Rightly one of the most famous resorts in the country, ecofabulous Soneva Fushi is the place to get back to nature in style. The personal creation of hoteliers Sonu and Eva, it’s an incredibly impressive place where rustic private houses are perched on dazzling white-sand beaches behind the thick vegetation of one of Maldives’ largest resort islands.

　　Each villa here is genuinely just that – there are no mere rooms – and they're whimsically and individually designed, built with all-natural materials, fitted with beautiful furnishings and finished in rustic style. Each has its own pool and direct beach access. All the deluxe and modern features you’d expect of a five-star hotel are included, but most of them are concealed so that no plastic is visible. Bathrooms are vast outdoor creations bigger than most hotel bedrooms. The villas are well-spaced around the edges of the island, affording complete privacy; they’re reached by bicycling along sandy tracks that wind through the lush jungle.

　　With the choice of five superb restaurants (including the wonderful treehouse-style Fresh in the Garden, where you cross a rope bridge to get to your table above the jungle canopy), the food is a real highlight of the resort. A new overwater restaurant complex, Out of the Blue, was under construction in 2018.

　　Eco-credentials and social responsibility are taken seriously here; you can take a tour of the resort’s recycling area and see the ingenious ways many things are reused on the island. Across the lagoon on Baa’s capital Eydhafushi, the resort has built and continues to fund a school. It’s hard not to be impressed.

　　The Soleni Dive Centre has years of experience diving the sites nearby, while the excellent Six Senses Spa, set among the trees, is a place for pure relaxation. The kids club – which includes a Lego room, offers cooking classes and has its own pool and water slide – is easily one of the best in the country. More unusual (free) activities include watching an outdoor film at the lovely Cinema Paradiso, and observing the stars in the first resort observatory in Maldives.