Guest User
December 10, 2024
This was our second time visiting the Maldives and I must say that staying at the JW has been the best experience so far in all our travels! Our welcome team (Iqbal and Nashy) at the airport escorted us into the business lounge at the seaplane terminal to relax and have snacks and drinks prior to our 1 hour flight to the island. They were kind and professional. Upon arriving to the island, we were welcomed by the GM and team and were assigned a butler (Malla) and later his trainee butler (Siyaag) who gave us a nice tour of the island upon arrival. Even though the island was 95 percent full, we felt a level of privacy and exclusivity that made our trip feel more relaxed and laid back. Words cannot begin to describe how amazing this island is. We initially booked an overwater villa sunrise side for 3 nights and a duplex for our last 2 nights but our butler informed they upgraded our overwater villa to the duplex villa for all the 5 nights given our elite status. The duplex is huge and luxurious with two floors and 2 bathrooms and our unit could see the sunrise and sunset with a nice view of the lagoon and the Indian Ocean. Malla was very professional as well as Siyaag and Malla ensured our stay was more than comfortable, providing us with utmost care and even laying out little gifts and chocolate snacks every night after turndown down service. We opted for the half board first 3 days and full board last 2 days which was overkill as we ate so much food. The island has several restaurants and bars to choose from. Our favorites were the Thai restaurant which has two tables at the top with a wonderful view of the beach and reef area and the main restaurant Aiylaa which had many items to choose from. Every morning, we could see Jack fish, white snapper, crabs, nurse sharks, angel fish, parrot fish, etc right below our outdoor dining area for breakfast. They had live music from a couple (Ana and I forget the guitar player's name) who were exceptional and would take requests for any song you desired to hear. Ana was able to sing in Hindi, English, Mandarin and Spanish at a high caliber which was very impressive. The service at the restaurants was unparalleled and we connected so well with many of the staff. I would like to highlight several members including Rameez and Lalit who genuinely cared for our wellbeing and were willing to address any concerns (we had none lol) that we may have had. Their professionalism and thoughtfulness really made our stay feel comfortable and more enjoyable. Other staff at Aiylaa including Mizghona, Cindy, Sovia, Ibbe and Missbah were some of the staff we saw daily who treated us so well. We felt like family and they, on top of the island experience, would be the reason we want to return again in future. We got some packages at the spa and so went for massage treatments daily which was worth it. They have an IG worthy view of the ocean and you could see sharks, fish, eagle rays and even dolphins at a distance from their s