Barefoot luxury at Six Senses Laamu, Maldives

If you’re looking for the perfect resort for your Maldives trip, Six Senses Laamu should be on your list. I can spend hours searching for the right hotel, restaurants, and activities for a trip. A great thing about Maldives is you only have to pick a resort! But maybe that makes your research that much more important.

My husband-to-be and I recently spent seven nights at Six Senses Laamu. We had originally booked for five nights but ended up extending our stay by two nights. We are fortunate to live not too far from Maldives so this was not so hard.

We stayed in Villa 14, Sunset Laamu Water Villa. “Sunset” is a bit misleading ; you can see the sunset if you tilt your head awkwardly over to left. It does have an unobstructed view of the ocean. Adjacent villas are a short swim away but it can be as private as you want it to be.

Laamu Water Villa was very spacious. Each villa comes with a king-size bed, double vanity, outdoor shower and bathtub, private WC, and tons of seating areas.

There are enough nooks and crannies to spend seven nights without running out of options. I could’ve easily spent the entire trip just staring out to the water.

Six Senses’ philosophy of authentic and “barefoot” luxury was thoroughly presented at Laamu. We took off our shoes on arrival and did not put them back on till our departure.

Beautifully weathered pine is the main building material. It’s an aesthetic that improves with years of wear. Curious what the resort would’ve looked like in 2011 when it first opened. Vernacular design and “Sense of Place” are descriptors that many hotel brands throw around. At Six Senses Laamu you really get to see and appreciate them.

There’s nothing exuberant or ornate at the property. This doesn’t mean the resort is devoid of notable design elements. There are small things here and there like their slug-shaped handles. Six Senses isn’t a design-led brand and it’s refreshing to see it take a back-seat to nature.

They have a wonderful landscape team at the resort. All the palms and coastal floras must love it here. Six Senses Laamu sits on a very small island in a Southern atoll . Despite being on a small island there’s richness and diversity of plants.

Seven nights was perfect for us. If you are worried being bored staying at a resort, you shouldn’t be. Most resorts in Maldives have plenty water activities for adults and children. Six Senses has a scuba diving centre, surfing school, a turtle conservation, organic farm, kids club, yoga centre, and an award winning spa.

While HTB went diving every morning I went to yoga classes, went on a sustainability tour, enjoyed Ayurvedic spa sessions, gone snorkeling, and read by the beach. HTB raves about his diving sessions.

• Six Senses Laamu, Maldives
• Architecture and ID by Habita Architecture (they’ve worked on number of Six Senses projects)
• Room rates vary during peak and off-peak seasons. Water Laamu Villa from USD1,058 per night during peak season, including half-board.