The Best Overwater Villa You’ve Ever Seen.

If there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I can only imagine it looks exactly like our Gili Lankanfushi villa in the Maldives. We made it to the island approximately 35 hours after we left Boston. It took three flights, the longest being 13 hours, before we arrived in paradise.

As we boarded the resort’s boat at Male, a crew member flashed us a smile and handed us a small linen bag with the words “No Shoes, No News” all in the same instance. No sooner had I slipped my hiking shoes and compression socks off and into the linen bag, I was offered a glass water bottle with a paper straw (my first taste of Gili Lankanfushi’s strong eco commitment). Then, we were off, buzzing through the cobalt blue Indian Ocean to the place that would forever change my travel days to come.

Story: We’re Going To The Maldives

By the time we walked into the villa, I was jet lagged and sticky from the heat. But my senses jolted back to life like a fallen boxer sniffing smelling salts when we entered the large open-air living room, and then made our way through the villa as the warm Indian Ocean lapped against the wood stilts below us.

I could wax long and beautiful prose about our overwater villa, describing in great detail its stunning bathroom, plethora of daybeds, perfect sundeck, elegantly rustic bedroom, rooftop sundeck with a dining spot and another daybed, and the Bose sound system that ties everything together.

Or, I could tell you about how incredible it is to have your own private coral garden just off of your bathroom and how each morning the low tide brought a fury of activity–tropical fish and reef sharks– around our private villa.

But I know that nothing I say could match the feeling of awe I get from Beth’s photographs, and the joy I find in reading her thoughts about our stay at Gili Lankanfushi.

The Villa!

It’s gorgeous and looks amazing morning, noon and night! All of the villas at Gili Lankanfushi were created with a Robinson Crusoe theme. They are rustic, elegant and have ruined me for life. Now that I’ve experienced life in an overwater villa, I don’t think anywhere else will compare. Every day I would wake up and literally walk right into the ocean. I was never bored because yep, you guessed it, I’d just walk right into the water and go snorkeling. It’s amazing how much time you spend in the ocean when it literally surrounds you.

Living Room

The open air living room in the villa has clear, thick shades that can be pulled down to turn it into a more typical looking indoor space. The living room is right in the middle of the villa with the bathroom being on the left and the bedroom being on the right. There are built in game boards to play on and there is also a mini fridge, coffee maker and tea pot in the living room, discreetly concealed so they don’t interrupt the overall feel of the villa. The living room also leads directly to the outdoor deck which ultimately takes you right into the ocean. The deck has two over water hammocks and several lounging spots. We kept the living room’s canvas walls open whenever we could to enjoy the views and the breeze. Each day you can choose to have breakfast, lunch or dinner (or all three) in your villa. As incredible as it was to dine at the beach restaurants, there were many times we just ate here in the living room overlooking the water.

The Bedroom

The Robinson Crusoe effect really comes to life in the bedroom. There is a dramatic mosquito net (don’t worry you won’t need it, I think I only saw 1 mosquito the entire time I was here), snacks served upon arrival and of course a Robinson Crusoe book to read. I should note that the entire resort prides itself on being a healing resort and as eco friendly as possible. You won’t find any throw away containers in the bathroom and all of the in-room documents are covered in and printed on recycled material. There is also a large TV here but we didn’t even turn it on once – why would you when the views are this good? But out of everything my favorite part was listening to the surround sound music at night. The entire villa is wired with surround sound–even the bathroom. You can walk from room to room listening to the same CD but my favorite was the one of nature sounds. It was on when we walked into the villa for the first time and we kept it on each night. We would fall asleep listening to birds chirping and water lapping while sleeping over the water. It was extraordinarily relaxing.

The Bathroom

The bathroom is HUGE. It’s really more like a large dressing room because the open air shower is actually down a small walkway above the water. I LOVED showering here, just being able to look out on the water with not even an inch of glass between me and the Indian Ocean was amazing. Instead of just the daily showering chore, this was a full on showering experience. Everything in the bathroom is eco friendly – no throw away soaps here! The other thing to note here is that next to the shower walkway there is a stairway – this leads to your own private coral garden!!! Seriously, this is awesome. I loved having a private coral garden and we were lucky because our garden was always really active with lots of fish!

Roof Deck

The villa also has a roof deck with yet another place to take a nap! There is also an additional spot to eat which looks down to the living room from above. The views from the roof deck are absolutely beautiful!

What’s your favorite part of the villa?

Disclosure: While we were hosted by Gili Lankanfushi, our thoughts and opinions are entirely our own.