What It’s Like to Stay at Gili Lankanfushi, the Maldives Resort With Service So Superb It’s Invisible
Welcome to Checking In, Robb Report‘s review series in which our editors and contributors rate the best new (and revamped) luxury hotels based on a rigorous—and occasionally tongue-in-cheek—10-point system: Each question answered “yes” gets one point. Will room service bring you caviar? Does your suite have its own butler? Does the bathroom have a bidet? Find out below.
Gili Lankanfushi
Describe the Hotel in 3 words: Casual. Lavish. Stunning.
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What’s the Deal?
Already on our list of the Maldives’ best, Gili Lankanfushi is proof perfect that luxury’s zenith can be barefoot. The second you settle into your seat for the 20-minute speedboat ride from the dock at the airport in Malé, you’re handed a drink and a canvas bag. The drink is to be drunk, and the bag is a repository for your shoes; you won’t need them again until you reluctantly board the same boat back to Malé. The ethos: “No news, no shoes.”
Gili is bonkers beautiful. Colorful fish and small reef-sharks school in the shallows, while manta rays and turtles can be seen from jetties and swimming beneath the villas. The sea is so still where it meets the land it barely laps. The sea grass and coral provide the trademark tones in the water. Naturally, there’s incredible snorkelling, diving, sailing and windsurfing, befitting the clear flat water, but the Australian watersports company, Tropicsurf, has newly partnered with Gili to offer tuition to those wanting to surf. Intermediate waves (including a world-famous right-hand break) are a short boat-ride away.
The Best Room
There are 45 villas and residences here. The best is the Private Reserve, it’s the world’s largest over-water villa, and somehow it’s both rustic and palatial. Though to call it a villa doesn’t do it justice—it’s more like a little village meets luxury treehouse. Set over multiple floors and levels, it features two cavernous master suites, two further bedrooms, a gym, a private spa, a private cinema, a room for the nanny, multiple dining options, a kitchen, an infinity pool, a private launch and a water slide. Even for those used to decadence, this forces a re-calibration on the limits of wonder.
Peerless views of that azure blue in what must be a contender for world’s most incredible domicile, cost between $13,000 and $30,000 a night.
The Rundown
Does the resort have a standout perk?
Service that looks like magic. Gili works very hard at their magic, and rather than drawing attention to it, they’d almost rather you didn’t notice it at all. At every meal, I was never handed a menu but it was always under my hand when I wanted it—and my name was on the front page. I didn’t notice until my final breakfast that I hadn’t ordered the cappuccino in front of me. In fact, I hadn’t ordered coffee once since the first morning. It just always arrived unobserved a moment or two after I did, and with no fuss or attention drawn to it. How elegant. If you change villas, the team has reference pictures of everything “before,” so when you walk into your new villa, you’ll find it just the way you left it.
Did they greet you by name at check-in?
Yes, and all the staff seemed to know me immediately. Though “check-in” is a big word for “people standing on a dock.” There’s no formality or awkwardness to arrival, no marbled lobby, just a small team to welcome you and whisk you to your villa.
Welcome drink ready and waiting when you arrived? Bonus point if it wasn’t just fruit juice.
There were two welcome drinks: fruit juice on the speedboat and Champagne on the island. Best of both worlds?
Private butler for every room?
Yes indeed. A Mr / Ms Friday (a nod to Crusoe) is introduced to you digitally before your arrival, and smooths everything from pre-arrival to departure. Nothing is too much trouble, and they’re always on duty, 24/7. Having forgotten something in my villa, rather than walking to fetch it, I sent a text. A few minutes later it was in my hand. Decadent.
Is the sheet thread count is higher than 300?
Yes and the bedroom is a wonderful fusion of rustic and decadent. The motorized TV is hidden in a carved wooden box, the necessary air conditioner is encased in wood, and there’s even a pillow menu with 17 choices.
Is there a heated floor in the bathroom? What about a bidet?
Not using human means. But, yes it’s heated: by the balmy breeze running through the villa, which is only just north of the Equator. The Indian Ocean is a steamy 82 degrees just beneath your feet, and you can dive in directly from your bathroom. Regarding a bidet, see previous sentence.
Are the toiletries full sized?
Yes, and though they feel exotic and luxurious and thick, they’ve been decanted into unbranded stone pots. De-branding the products was something I never knew I needed. Leave your airs and graces at the jetty.
Is there a private pool for the room’s exclusive use?
Some villas come with infinity pools, but not all. You hardly miss them considering that the bathwater warm ocean is never more than a step or two away and just outside your villa door.
Is the restaurant worth its salt?
Unsurprisingly, yes. There are myriad options for fine dining—from single tables lit by candles on solitary sandy beachheads, to your choice of restaurants serving bounteous fresh local fare. Highlights are breakfast, an opulent spread I’ve not seen equalled, including a delicate, light, caught-on-the-reef sushi, a guacamole chef for that bespoke fresh perfection, and homemade jams, chocolates, yogurts and pastries. For the most finely tuned palettes, you can eat in the extraordinary private wine cellar, a 10,000 bottle cave where every course is matched to its perfect vintage. And with a stock of coravins, you can enjoy the most rarefied wines by the glass. Finally, the chef’s table: Acclaimed chef Hari Govindaraj will cook in front of you, in situ in the garden from where he’ll quite literally pick the ingredients for dinner.
Is there caviar on the room service menu?
No (though available if pre-ordered).
Do you want to spend Friday night in the lobby bar?
Yes, except that there’s no lobby to speak of. The new over-water bar is where the drinking and socializing happens and it’s a giddying array for the senses. There are three sommeliers on the island, so someone knowledgeable is always to hand. And sipping something crisp and light in the west-facing bar, is enhanced by the sun setting and the parrot fish playing in the ocean beneath you.
Would you buy the hotel if you could?
Yes please. I miss not being able to hear the water in my house, and confess that running the dishwasher is unsurprisingly no substitute. And the stillness of the air in my living room is just barbaric.
What’s the verdict?
Objectively, and if forced to find fault, though the Fridays have been known to entertain kids, and there are plenty of activities, for those seeking to deposit younger children into all-day care, and have a time off, there are no prescribed “clubs.” The upside I suppose is the tranquility is not punctured by hordes of marauding 5-year-olds, and that the families that do come must therefore enjoy each other’s company and like being with their kids. This is a self-selecting filter. As I perhaps struggle to contain here, I loved Gili to the point of absurd hyperbole. As one who hates the formality of modern luxury, the Gili ethos resonated wildly with me. It also doesn’t hurt that the service is so good it looks like sleight of hand, and that it’s superlatively beautiful.
Rate: $1,700 per night
Score: 10
What Our Score Means:
1-3: Fire your travel agent if they suggest you stay here.
4-6: Solid if you’re in a pinch—but only if you’re in a pinch.
7-8: Very good to great. We’d stay here again and recommend it without qualms.
9-10: Forget booking a week. When can we move in permanently?
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