The first time I saw Sirru Fen Fushi properly was not from the seaplane window, but from the jetty. After a long and slightly chaotic transfer, we stepped off the boat to a waiting buggy, cool towels and a glimpse of water so clear it looked almost edited. On one side, a sweep of white sand and palms. On the other, the long line of overwater villas stretching into a pale turquoise lagoon. Behind it all, dense greenery that felt more jungle than manicured resort.
Sirru Fen Fushi means “secret water island”, a name that makes sense as soon as you start to explore. Set in the far northern Shaviyani Atoll, it sits in one of the Maldives’ largest resort lagoons, with a nine-kilometre house reef curling around the island and a sense of remoteness that feels a world away from Malé.
This is an all-villa resort where every address comes with a private pool as standard, and where the design language leans into pale wood, hand-carved details and a slightly bohemian, rustic chic aesthetic. It is not the most polished, ultra-minimal Maldivian hotel on the market. Instead, it feels like a lush, slightly wilder island with a strong sense of place, a serious commitment to its natural surroundings and genuinely warm service.
Getting there
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If you are drawn to Sirru Fen Fushi, it is probably because of that sense of remoteness. The resort is almost an hour north of Malé by seaplane under ideal circumstances, and the views over the atolls are as cinematic as you would expect.
In practice, the journey was the only real downside of our stay. The resort works with a third-party seaplane company that runs on a shuttle system, which means flights leave when they are full, not on a fixed schedule. On arrival we waited close to four hours at the terminal before boarding, and our 55-minute flight stretched to around an hour and twenty as we stopped to drop off and collect guests at other islands in both directions. It felt efficient rather than luxurious, and you lose some of the “private island” magic when you are effectively on a bus route in the sky.
The contrast on landing is striking. Our butler met us at the jetty with a buggy and we skipped the lobby entirely, checking in from the sofa of our villa while our luggage quietly appeared in the dressing area. It was only then, standing barefoot on the deck and looking back at the island, that Sirru Fen Fushi started to feel like the escape we had come for.
Overwater Villas with a view
All 120 villas at Sirru Fen Fushi have private pools, whether you choose to wake up on the beach, above the lagoon or tucked into the greenery in one of the safari-style tented jungle villas. We opted for an overwater villa, which quickly became the heart of our stay.
The deck alone feels like a small apartment. It wraps around on both sides of the villa, with an infinity-style pool facing the ocean, a comfortable sofa corner, two sunbeds, a dining table and a hammock net suspended above the water. It is the sort of space where you can easily spend an entire day without seeing anyone else, moving between swims, book, lunch and the odd dip into the sea below.
Inside, the villa is surprisingly spacious, with high ceilings and abundant natural light. There are two full wardrobes, proper room to unpack and hide away suitcases, and a large bedroom that still manages to feel uncluttered. The bathroom is almost comically big, with a freestanding tub, a separate shower room clad in warm metal tones and a double vanity. A mirror positioned opposite the window reflects the ocean back into the space, so you catch a glimpse of the lagoon even while brushing your teeth.
Practicalities are well considered. Each villa has bicycles waiting outside, which turns what could have been a long walk down the overwater boardwalk into a gentle ride. Many of the island’s paths are shaded by trees forming almost a tunnel overhead, so pedalling through feels cosy and jungly rather than exposed. It is a small detail, but one that makes the resort feel lived in rather than simply looked at.
On our final morning we ordered a floating breakfast to the villa, one of those slightly theatrical Maldivian rites of passage. Eating pastries, eggs and tropical fruit perched on the edge of the pool while the tray bobbed gently in the water felt faintly ridiculous and very charming in equal measure. It is more about the moment (and, let us be honest, the photo) than the meal, but it suits the playful side of the resort.
Dining around the resort
Sirru Fen Fushi offers several dining venues: an all-day restaurant, a beachfront spot by the pool and a signature seafood restaurant, along with a Japanese option and casual bars. Over the course of our stay we managed to try them all.
Breakfast is served in the main all-day restaurant and is genuinely impressive in scale. There are separate sections for Asian, Indian and Maldivian dishes, a Western corner with eggs, pastries and baked beans, live cooking stations and a generous fruit area where staff chop and toss a fresh salad to order. It is easy to overdo it in fifteen minutes, but far nicer to linger when you can.
Lunch at the beachside restaurant works well if you are spending the day by the pool or the sea. It leans into relaxed classics – salads, sandwiches, grilled fish – and the setting, with toes in the sand and the lagoon metres away, does a lot of the heavy lifting.
The seafood restaurant, Azure, is perhaps the most atmospheric space, especially in the evening. Rope lights and globe pendants give it a nautical glow and the open kitchen creates a gentle buzz as the chefs plate up local catch. One night we ate under the roof, then moved to a table right by the water for dessert, which was a lovely way to end the evening.
Kata, the Japanese restaurant, has a slightly moodier feel and Spicebox by the pool offers unfussy, beach-adjacent plates at lunchtime. On paper, it is a solid line-up. In reality, the food sits comfortably in the “good” category rather than pushing into “memorable”. As someone who dines out frequently, there were no dishes that made me want to ask for the recipe or rush back the next night.
Pricing and meal plans are also worth mentioning. We stayed on a full-board basis, but several items came with supplementary charges and alcohol was not included, which made the structure feel closer to an all-inclusive resort with bolt-ons than a straightforward dining plan. It is not a deal-breaker, but guests should arrive knowing that the set-up can be a little confusing and that food here is more about ease and variety than culinary discovery.
Spa and wellness
If the aesthetic of Sirru Fen Fushi feels a touch bohemian in the villas, the spa takes that idea and leans fully into it. Hidden among the trees, the spa compound feels more Bali than big-brand hotel, with wooden walkways, treatment pavilions and a softness to the landscaping that encourages you to lower your voice as soon as you arrive.
We booked a 60-minute massage and found the therapists to be excellent, with the sort of intuitive pressure and rhythm that makes the hour disappear. The treatment rooms open to the greenery, so you hear rustling leaves and distant birds rather than lobby noise. It is a simple set-up rather than a heavily themed “spa village”, yet it delivers exactly what you want from it: an hour where time bends, shoulders drop and you forget about the seaplane timetable.
Elsewhere, there is a yoga deck looking out to the water and a sizeable fitness space, but the island itself does a lot of the wellness work. You can cycle shaded paths, walk along the beach at sunrise or simply sit on your deck and watch the water shift from pale blue to deep teal as the day goes on.
Water, reef and the Coralarium
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For many guests, the real draw of Sirru Fen Fushi is not the pool, but the lagoon and reef that surround it. The resort sits on a 600-hectare lagoon with a long house reef that is directly accessible from the beach, and it is home to the Maldives’ first underwater art installation, the Coralarium, by sculptor and ocean conservationist Jason deCaires Taylor.
Snorkelling here is easy to arrange and there are trips out to the Coralarium, where sculptures rise from the seabed and provide a framework for coral regeneration. On the surface it looks like a minimal bronze structure in the middle of the water; once you are in, it becomes a gallery where fish and coral are the main exhibit.
The watersports centre offers kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, jetskis and boat excursions. One of the most quietly special moments of our trip, however, happened without leaving the villa. Standing on the deck one afternoon, we spotted a pod of dolphins moving slowly across the horizon, their fins appearing and disappearing in the distance. Watching them glide through the water from the privacy of our own pool felt like the reason people travel all this way: a small, unscripted reminder that you are a guest in a very large, very blue world.
We also joined a dolphin cruise, a more structured way of seeking out the same magic, and spent time simply swimming and snorkelling off the beach. The beauty of the island’s setting is that you can engage with the ocean on your own terms, whether you want a full wetsuit and underwater camera or just a quiet float near the shore.
Service and atmosphere
While the natural setting is the undisputed star of Sirru Fen Fushi, the service comes a very close second. Each villa is assigned a butler who communicates via WhatsApp and, in our experience, this worked exceptionally well. Ours quickly learned our rough movements and often had a buggy waiting before we even thought to request one. Restaurant bookings, activity tweaks and small villa requests were all met with warm, prompt replies rather than the gentle delays that can sometimes come with island life.
Across the restaurants and bars, staff are unfailingly friendly and good company. There were moments when product knowledge fell a little short, particularly when we asked more detailed questions about certain dishes or drinks, but the attitude was always “let us find out”, which counts for a lot.
In terms of atmosphere, the resort sits somewhere between honeymoon-only retreat and sociable beach club. Most guests during our stay were couples, often celebrating something special, but it did not feel hushed or overly romantic, and there were a handful of small groups and families. Officially, this is not an adults-only property, but it skewed firmly adult on our visit.
The resort clearly wants to add a livelier thread to the experience. There was a planned pool party during our stay, complete with a Perspex DJ booth built directly over the central infinity pool. It was an impressive piece of staging, although the reality – muted sunshine, a smaller crowd and a pop-leaning playlist rather than the beach-house sound we had imagined – meant the energy stayed relatively gentle. With more guests and better weather it would probably land differently.
On the whole, Sirru Fen Fushi feels like a place that balances calm with a quiet desire to create moments, whether that is an acoustic set by a bonfire, a plankton-spotting evening swim or a simple glass of something on your deck at sunset.
Who is it for?
Sirru Fen Fushi is best suited to travellers who value space, nature and privacy, and who are happy for their dining to be pleasant rather than ground-breaking. It will appeal to couples and small groups who like the idea of a slightly wilder, greener Maldivian island with excellent villas and a substantial house reef, rather than a resort built entirely around fine dining or a party scene.
It is also a strong option for those who plan to spend meaningful time in and on the water, whether that is diving, snorkelling the Coralarium or simply watching dolphins from the deck. Families will find plenty of space and a kids’ club, but on our visit the energy was quietly adult, which may be a positive or a drawback depending on what you are looking for.
Sirru Fen Fushi is the kind of place that reveals itself slowly: tree-lined paths you learn by instinct, staff who remember your rhythms and water that shifts through shades of blue as the day goes on. With its generous lagoon, spacious pool villas and quietly attentive service, it suits travellers who want a Maldivian escape that feels both relaxed and genuinely connected to its natural setting. For those content to move between reef, bicycle and the privacy of their own deck, this “secret water island” offers a calm, barefoot style of luxury that lingers long after you leave.
