Lux* South Ari Atoll

This was our first time in Maldives and I read many reviews before choosing this resort. Everything has been perfect and amazing, we got lucky with the weather, but do not trust the forecast online, it was completely inaccurate for the whole week and in the end it was sunny. I booked this trip so much in advance, and organised most of things myself. If I knew that Elena would be there to help us out and we could have booked everything on the first day, I wouldn't have wasted all this time. Keep in mind that is better to book things in advance especially where to eat and what time for dinner because it gets fully booked quiet quickly. From the airport in Male to the resort was very easy and straight forward, when we arrived somebody took care of us and showed us the way, we felt very well treated and it was impossible to get lost. The seaplane is 35 minutes journey from Male. Island: In this island it's impossible to get bored, we did not use all the activities because we were busy snorkeling and finding wild life. But literally I would have liked to stay much longer, one week was not enough for me. It was very surprising for us to see there was not many people around and we often had the beach to ourselves and it was very relaxing. Using the bicycle to get around the island was the best part of the day! The water was crystal clear, some bits better than others, the side of the sandbank was very transparent and turquoise. So beautiful and unreal, in other parts of the island, you might find some coral bits on the sand, so better wear some reef shoes. And a lot of patches of algaes. But this did not bother us much, because we were staying at the romantic water villas side. Room: I wish I knew this before: Beach towels, flip flops and beach bag will be provided! Also sunscreen is provided at the pools. Also many other ameneties such as very good hairdryer and body lotion, pack only swimwear, clothes and a pair of sandals is enough really! I wake up quiet quickly from noises and yes the watervilla at night is a bit noisy in terms of waves, at the beginning I was thinking constantly somebody was jumping into our pool and it was scary, plus the buggies travelling on the dock all the time it was very noisy but I knew this before and they moved us on the second day to one of the last water villas on the map and then it was perfect for me to relax and sleep. We were in room 102. If you don't want this problem ask to have a room from 110 to 101. (the buggy traffic is more frequent during the day, so if you want to have a nap forget about it). We had a whatsapp group with Elena and we were updated about everything every single day, this was very handful and we knew our schedule without thinking about it or if we needed to reschedule things we could have done that too. A side note for the minibar I would have liked some sweet snacks instead of some instant ramen and crisps that we barely eat :( I was sick most of the stay, and they have a doctor in t

The whole island is beautiful and all the staff is very friendly, always smiling and happy to say hi and go out of their way to make sure we were happy. This was our second time here and as we were sitting in the airport to leave we were talking about our next one. So many islands and resorts in the Maldives but we wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. I wish we could name all the staff that helped make our trip so memorable but that would be dozens of people. Our guest relations host Elena and our butler Ahmed were the two we dealt with the most, happy to help us with anything we needed and going above and beyond to make sure we did not need anything else. Cant wait to see these two and everyone else for third trip here which will hopefully be sooner than later!

The Lux experience is second to none, pure paradise. All staff throughout resort were brilliant. The choice of food was outstanding. Special thanks to Chefs Barun and Zanthill who made us a special meal. Zahir our attentive waiter and Rimmee front of house who called us by our first names. Kayla looked after our every need. Everyone at all the restaurants, bars, housekeepers, gardeners and island transport were fantastic a big thank you to everyone for making our stay do special.

We had a lovely holiday in the middle of January. The whole experience was luxurious, right from the welcoming booth at Male airport, through the seaplane ride, arrival at the resort and then the blissful stay for the next few days. We stayed at one of the “Romantic Pool Water Villa” which has a private pool, and steps leading down into the shallow coral sea right next to it. Ms. Ria was our hostess, and she did a wonderful job of orienting us to the resort right on arrival. Mr. Muaz was our housekeeping support - he was cheerful, knowledgeable and super helpful. I exchanged notes with him on Dhivehi (Maldivian language) music. I played one such song on mouthorgan (harmonica). The link to the video is included. We also commend Shawkat who drove us around in the battery cart. Countless other staff members (whose names I’m afraid I did not note down), including chefs, bartenders, restaurant managers were very professional and courteous. The South Ari Atoll is a long, narrow island of around 2km length. You can walk and cycle around the whole island, and the various restaurants, bars, and activity areas (such as watersports) are nicely spread across. You go through lush greenery – a combination of coconut palms; a variety of orchids grafted on them; and a lot of lovely tropical flora. We saw wonderful sunrises right from our villa, and wonderful sunsets from the Senses Bar. We made it a point to cover all the restaurants and lounges for different meals. The buffet spreads for breakfast and dinner were all very impressive. We had a 2 hour Dolphin-watching cruise on a motorboat. Sadly we didn’t see any dolphins (they can be quite elusive), but we saw some Manta Rays and baby sharks. My wife coined a parody of a famous Marathi song, saying “Disalach nahi disala, mala baghun panyat ghusala” – meaning: “Didn’t see the hero – he dived into the water on seeing me”. The original goes somewhat like “Finally I see my hero; he smiled on seeing me”. The cruise was anyway a nice adventure, with the boat pitching and rolling quite heavily, and we struggling to maintain our foothold on the upper deck. This was like a second honeymoon for us, 35 years after our first Hopefully we will visit again some day.

We chose Lux South Ari Atoll to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary. After an initial disappointing start due to the weather Lux* turned out to be an excellent choice. (We had torrential rain on our first day and a half). We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Lux* to friends or rebook ourselves: What was Good: First & foremost - Customer Service - they have it spot-on. The Lux* seaplane departure lounge was very pleasant & the overall transfer was well organised. The arrival briefing was informative and efficient, we were personally escorted to our villa which was close enough to one of the many restaurants and bars that we didn’t need to hire bikes. Accommodation - our villa was always very spacious, immaculately clean and tidy (thanks to Muaz! Who did such a splendid job looking after us). Staff - every member of staff we encountered (there are lots!) we found to be helpful and always pleasant with it. We would like to give extra special thanks to the following who always went the extra mile for us and made our stay that bit special: Muaz (so cheerful and friendly and a hard-worker) Zuman (our attentive waiter at East Market) Mohamed, Faiinan and Muaaviz (also East Market restaurant), Alauddin from East Bar. Shawkat (buggy transport) Kayla (reception), Huzam and Saeed from Beach Rouge restaurant. Shahumsn from Senses Bar. Therapist Nana from Lux Spa Food/Restaurants- we were AI and the service, the quality of the food and the restaurant decor were all excellent, especially at East Market and Senses where we had most of our meals. Beaches - as good as any we’ve seen and very shallow sea due to the reef. This is a relatively big island for the Maldives, so there are many places to find a quiet spot on the beach. Room for improvement: We had to wait for about 3 hours for our seaplane transfer which was a little frustrating - you just want to get there - though the Lux* lounge makes the wait very comfortable. Outside, the villa decking (we had the romantic pool water villa) and the villa facias at the back are due for a refurb or at least some maintenance - this didn’t in any way spoil our enjoyment of the villa but I know from other reviews people have remarked on this too. Water villa noise - if you’re unlucky enough to get some stormy weather - the noise of the water slopping around underneath the villa can be quite loud at night - it kept us awake a few times, but again not really a spoiler for us. You can book other accommodation types if you’re concerned about it. The supplement charge of 30% for AI guests for special dining we felt wasn’t really worth it for us as the standard restaurant offerings were so good. (Though we didn’t try the Italian or Japanese options) In summary, an excellent choice, highly recommended.

Like many others, we are repeat visitors to Lux because we love everything about “our happy place”. The rooms are bright and comfortable, with all the toiletries/amenities you could wish for. (Including beach bag and flip flops) The beaches are picture perfect and the team who look after them and the gardens do a fabulous job. The spa is a wonderful treat. The food and drink is of a fantastic standard… whatever you could wish for is available at one of the many restaurants and if you can’t find what you want ask one of the amazing chefs and they will happily oblige. They seem to thrive on making you happy! But without a doubt the best thing about Lux is the team who work there. They are amazing! And they succeed in their aim to make your stay perfect… nothing is too much trouble! Special thanks to our friends, Sangeth, Masud, Jester, Subbunhi, Senthil, Sumeet, Zahir, Zaheer, Reema (sorry about the spelling!) Praveen, Vijay, Anfal, Shawkat, Nanoo,… sorry to those I missed…. But Everybody is amazing! We miss you already……we can’t wait to book visit number 6!

We visit the Lux South Ari Atoll Maldives island for our Honeymoon. I mention great employees Zahir from mix restaurant he always smile 😊😊The experience was a wonderful and the service was great. Excellent food throughout that exceeded our expectations. Great resort for honeymooners or families. We 'd love to go back!!!

We thought Lux Maldives was exceptional: the food, wine, service, room, kid’s club, not to mention the spectacular location, were all awesome. Elena, Mofizul and Shaukat really stood out in terms of service - they were all exceptionally friendly, took the time to listen and remember things, and always went above and beyond to make sure our experience was as happy and easy as possible. It is our second time at the resort. We will definitely come back and also recommend it to friends.