Come with me to The Nautilus – a luxury, bohemian resort in The Maldives

No matter how lucky my life turns out to be, I don't think I'll ever stay anywhere quite as special as The Nautilus again. That's a bold statement, I'm aware. I'm only 28. But forgive me, and please, take some reassurance in the fact that I only make declarations quite so sweeping when they're really, truly worth it.

A luxury, five-star resort set on a private island in The Maldives' stunning Baa Atoll, The Nautilus is one of those once-in-a-lifetime kind of resorts that stops you in your tracks and makes you appreciate everything. This has something to do with its incredible surroundings, of course – the pure, unadulterated joy experienced when you first set your eyes on those sandy islands rising out of the sparkling Indian Ocean is incomparable – and the fact that it's really quite small. But it has even more to do with the ethos upon which The Nautilus was built.

Founder, Dr. I. U. Maniku's vision for The Nautilus was simple. He wanted to take all of his frustrations with the holidays he had always been on – like the need to make breakfast for a certain time or being restricted to spa opening times for your massage – line them up, and fix them. He wanted the discerning travellers who stayed at his intimate resort to be able to design their own vacation from scratch: to live on by their own clocks and, during their time on the island, be constrained by absolutely nothing.

It makes sense, particularly when you consider its spot on the planet. The Maldives is a destination which has become synonymous with high-end resorts, honeymooners and over-water villas – and if you're going to fly all of that way (and spend all of that money), you're hardly going to want to be told how to spend your time.

I've been lucky enough to stay at many amazing hotels throughout my career so far – but none have made me feel quite as relaxed as I did at The Nautilus. The freedom to do whatever I liked, whenever I liked, made it really, really special.

Arriving at The Nautilus

The Maldives is comprised of over 1,190 islands (though less than a fifth of them are inhabited), and most of the island hotels are located beyond speedboat range of capital city, Male. The bohemian resort of The Nautilus falls within that camp. It's immensely private – so much so that when you look out from the island in any direction at night, there's not a single ounce of light pollution – and it can be reached only by boat or sea plane from Male International Airport.

Arriving at said airport, by all accounts, can be quite overwhelming. Velana is pretty small (though it is getting a swanky new international passenger terminal in mid-2025), and there are seemingly endless sea taxis, planes and transfer minivans waiting for their guests when you first land. Fortunately, for Nautilus guests, everything runs like clockwork.

We had a member of airport staff meet us off of our flight from Abu Dhabi (ridiculous, I know), where we got taken by car to an arrival lounge to sip on full-fat Coke while our bags were rescued from the luggage carousel for us. Most hotels have you make your own way through customs and baggage claim, which can take a while and be very hot, so this was a real treat.

All of the staff seemed to know exactly who we were and where we needed to be, and reps from The Nautilus were on hand to show us the way to our sea plane terminal.

The Nautilus has its own, very-lilac sea plane, which takes guests from Velana direct to The Nautilus multiple times a day. Under normal circumstances, you'd arrange an independent seaplane transfer, operated by the nation's Manta Air, but guests of The Nautilus don't have to go through the hassle.

Reaching The Nautilus takes a short 30 minutes, a journey that is made more than comfortable with water, earplugs and fans. Taking off just before sunset and flying over the butter-soft beaches that lined the islands below was like nothing I had ever experienced – and landing on a wooden pontoon in the middle of the ocean was pretty spectacular, too.

The final stage of the journey was to hop onto The Nautilus' private boat for a five-minute shuttle to a jetty on the southern-most tip of the island – and approaching the Thiladhoo (the island The Nautilus is set on) was actually one of the most joyful moments of my whole experience. Smart, friendly staffed lined the jetty, smiling joyfully and – cold towel and ice-cold mocktails in-hand – marking the start of our holiday.

The houses

There are 26 beach and ocean houses at The Nautilus, and while the over-water ocean houses remain the most popular with new guests, the beach houses are reportedly favoured by friends and repeat guests of the island. Whichever style of room you opt for, your experience will be tailored to your needs entirely – proven by the fact that you get a personal butler for the duration of your stay, and the chance to fill out a pre-arrival preferences form to let staff know who you are.

You can walk around the entire parameter of the island in less than 20 minutes – or cycle, if you don't mind avoiding the beaches – so reaching the room was a speedy affair. We were driven right to the front door of our over-water villa by buggy, through frangipani and hibiscus-littered paths, and felt comforts of home from the moment we stepped inside.

I've named this section of my review “the houses” – because the word “room” doesn't actually do the place you stay any justice. We had three rooms, really: a living room, bedroom and bathroom – each space complete with French doors that opened up onto a poolside terrace. Naturally, through the double doors was the first placed I headed, noting the beautiful coral reef wrapped around the island below which ensured exquisite snorkelling on your doorstep whenever you wanted to dip in. That would be immediately, if you're anything like me.

When staying at one of the best hotels in the world, you expect certain features in a bedroom. A surround-sound bluetooth speaker, a laundry service, refreshments and water to be topped up multiple times a day, exquisite decor and bedding so comfortable you fear you'll never leave. What you might not expect, though, are the features that our room delivered.

We had a private infinity pool and multiple sun loungers. All of the toiletries in the free-standing bath tub and walk-in rain shower – from the body lotion to the shampoo and shower gel – were provided by British perfumer Penhaligons. Our toilet rolls were wrapped in individual cotton bags. There was a laundry basket, you got fresh bath robes every day; the bathroom alone was bigger than the size of my living room back in London.

You could speak to your butler via Whatsapp at any time of the day or night – ordering everything from an in-room floating breakfast to day trips, dinner reservations, a turn-down service or a top-up of Champagne. Here, it's worth noting that – in a totally-non-creepy-way – your butler had tabs on your whereabouts at all times. Turn-down services would happen when you were out at dinner; other members of staff across the island would know which restaurants you'd booked into for dinner. Anyone on the island would be able to direct you to your next spot without you even having to tell them where it might be.

You received an invitation to the Naiboli pool bar for complimentary deli-style small bites and cocktails every evening. There was a complimentary packing service on offer (yes, really), and you could control the blinds and the lights from your bed. There was a glass floor to our living room, enabling us to watch the fish swim beneath us as we relaxed of an evening. There was a fresh fruit platter and five different flavours of macarons presented to us on arrival. We received complimentary daily water and three soft drinks of our choice. We never wanted for anything.

If you don't stay in an ocean house with private pool in the same way we did, your experience will be just as luxurious. You can stay in a beach house with private pool, a beach or ocean residence with private pool (slightly bigger, and available with two bedrooms), The Nautilus Retreat or, at the very top-end of the spectrum, The Nautilus Mansion. 922 sqm in size, The Mansion has been designed as the ultimate private beach home, with three bedrooms and custom-made furnishings. It's something so special, and lots of guests book the Mansion alongside other neighbouring houses to accommodate large family groups. A girl can dream.

The restaurants

It was on our walk to breakfast on our very first day that I was really able to take in the beauty of the island I was staying on. Towering palm trees peppered the beach, a trillion rainbow-coloured fish visibly went about their day in the turquoise oceans below us, and greenery allowed the island to look healthy and alive.

We stepped slowly and quietly along the powder-puff sand beach, allowing the gentle waves to crash over our feet, until we reached Thyme. Thyme is a beach-front, all-day dining spot, with a welcoming ambience and the most spectacular breakfast buffet you could ever imagine. Everything feels once-in-a-lifetime here.

As previously alluded to, breakfast is served for the entirety of the morning. While an in-room floating breakfast was definitely up there with my favourite of Nautilus experiences, breakfast at Thyme was also a spectacle. You could order hot plates from the kitchen – chefs would whip up anything, regardless of whether or not it was on the menu – and a chilled, buffet pantry served more fruits, yoghurts, pastries, meats, breads and cheeses than I could've ever cared to imagine. The mango smoothie fast became a firm favourite of mine, as did the raspberry croissant which was filled with indulgently tangy raspberry butter cream. My boyfriend loved the Nasi lemak – a traditional Malay breakfast that that consists of fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf.

In all honesty, our breakfast was only the beginning of the culinary delights we were set to experience over the duration of our stay. Dinner at Zeytoun the following evening – a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fine dining restaurant set above the ocean – was a spellbindingly-romantic experience.

You sit in your own “pod” which provides every couple with uninterrupted views over the Indian Ocean – where water and sky merge seamlessly. Sunset turned the sky a rich shade of pink, and when everything went dark, waiters hurried to bring us lamps and reading lights to ensure we didn't miss a moment.

The food was exceptional – even down to the pure olive oils from the Aegean, freshly baked crusty breads and aromatic Turkish teas. The lobster main course was a particular highlight for both myself and my partner, but I also loved my fresh shrimp ravioli starter. It was a dinner we were so lucky to experience and adore.

It was pretty important to me to check out all of the restaurants before I left the island – I'm a foodie through-and-through – so alongside Thyme (for lunch and dinner, too, may I add), we also tried in-room dining, Naiboli and Ocaso.

Ocaso was wonderful, a grill restaurant which specialises in Japanese, Mexican and Peruvian cuisines. Eating among the trees in our own private gazebo, while torrential rain fell around us, was magical.

The experiences

With just 26 houses at The Nautilus, you've probably gathered that the resort is one of the most intimate in the country – but trust me when I tell you that you'll never tire of things to do.

As with most Maldives resorts, water-sports are big news at The Nautilus. Snorkelling equipment was provided with our Ocean House free-of-charge – our butler took our measurements as soon as we arrived – but you also get access to all other complimentary water sports on the island for the duration of your stay.

At the halfway point of our trip, we signed up to a guided snorkel trip, which was lead by the island's in-house Marine Biologist. We learned all about the conservation work the team are doing at the hotel, which was incredibly enlightening, before we donned our fins and masks to slip from the Southern-most beach on the island into the corals and sea life of the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve below. We swam along the reef for at least an hour to witness the vibrant corals and teeming sea life. The variety of fish was astonishing, with little friends of every colour circling around us. Although we didn't visit quite at the right time, there are often opportunities to witness dolphins, mantas and turtles here, too.

If snorkelling isn't adventurous enough for you, you can scuba dive from the shores of The Nautilus – or, you can punctuate your days with the excitement of speed-boating, water skiing, banana boating and tubing. All water sports are operated in compliance with the restrictions required in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which was really important to me to learn.

If you're feeling a little sore from all that swimming, do book in for a massage at the island's wellness centre and spa. A trip here makes for such a relaxing morning: there's an overwater yoga pavilion for post-breakfast practise, best followed by an all-natural signature massage in one of three glass-bottomed, over-water treatment pavilions. Afterwards, you can maintain your zen in one of our two over-water relaxation lounges, or make use of the sauna, steam bath and open-air bath.

Elsewhere on the island, there's a modern and fully-equipped gym which is open to guests 24/7, and you can also try your hand at badminton, tennis, or a trending game of padel on the multi-purpose, beach-front sports court.

The verdict

To mirror that trend on TikTok, if you asked me what I thought of The Nautilus, I'd say it's the perfect resort for a luxury, fly-and-flop holiday in The Maldives. But if you asked me what I thought of The Nautilus on a deeper level, I'd say that the experiences offered by The Nautilus are unparalleled. At The Nautilus, no-one will ever bat an eyelid if you want to have breakfast at 1pm, Champagne in bed or a massage at midnight. In fact, it's encouraged. You'll be treated like royalty and won't have to lift a finger, allowing you the space and time you need to focus on rediscovering your calm, peace and purpose.

I came away feeling more relaxed than I'd ever felt, totally in awe of the resort, and desperate to return. The Nautilus a perfect little slice of Maldivian heaven that will fast become everything you never knew you needed. Add it to your bucket-list. Pronto.