Maldives,

Patina Maldives

Price per night from$1,162.50

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD1,162.50), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Modernismo by the beach

Setting

No worries Atoll

Breaking the mould of the Maldivian resort is Patina Maldives, Fari Islands, whose zero-waste, energy-positive practices and biophilic, Brazilian-Modernist design puts it at the forefront of eco-conscious luxury. Thatched roofs and gold taps are out; a James Turrell-designed art pavilion, earthy, soft palettes and cleverly concealed in-villa control panels are in. And while the ultra-contemporary marina and Studio MK27-conceived Beach Club resonate with urban cool, the resort never loses focus on why you’re here. Every detail, from the Bassam Fellows, Vitri and Paolo Lenti furnishings, the spa’s dreamy sensory deprivation tanks, and the window systems that open exquisite two-storey villas to the elements on three sides, has been pored over with your comfort and relaxation in mind.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

US$50 per villa to spend at the resort

Facilities

Photos Patina Maldives facilities

Need to know

Rooms

There are 90 one-, two- and three-bedroom beach and water villas, all designed by Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan.

Check–Out

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability and a charge: late check-out up to 6pm costs 50 per cent of one night; for late check-outs after 6pm, you’ll be charged a full night. Earliest check-in, 2pm.

Prices

Double rooms from £1174.86 ($1,483), including tax at 27.6 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional government tax of $6.00 per person per night on check-out.

More details

Rates include breakfast, a bottle of champagne, evening cocktails and canapés, daily ice cream from Tuk Tuk Gelato, fresh fruit, return dhoni transfers, free stay for two children under-12 (transfers and meals included), Fari Beach Club access.

At the hotel

Marina village; beach club; swimming pools; boardwalk of boutique outlets; art pavilion; restaurants; bars; spa with hammam and sensory deprivation tanks; pool table; 24-hour gym; free bikes, paddle boards, snorkel sets and kayaks during your stay. In rooms: Private pool, floor-to-ceiling sliding window system, free WiFi, outdoor oversized bath tub, Haeckels bath products, rainforest shower, espresso coffee machine, TWG and Twinings tea, minibar and refreshment centre, dining area, smart TV, tablet, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo on request. Two-Bedroom Villas and Beach Houses also have additional inclusions.

Our favourite rooms

Furniture has been custom-built for Patina Maldives in partnership with leading designers such as Bassam Fellows and Gervasoni by the brainiacs at award-winning Studio MK27. Its leading brain, Marcio Kogan, is a graduate of the Brazilian-Modernist movement, and his earthy palettes, matte surfaces and functional, geometric designs have been brilliantly adapted to the needs of honeymooners and flop ‘n’ droppers here, with cool in-villa gadgets such as integrated control panels and concealed device-charging compartments. Just bathing alone is a delight, with twin vanities carved from Nero Marquina marble, bespoke Italian porcelain tiles and alfresco free-standing double bath tubs. All villas have private pools and spacious outdoor terraces, with an indoor-outdoor concept achieved by a floor-to-ceiling window system that opens the space to the elements on three sides. The two-storey, three-bedroom beach houses really take the biscuit, with huge, split-level outdoor spaces including a sunset-facing terrace and lush gardens.

Poolside

Every beach or water villa comes with its own private pool flanked by Dedon-furniture-dotted terrace spaces, all cleverly angled towards the lagoon or the ocean. Plus, there are two further full-sized public pools on the island.

Spa

As you’d expect, much thought has gone into the hotel’s spa offering. It’s loosely built around the idea of ‘flow’, which could describe the seamlessness of the service just as much as it could the wellness philosophy. British skincare brand Haeckels has produced a line of exclusive products for the resort, and there are Watsu treatment rooms, a hammam suite, sauna, salon and hydrotherapy pools to tempt you. However, for the ultimate blissed-out experience, book a stint in one of the sensory deprivation pods.

Packing tips

Patina’s plan is that stress levels start decreasing at the packing stage: if you forget anything, resort staff are on hand with a solution. No request is too large, so just ask.

Also

There are compulsory gala dinners on Easter (30 March 2024), Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, for an additional cost. Guests can upgrade to half board (for $100) or full board (for $180).

Children

Like everything here, your children’s enjoyment is added to the equation with skill and expertise, with a thoughtful kids’ club, first scuba lessons free, bikes, snorkels, paddle boards, kayaks, Playstations and Xboxes on request.

Best for

Children of all ages.

Recommended rooms

Any of the two- or three-bedroom villas can be configured for families, but the three-bedroom beach house is best for larger troupes.

Activities

The resort’s commitment to sustainability has led them to make every first child’s scuba diving lesson free, in which the resident marine biologist will teach them the importance of biodiversity and caring for coral and the seabed. Footprints is the eco-conscious kids club for ages 4-11, and opens daily between 10am and 6pm. Here you’ll find a weekly activity schedule of cooking classes, wellness workshops, 3D printing and laser-cutting classes, and making model toys out of recycled plastic.

Meals

Children are catered to throughout, although some restaurants are more suitable than others: try Arabesque and Helios, or treat them to gourmet burgers and ice cream from the food trucks.

Babysitting

Babysitters and nannies can be hired. Prices vary depending on the length of stay, but usually between $35 and $50 an hour. Baby monitoring equipment is available.

No need to pack

If you’ve forgotten something, chances are Patina staff can replace it. Just ask.

Also

Playstations and Xboxes can be borrowed on request.

Sustainability efforts

In keeping with its ‘details first’ ethos, Patina Maldives has thought long and hard about its social and environmental impact. For example, the timber used throughout the resort is FSC-certified and sourced from completely transparent supply chains. Plus, all 1,600 builders, architects and engineers were provided with reusable water bottles to ensure no plastic was used on site from the outset. The culinary concept on the island is nose-to-tail, root-to-leaf, and kitchens are zero-waste (more impressive than it sounds in the middle of the Indian Ocean). The bar does its data-led bit, too: every cocktail and spirit served at Patina Maldives, including the Fari Beach Club, will eliminate 30 grams of carbon emissions in comparison to conventionally prepared drinks. Energy-wise, 50 per cent of the resort’s energy will be from solar power by 2030, and staff take beach-cleaning excursions to neighbouring islands, with a target of 10kg per trip to be turned into ocean plastic products. Finally, you’ll be pleased to know that all this scientific know-how is being passed onto future generations: free dive lessons are given to children to nurture respect for the environment, and the kids’ club itself is 100 per cent solar powered.

Food and Drink

Photos Patina Maldives food and drink

Top Table

We’d need weeks to have experienced every table on the island (erm, yes please), but a cool corner of Brasa after dark certainly put us in the mood.

Dress Code

It’s your shout: go as glam or as louche as you like (within reason), although no swimwear is permitted at Roots, Wok Society, Helios and Farine.

Hotel restaurant

Where to start? There are 12 dining options at Patina Maldives, catering to early-bird health-kick hunters, late-night fried-food-requiring revellers and everyone in between. The resort’s most sophisticated flavours might be found at Fari Beach Club, where nutrition, fine drinking and a carefully curated music programme combine under the guidance of multi-Michelin-starred chef Nick Bril; or at Koen, which marries the subtleties of Japanese and Nordic cuisine at a sushi-style counter. Roots is a plant-based restaurant with holistic eating its aim; Brasa is a Patagonian grill run amiably by chef Cesar Perez; Wok Society is a high-energy social club with soulful Asian creations and craft beers; Helios transports you to Greece thanks to its hearty Aegean kitchen; Farine is a relaxing bakery and café serving pastries and fresh roast coffee; and Arabesque is your go-to for Lebanese and North Indian dishes. There are three food trucks, too, for feasting on the go: our favourites being Go Go Burger (good to know that even the most exclusive Maldivian resort recognises the qualities of the humble burger) and Tuk Tuk Gelato, which will send your little scuba divers into raptures.

Hotel bar

Veli Bar is a relaxed, poolside hangout that borrows from the same Brazilian-Modernist blueprint of the villas: its rectangular, open-sided facade lets its chic clientele do the talking. Veli means ‘Zen’ in the local vernacular, and that’s how we felt reclined on its oversized communal seating. Don’t miss out on evening cocktails and canapés, too, held under the portico from 5pm to 6pm.

Last orders

Roots and Wok Society serve breakfast 7am-10.30am, then Roots follows Fari Beach Club and Helios by serving lunch from noon to 3pm and dinner 6pm-10.30pm. Farine plates up lunch from 11am-5pm. Koen and Brasa open for dinner only (6pm-10.30pm).

Room service

Any and all meals can be ordered to your villa. Ask staff to fire up your terrace barbecue if it’s grilled treats you desire.

Location

Photos Patina Maldives location
Address
Patina Maldives
Fari Islands, North Malé Atoll, 20026
North Malé Atoll
20026
Maldives

You need a transfer to reach this hotel. For approximate costs, see location information

Patina Maldives is a jewel of the Fari Islands in the North Malé Atoll.

Planes

Velana International Airport is where you’ll touch down, and is 45 minutes by speedboat from the resort.

Other

You can also arrive at the resort via luxury boat or – most dramatically – seaplane. To book either, please contact our in-house travel team. Shared luxury boat transfers to and from the airport are included in the price when booking with Smith; they cost USD620 for adults and over-12s, and USD320 for children ages four to 11 (under-4s travel for free). If you wish to travel to and from the airport via seaplane transfer instead, the price is USD750 for adults and over-12s, and USD380 for children ages two to 11 (under-2s travel for free). All prices are subject to goods and services tax, and service charge.

Worth getting out of bed for

With every whim taken care of, there’s no pressure here: expend zero energy or fill your hours with activities galore – it’s your call. If you do venture beyond the dream-bubble of your villa, a fine place to start is the Marina Village where yachts from neighbouring islands moor up to take advantage of Patina’s exceptional choice of restaurants and drinking holes, the epicentre of which is the Fari Beach Club. Browse the boardwalk boutiques such as modern men’s outlet the Rake or take in the ambitious art installations at James Turrell’s skyspace pavilion. You can get active, too, of course: bikes, snorkelling sets, stand-up paddle boards and kayaks are all available to borrow for free. Plus, as part of the resort’s extensive sustainability commitment, the first eco-minded kids’ scuba-diving lesson is free per child.

Reviews

Photos Patina Maldives reviews
Iroshini Chua

Anonymous review

By Iroshini Chua, Jet-set doctor

Just when I thought our 45-minute ride from Malé International airport would mostly be a snooze, Patina’s speed boat came to a mid-emerald-sea halt. I am the first to bolt out of my seat but was back within a flash to announce to Mr Smith that ‘a bunch of highly intelligent mammals are teasing us with glimpses of their glistening bodies gliding through the water!’

Mr Smith raises an eyebrow but kicks off his loafers and leaves the comfort of the lounge to join me on deck just in time for them to show-off their mid-air acrobatics. Let’s face it, even the most seasoned travellers get insanely excited at the sight of a pod of dolphins frolicking in the Indian ocean… [READ THE FULL REVIEW]

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Price per night from $1,162.50