The Nautilus Maldives: A World of Your Own Making

Forget what you think you know about luxury and then take a look at The Nautilus; the private island single-handedly redefining luxury’s meaning. Discreetly nestled away in the ever-stunning Baa atoll, the heart of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve – just 15 minutes away from the world-renowned Hanifaru Bay, The Nautilus is an ultra-luxe bohemian hideaway with just 26 immensely private houses and residences. Wholly embracing the ability to feel and experience absolute liberation, The Nautilus offers hyper-bespoke experiences that are, as the island has dubbed, “unscripted” to cater to guests’ every wish and whim. Bringing a whole new standard of prestige to the Maldivian tourism scene, The Nautilus should be on your radar as the fast-approaching leader of luxury innovation and fierce originality.

Making its debut in February 2019, The Nautilus boldly opened its doors to the niche luxury market that was already at risk of becoming overly populated. With countless new openings boasting excessively glamourous stays, there was no question that it was time for hoteliers to incept fresh concepts to totally differentiate themselves from the ever-growing crowd. Fortunately, The Nautilus did just that.

 The Nautilus is the only Relais & Châteaux affiliated resort in the Maldives, a prestigious designation representing the island’s level of quality, excellence and authenticity. The Nautilus’ ability to excel with its operationally ambitious concept ‘Time Stands Still’ is testament to this. Guests are encouraged to shape their stay, quite literally curating ‘A World of [Their] Own Making’ as they go without the confines of schedules, dress codes or opening and closing times. With the ability to do whatever they want, wherever they want at whatever time they want, The Nautilus’ guests can realign, switch-off and experience the ability to simply be – the greatest luxury of all.

Inspired by the spiralling form of nautilus conch shells and the notion of modern bohemia, The Nautilus passionately abides by its brand hallmarks; time stands still, unscripted dining, free-spirited experiences, the comforts of home and, of course, the art of bohemia. These inspirations seamlessly saturate the property’s every detail. With spiralling staircases resembling the inside of a nautilus shell and smooth flowing curves creating cocooned alcoves to distinct colour palettes and handcrafted macramé lighting, each house and residence is a paradise compendium of rich architecture, design and consideration. But, it doesn’t stop there – every house and residence also boasts it’s very own private temperature-controlled freshwater infinity pool as well as it’s very own dedicated House Master offering full butler services.

Rather uniquely, The Nautilus House Masters contact their guests even before their arrival, taking note of their every preference in order to individualise their guest journey and satisfy their every whim. The Nautilus House Masters are guests’ first port of call for any activity, dining experience or query whilst on the island.

The wow-factor continues with the dining experiences available on the island. With a total of four outlets, guests are totally spoilt for choice. Zeytoun, the island’s signature fine-dining restaurant specialises in Mediterranean/Middle Eastern; Ocaso, the alfresco grill serving up Japanese, Latin American specialties; Thyme, the all-day dining favourite serving gourmet bounty and Naiboli, the ultimate poolside beach lounge. In keeping with the island’s ‘unscripted’ attitude, menus at all four locations are considered as mere suggestions. Alongside the on-island chefs, guests curate bespoke dishes tailored exactly to them at any time. Breakfast in Ocaso at 3am? A picnic lunch in Zeytoun for one? No problem – The Nautilus is your haven of gastronomic exploration.

Designed for the new age of UHNW travellers looking for somewhere where they’re able to totally switch off totally, The Nautilus is a place where guests can truly be themselves and re-connect with loved ones.

The property has already won the ‘holy trinity’ of travel awards, despite only opening in February 2019. Named the “Best Private Island Retreat” at the 2021 Tatler Travel Awards, The Nautilus is already firmly cementing its position on the global stage of worldclass luxury properties. In addition, The Nautilus is listed within Condé Nast Traveller’s coveted ‘The Gold List’ 2021 – almost unheard of for a property so young to do. Finally, The Nautilus has already been recognised amongst the three best resorts in the world and has taken first place as the ‘Best Resort in the Indian Ocean’ in Condé Nast Traveller’s prestigious Readers’ Choice Awards 2020. These significant wins are testament to the team’s enthusiasm and vision – continually striving to enable our mantra of ‘Create a World of Your Own Making’ become a reality for all our guests.

Apart from the above accolades, The Nautilus was also ranked number one in Luxury Intelligence (LTI) as the ‘World’s Best New Luxury Hotel for 2019’. This award resulted from of a comprehensive inspection of 35 new luxury hotel openings across the world from which just 15 properties made the final list. Amongst the 15, The Nautilus Maldives ranked number one.