Barefoot luxury at its best: LUX* South Ari Atoll in the Maldives
Forget about bringing your shoes, or your flip flops to LUX* South Ari Atoll: you won´t need them here! Located on the island of Dhidhoofinolhu in South Ari, LUX* is the ultimate barefoot luxury destination. You can walk around the 2 km long island on its white powdery sand beaches, or via the main sand road in the middle of the atoll. Don´t worry if walking is too much of an activity on your trip, electric carts drive around all day to bring you from one side to the other.
The resort is just a short seaplane trip away from the international airport of Malé. Upon arrival at the airport, we were greeted by our host, who escorted us to the desk of Trans Maldivian Air. We then took a short ride to the seaplane terminal, located on a neighboring island. At the terminal, LUX* has its own guest lounge where you can wait for the departure of your seaplane. The lounge offers complimentary snacks and drinks and has views over the seaplane docks. There is also an area for kids to chill and play so parents can get a bit of a breather.
The seaplane takes about 30 minutes to get to the resort, where we were greeted by the amazing and friendly staff of LUX* South Ari Atoll. The seated checkin was accompanied by a refreshing cold juice and the kids received their Little Explorers booklet. This little book has 8 missions, such as read a book at the library, make a wish at the Tree of Wishes and find a message in a bottle. For each completed mission a stamp is added and with 8 stamps you´ll get a little gift. The kids were so excited to get their missions completed, and it was so nice to see them so dedicated to get all the stamps! We especially loved writing our wishes on special ribbons provided by the resort and hanging them on the island’s Tree Of Wishes. Let´s hope they´ll come true!
LUX* South Ari Atoll offers 193 pavilions and villas, on the beach and over the water. There are two jetties with villas, one of which is adults only. We stayed at a Water villa, which with an area of 98m2 has a bedroom that can accommodate a maximum of 3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 children, a spacious bathroom with separate shower and bathtub, and a terrace with seating area, a net and direct access to the water. In the bedroom there is a glass floor window so you can see the fish and baby sharks swim under your villa from your bed! In total there are 9 villa categories, some with a private pool or jacuzzi. All have amazing ocean views and have an airy, white design.
LUX* South Ari Atoll has eight restaurants, two of which are buffet, several bars, two main pools, a gym, a kids club and a spa with overwater and garden treatment rooms. You can select from a variety of meal plans, from Bed & Breakfast to All-Inclusive, with 6 restaurants included in the resort’s dine-around concept. Mixe and East Market are the two buffet options, of which East Market was our favorite because it has a great offer of Asian dishes but also Western favorites like pancakes and an egg station. For me the highlight of breakfast was the kombucha, iced coffee and freshly cut fruit. What a treat! Á la carte restaurants are Senses (Indian cuisine), Beach Rouge (Mediterranean), Allegria (Italian), Lagoon Bar (Beach bar), Umami (Japanese) and Veli Bar (Pool bar). As you can see, there is something for everyone.
You can choose to relax on the beautiful beaches - with the softest white sand I have ever seen-, take a dip in the pool, or go snorkeling on the house reef, where there you´ll also find a coral garden (more on this later). If you are still hungry for more, the resort offers several activities, like whale shark snorkeling trips, sunset boat tours and water sports (jet skis, paddleboards, hoverboards, flyboards, wakeboards, water-skis, knee-boards, windsurfs, kite surfs, sailboats, banana boats and other tubes). There is also an onsite dive center where you can book your diving courses and diving trips to the island´s surrounding 50 dive sites (in fact, the resort is situated within a Marine Protected Area). Kids aged 10 and over can enjoy a Bubblemaker dive to explore diving on the house reef.
LUX* Resorts & Hotels has responsible tourism high on its agenda with various sustainability efforts in place. Below are some key points within their corporate governance efforts:
- SEMSI. As a group it has achieved SEMSI status (Stock Exchange of Mauritius Sustainabiity Index). SEMSI trakcs listed companies that meet key sustainability criteria based on the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines.
- GRI Gold Community. LUX* is part of GRI Gold Community. GOLD Community members are GRI’s core supporters. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an international independent standards organization that helps businesses, governments and other organizations understand and communicate their impacts on issues such as climate change, human rights and corruption.
- Tread Lightly. Tread Lightly is the group´s environmental signature project and is recognized locally and internationally as an umbrella for Climate Change mitigation and adaptation initiatives, including renewable energy and biodiversity conservation projects. For a voluntary EUR 1 per night, LUX* promises their guests a 100% carbon free stay. Tread Lightly has exceeded the millionth participating guest night and 97,000 TCO2 of offset GHG via UNFCCC registered projects.
- Ray of Light. Ray of Light engages the community & other stakeholders in multiple projects aimed at uplifting those suffering from various types of marginalization. Within this project, the hotel group collaborates with NGOs dedicated to offering quality education to children coming from disadvantaged households, healthcare to the needy, support for gender equality through women and girls’ empowerment, advising and guiding the disabled towards self-reliance, through sports or IT projects.
- Human rights. The LUX* group puts great effort in creating a diverse and ethical work environment. Furthermore, employees receive annual training on human rights policies and procedures.
LUX* South Ari Atoll, has also implemented the following sustainability initiatives:
- Solar power. The property has installed one of the world's largest floating solar systems at sea, in partnership with Swimsol GmbH. Including utilized rooftops, the solar panels of the island power up to 33 per cent of the whole resort's use, powering all 193 guest villas during peak sun hours. The island cruisers that take guests around the resort are also solar powered, saving more than 260,000 liters of diesel per year. Guests can track real-time solar energy production and consumption from their villas through the resort’s dedicated TV channel. These panels produce 10% of the island’s daily power consumption. Also, all the villa balcony doors are equipped with sensors, so if a balcony door is left open, the AC unit will turn off automatically within 60 seconds.
- Plastics. Water in the rooms and restaurants is produced by the resort´s own water plant – which produces 1200 liters of water per day- and is served in glass bottles. The plant has saved about 850,000 plastic bottles since its launch in December 2011. Take away cups are reusable and are made of bamboo fiber instead of plastics.
- Bathroom amenities. All bathroom amenities in the guest villas, spa treatment products, and skincare collection at the resort’s LUX* ME Spa boutique are not tested on animals and made of natural ingredients. The brand’s signature Shirley Page treatments offer cruelty-free spa experiences with organic essential and body oils.
- Weddings. Awarded the Most Sustainable Wedding Resort in South Asia, LUX* South Ari Atoll is proud to offer a unique Zero-Waste Wedding concept. Ensuring the co-existence of low-impact destination wedding and luxury, wedding packages are wrapped around sustainable island-chic style, with love for nature in the core. Moreover, every wedding celebrated at LUX* South Ari Atoll funds education of a child at one of the local care homes.
- Restaurants. Every restaurant at LUX* South Ari Atoll offers a great variety of plant-based, vegetarian, vegan, and raw dishes, from organic and locally sourced ingredients. The Keen on Green concept invites for a healthy and creative culinary journey, supporting sustainable approach to food and helping reduce carbon footprint. The resort’s passion for clean and green got them recognized as the first ‘Vegan-Friendly Hotel’ in the Maldives by Vegan Welcome. The island’s Herb Garden grows fresh herbs and vegetables for plant-based restaurant dishes and Master Chef cooking classes.
- Ocean wellness. Located in a Marine Protected Area, LUX* South Ari Atoll offers unique underwater experiences, from swimming with whale sharks and manta rays to studying local reef’s life. In collaboration with its long-term partners in research and nature conservation, Whale Shark Research Programme and Olive Ridley Project, the resort organizes charity auctions, updates the existing database of ocean inhabitants, and offers the Turtle and Whale Shark Adoption to its guests. Once a new resident of the atoll is discovered, a guest has the naming and ‘adoption’ rights, confirmed with a special certificate. The resort’s first ‘adopted’ female whale shark LUXMAS is a significant discovery for the ocean life research, as the majority of sighted species in the area are male. Since 2018 the island’s team helped to identify over a dozen of new ‘gentle giants’ around the atoll. Coral planting workshops is another exciting activity that allows travelers of all ages to contribute to the ocean’s wellbeing. Guests are invited to participate in reef restoration efforts as well as learning more about wonderful life under water. LUX* South Ari Atoll also offers the Coral Frame Adoption program: a long-term initiative aimed at involving people from around the world into saving Maldivian marine life. Every guest signed up for the program receives regular photo updates on the growth of their planted baby corals from the resort’s marine biologist.
- Irrigation. The irrigation system operates through the STP (Sewage treatment plant), which reduces water usage significantly.
- Cleaning products. All the cleaning products used at the resort are from Diversey Care, a company offering sustainable cleaning, sanitation and hygiene solutions. In the laundry operation, a low-temperature washing system is used which helps save water and electricity.
- Community support. Every year LUX* South Ari Atoll donates proceeds coming from the Tree of Wishes donations to a local charity. In 2023 the team of the Ministry of Gender, Social and Family services received a USD 20,000 fund for the needs of local children deprived of parental care.
- Green Globe. For its dedication to waste-free guest experience and care for nature, the resort has been recognized by numerous awards and it also holds a Green Globe certificate.
- Travelife Gold Certification. LUX* South Ari Atoll has received international recognition for its sustainable tourism efforts by being awarded the Travelife Gold Certification. Travelife – the international sustainability certification scheme – assesses a hotel’s performance in managing its social, environmental and economic impacts, and in supporting sustainability as part of its hotel marketing and operational strategies.
LUX* South Ari Atoll is an amazing resort in so many ways and I am so grateful we had the chance to stay here and enjoy all the wonderful things it has to offer. It is ideal for families as well as couples or friends since there are options for different preferences. My children and I had a fantastic time at LUX* and we can´t wait to go back one day soon.
