Would I go back to the Maldives?
Beautiful beaches and overwater villas are easy to find in the Maldives. What isn’t so easy is finding a resort that feels so effortlessly welcoming that, just three days later, you’re already planning your next visit.
During my stay at Sun Siyam Vilu Reef, it wasn’t just the setting that impressed me, but the way every part of the stay came together, from the villa and dining to the people and the experiences in between.
Sun Siyam Vilu Reef
Vilu Reef holds a significant place within Sun Siyam’s history. Founder Ahmed Siyam Mohamed opened the resort in 1998, making it the first property in what would eventually become a much larger Maldivian hospitality group. Its name refers to the magnificent reefs surrounding the island.
Reaching the resort requires a seaplane journey of approximately 35 minutes from Malé, followed by a short boat ride from the floating platform to the island. As our boat approached the jetty, we had a welcome party waiting. The sound of drums carried across the water, followed by the call of a conch shell announcing our arrival. My mother and I stepped onto a red carpet beneath an umbrella and received necklaces woven from date-palm leaves before being handed chilled welcome drinks. Soon after, we met Amani, the resort’s PR manager, who looked after us throughout the visit and accompanied us across the island to our villa.
Ocean Signature Villa
As soon as we entered the scale of the accommodation became apparent. The villa was glorious, spanning 150 square metres with a spacious bedroom, a separate living area and two bathrooms before continuing onto an expansive deck above the water. It came with a private infinity pool overlooking the ocean and even better, its own slide plunging straight into the water. There was something wonderfully silly about being able to walk out of my room, climb onto a slide and land in the Indian Ocean seconds later and I loved it.
My favourite part, however, was the net hammock stretched over the water beside the deck. Through it, the lagoon shimmered directly beneath me. I found myself lounging there whenever I was in the villa.
We were also among the earliest guests to experience this particular villa category. Vilu Reef unveiled 50 new Ocean Signature Villas in June 2026, only weeks before our stay, as part of the resort’s continuing transformation. The collection comprises 48 one-bedroom villas and two larger two-bedroom retreats, introducing a new generation of overwater accommodation to Sun Siyam’s inaugural resort.
Day One
The afternoon was left open, giving us time to properly enjoy the villa. I went down the slide far more times than any adult could reasonably justify, swam in the pool and watched the light change across the lagoon. Later, we were collected for what appeared on our itinerary as a Secret Sundowner. The name was the only information we had been given, and the resort kept the rest of the plan hidden until we reached YAYA Beach.
Waiting by the water was a beautiful arrangement of cushioned seating, drinks and canapés, positioned so that the ocean filled the view in front of us. We settled in with our mocktails just as the sky began changing colour. Instead of the fiery orange sunset I had expected, the evening unfolded in gorgeous shades of blue and purple, the colours deepening over the lagoon until the entire horizon seemed washed in them.
After sunset, we remained close to the water for dinner at Well Done, Vilu Reef’s beachfront restaurant specialising in grilled seafood and premium cuts. For the evening, the team had extended the restaurant onto the beach, setting a private table directly on the sand with individual menus, soft lighting and the ocean only a few steps away.
Seafood ran through the entire menu, beginning with a grilled scallop served with fresh fruit salsa. A seafood cocktail followed, combining yellowfin tuna and mixed seafood with pineapple and a classic cocktail sauce. The standout was the Singaporean laksa, which brought prawns together with a coconut-infused broth and aromatic spices. It was rich, fragrant and among the best dishes I ate during my stay.
After a palate-cleansing sorbet prepared from the chef’s secret recipe, the main course paired grilled Maldivian lobster and tiger prawns with creamy polenta, hollandaise sauce and chilli-garlic butter. Dessert was a passion-fruit panna cotta served with mint-and-basil sorbet and mango salsa. The freshness of the fruit cut through the creamy panna cotta, ending our first dinner at Vilu Reef on another high.
Day Two
The second day began on the beach, where guests had gathered around geometric metal frames arranged on long tables beneath the palms. We were fortunate to be present for the official launch of Vilu Reef’s Adopt-a-Coral programme, an initiative created to support the regeneration of the surrounding reef. Members of the marine team showed us how to secure living coral fragments to the frames with zip ties, explaining how they would continue to grow once placed underwater.
The team also revealed a large hexagonal frame that had been designed especially for us, with both our names built into the metal because they wanted a part of us to remain in the Maldivian ocean and at Vilu Reef after our stay. I was incredibly touched. The frame would have required planning before we arrived and knowing that someone had taken the time to create it for us made it all the more special.
We attached the coral fragments one by one before carrying the completed frame into the lagoon. Members of the marine team then snorkelled out with us to position it on the seabed near the house reef. Looking down and seeing my mother’s name and mine beneath the water was unexpectedly moving. The coral would continue developing there after our departure, while the adoption programme would allow us to receive updates on its progress. Somewhere in the waters surrounding Vilu Reef, a structure bearing both our names would remain and become part of the reef the resort was working to restore.
I remained in the water after the frame had been positioned and continued snorkelling with an instructor. This was only my second time snorkelling and the abundance of marine life made me want to keep going. The shallow turquoise water near the beach dropped into a deeper blue above the reef, revealing new clusters of coral and fish each time I looked below the surface.
At the coral-planting event that morning, I noticed an older woman among the guests wearing a shirt that read “Beloved Mama.” I only understood its significance later, when I learned that she was Baerbel Richter, a guest from Germany who had visited Vilu Reef 42 times over approximately two decades. Over time, everyone on the island had come to know her simply as Mama.
I was told that the bond between her and the resort has become so special that they named one of its residences Mama’s Residence in her honour. That truly is a testament to how Sun Siyam goes above and beyond for its guests.
In the evening, illuminated sail-shaped lanterns led us across YAYA Beach to a private table for four. My mother and I were joined by Amani and Director of Operations Ibrahim Baasith, who spoke to us about Maldivian culture and everyday life on the islands during dinner.
Executive Chef Nittin Jain had created a six-course menu that took increasingly imaginative turns as the night unfolded. Crispy shrimp kunafa paired sweet, succulent prawns with delicate strands of pastry, honey mustard and truffle mayonnaise.
It was an extraordinary combination and one of my favourite dishes of the trip. The wild mushroom cappuccino prompted some confusion when I first read its name, until Amani and Ibrahim laughingly assured me that it was not the coffee-based creation I had imagined. The dish arrived as a velvety mushroom broth poured around spinach tortellini and crisp mushrooms, and proved every bit as memorable as its title.
A passion-fruit sorbet refreshed the palate before the grilled lobster arrived with truffle mashed potato, spring vegetables and a lemon-caper sauce. The lobster was beautifully cooked, while the brightness of the sauce balanced the richness of the truffle. Double-baked yoghurt flavoured with cardamom and saffron completed the menu with the lightness of a set yoghurt and enough sweetness to make it distinctly indulgent. Chef Nittin came out to meet us during the meal, while the servers explained each course as it was presented, allowing us to understand the combinations before tasting them.
The food alone placed this among the finest dinners of the trip, but the company gave the evening much of its character.
Day Three
After the exertion of the previous morning, I allowed the final day to begin slowly.
We spent the late afternoon taking in the island and later settled in to watch the sunset. Maldivian skies seem incapable of holding one colour for very long. Blue deepens into purple, turquoise shifts across the water and every few minutes presents a slightly different view.
Our final dinner took place at The Spice, where Executive Chef Nittin Jain had prepared an Indian menu for us. Bollywood music played throughout the evening, which I loved, and gave the meal a wonderfully celebratory energy from the get-go. Chef Nittin came out several times to welcome us, talk us through the food and make sure our final dinner was memorable.
The meal began with an exceptionally crisp vegetable samosa, followed by murgh malai tikka and saffron chicken shorba. The tikka was tender and creamy, while the shorba brought warmth and fragrance before the main thali arrived. Its small metal bowls held rara gosht, butter chicken, Maldivian reef fish cooked with tamarind and curry leaves, and a beautifully rich dal makhani, accompanied by saffron rice, breads, pickles and raita.
Baked yoghurt with cardamom and saffron appeared again for dessert, and I was delighted to have it twice during the stay. By then, choosing between this dinner and the previous evening at YAYA Beach had become impossible. The beach dinner had delivered some of the trip’s most inventive individual dishes, while the Indian menu was excellent from the first bite of samosa to the final spoonful of yoghurt.
By the time we finished dinner, our final day had already given us another spectacular sunset and one of the best Indian meals I had eaten in years. Ordinarily, that would have been enough to close the trip beautifully. Yet the last experience on our itinerary was still ahead and it was the one I had been looking forward to all day.
Our final plans for the evening had begun taking shape before dinner, when the team sent us a catalogue for Cinema by Moonlight. The experience allows guests to choose a film for a private screening aboard one of the resort’s boats. Most of the catalogue consisted of Hollywood titles, although the team offered to download another film if we wanted something different, including a Bollywood release. We selected the romantic comedy When We First Met and rearranged the itinerary so that we could have dinner first, watch the film afterwards and allow the cinema to become the final experience of our stay.
Once we had finished dessert at The Spice, we made our way to the jetty without knowing exactly what the floating cinema would look like. Waiting at the water was Sun Cruise-6, a double-decker boat illuminated with string lights against the dark ocean. A red carpet bordered by candles led us aboard, giving us an entrance worthy of a private film premiere. We followed it onto the boat and climbed the stairs to the upper deck, where the full scale of the set-up was finally revealed.
A projector screen had been positioned opposite a cushioned sofa, with a rug and low table completing the open-air screening area. Popcorn, nuts, small bites, juices, mocktails and water had already been set out for us.
Once we were seated, the boat pulled away from the island and began sailing as the film played. Beyond the glow of the screen and string lights, the ocean disappeared into darkness. Members of staff came upstairs throughout the film to replenish our drinks and snacks and check whether we needed anything, then gave us space to continue watching.
It remains one of the most remarkable experiences I have ever had. Once the film ended, the boat completed its journey and carried us back to Vilu Reef, bringing our final night to a close.
When we returned to the villa, we found one final surprise waiting on the bed: two “The Spirit of the Maldives” caps accompanied by a handwritten note. I spent almost an hour on the overwater hammock afterwards, listening to the ocean and taking in the final night before our early departure.
The Final Morning
Heading to the jetty for our departure was bittersweet. After three days of revelling in the beauty of Sun Siyam Vilu Reef, saying goodbye was a tad difficult. Amani, Ibrahim Baasith and several members of the team had gathered there to see us off. They had also prepared two final gifts for us. During our dinner at YAYA Beach, they noticed how much my mother and I loved the wild mushroom cappuccino. The kitchen had printed its full recipe and mounted it on wooden Sun Siyam Vilu Reef stands, giving each of us a keepsake we could display and use at home. They also presented us with personalised bag charms bearing our names.
We took a final photograph together before boarding the boat for the short journey to the seaplane platform. As we pulled away, the team remained at the end of the jetty, waving until the distance between us had grown too wide.
Vilu Reef has the reef, water villas and cinematic sunsets expected of an exceptional Maldivian island. It also gave me crispy shrimp kunafa on the beach, a coral frame bearing my mother’s name and mine, a film screening aboard a boat and an hour spent lying above the water on my final night. Above all, it gave those experiences warmth through the people who planned them and remembered which details had delighted us.
So, what would make me return to the Maldives? For Sun Siyam Vilu Reef, the answer is an emphatic yes.
This stay was hosted by Sun Siyam Vilu Reef. All views are the writer’s own.
