Gili Lankanfushi

Gili Lankanfushi lies on Lankanfushi island in North Malé Atoll, twenty minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport — close enough to arrive in daylight off a morning flight, which shapes who comes. One resort occupies the island. The house reef carries a coral-line restoration project the operator describes as the first of its kind in the Maldives; the register has not tested that claim.

Forty-five villas and residences, almost all over water and reached along timber walkways; guests leave their shoes in a bag on arrival. The resort opened as Soneva Gili under Sonu Shivdasani and Eva Malmström Shivdasani, and HPL Hotels & Resorts took over management on 1 July 2012 and renamed it. It held forty-five villas then and holds forty-five now. A kids club takes children from two to twelve. Buyout is not advertised.

The fire, and what was rebuilt. On 3 January 2019 a fire destroyed at least seven overwater villas and a restaurant; the island was evacuated and nobody was hurt. The resort reopened on 1 December 2019 after a rebuild of close to a year, in timber and thatch rather than in anything more fire-resistant or more modern.

The Private Reserve stands alone in the lagoon. Five thousand square feet on two levels, reached by its own speedboat rather than by the walkways, with a private beach of its own.

Sources

• gili-lankanfushi.com — "45 villas and residences"; the Private Reserve; coral-line project described as "the first of its kind in the Maldives"; operated by HPL Hotels & Resorts
• Hospitality Net, 2012 — HPL Hotels & Resorts assumed management on 1 July 2012 and rebranded Soneva Gili; "all of its 45 over-water villas, crafted in a traditional style from natural materials"
• Hotelier Maldives, 2019 — fire on 3 January 2019 at about 11 p.m. destroyed at least seven overwater villas and a restaurant; island evacuated, no casualties; resort owned and operated by Singapore-based Hotel Properties Limited; reopened 1 December 2019
• Maldives Nomad resort register — 20 minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport; Private Reserve 5,000 sq ft over two levels with its own speedboat transfer and private beach; kids club ages 2–12
• CORRECTION 2026-10-01 — the entry called the Private Reserve "the most imitated villa in the Maldives", said it had been "copied across the Maldives more than any other single unit in the country", and said its influence was "visible on a dozen islands in this register". None of the three can be computed from the register or sourced outside it. All three removed rather than rewritten.
• CHECK — the year the resort first opened as Soneva Gili, and the date the "no news, no shoes" policy began: not published by the operator.

Verification

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Booking

Private Island Resorts arranges each stay on request, quoting the rates available for the island and dates. No benefit should be assumed unless it is confirmed in writing for the individual reservation.

Classified by The Resort Collection House · The Register · Edition 2026 · LHL-I-029
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