The HBO series The White Lotus offered us a voyeuristic glimpse into the decadent rituals of the jet setters at the three Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in Hawaii, Sicily, and Thailand. Four Seasons Private Island Maldives at Voavah could be its unapologetic sequel. Imagine the same intoxicating cocktail of hedonism and high design, only with the luxe volume dialled up a few notches and a few more zeros added to the price tag.
The island is a private playground for well-heeled travellers who hail from the same brand, Four Seasons. It is in the Maldives, the South Asian archipelago synonymous with turquoise waters, kaleidoscopic marine life, and a perennial magnet for the world’s elite. While the group already boasts two other resorts, Four Seasons Kuda Huraa and Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru in the country, Voavah is where the very definition of exclusivity is reimagined.
Being discreet comes with a number that can make most of us blink twice: $50,000 (Rs. 44,38,703 approximately)
per night, and that’s the low-season rate. After all, what their super niche clients are really booking isn’t just an island, but an absolute dominion.
The rules are simple. No more than 22 in your chosen inner circle, indulged by a fleet of private staff that seems to anticipate your needs before you’ve even voiced them. Call it the ultimate luxury and complete command of your environment, with the Indian Ocean serving as your private moat.
What sets Voavah apart from the handful of private-island sanctuaries in the Maldives is its rare address within the UNESCO-protected Baa Atoll, and its distinction as the only natural island in the nation available for exclusive private hire. Once a simple picnic spot for locals, the estate has since been transformed into a seven-bedroom retreat, divided between a beachfront villa and a stilted water villa. Extras come in threes here –three infinity pools, three main bedrooms in each villa. An overwater spa hovers on glass floors, where stingrays and parrotfish glide beneath you as sound therapy rolls above.
The landscape in between the two villas shifts effortlessly between lush mangroves and hammocks swaying beneath frangipani trees, before giving way to the endless sweep of sapphire-blue lagoon. In the shallows, fossilised trees rise like art installations, their gnarled silhouettes etched against the Ocean.
Shoes are optional and almost discouraged here. To walk barefoot from the shoreline, past the tiny toppling crabs, and sink your feet into the sand, which is like a luxury memory foam mattress, is so indulgent it feels almost illicit. “We once had a guest who couldn’t stop jumping on the sand,” a staff member confided with a smile.
Since money doesn’t flinch the guests at Voavah, those “rates” above are just the polite rack rates. The rest is a buffet of whims waiting to be plated. Everything is customisable, everything is personalised, and yes, there are add-ons. But here, “add-on” translates to “why not?”
Hungry for variety? You don’t get one chef, you get five, each a culinary wizard in their own cuisine. Bored with the pool? A yacht and a speedboat are practically loitering out front, engines humming like loyal Labradors waiting for a walk. Wellness isn’t an afterthought either; your resident yoga guru and Ayurvedic therapist will happily stretch you back into balance after that third champagne toast.
For the regulars (yes, there are plenty), Voavah turns into less of a resort and more of a playground for reinvention. For one guest, a devoted basketball fan, the staff rather nonchalantly converted the pool deck into a private court. How on earth did they manage it? When asked, they simply smiled and replied, “Best not to enquire about the logistics involved in pulling this off in the middle of nowhere.”
On another occasion, the island’s tranquil library was reborn as a fully equipped gym, shipped over by boat from nearby Landa Giravaru, like some sort of luxury fitness smuggling run.
The island never presents itself the same way twice. Today you’re James Bond on a speedboat, tomorrow you’re a Zen master in a tree pose at sunrise, and by evening you’re probably hosting a dinner that feels like it needs its own Netflix special.
Designed by Sri Lankan architect Murad Ismail, a protégé of Geoffrey Bawa and leading voice of tropical modernism, the interiors dissolve the boundaries between indoors and out, allowing sea breezes and filtered sunlight to suffuse every space. Ismail’s vision, honed over decades of creating acclaimed resorts and private residences across South Asia, is evident in the tactile richness of Voavah: pale woods, rattan, and handwoven textiles form the foundation, while linen sofas, woven rugs, and carefully chosen Asian accents lend warmth and cultural resonance. The result is a retreat that feels less like a resort and more like an exquisitely well-appointed private home.
Since the island sits in the middle of pristine nothingness and far from the usual jetty, speedboat, and seaplane traffic, the waters around Voavah remain blissfully undisturbed. Nearby Hanifaru Bay, within the Baa Atoll, is one of the most extraordinary places on earth to witness manta rays. While most destinations consider it lucky to spot a group of eight to ten, here the spectacle can swell to fifty or sixty gliding together in a breathtaking underwater ballet.
To ensure guests never miss the moment, Four Seasons marine specialists are stationed at Hanifaru Bay and operate a unique “manta on call” programme. Each guest is given a phone, and when it rings, you know it is time to drop everything and head straight to the water for the encounter of a lifetime.
Despite its sense of being in the middle of nowhere, Voavah is only a 30-minute yacht ride from Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru. For those who stay long enough, a change of scenery is just across the water. Guests craving variety or the company of others can head to Landaa for a different vibe in food, cocktails, and setting. Restaurants such as Blu Beach Club, with Italian food and 50 shades of blue ocean views, or Al Barakat for a Mediterranean flair from the Silk Road, would cater to your change of palette and mood.
