Review: The Nautilus, Maldives (2025 Edition)

Have you ever gone back to something you loved as a child, only to realise — with adult eyes — that it’s actually a steaming pile of shite?  A movie, a favourite musician, that crop top you wore all summer and were wildly, unironically confident about.  Or the personality you had in your early twenties.

There are plenty of hotels I’ve revisited over the years where experience has ruined the illusion. They’re not as good as better places I’ve stayed since. Or, occasionally, they suddenly make sense now that I’m not such a cheap prick anymore.

Nautilus is not that.  It worked in 2018, and it still works now. So if you’re short on time and have already read my last review, you could probably skip the rest of this and go back to pretending you’re working.

Getting there

Let me begin where I intend to end: The Nautilus is, relatively speaking, a bit of a bargain, because it actually includes some useful perks, most notably the CIP arrival process.

When you see a hotel’s inclusions list and some turds are still proudly listing things like Wi-Fi, the gym, or oxygen, you know there’s nothing good coming your way. Nautilus goes against that norm. It’s one of the few resorts where the inclusions are actually worth reading.  My best guess is that your checkout bill will land 30–40% lower than it would at many comparable places.

The Maldives, to its credit, does VIP arrivals well. You’re greeted straight off the plane, ushered onto a luxury bus, and taken to a dedicated lounge where immigration is handled while someone else retrieves your luggage. You can grab some food — admittedly, it seems to be mostly boiled eggs or Froot Loops — or just relax in a reserved area until someone comes to collect you and move things along.

This is vastly preferable to the traditional alternative: long immigration queues, even longer waits for luggage, and a slow emotional death under fluorescent lighting.

We were here for around 45 minutes before we were taken to the seaplane terminal, where Nautilus has its own dedicated lounge. It’s spacious, calm and nicely designed to mirror their island property, with a small kids’ area. Food selection is small — very small — including one impressively dry pastry that I took a single bite of before opting out entirely. There are showers, maybe designed to moisturise the pastries.

We were also given a list of mocktails and cocktails to choose from as our arrival drink, which I’ve not seen before.  A much better way of handling it, rather than being forced to carry something out of politeness for the entire tour, which generally gives you the face of licking piss off a stinging nettle.

About forty minutes later, we landed. Nautilus doesn’t have its own landing strip, which we should all be grateful for — the island is so small you’d feel like you’re living on a runway during a hurricane. Instead, we were collected by a yacht for a mere seven-minute transfer.

Setting

The Nautilus sits in Baa Atoll, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and is amongst the best places to see manta rays feeding in large numbers, and seasonal whale sharks.  One of the main selling points of The Nautilus is the house reef, as well as the ability to do some exceptional diving.  I don’t do either, so we’ll just have to believe everything we read online.

That said, the wildlife is not the only thing out here.  There are quite a few islands around, some fairly close and some fairly ugly, especially when they have the nerve to enjoy things like electricity and lights at night.  Similarly, with noise – I wouldn’t say a lot of planes were flying past, but enough for me to note it.  

And this is very much a modern Maldives issue, and it’s only going to get worse.  Velaa and Soneva Secret are rare exceptions… for now.  The one benefit of this atoll is that to maintain UNESCO status, they are not allowed to build islands anymore.  Yes, I know it’s strange to think of islands just popping up, but that is what we’re down to in the Maldives now – a load of man-made slabs of concrete.

The island itself is very small, but thankfully natural rather than man-made.  It’s so compact that they don’t even bother offering bikes.  If I were to be picky about one thing, it’s that the Wi-Fi doesn’t reach everywhere, including parts of the beach. Amazon could solve this with a couple of Wi-Fi extenders.  They’ll even throw in free shipping.

At this time of year, the Maldives has just trickled into peak season, and the rains are meant to piss off.  Day one delivered exactly that: warm, calm, and not remotely oppressive. We could all hang around in the sun, without worrying about the sun.  The following morning, it absolutely pissed it down for a while, just to remind us where we were.

And then, for the remaining 14 days of our time in the Maldives, we didn’t see a single drop of rain again.

Facilities

So, let’s remember that the island is about the size of a postage stamp.  There’s not a huge amount, but there’s also enough.  There’s the usual boutique, padel court and marina with, erm, a boatload of boats.  There’s also the kids’ club.  But really, the social hub is Naiboli, their beachside (not like it could be jungle-based, seeing how small the island is) pool and bar, which is where they have a gigantic pool, loungers and cabanas. There really is so much seating space everywhere; it never feels crowded, although you certainly see people around.  And they really do love massive pools here.  And heated too.  And I love them for it.

My main issue was the number of people smoking – never had it as an issue anywhere in the Maldives, but here it was a recurrence.  Also, I ran numerous speed tests here on the internet, and all came back reasonable, yet I kept having issues with it, to the point that streaming some live sports was an issue.

The gym is basic but still manages to hit the heights of being able to be called a gym. A dated LifeFitness setup with pulldown, chest press, leg extension and cable machine, plus two ellipticals, two treadmills, two bikes, a couple of benches and some free weights. Nothing inspiring, and no view of anything, but enough to maintain a routine without resentment.  Next door there’s a games room with a pool table and table tennis.

The spa is overwater. Again, the issue with such a small place, is the facilities are rather basic.  I like the design, I even like the implementation, but you’re not going to find sauna, steam, hot tubs etc here, just a yoga pavilion and treatment rooms.  Lucie and I did a couples treatment, face down with a glass panel beneath us, looking straight into the ocean. The treatment itself was good, which is really the minimum requirement in this scenario.

Room

The Nautilus has a small collection of beach and overwater villas, just 26 in total.  This is not a place built for scale.

We stayed in Villa 112, a two-bedroom beach residence.  It’s spread over two floors, which I completely understand given how small the island is and the lack of horizontal space.  That doesn’t mean I have to like it.  And, naturally, despite the extra bedroom, we all slept in the same room anyway.

The villa styles have a Maldivian look to them on the outside, with an understated modern feel inside. Nothing is especially flashy or architecturally orgasmic, but the proportions, layout, and colour scheme all work together. It’s a sign of simple done well.  I think it summarises The Nautilus: everything feels like a seven or eight out of ten.  Nothing is the best you’ll ever experience, and nothing is anywhere close to the worst either.

Entry is into a comfortable living area with a small kitchen setup, sofa, and TV. TVs in both the living room and bedroom are hooked up to Apple TV.  Off from that, the guest bathroom, featuring an absurd step that feels like a personal vendetta.  My toe flinches as I write this.

Upstairs is the master suite, with a larger bedroom, bathroom, dressing area, and balcony.  The bathrooms aren’t huge, but they do the job and are stocked with everything you actually need.

Lighting and controls fall into the familiar category of “not the worst, not the best.”  You do have to bend down and read labels like you’re studying for an exam, but once you work it out, everything is in mostly logical places.  Curtains and blinds follow the same pattern: mildly irritating at first, then fine.  One detail I appreciate is the wristband key, which more resorts should adopt.  I’m sure some will scoff at the low-end feel to it, but it’s so much easier than carrying a key around.

The outdoor space is where the villa really shines.  There’s a massive pool — and, more important than that oxygen perk, it can actually be heated.  Like really heated.  We had to ask them to turn the temperature down, as it hit around 34C, which is like a bath.  There are two separate shaded lounging areas with hanging sofas, four loungers with umbrellas, and a proper dining table with six chairs.  Also, did I mention how massive the pool is?

The view looks out over the beach and ocean, wave breakers included (oh well), but the surrounding greenery does a good job of maintaining privacy.

Service

When you’re a small property, you have to excel in service.  You cannot beat even the big boys when it comes to facilities, so that is your best hope.  Well, it didn’t start that smooth. They allocate you a butler in advance and can communicate with them prior to arrival, but I had to chase to ever get any responses.  Perhaps it’s a great idea in theory, poor in practice for someone to have to be a butler and customer service rep.  Anywho, eventually I got some forms to fill in regarding preferences.  One point on the form was whether we want to sign for the bill after every event.  I like that.  More places should do that.

We arrived to a good selection of sweet and savoury snacks, plus kids colouring books and some toys for the beach.  Again, I’ve seen better, I’ve seen worse.  That drink they offered in the lounge?  They normally take you to the bar to enjoy it, but we took it directly to our room as the kids were tired.

They also seemed to take my request for killing all the mosquitos a bit too seriously, as they fogged the shit outta the place.  It felt like something out of The Mist.  

The person that is going to make the biggest impact on your stay is your butler.  Each butler is allocated 2-3 villas, whilst I have in my mind that previously it worked on a 1-1 ratio.  Perhaps I’m wrong.  Someone fact check me. Butler isn’t always responding immediately, but mostly within like 20ish minutes and things are taken care of.  Outside of the butler, we were only asked our room number when going to the spa.  And there’s a clearly nice vibe here, with breakfast order being easily taken care of as they got to know what we wanted.

They also did a good job with Lucie’s birthday, with a birthday cake, balloons and a setup on the beach.

Food

Nautilus was previously part of Relais & Châteaux and has bid au revoir to that.  I fondly remember how good the food was, whilst now it was mostly good and occasionally very good.  But it was sensibly priced which, in the Maldives, is not something I say lightly. Kids eat free, and, unusually, the kids’ food is actually good.  There are two kids menus — one at Zeytoun and one at Thyme — and they’re so solid you could quite happily order from them yourself.  Not that I’m suggesting anyone does so, during these economic hardships.

There’s three restaurants: Thyme, the restaurant and includes some gourmet Ayurvedic dishes alongside more familiar options. Zeytoun, the Mediterranean restaurant set overwater next to the spa, and Ocaso, which they describe as Asian rather than Japanese, though it is very clearly Japanese-leaning.

There’s nightly entertainment at the bar, with cocktail hour at 6pm, which actually creates a nice atmosphere.  Canapés are meant to appear too — they forgot them on our first night, but the intention was there.

Ocaso has tented private dining areas, so you’re essentially in your own little space with your feet in the sand.  Very romantic, very well done.  The sushi was good — which is never guaranteed anywhere — but the chicken skewers tasted like eating cardboard that was dipped in sawdust and glued together by pubes.

Breakfast is offered with a buffet, found in a relatively small room and a heavy focus on pastries.  Unfortunately, this is where looks and reality don’t quite align.  They look excellent.  They mostly disappoint.  They change daily, and some days are better than others.  That said, the à la carte menu is far better, with a good range from standard eggs through to Maldivian and Arabic dishes.

In-villa touches are strong: a daily fresh fruit platter in the fridge, and ice creams in the freezer — especially the rose flavour — which is a genuinely nice detail.

The minibar situation, however, is unnecessarily confusing.  Strange rules, unclear inclusions, and just enough ambiguity to make you feel like you’re solving a Rubik’s cube every time you open the fridge.  They should simply include it and move on.

One consistent theme across all dining: the kitchen never feels in a hurry.  Whether that bothers you will depend largely on your patience level and blood sugar at the time.

Kids Friendly

The kids club itself is… bleak. Sparse, quiet, and carrying the general atmosphere of a funeral that’s gone on too long. At times, there was also some sort of generator positioned nearby, which you can hear when you’re outside.  It was probably sucking all the fun from the atmosphere.  From a hard-product perspective, it’s still better than Soneva Secret.  But a great kids club can just be one wonderful person working there. The manager has the enthusiasm of a wet towel. She doesn’t seem particularly pleased every time we show up but, in her credit, our eldest eventually enjoyed going there and wanted to go back, whilst our youngest never enjoyed it.

I also didn’t love the TV situation. Music was being played through it, and on the last day the TV itself was on. Some parents will be fine with that. I’m not. It really shouldn’t be there at all.

I certainly wouldn’t host my kids birthday parties here.

The Good

• Service
• Accommodation
• Setting
• Food

The Bad

• Kids club

The Luxurious

• Value for money

Conclusion

I last stayed here in 2018, and returning now—older, more travelled, and far more annoying—I’m happy to report it holds up.  My first (or rather, first second impressions) is that there is a place in the market for Nautilus.  It’s a small, intimate island that does what it does well.  It occupies a respectable niche.  It’s not trying to be Cheval Blanc.  It’s not pretending to be Velaa.  It knows exactly what it is, prices itself accordingly, and mostly delivers. It’s not competing at the very top end, but it offers something different for people who care about excellent house reefs, manta rays, whale sharks, and whatever it is that kids club is.  

I don’t walk around the property thinking “wow” at any stage, but I consistently find myself liking it.

There are a lot of inclusions here, and unlike many resorts, they’re actually useful.  The anytime-anywhere dining concept is still around, but I’m too old to stress-test it for the sake of a review.  What I did enjoy was the nightly cocktail hour and live music, which creates a warm atmosphere and actually gets people together.

Most importantly, I didn’t once feel ripped off signing a bill.  Not a single one.  That alone puts Nautilus ahead of most of the Maldives.

I liked it here.  Genuinely kind service, mostly good food, and very good value for money….by Maldivian standards