LUX South Ari Atoll Resort & Villas (ex. Lux Maldives)

R7811ORteresap5/5 · 2026-09

Ha sido un sueño de viaje. Hemos tenido una atención impecable desde el primer momento. Algo que valoramos es que el Resort tiene muchas actividades y restaurantes diferentes, lo que hace entretenida la experiencia y la sensación de poder escoger, provar cosas diferentes. Todo el personal es muy amable, pendiente de tus necesidades todo el tiempo. Destacar Aru como camarero, nos ha cuidado siempre mucho e intento aprender nuestro idioma, para hacernos sentir en casa. Lo mejor Giada, que suerte hacer esta experiencia de su mano. Estubo pendiente de nosotros toda la estancia, muy dulce, siempre disponible a cualquier hora y sentimos que era muy honesta.|Gracias

Jose Manuel5/5 · 2026-07

Estuve casi una semana en este maravilloso resort y tengo que decir, que la expresión “el paraíso en la tierra” nunca fue tan acertada!! El clima, la gente, la gastronomía, el ambiente, todo absolutamente de 10. Quiero resaltar la amabilidad de Anu, que siempre nos recibía en el desayuno con una sonrisa y una amabilidad extrema, que ya te agradaba el día! Y que decir de Ismail nuestro “HOUSEKEEPER”, increíblemente eficaz y servicial. Muchísimas gracias a tod@s por una estancia inolvidable!!! Saludos desde España José Manuel

cody wempen4/5 · 2026-03

As an American traveler, I want to share my experience at LUX South Ari Atoll, especially regarding tipping and expectations. The Good: The island is stunning! We were warmly greeted, and local touches, like island-grown fruits and homemade jams, made it special. Our room attendant Irham personalized everything for us and made sure our room was amazing every day. He was always so excited to show us the new towel art or decorating he did in our room. Honestly was 1 of my favorite parts. And Wassad, who worked at the ice cream shop and the beach, was incredibly friendly—his smile and daily chats really made it special. The Bad: Tipping was a constant surprise. I want to start by saying I expected to tip. I have done all-inclusive before and usually budget around $100 a day for tipping. But…… every small interaction you had, a tip was expected. You would get a slip of paper showing $0 owed and asking how much tip you wanted to give. Im not talking just for dinner, lunch or breakfast. Im talking everything like grabbing a coffee or getting an ice cream or grabbing a beer. Even taking a ride on one of the free carts that came around to shuttle you places. After the ride, the cart drivers would fist bump you, then hold out their hand, making tipping feel expected. What stood out most was that, despite the resort’s focus on conservation—no plastic, reusable bottles—we’d still get up to 10–15 slips a day, zero-dollar items but asking what tip we want to leave. The worst part is they would wait and watch you fill out this slip of paper and then quickly look at the amount you left in front of you. Whatever you think you will tip increase that amount a ton because it never stops. Also, we did a $350 whale shark excursion with the water sports team. The boat broke down, I want to point out this is nobody’s fault and it happens but our 3-hour excursion to see whale sharks turned into 8 hours and we didn’t even get to swim with them. The boat was taken back to the island, and they told us they had another boat coming. Half the people left (they were smart) we stayed. Once we got on the new boat, we just kept getting told we probably wouldn’t see anything. BUT…. We actually saw two whale sharks, but they didn’t stop, we went to them and told them that there are two whale sharks over there, and they said we can’t get out and see them. Not telling us why and later acted like we never saw them. No apology, no discount, and the three-hour trip took eight. I’d strongly recommend going with the conservation group’s excursion over the speedboat team, which felt like a waste of time and money. At $1500 a day to stay there I feel like wasted a ton of time on this. Still had to pay and they gave themselves a mandatory 20% tip For a luxury resort, there was more trash than you would expect on the beach I would walk around and pick it up but never saw any of the staff picking it up. I actually saw the security team walk right over it on many occasions. The worst is when our drone accidently landed in a bush. I went in the bush to retrieve it and found that someone has been taking dumps in this bush. Like lots of dumps. So human shit right by where we eat and swim. I am going to attach a pic of some trash and the bush that someone has decided to smoke and crap behind. Overall: The island’s beauty and some staff were fantastic, but constant tipping slips, cleanliness, and the excursion left us feeling like it didn’t match the price. This trip for 5 days ended up costing closer to $12,000 usd when you factor in the tipping and the whale shark. Not counting flights.

Alexandra Mauboussin5/5 · 2026-01

We went to Lux* for our honeymoon and what a treat that was! The hotel and island are absolutely stunning and very well maintained. The staff! The nicest people I have ever encountered in a hotel, they made our stay extra special. Big shout out to Gabrielle & Ahmed who looked after us everyday. The manager and his wife also made this trip one of a kind with various thoughtful gestures. The hotel was near to fully booked but we did not feel the crowds at all - be it at the different beaches or restaurants. There are a lot of activities to do and, while I was scared of getting a bit bored spending 10 days there, the time flew by! We also went scuba diving for the first time and that was just wonderful! The marine life but also the service we received was outstanding. We met a lot of people who have come back to this place several times and we absolutely understand why! For our next trip to the Maldives, we will definitely come back!

Matthias Rizzi5/5 · 2026-07

We have been the 2nd time in LUX. Everything perfect. Great for snorkeling and diving. Saw Whaleshaek and Manta Rays. Did my Advanced and Nitrox certification here, absolutely fantastic experience!

Anupama Kinila5/5 · 2026-06

Our stay at Lux* South Ari Atoll was wonderful. The island had so much to offer, lots of activities and it was just perfect. The staff were so welcoming, hospitality was great. Food was top class and as vegetarians we had lots of food options. A big thumbs up to Chef Subbunhi for talking to us and making sure everything was good, the food at MIXE and Senses were extremely good. We highly recommend this island to anybody traveling to Maldives.