Finolhu, A Seaside Collection Resort, a Member of Design Hotels

Finolhu is an island resort for divers who also want the evening to have a bit of life in it. The setting is the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, but the mood is not hushed or formal: bright design, music, beach gatherings and a choice of places to eat give the island its own rhythm. You can spend the morning in the water, take the afternoon at your villa, then decide whether the night calls for Japanese food, a cocktail or bare feet in the sand.

The resort belongs to Design Hotels and has 125 villas, spread between the beachfront and the ocean. Most villas have a private pool, so your post-dive recovery can be as sociable or as private as you choose. The resort’s website is available in English, German, Spanish, Arabic and Russian.

You are in Baa Atoll, Maldives, on an island edged by a direct-access white-sand beach and lagoon. The beach stretches for around 1.5 km, with sun loungers for the serious business of doing very little. Finolhu Beach is right by the resort, while Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu Beach is around 5 miles away.

The island sits in a marine setting rather than beside a town or a cluster of independent restaurants. That shapes the stay: the resort’s own restaurants, bars, activities and concierge service are the practical centre of your day. Crab Shack is set on a more secluded section of beach, giving you a reason to walk beyond the main areas when you fancy lunch with a change of scenery.

Every villa gives you proper living space rather than a room that asks you to keep your suitcase shut. Air conditioning deals with the heat, while a seating area, sofa, desk, dressing room and balcony give you somewhere to spread out, sit down and let the day’s salt dry off. Sea views, a private bathroom with bath and shower, WiFi, a minibar, coffee machine and kettle cover the useful details; daily housekeeping means the practical reset is taken care of while you are out.

For two, the Lagoon Villa keeps you close to the water, while the Ocean Pool Villa adds a private pool to the overwater arrangement. Beach-facing villas make more sense if your preferred route after breakfast is straight towards the sand rather than along a jetty. The larger two-bedroom villas are the sensible choice for a family or group, with space for up to six guests and separate sleeping arrangements rather than an elaborate exercise in sharing one room.

The pool villas are particularly suited to divers who want the simplest possible return from the water: shower, change, sit outside and cool down without having to make an event of it. A bath, bathrobes, slippers and a drying rack help with the basic recovery routine. The villas are non-smoking, and the resort also has designated smoking areas.

The all-inclusive plan starts with breakfast, lunch and dinner at Beach Kitchen, the main international buffet restaurant, with views towards the sea or pool. Breakfast covers continental, Italian, full English and Irish, Asian, American, vegetarian, vegan, halal and gluten-free choices. It starts at 07:30, which is useful if your dive schedule is not built around late mornings; this is not an especially late breakfast for a diver who has been awake since dawn.

There are six restaurants in total, with four distinctive venues named here. Kanusan serves Japanese food in the evening from an overwater setting, with sushi and an aperitif bar. Arabian Grill turns to North African and Middle Eastern cooking, with mezze, grilled dishes and spice-led flavours. Crab Shack sits on a secluded beach and serves seafood for lunch and dinner, reached along the beach or by a short traditional boat trip. The all-inclusive arrangement includes selected visits to the speciality restaurants, with a minimum stay requirement for that part of the plan; later visits and some à la carte dishes are handled separately.

Two bars keep the liquid side of the operation moving. Beach Club combines cocktails, music, a DJ and an upper deck with views over the horizon, while Milk LAB is the practical stop for coffee, juices, milkshakes and protein drinks. Milk LAB also sells items such as sun cream and souvenirs. Breakfast in the villa, a floating breakfast, lagoon barbecue and private beach dining are available as more deliberate alternatives to the main meal plan.

Most villas have their own outdoor pool, and the island also gives you a long white-sand beach with loungers and umbrellas. That is enough for a quiet afternoon when your legs have had their fill of ladders and fins. If sitting still becomes medically impossible, there is an indoor and outdoor gym, fitness equipment, fitness classes, tennis, a golf studio, table tennis, darts and badminton.

The Finolhu Fehi Spa is the more convincing answer to tired shoulders. Its menu includes massages, body treatments, peels, hydrotherapy, beauty treatments and hair treatments, with a relaxation area, steam room and sauna. Couples can book a couples massage, while the spa’s treatments draw on ideas of nature, purity, healing and harmony. The outdoor Yoga Pavilion and the beach are also used for yoga or meditation sessions.

On the water, you can choose between calmer options such as kayaking, paddleboarding, sailing and windsurfing, or more energetic equipment including jet skis, water skiing, wakeboarding, parasailing, Seabob and E-Foiling. Tennis equipment and a studio for art and crafts add options that do not involve getting wet. Families have the Oceaneers’ Club, with child-friendly activities, indoor and outdoor play areas, an art studio, a children’s pool and movie nights; children of any age are welcome at the resort.

The usual route is a daytime seaplane transfer taking around 30 minutes from Velana International Airport in Malé. An airport transfer service is available and should be arranged with the resort. For evening arrivals in Malé after 15:00, the alternative is a shared domestic flight to Dharavandhoo Airport followed by a 25-minute speedboat journey. Dharavandhoo Airport is around 15 miles from the resort as the map measures it, but the boat connection is the useful figure for planning the final leg.

Check-in starts from 14:00 and check-out runs until 12:00. You need photo identification and a credit card at check-in, and the resort needs your expected arrival time in advance. A 24-hour front desk, private and express check-in and check-out, concierge service, currency exchange and a tour desk help with the parts of island travel that do not fit neatly into a timetable.

WiFi is free throughout the resort. Laundry and ironing services are available, room service is offered, and cash is accepted as a payment method. Cots and extra beds can be requested, subject to the accommodation selected and availability. The minimum age for check-in is 18, while children of any age can stay. Pets are not allowed.