The delightful Heritance Aarah with its powder-white beaches, swaying palm trees and crystal-clear turquoise water is located in Raa Atoll, a 40-minute seaplane ride from Malé.

Offering the perfect combination of exclusivity and comfort, Heritance Aarah offers luxury with a touch of Maldivian tradition. Guests are greeted with a traditional Maldivian dance and one of the leading restaurants on the property offers a fusion of Maldivian and Sri Lankan cuisine. The villas are designed and built using local Maldivian and modern architectural techniques and the resort even has a replica of a Maldivian village on the property to provide guests an overview of life in the Maldives.   

The resort offers a premium all-inclusive holiday plan which is currently being offered at a 45 per cent discount and includes seaplane transfers from Male (that cost approximately $500 per person). 

Opened in December 2018, Heritance Aarah is the first resort in Maldives from the Sri Lankan luxury brand Aitken Spence Hotels and Resorts. It offers an excellent choice of dining with six restaurants and four bars and top-notch facilities including the Maldives’ first medi-spa, making it ideal for honeymooners, families and group of friends. Its range of accommodation consists of 150 villas including 26 intimate luxury duplex ocean suites, 56 sunset ocean villas and 68 land villas.

In 2019 Heritance Aarah became the first property in the Maldives to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. It is committed to sustainability and works diligently to reduce the environmental impact of the hotel. For instance, it is a plastic-free zone and even the toothbrushes in the bathroom are made of bamboo.   

What makes the Heritance Aarah stand out is its service. Each villa comes with its own personal butler who is responsible for your comfort during your stay. From driving you around the resort in a battery-powered buggy to making reservations at various restaurants to booking your excursions, your butler is your genie, with your every wish being his command.  

The restaurant staff right from the maître de to the waiting staff to the team of chefs and bartenders is exceptional, making each visit to any of the six restaurants memorable. 

Accommodation

The resort’s 150 villas are luxurious and super comfortable with beautiful ocean views, private sundecks and great facilities such as large bathrooms with deep tubs and L’Occitane toiletries, rainfall showers, well-stocked mini bars (replenished daily with two bottles of wine), king-size beds, Marshall speakers and flat screen TVs. The décor is simple but striking, with timber and thatched roofs and a neutral palate.  

The water villas have a small glass-covered section on the floor where you can sit for hours looking at the marine life below your villa. They also come with a sun terrace with direct access to the lagoon for house reef snorkeling. 

The Grand Ocean Suite is the most luxurious. A 3400 sq feet two-bedroom dupleix apartment with its own swimming pool.  

Facilities

There is so much to do at Heritance Aarah – both above and below sea level. You can go diving, catamaran sailing, canoeing, snorkelling, kite surfing, jet skiing – the list runs long. If you are not into adventure, go for an excursion that allows you to explore the archipelago, such as dolphin cruises or a sunset cruise. 

The resort’s water sports centre is called Kaito and comprises of a team of highly skilled and experienced international and local diving instructors all of whom speak perfect English. They are PADI certified in case you wish to do a scuba diving course.   

The resort has two swimming pools, a fully-equipped gymnasium with nutritionists and trainers, a dedicated playground for kids, futsal fields, tennis courts, beach volleyball and football. 

Heritance Aarah has the only medi-spa in the Maldives that provides medical non-invasive procedures such as non-surgical facelifts, micro-and nano-needling and skin peels. The overwater spa with six treatment rooms also offers traditional spa and beauty therapies such as massages and manicures. The spa also has a hangover clinic with intravenous fluid, vitamin and mineral treatments. 

Motorised sports and spa treatments are not included in the all-inclusive package. They have to be paid for separately. 

Food and Drink

This is where the Heritance Aarah really stands out. Each and every meal at any of its restaurants is exceptional. Whether it is the bubble iced tea offered as a welcome drink or the freshly baked bread basket, the 18-spiced butter served as an accompaniment to fresh grilled fish or the sinful seafood burger – each dish is made with utmost care and precision.  

This is not surprising as the team in the kitchens is exceptional. It has won several awards including clinching the overall championship at the Culinary Art Expo in Sri Lanka in 2019 and 2020.

Of its six excellent restaurants, five are included in your all-inclusive package. The highlight is the nine-course Sri Lankan-Maldivian meal at Ambula. Baani that serves authentic Middle Eastern and international cuisine is exclusively for Ocean Suite guests. Others can dine there by paying $100. 

Starting from 7:00 am in the morning there are two family-friendly buffets at Ranba and Ranlu, which stretch to lunch and dinner with everything you can think of, from spicy curries to fresh sushi, pizzas, burgers and pastas. For dinner, there’s the relaxed open-air and beach grill Ginifati where it’s all about fresh seafood and the catch of the day served with a range of salads and sides.

Do book a table in advance at Hathaa, which seats only ten guests and rotates between Thai and Japanese set menus, and has a chef's table vibe.

There are also four bars dotted around the island. There’s a sky bar with double-height views across the ocean, a poolside bar, and a rum bar. An array of exotic cocktails and a wide selection of wines are served at the bars, including the main pool bar, and the infinity pool bar. The bartenders are exceptional and you can trust them to surprise you with the most innovative cocktails.

An experience not to be missed is the floating breakfast that is served in the infinity pool. A floating breakfast is exactly that – a breakfast that floats. A large tray of food is made to float in the infinity pool and you have it while ensuring that you do not splash water and wet your food. At Heritance Aarah it’s priced at $90 for a couple.

In the given circumstances the resort is taking all precautions to ensure the safety of its guests.