OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru Resort has won Gold at the 2026 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards, recognising its all-inclusive hospitality offering. The property received the distinction in the Hospitality – Overall, All-Inclusive Resort category.
The award highlights a resort experience combining accommodation, dining, marine exploration, wellness and family activities. For Maldives luxury tourism, it brings attention to how island properties differentiate their stays through experiences beyond meals and drinks.
However, the recognition concerns the individual resort’s offering. It does not establish an increase in national visitor arrivals or wider tourism revenue.
All-Inclusive Hospitality Extends Across the Island
The Magellan programme recognises achievements in travel design, marketing and service. Experienced travel professionals assess entries against established standards rather than rank them directly against other submissions.
General Manager Guillaume de Lasteyrie credited employees across the resort for their contribution. He highlighted the care involved in delivering experiences spanning marine encounters, dining and island exploration.
According to the resort, more than 60% of visitors choose its all-inclusive option. That proportion demonstrates the package’s importance within the property’s existing business, without indicating a destination-wide booking trend.
The approach gives guests several ways to organise their stay, whether their priorities involve relaxation, outdoor activities or dining.
Dining Choices Support a More Flexible Stay
The all-inclusive plan covers daily breakfast, lunch and dinner. Guests can also dine at speciality restaurants when those venues are operating.
Selected beverages, snacks and treats from Kofee ’N Chill are included, alongside a minibar replenished daily.
This arrangement allows visitors to experience different dining settings during their holiday. It also gives travellers a clearer framework for comparing meal arrangements when assessing resort packages.
For guests spending much of their holiday on one island, variety within the property can shape the overall experience.
Nevertheless, travellers should distinguish the resort’s broader facilities from the precise inclusions attached to their chosen booking.
Marine Experiences Connect Visitors With the Destination
The surrounding house reef provides opportunities for snorkelling, while marine biologist-led whale shark excursions feature among the resort’s experiences.
Other activities offer opportunities to encounter manta rays and sea turtles. Diving is available with instructors certified by PADI and SSI.
Visits to Lonubo, an uninhabited private island, provide another way to explore the surrounding setting. Sunset cruises and open-air cinema add alternatives for guests planning quieter evenings.
Together, these experiences connect the hospitality offering with the Maldives’ marine environment. Wildlife encounters, however, remain opportunities rather than guaranteed sightings.
The award recognises the overall resort model; it should not imply that every listed activity accompanies every reservation.
Wellness Expansion Broadens Holiday Options
Navasana Spa expanded in 2026 to introduce a wider range of wellbeing activities.
The offering includes aerial yoga, bungee fitness, sound healing and an Alchemy Bar. Pilates-based movement and personalised fitness also feature within the programme.
Multi-day holistic fitness programmes and healing retreats provide further options for guests interested in structured wellbeing experiences.
These additions give visitors more ways to balance outdoor exploration with time focused on movement and relaxation.
For the resort, wellness also creates another reason for travellers to consider how they will spend their island stay.
Family Villas and Children’s Programmes Add Choice
New Beach Family Villas each measure 116 square metres, broadening accommodation options for guests travelling with children.
The Treehouse Kids Retreat offers a dedicated daily programme for children aged four to 12. A Kids Stay & Eat Free offer accompanies the family facilities.
These features allow families to consider both shared activities and age-specific experiences when planning their holiday.
Parents interested in spa treatments or fitness sessions can assess those options alongside the children’s programme. Availability and booking conditions remain relevant when selecting a suitable stay.
Conservation Features Within the Guest Experience
A resident marine biologist leads guided snorkelling, marine education and coral planting through an approach connected with OUTRIGGER Zone.
The resort reports maintaining more than 81 coral restoration frames, supported by monthly monitoring and reporting.
It also says its operations eliminate more than 500,000 single-use plastic bottles annually. Discarded plastic becomes turtle keychains, while a closed-loop water system supports the property’s environmental programme.
Daily water and energy figures are publicly reported, according to the resort.
These initiatives give guests opportunities to learn about conservation alongside their leisure activities.
Loyalty Benefits Complement the Resort Offering
The property participates in OUTRIGGER DISCOVERY through the Global Hotel Alliance programme. Members can earn and redeem DISCOVERY Dollars on eligible stays, dining and experiences.
The Gold award brings these elements together around a distinctive island hospitality proposition. Dining flexibility, family facilities, wellness and marine exploration provide different reasons for travellers to consider OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru.
For more travel news like this, keep reading Global Travel Wire
