LUX* South Ari Atoll

We had a truly wonderful stay at LUX, enjoying every minute of our holiday on the incredibly beautiful island. Photos don’t do it justice – you need to witness the vivid colours and incredible wildlife for yourself! After arriving at Malé and being escorted to an air-conditioned lounge (with snacks!), we had a 90-minute wait for a seaplane before being met at LUX by our brilliant concierge, Rachael. Rachael was super helpful and efficient – very friendly but always professional, and she took care of us impeccably well, responding to WhatsApps promptly and providing gentle reminders of our arrangements for dinner and excursions. Our room attendant, Muaz, was absolutely wonderful: so friendly and attentive, without being at all intrusive. Our room was incredibly clean for our whole stay, despite the best efforts of our 4- and 7-year old children. At the beginning of our stay, he found out what the children’s favourite snacks were and made sure the mini-bar was well-stocked with them for our whole visit. We especially loved Muaz’s towel animal creations. We were all sad to say goodbye to him on our last day. Food at LUX is excellent, with plenty of vegetarian options and a great kids’ menu at each restaurant. We loved going to East Market for breakfast, and appreciated the attentiveness and friendliness of all the staff there. Veli Bar was a great spot for lunch, complete with the world’s best and most hard-working bartender, Praveen, whose delicious cocktails and mocktails will linger in my memory. The spa is excellent, and all the therapists were brilliant, but a special mention goes to Wayan for her wonderful Araamu Dhathuru Signature massage. In one of the over-water treatment rooms, Wayan and I were lucky enough to spot an enormous (and rare) Mangrove Whipray through the glass-bottomed floor under the massage bed. An unforgettable experience! Travelling with a 4- and 7-year old, we were interested to see what the Kids Club (PLAY) was like, but as our children have never been to a Kids Club on holiday before, we were fully prepared for them to find it unenjoyable, and to prefer to stay with us all day. We needn’t have worried. On more than one occasion, our 7-year-old son refused to leave Kids Club when we arrived to collect him, as he was having too much fun. Shaai, Sham, Ella, Mayu and Zaara have created a calm, welcoming space where children are free to choose from a wide variety of activities, including special events like cookie-making, pizza-making, seasonal crafting, and little excursions around the island. The space is large and clean, with shaded play areas, a water-play area set up in and around a large ship, and an air-conditioned room they can retreat to if they need to cool down. It was wonderful. Thank you, ladies! We stayed in a beach villa with a pool, on an all-inclusive basis, and I would recommend both. The pool water was cooler than the outdoor shower, so a quick dip before bed was a great way to cool everybody down. We all enjoyed daily(!) visits to the ice cream parlour, ICI, as the flavours changed each day, and the ice cream and sorbet were truly delicious. The Diving Team were also excellent, and my husband completed his PADI qualification at LUX. Special thanks to Yuan and Becca for making the course so fun. We loved sitting on the over-water nets at East Bar, drinking a cocktail and watching the fish and sea creatures below. We also highly recommend (for adults) the whale shark expedition. I believe it is open to children aged 8+ but in my opinion it is a bit too hectic for younger children, as there can be many other boats with lots of snorkellers at the site, all rather frantically vying for a sighting of the majestic sharks. The sea turtle expedition was much calmer, and the children loved it. I was really impressed by Marine Biologist Nihan’s knowledge, ethos of respect for the ocean, as well as his sweet rapport with our children. I would also like to take a moment to mention Shawkat, one of the buggy drivers on the island, whose indefatigable cheerfulness and friendliness were absolutely marvellous. He was so genuinely kind and warm - a very special person. There are many other staff members who made our time at LUX special – I wish I could name them all! Thank you for making our holiday so wonderful. Alongside the staggering natural beauty of its location, LUX’s biggest strength is its staff, who all seem genuinely dedicated to giving guests a terrific experience. Nothing is too much trouble, and little personal touches like learning our children’s names and remembering our preferences at restaurants etc were much appreciated. I realise how lucky I was to spend this time at LUX and really hope to return one day. If you are able to go, I highly recommend it. Read less

We took our honeymoon at the LUX and had the most wonderful time. We looked at a lot of resort while we were researching. But chose the LUX mainly because of the range of restaurant and water activities included in the all inclusive package. Which did not disappoint. We steyed in 2 different villa .the beach villa for 6night and a water villa for 4night which I also recommended.A bigg shout out to Ali who looked after use in our beach villa and treated use like royalty. Also to Zahir from MIXE who greeted us every evening.Highly recommended and I would definitely return 🙏 Read less

It's actually hard to put into words how amazing this resort actually is. This was our second trip - we were nervous it wouldn't live up to the first one. But it did....and more!! We opted for a water villa this time compared to a beach villa on our last visit. For us personally, we enjoyed the accomodation much more this time around. The water villas are just phenomenal. Light, airy & huge. Not to mention the unrivalled view of the ocean & the direct access. They look exactly like the website pictures. Whilst the beach villas are also fab, we are mozzie magnets so the water villa allowed us to avoid the bites we received the first time around as we didn't have the plantation surrounding the accomodation. However if you're less attractive to bugs, both types of room are amazing. The food was as good as last time, if not better!! We've stayed at Lux Grand Gaube in Mauritius previously and whilst the food there is good, it is nothing compared to this resort. If you're nervous of All Inclusve offerings (which we try to avoid normally but you can't really do that in the Maldives) just trust me - you don't need to worry here!! There is literally every taste/allergy/cuisine catered for. And if they haven't got it, they'll try to create it for you. Good tip - make friends with Chef Pong in East Market who is (a) utterly utterly lovely & (b) a fabulous chef whose passion in life (outside of Liverpool FC!) is to make your trip the best it can be through food. Thank you Chef Pong. Two of the restaurants carry a premium - the Italian & the Japenese. We have tried the Italian which was fab - however in all honesty we weren't once bored of the normal restaurants or buffet so it is not at all necessary to upgrade to these unless it's something you are particularly keen to try. As it is a large Maldivian island, there are plenty of options (and we were there 16 nights!) so you genuinly won't be bored of the food offerings. The bars are fab also - our favourite is at East Market with the lovely Aludin!! Imagine lying on a fishing net ovrlooking the ocean with all kinds of sea life beneath you (including Ray) and cocktail in hand - utter bliss. Like Chef Pong, Aludin goes out of his way to make your evening amazing. An absolute credit to the resort and a bloomin lovely bloke!! As mentioned the island is long. It is absolutely walkable - we did it daily after breakfast, however in the evening (or in the sudden downfalls!) you may wish to jump on the very frequent buggies that roam the island all day & evening. A special shout out has to go to Shawkat - a happier bloke you will not meet. And who can blame him living at Lux??!! But genuinely, he really is a joy and somehow manages to remember everyone, including their room numbers!! So you invariably get dropped right outside when your evening comes to an end! Impeccable service. The gym is apparently great (I did not venture in there but my other half went daily) and the spa is lovely. You need to book the latter but there is rarely any issues getting the time you want. For those that want a more active holiday, water sports abound, along with tennis & badminton to name but a few. For the more sedentary there is a library and a huge outside chess set, along with regular outdoor cinema showings. I could honestly go on for hours more about the joy of this island, but I think I've gone on long enough!! However it would be utterly remiss of me not to mention the thing that well & truly keeps it at our number one spot across all lifetime trips - and that is the staff. I have mentioned a few above, but quite honestly you would be hard pushed to find one member there who isn't delightful and who won't go above & beyond to make your holiday perfect. From housekeeping to management they are all utterly fab. I genuinely wish we could give credit to each & every one of them - but we'd be here for hours. However special mentions do have to go to Moosa in Senses, Annika (for her regular lifts!!), Glenda at breakfast in East Market, Natasha, also at East Market, Sumeet for his AMAZING wine tasting session (highly recommend!), Saif at Beach Rouge and finally (she will hate this I know!) Rachael, who took care of us for a second time and embodies everything that Lux is all about. She is an absolute credit to both the resort & the brand as well as being the lovliest person you will ever meet!! Thank you Rachael - we miss you!! In summary - we cannot recommend this resport highly enough. It has spoilt us for other trips, so much so that a third visit may well be on the cards sometime soon!! Thank you to all of you so making our holiday so perfect. Read less

LUX South Ari Atoll was absolutely sublime. The photos actually don’t do it as much justice as it deserves. Our Romantic Overwater Pool Villa was serene and relaxing- our room attendant Anfal could not have been more helpful, cheerful and delightful ! Nothing was too much trouble, our room was perfectly clean every day and he did a beautiful welcome and birthday surprise for my husband. Breakfast at EAST Market each day was made all the more special with the beautiful Glenda- super happy, beautiful smile and cheerful disposition! Leaving was difficult but we will definitely return!! Read less

We had a very perfect vacation, a very high standard this hotel with a wonderful service and a variety of restaurant and the most courteous service provider there are. special to mr.Zahir who competed us and provided a very special and delicious experience!!! We're very amazing. Next year I hope to see you again!! Read less