: The seaplane transfer was delayed on arrival and departure and was definitely not a pleasant experience for us as I get motion sickness and the sea was very choppy. Seaplanes are operated by a third party company and a lot of resorts use the same 2-3 sea plane transfer companies so It’s unfortunately an inevitable part of going to a far away resort in the Maldives so just gotta put up with it and it’s completely outside Novas control🤷‍♀️.