There are many luxury resorts in the Maldives and all of them are surprisingly different. So the question I get asked most often is ‘Which one is right for me?’

So allow me to tell you first what is special about Shangri-La Villingili so you could decide whether it is the right resort for you.

Getting to Shangri-La

The quickest, cheapest and easiest way to get to Shangri-La is not through the capital city and main airport Male, but through Gan, the only other international airport in Maldives. Sri Lankan airlines flies to Gan from Colombo and connects to many Asian cities afterwards. For Australians, there is a direct flight Melbourne-Colombo.

Once you reach Gan, the hotel is only a 10 min boat ride away from the airport.

However if you flight lands in Male, getting to the resort is significantly more complicated – you would need to transfer to a domestic terminal and wait for a scheduled flight to Gan. Depending on a connection, this could take a few hours and comes at a significant additional cost of USD $430 per person return.

At The Resort

Even if you travelled for a long time to get here, once you arrive at your villa in Villingili, the relaxation begins. Spacious, private and modern villas are scattered around this beautiful island and all have gorgeous views of the turquoise Maldivian lagoon.

Villingili is a large island and despite having 132 villas there is space and privacy for everyone. Villas come with bicycles; riding around is a fun and easy way to explore the island.

Apart from two Presidential Villas there are a few types of accommodation to choose from – Pool Villa, Deluxe Pool Villas, Water villas and Treehouse villas. All come with a private swimming pool apart from the water villas. Those have the ocean as their water playground.

All villas are designed in the same style – the only difference is the size and location.

Treehouse villas are homes on stilts by the rocky beach. You can’t swim on this side of the island but can enjoy beautiful water views. Villas are spacious, over 231 square meters and comprise of two pavilions – living room (which can be converted into kids bedroom) and master bedroom. Bathrooms deserve a special mention with an oversized bathtub, double vanities and indoor and outdoor shower. If you live in an urban environment, outdoors showers are a real treat. Totally private, they are set in the garden and turn a simple morning or afternoon ritual into a pleasurable outdoor experience with a romantic touch.

Deluxe villas are entry level with a single bedroom pavilion and a swimming pool. These are scattered around the island, so before making a reservation it is advisable to check whether you’ll be able to swim in front of them.

Deluxe Pool Villas are a carbon copy of the Treehouse ones, just without the stilts – villas sit on a white sandy beach in front of the swimming lagoon. These are our family’s favourites as they provide ample space for everyone – kids can swim in the private pool, while parents laze in a hammock or read a book on a daybed.

Water villas are best suited for romantic couples – even though very spacious, they don’t have a separate living room or a swimming pool. The design of the villas is modern and fresh and even during the rainy season, the water in front of the villas is crystal clear and inviting for swimming. If this is your first time in Maldives, I would definitely recommend a Water villa.

Presidential villas are exquisite and for those who don’t cringe at spending USD $3,500 and up per night, would be an incredible choice. You can choose from either a water villa or beach villa. Both are often home to British royalty, Arabian sheiks and Hollywood celebrities, but we won’t name drop.

Families In Shangri-La

We are an active family who even on holidays love to be occupied. If you are like us, you’ll love this resort. We happened to visit Shangri-La during the rainy season and if were at any other resort, chances are, kids would’ve gotten a little bored. But not here.

Every day there is a comprehensive list of water and land activities for both kids and adults. Here is how we spent the days in Shangri-La.

Mornings for us started with a sport – golf, tennis or a gym class. Kids and parents can choose the same or different lessons and meet at breakfast.

After a delicious breakfast, we’d go on a snorkelling excursion to look for turtles or, if the weather wasn’t on our side, go for a bike ride exploring the island.

On the turtle trip we found a beautiful big turtle that swam a meter away from us for about 10 minutes, a magical experience.

In the afternoons there are cool activities in the kids club like cookie baking and smoothie making. Kids loved spending some time in the resort’s big kitchen preparing their own afternoon snacks. While they got entertained by the friendly staff, I often went to another fitness class followed by an hour of yoga or managed to get in a cheeky massage in the Chi Spa.

Spa caters to the younger guests too – you could choose to have a mother-daughter spa afternoon with massages and manicures.

Spa is in a gorgeous garden setting with four garden pavilions for single treatments or beach pavilion for couples. The deep tissue massage I had was very effective, but if you are after a gentle treatment, Maldivian shell massage is the one I’d recommend.

My kids adore all kinds of water toys – jet skis, wake boarding, banana boat rides – all available in Shangri-La watersports centre. Even for the little ones (4-10yo) Kids club offers water ski lessons.

Of course the beach is beautiful during the dry season and simple pleasures like swimming in the lagoon and snorkelling are free and incredibly enjoyable.  On a sunny day we spend hours making friends with all the tropical, colourful reef fish, clams and corals.

Dining

Food is generally very good in the Maldives and Shangri-La is no exception. Breakfast is served in the beachside restaurant Javvu and starts from a fresh coconut and a juice booster. Buffet is plentiful and staff start to remember your preferences after a couple of days. My kids like mango and pomelo and a plate of each was awaiting us at breakfast every morning when we arrived.

For dinner there are two other restaurants – Middle Eastern /Asian Dr Ali and Mediterranean Fashala. We loved Dr Ali for a multitude of healthy, yet yummy dishes like home-made hummus, tabouli, fatoush served in a picture perfect beachside setting. Fashala is a fine dining restaurant, run by a very passionate European chef. His crab entrée and wagyu beef main are spectacular.

All restaurants have live entertainment a couple of times a week plus a themed Maldivian buffet at least once a week. If you are after an extra special experience there is Dining By Design – a romantic table set up in a secluded place just for you.

Kids are looked after like VIPs and chef does his best to prepare kids meals on request off the menu, so even the fussiest of eaters will be happy here.

The Lux Traveller Loves

Multitude of family activities (many of which are complimentary) every day

Long bike rides to explore the island

Private and very spacious beach pool villas

Golf course and tennis courts on the island

Splitting Hairs

House reef isn’t as spectacular as in other resorts

Long transfer time from Male (yet very quick from Gan)

All In All

Shangri-La is a fantastic family resort. Villas accommodate families of four with total ease and allow parents privacy.

Multitude of activities and dining options assures that your family won’t be bored even if it is a long holiday.

Teenagers will love water sports, golf, tennis and fitness classes while youngsters will be entertained in the kids club with fun and educational activities.