Blow-the-budget perfection in the Maldives

If I were condemned to one resort for the rest of my travelling life, this would be it. We first arrived at Gili Lankanfushi in the Maldives as frazzled City folk many years ago and have returned many times over the years, this time with our children.

No longer is luxury synonymous with bling. Spectacular yet understated, eco-luxurious yet a Robinson Crusoesque home-away-from-home, the only bragging here is the number of stingrays at your vast overwater villa that day or your face-to-face encounter with a turtle.

You arrive by speedboat to this tiny picture-perfect island of white sand and swaying palms. Leave your shoes, as the motto is ‘no news, no shoes’. This is a barefoot resort – something you will grow to love. You are encouraged to leave the worries and pressures of the outside world behind. Each of the 45 villas is allocated a Mr or Ms Friday. They are your personal hosts, there to make your stay memorable. And this they do from simple, practical things like unpacking to creating once-in-a lifetime experiences such as lantern-lit dinners and private jungle cinema nights. Our Mr Friday, Makif, became part of our extended island family. To our little ones he was tennis buddy, driving instructor, buggy taxi service and friend with whom they shared their teddy collection.

Most people cycle here. It’s a total pleasure and gives gentle but much-needed exercise, given the temptation to overindulge. The island is small enough to walk around in a matter of minutes, but you can get a bit of speed up along the jetties. Island living is outdoors, unless you count the refrigerated, state-of-the-art glass deli room beside the restaurant, or perhaps some of the rooms, complete with glass floor tiles, in the sublime overwater spa, or the villa bedrooms or the gym.

It’s an all-villa island. From the ultimate Private Reserve – the largest over-water villa in the world, which comes with a full staff, kitchen, gym, spa, cinema, waterslide, pool and boat – often rented by extended families, to the standalone Crusoe Residences, providing the ultimate in seclusion, set a short boat ride away from the island in blissful solitude and finally, the family villas and villa suites with spectacular infinity pools. Each and every one is the ultimate in rustic, luxury eco-chic. Constructed from reclaimed light wood and bamboo, with thatched roofs, they are the stuff that dreams are made of. Bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, vast bathrooms with huge, round stone baths complete with panoramic views of the sapphire seascape, windows that open out as if you are truly bathing in the sea and semi open-air showers with secluded ocean access – you won’t believe your eyes. There are open-air living rooms that give way to vast, overwater sundecks, complete with catamaran nets, private sea access and your own sea hammocks. There are rooftop jacuzzis and rooftop living areas where you can dine or sleep under the stars.

Everything here is possible and encouraged. “You have to sleep under the stars,” we are told. And so we did. One cloudless, balmy night, beds were made and we lay staring up at the vast canopy of shimmering stars above us. Simply unforgettable.

One day, my ten-year-old threaded a coral line and dived with Tiana to the nursery to plant it, giving something back to the place that has given us so much over the years. We monitor it via videolink. There’s no kid’s club; instead, activities are bespoke. In fact, it was hard for the children to readjust to the fact that they weren’t the centre of everyone’s universe when we arrived back home. Whether whisked away for a private yoga session in the outdoor yoga champa or invited to private pizza-making, crafting sushi in the sushi restaurant with the chef or doing a chocolate tasting, they were treated like kings.

As a dedicated foodie, I can confirm that food here is faultless and can be kosher by prior arrangement. Personalised service personified. Mention a favourite dish to chef Harry and it magically appears in its most authentic form. Kids can expect spectacular pancakes shaped in the form of their favourite characters. At Gili Lankanfushi even the impossible is possible!

Rooms at Gili Lankanfushi start at around £1,000 a night

https://gili-lankanfushi.com/