Infinity pool hotels in the Maldives

The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands has its own island in North Male Atoll, part of the Fari Islands archipelago, whose resorts share Fari Marina Village, the harbor quarter. The shared infinity pool is open to every guest: it is round, set at the beach, and EAU Bar wraps around it, so the water meets the lagoon at the far rim. Shade umbrellas, low planting and a sand walkway ring the deck, and the bar runs from daytime drinks through to the evening.

Accommodation is villas only, on the beach or over the water, each with a private pool on its own sundeck and an Aris Meeha butler on call. Beach Pool Villas open onto a walled garden and a stretch of sand, while Overwater Pool Villas and Lagoon Pool Villas sit above the water, with the lagoon right off the deck. Two-bedroom layouts exist in both settings.

Seven restaurants and bars are spread across the Culinary Island, Grand Sunset Beach and Fari Marina Village, from Italian at La Locanda to Cantonese at Summer Pavilion. The Ritz-Carlton Spa is a ring-shaped building over the lagoon with nine treatment rooms and a salon. Ritz Kids, for ages 4 to 12, has an indoor-outdoor club with playgrounds and a pool with slides. The resort holds one MICHELIN Key.

Best for: families who want a kids club and a pool with a bar around it, and couples who like a design-led island in an archipelago with its own marina village.

Landaa Giraavaru is a jungle-covered island inside Baa Atoll, which UNESCO designated a Biosphere Reserve in 2011. The resort's main pool is a shared infinity pool open to all guests, set at the beach in the middle of the resort, framed by thatched salas and rows of loungers, with its far side running level into the lagoon and the horizon beyond. The resort calls it the first Olympic-size pool in the Maldives.

Three smaller pools back it up: a saltwater pool that runs along the shoreline beside the main one, the Blu Pool by Blu Beach for late afternoon and sunset, and a shallow children's pool in the Kids Club area. Accommodation runs from beach villas behind turquoise gates to oceanfront bungalows and sunrise or sunset water villas on the lagoon, and every category has a private pool. Water villas add overwater nets and steps down into the sea, and family versions add a second bedroom or a study. The resort holds one MICHELIN Key.

Away from the pools, the Marine Discovery Centre runs coral planting and sea turtle rehabilitation, and seasonal manta ray and whale shark snorkeling is part of the program. AyurMa is the resort's Ayurvedic retreat, with treatments, yoga and longer detox stays, and four restaurants cover Italian cooking at Blu Beach Club, Eastern Mediterranean dishes at Al Barakat, teppanyaki at Cafe Landaa and seafood at Fuego Grill.

Best for: families who want a children's pool away from the main one, and travelers who come for marine conservation and Ayurvedic wellness.

A 200 meter (660 foot) infinity pool runs along the island's edge, and it is shared by every guest rather than tied to one villa category. Part of it is set aside for the Kids' Club. At the seaward end the water sits brim full with the dark stone rim, so the pool and the lagoon read as a single surface. A thatched restaurant stands alongside it. Loungers and umbrellas line the beach side, and the view from that end runs west over the lagoon toward the Coralarium, the underwater gallery of sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor that doubles as a coral regeneration project.

Sirru Fen Fushi covers a 16-hectare island in Shaviyani Atoll, wrapped by a wide private lagoon and a house reef that can be snorkeled from the sand. The 120 villas are split between beach, jungle and overwater categories, and each one comes with a private pool of its own. Safari Tent Villas trade solid roofs for canvas among the trees, while two- and three-bedroom villas suit families and groups.

Four restaurants share the island: Raha Market for all-day international dining, KATA for Japanese plates and a rooftop bar, Azure for Mediterranean cooking, and Spice Box for casual Asian dishes by the beach. Drinks are also served at the beachfront ONU ONU Bar, and Arufen Spa covers treatments, yoga and a gym that stays open around the clock. The resort is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World.

Best for: snorkelers and free divers drawn to the house reef and the Coralarium, and families who want a Kids' Club with its own section of the pool.

Kudadoo Maldives Private Island is a fully inclusive resort in Lhaviyani Atoll built around just 15 overwater residences, 13 with one bedroom and two with two bedrooms. Every residence stands over the water and has a private infinity pool of 44 sq m (470 sq ft) on its own deck, so no room type here comes without one. Guests also share a wide curved infinity pool on the deck of The Retreat, the two-story overwater building at the center of the resort, where the outer edge runs flush into the lagoon, with loungers and daybeds around the water.

The Retreat holds the restaurant, the bar, a wine cellar and cheese room, the gym and the Sulha Spa, and its folded roof carries the solar panels that run the island. Kudadoo was designed by architect Yuji Yamazaki and takes its shapes from traditional Japanese architecture. From the shared pool the outlook is open water and reef on one side, with the crescent of residences behind.

The residences have open-plan interiors, a deep tub and a long sun deck over the lagoon. The all-inclusive rate covers dining wherever you want it, premium champagne and wines, spa treatments, diving, excursions, water sports, yoga and a personal trainer, with butlers on call day and night. The whole island can be taken for exclusive use.

Best for: couples who want a private overwater infinity pool included in the rate, and small groups booking a whole island.

Every villa at Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi has its own private pool, in three settings: Beach Villas on the sand, Reef Villas where the garden meets the lagoon, and Overwater Villas above the shallows. The resort describes the overwater villa pools as private infinity pools, and counts 117 villas in all. A large free-form shared pool sits behind the beach, shaped in soft lobes with planted palm islands inside it, loungers and day beds on the deck and a bar at the water.

Villas run from one bedroom to multi-bedroom residences, so families and groups can stay together. Each has an outdoor living area with a gazebo for open-air meals and a swing day bed, plus an indoor and outdoor shower, and bicycles come with the villa for getting around the three islands the resort covers in South Male Atoll.

There are 11 bars and restaurants, including Terra, whose tables sit in bamboo pods up in the trees, and Li Long for Chinese cooking. The wellness center adds treatment villas, a hydrotherapy pool, steam room and sauna. Children aged 4 to 11 have the Stars Club, with a waterpark and a splash pad, and a separate private island can be taken over for a group.

Best for: couples who want a private pool with any villa category, and multi-generation families who need several bedrooms and a kids club.

On the beach at Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas, the shared pool runs parallel to the shore and faces the sunset over the lagoon. It is open to every guest. The water sits brim full and level with the walkway, with an open edge toward the lagoon on the seaward side, where a row of sun loungers stands on a shallow ledge inside the pool. Manzaru, the Italian and Mediterranean restaurant beside it, serves snacks and ice cream at the pool through the afternoon. The resort describes the Beach Pool Villas as having a private infinity pool, so that is the category to book for one.

Two venues give the island its character. SKY is a rooftop bar with what the resort calls the Maldives' first overwater observatory, and after sunset a resident guide runs stargazing sessions at the telescope. SEA is the underwater restaurant, with the house reef on the other side of the glass. The spa treatment rooms are built over the lagoon as well, and six restaurants and bars are spread across the island.

The resort has 80 beach and overwater pool villas and residences, each with a private pool, an outdoor dining pavilion and a villa host on call. It sits inside the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve near Hanifaru Bay, where manta rays gather in season, and the house reef rings the island for snorkeling from the sand. The Thiththi Boli Kids' Club adds cooking classes and a trampoline park for younger guests.

Best for: couples who want an underwater dinner and a night at the telescope built into the stay, and snorkelers who come for the manta rays.

Baros Maldives is a small round coral island in North Male Atoll, planted with palms and ringed by sand, and it has been open since 1973. Its shared infinity pool is not on the beach: it is built out over the lagoon, along the deck of the overwater restaurant, long and narrow, with the far edge flush with the sea so pool and lagoon read as one surface. Tables from the restaurant sit right beside it, which makes it a quiet pool for a swim rather than a place for a crowd of loungers.

Accommodation is all villas. Baros Villas and Deluxe Beach Villas stand under the trees a few steps from the sand, Water Villas are perched above the lagoon with direct access to the water, and Baros Pool Villas add an infinity-edged private plunge pool with a canopied daybed beside it. The Baros Suite and the Baros Residence come with larger private pools. Every villa has a dedicated Villa Host.

Three restaurants cover fine dining at the overwater Lighthouse, seafood and Asian dishes, with Sails Bar under the palms and an evening cocktail lounge with sea views. Serenity Spa is hidden in the trees, and the house reef starts a short swim from the beach, with turtles, rays and living coral. The resort describes itself as designed for couples.

Best for: couples and honeymooners after a small quiet island, and snorkelers who want the reef straight off the beach.

Thai hospitality runs through this Baa Atoll island, from the villa interiors to the cooking classes and Benjarong, the overwater Thai restaurant. Dusit Thani Maldives keeps its main infinity pool open to every guest: it sits on the beach beside the Sand Bar, with the open side facing the lagoon and the sunset. The resort calls it one of the largest in the Maldives.

Mudhdhoo Island holds 94 villas and residences and sits inside a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Every villa category except the entry-level Beach Villa has a pool of its own: beach villas sit behind walled gardens with the sand a few paces away, overwater villas step straight down into the lagoon, and two- and three-bedroom residences work for families or for two couples sharing. Thai touches carry into the rooms, from the wood detailing to the oversized bathtub and the outdoor rainshower.

Devarana Spa raises six of its treatment villas up among the coconut trees. Dining covers international buffets at The Market, grilled seafood and steaks poolside at Sea Grill and plant-based plates at Sala, with drinks at the Sand Bar next to the main pool. A house reef circles the whole island, so snorkeling starts from the beach or from a villa deck, and the activity program covers beach yoga, diving and Thai or Maldivian cooking classes at House of Flavours, arranged on request.

Best for: couples who want sunset swims in a large shared pool, and families who need two- or three-bedroom villas.

The Whale Bar and the Iridium Spa both stand over the lagoon at The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort, on its own island in Dhaalu Atoll. The shared pool is on land: it sits in the sand beside Alba Beach and is open to every guest, with a children's pool next to it. It is a free-form pool with a raised rim. Loungers line the side next to ALBA, the Mediterranean restaurant, and the lagoon lies a short walk beyond the sand. All 77 villas and suites have a private pool of their own.

At the Whale Bar, Latin-inspired tapas and cocktails are served at sunset above the water. The spa has six treatment suites, two of them for Ayurveda. Back on land, a spiral staircase inside the boutique climbs to an observatory tower with wide views of the Indian Ocean, and the beach is coral sand that stays cool underfoot even in strong sun.

Of the villas, 44 stand over the water and 33 are on land, from Garden and Beach Villas to Overwater Villas, two-bedroom villas and the Overwater St. Regis Suite. Each has floor-to-ceiling windows, a walk-in closet, tablet room controls and a marble bathroom with a freestanding tub, and St. Regis butler service comes with every category.

Seven restaurants and bars are spread around the island, among them ALBA beside the pool, modern Japanese kaiseki at T-Pan at the edge of the sand, and a six-course menu in the Decanter wine cellar. The Children's Club runs yoga, crafts and games with childcare staff. Best for: couples who want an overwater villa with its own pool and sunset evenings at the Whale Bar, and families who need a children's pool and a kids club.

Infinity pools on this Raa Atoll island come with named villa categories. The Sunset Overwater Pool Villa has a curved infinity pool on a west-facing sundeck, flanked by a cushioned daybed and an open-air dining table, with one king bed and an open-plan bathroom inside. The two-story One Bedroom Lagoon Pool Villa and One Bedroom Sunset Lagoon Pool Villa each have a private infinity plunge pool on the sundeck. The remaining villas and residences have private pools too, on the beach, on the lagoon shore or over the water, and every category carries Club InterContinental benefits such as private lounge access and evening cocktails.

A shared pool is open to every guest as well: a two-level rectangle set on the sand, its far side dropping straight to the lagoon, with hammock nets strung over the shallow water beside it. A swim-up Pool Bar stands on one side. A separate round pool area sits back among the palms, with a shallow section for small children.

The lagoon here is a manta ray nursery, and the resort works with the Manta Trust at its marine discovery center, running guided snorkeling from December to April, when the rays come in to feed. Five restaurants cover Mediterranean small plates at The Lighthouse, sea-to-table South Asian cooking at The Fish Market and cross-continental dishes at Cafe Umi, while the Avi Spa sits out over the water. Children have the Planet Trekkers club and a separate teens program.

Best for: couples who want a sunset villa with its own infinity pool, and families who want a shared pool and a kids club on the same island.

Sun Siyam Iru Fushi is a large resort on a private island in Noonu Atoll, with 221 beach and overwater villas, fifteen places to eat and drink, and meal plans that range from bed and breakfast to premium all-inclusive. Infinity pools come in two forms here. The shared one is adults-only and faces the ocean, and Reflections, the pool bar beside it, admits guests aged 16 and above; a family pool with a kids splash zone takes everyone else.

The private version belongs to the Infinity Water Villa, an overwater villa of 174 sq m (1,870 sq ft) whose pool ends in a flush edge above the lagoon, beside a sundeck and a covered dining cabana. The Aqua Retreat has an infinity pool too, and the Hidden and the Celebrity retreats come with large pools of their own; all three include butler service around the clock. The Water Villa with Pool has a glass viewing floor over the lagoon, and beach villas open onto the sand with a private terrace and a thatched beach cabana.

The 24/7 Premium All-Inclusive plan covers meals across the venues, drinks and a dine-around option between restaurants. The spa works with Thalgo of France and keeps a resident Ayurvedic doctor on the island. The house reef is close enough to swim out to, snorkeling gear is handed out at no charge, and diving, sailing, windsurfing and fly boarding all run from the island.

Best for: families and groups of friends who want an all-inclusive plan on a large island, and couples who want a pool reserved for grown-ups or a villa with one of its own.

Dhonakulhi is a crescent-shaped private island in Haa Alifu Atoll, in the far north of the Maldives and well away from the busy central atolls. Two shared infinity pools are open to all guests. The one at the Sunset Pool Cafe is the sunset pool: a long, gently curved pool whose open edge runs the whole seaward side, so the water reads level with the ocean and the horizon, and the cafe serves lunch and dinner beside it. The second pool sits at Meeru Bar and Grill, with a children's area and a sunbathing island deck in the middle of the water.

Villa pools are a separate matter and vary by category. Several are plunge or lap pools, while the Sunset Beach Residence with Pool and the Two-Bedroom Beach Residence with Pool have a private infinity pool, a roof deck and a stretch of sand that neighboring villas cannot see into. Over the water, the Deluxe Water Villa with Pool has an infinity pool on its terrace. Beach villas come in six categories and water villas in three, and the Signature Collection residences at the northern tip add several bedrooms for families and groups.

There are five restaurants and three bars, plus a spa set among the trees where yoga and meditation run alongside the treatment menu. Sports cover tennis, a golf simulator, a floating aqua park and a house reef for snorkeling and diving. Meeru Bar and Grill cooks wood-fired pizza and lobster at the poolside, and younger guests have the Tender Hearts Kids Club.

Best for: couples who want a quiet island far from the crowds, and families or groups who need space, multi-bedroom residences and plenty to do.

The pool is the point of this resort: one free-form stretch of water, 150 meters (490 feet) long, running lengthwise through the middle of the island between the garden villas. In the resort's own words it is the largest pool in the Maldives. It is a garden pool rather than a sea-facing one, with paved sun decks, loungers and parasols along one side and planted beds and palm-covered islets on the other. Open-air jacuzzis, partly submerged sunbathing ledges and shallow sections for small children are built into it, and it is open to every guest.

Every villa has a pool of its own. Beach villas sit on the sand on the sunrise or the sunset side of the island, each with a pool a few steps from the water, while the water villas have a deck-level pool that looks straight down the lagoon. Two- and three-bedroom beach residences take families and groups.

The island lies in North Male Atoll, beside a well-known left-hand surf break called Chickens, and the watersports and dive center rents boards and runs lessons for beginners on a smaller wave nearby. Dining is spread across separate venues: Japanese-Peruvian cooking and a teppanyaki counter at Mar-Umi, a steakhouse, a plant-based kitchen, a seafood restaurant and an Indian-Arabic grill. There is also a spa with open-air baths, a kids club and a gym.

Best for: long swims and surfers, plus families who want a villa pool of their own.