Six Senses’ Newest Maldives Resort Is Set on a Mile-Long Private Island — With Incredible Diving, Beachfront Villas, and an Orchid Garden

Six Senses Kanuhura has a state-of-the-art wellness program, experiences that help you get closer to nature, and a sustainable approach that rivals any eco-resort in the Maldives.

The first time I laid eyes on Six Senses Kanuhura was from above. My face was pressed to the tiny plane window, the propeller engine roaring in my ears, trying to process how beautiful it was. From the seaplane, you could make out the elongated triangular shape of Kanuhura, a natural coral island jutting out of a perfect turquoise lagoon. The entire island was almost completely engulfed in palms, thinning out just enough at the edges to form an unbroken strip of perfect white shoreline. Between the palms were Kanuhura’s iconic beach villas: thatched-roofed, white-walled cabanas leading straight into the Indian Ocean.

In 2023, after 25 years of being a One&Only and, later, a Sun Resort (now Sunlife), Kanuhura became the second Six Senses property in the Maldives, alongside Six Senses Laamu to the south. The private island, just under a mile long, is located in Lhaviyani Atoll, 92 miles north of Male, and now has everything you’d expect from a Six Senses property, including a state-of-the-art wellness program, experiences that help you get closer to nature, and a sustainable approach that rivals any eco-resort in the Maldives.

As soon as I stepped on the arrival jetty, I took off my shoes — everybody on the island, including the staff, goes barefoot at Kanuhura — and headed straight for the dive center. I had a scuba excursion to Kuredu Caves, a nearby network of ancient coral overhangs nicknamed “Turtle Airport” for the hundreds of green and hawksbill turtles that call the site home.

“Diving at Kanuhura is special because we have marine diversity year-round,” said resident marine biologist Kiah Williams. She’d joined the trip to teach us about Maldivian marine life and collect vital data that helps scientists study and protect the area’s biodiversity. “We also have five deep water channels within 15 minutes of the resort, where you often see sharks, manta rays, and even whales.”

That morning, we saw dozens of turtles, black-tip reef sharks, eagle rays, and thousands of colorful reef fish. As we approached our second dive site, a pod of 100 or more dolphins played in the wake of our boat, flying and flipping through the air as we cut through the bluest and clearest waters I’d ever seen.

Back on land, I took in the views from Kanuhura’s new infinity rooftop pool, scanning the horizon for whale fins and seaplanes flying in new arrivals. Over the next few days, I ate barbecued lobster with my feet in the sand, watched the sunrise over the Indian Ocean from my beachfront villa, and spotted baby sharks feeding in the lagoon as I took my daily mile-long beach walk.

Read on for my review of the new Six Senses Kanuhura, one of the leading sustainable resorts in the Maldives.

Six Senses Kanuhura

• The hotel was sustainably renovated with a modern, ultra-elegant design, preserving many of the island’s original structures and upcycling old materials into furniture and artwork.

• Kanuhura has a mile-long beach and shallow, calm waters perfect for swimming and sunrise walks.

• Besides Kanuhura, two uninhabited private islands are open to guests for castaway beach days and private oceanside picnics.

• Six Senses Kanuhura’s dive center was recently named a PADI Eco Center for its outstanding contribution to ocean conservation, the first resort chain in the Maldives to receive this accreditation.

• The island is committed to sustainability, with no single-use plastics, a robust wastewater recycling system, and a practice of using food waste to fertilize the organic herb and vegetable garden.

The Rooms

Overwater villas steal the show in the Maldives. But beachfront rooms take center stage at Six Senses Kanuhura, home to one of the longest and finest stretches of sand in the Maldives. I stayed in a Deluxe Beach Villa with Pool, a one-bedroom villa with a beautiful thatched roof, a 172-square-foot pool with a large deck, and private access to the beach. Inside, the color palette drew from the island’s natural elements: walls as white as Maldivian sand, polished wood beams as dark as coconut husks, flecks of turquoise and deep blue from the Indian Ocean. The bathroom — almost as big as the room itself — was equally elegant, with grey and white tiling, cream marble sinks, and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto a lush tropical garden.

Each night at turndown, I’d find a different treat waiting for me: a lemongrass and cardamom tea to help me sleep or a homemade dark chocolate cookie. The king-sized bed, topped with a lambswool mattress and pure cotton linen that smelt of eucalyptus and lavender oil, offered a restful night’s sleep, as did the sound of the waves lapping at the shoreline.

Six Senses Kanuhura has 91 beachfront and overwater villas, each ranging in size, number of bedrooms, and amenities to suit different needs. The largest villas have three bedrooms, which can sleep up to six adults and three children. The newly built Beach Retreats and Beach Reserves are the largest and most luxurious accommodation options at Kanuhura, which include double-height living rooms, spacious outdoor dining, large private swimming pools, and the highest level of privacy on the island.

Food and Drink

Six Senses Kanuhura has six restaurants, each catering to different tastes and dining styles. The Market is where the breakfast buffet is served, which includes everything from Maldivian curries to pancakes and made-to-order eggs. Bottega is an Italian restaurant famed for its sourdough pizzas and homemade pasta (their shrimp ravioli is fantastic), while The Point, located on the northernmost tip of the island, serves up Spanish huevos rotos (fried eggs with potatoes and serrano ham) and Padron peppers to the best sunset views on the island.

Kanuhura’s Japanese-inspired poolside bar, Sip and Sand, is open for lunch and dinner, offering fresh sushi, sashimi, and a catch of the day grilled over hot coals. Their spicy tuna roll, made with sustainably sourced Maldivian yellowfin tuna, was one of the best I’ve tasted. But the highlight for me was eating barbecued lobster oceanside at Drift, Kanuhura’s castaway restaurant, located a seven-minute boat ride from the resort on an uninhabited island with brilliant white sand and shallow turquoise waters.

Other unique dining experiences, such as private beach barbecues and a castaway picnic lunch at Masleggihuraa — Six Senses Kanuhura’s second deserted island — can also be arranged on request.

Activities and Experiences

Six Senses Kanuhura’s privileged location inside the Lhaviyani Atoll makes it the perfect place to encounter Maldivian marine life, including green and hawksbill turtles, dolphins, rays, sharks, and thousands of fish and coral species. The resort has an outstanding diving center, which was recently named a PADI Eco Center for its exemplary conservation efforts. Scuba divers of all levels at Kanuhura don’t just learn to dive responsibly but can actively contribute to a healthier ocean by helping to photo ID endangered species, monitor coral cover, collect plastic waste, and more.

For those who don’t dive, there are guided snorkeling and wildlife-viewing boat trips led by Kanuhura’s in-house marine biologist. The sunset dolphin cruise aboard a traditional Maldivian dhoni sailboat and snorkeling adventures at Turtle Airport are particularly special. A water sports center on the beach also offers kayaks, paddleboards, catamaran sailing, and windsurfing to explore the island free of charge.

On land, I enjoyed visiting the hotel’s orchid garden, which has over 5,000 orchids, including the rare — and staggeringly beautiful — dendrobium Kanuhura, which is endemic to the island. The garden visit was part of Kanuhura’s weekly sustainability tour, where you can learn about the resort’s impressive sustainability efforts directly from the hotel’s sustainability manager.

The Spa

A separate building is dedicated to health, wellness, and beauty at Six Senses Kanuhura, where guests can choose from an extensive treatment program ranging from Maldivian-inspired massages and body scrubs to intestinal cleanses and guided breathwork classes. I opted for a personalized 60-minute massage, which included island ingredients like coconut and papaya and singing bowls to soothe the nervous system, followed by a cold plunge and ginger tea in the spa’s earthy-hued relaxation area.

At the spa manager’s recommendation, I returned that afternoon for a wellness screening, which measured my energy and stress levels, recovery rate, and gut health. I was prescribed compression therapy and vibrational pain relief at the spa’s Biohacking Lounge, designed to help your body recover from jet lag and long, multi-tank scuba dives.

Another highlight was the spa’s Alchemy Bar, which offers workshops on making scrubs, face masks, and candles using natural ingredients. Multi-day wellness programs that cover everything from sleep hacking to nutrition and aerial yoga, meditation, and sound healing classes are also available.

Family-friendly Offerings

Kanuhura’s spacious two- and three-bedroom beach villas, each with private pools, en-suite bathrooms, and direct access to the ocean, are perfect for families. Kuda Vela, a complimentary kids club for children between 3 and 11, offers children’s yoga, treasure hunts, and arts and crafts sessions using recycled materials. Older children can hang out at Kanuhura’s Island Hideout, equipped with a games room and an open-air cinema for teens to watch their favorite flicks under the stars. Little ones even have their own spa menu at Six Senses Kanuhura, with treatments ranging from kid-friendly facials and massages to foot-mapping and mini manicures.

Other family-friendly activities include castaway picnic lunches on one of Kanuhura’s two uninhabited private islands, sunset dolphin cruises, and family cooking classes using ingredients grown in Kanuhura’s organic garden. Babysitting services are also available on request.

Accessibility and Sustainability

From regenerative farming to ocean conservation, Six Senses Kanuhura’s commitment to sustainability is exemplary. Since taking over the property in 2023, Six Senses has built a hydroponic farm and organic garden that currently provides the resort with around 150 pounds of herbs and vegetables per month — an impressive feat given the island’s natural soil is made up of nutrient-deficient calcium carbonate.

Drinking water is desalinated and stored in recycled glass bottles on-site, saving around 20,000 plastic bottles from ending up in landfills. Organic waste is treated in-house to produce compost for the organic garden, while old or damaged linens and staff uniforms are either repaired by Kanuhura’s resident tailor or upcycled in the Earth Lab, where guests and staff can learn ways to live more sustainably through upcycling workshops, seminars, and documentary screenings. Six Senses provides complimentary reef-safe sunscreen, insect repellant, and all bathroom amenities to further reduce plastic on the island.

This year, Six Senses Kanuhura partnered with Atoll Marine Centre, a Maldivian NGO that rescues and rehabilitates injured sea turtles in and around Lhaviyani Atoll, to collect data on these vulnerable animals. All ocean-based activities at Six Senses Kanuhura, such as snorkeling, scuba diving, or wildlife-viewing boat trips, are led by the resort’s in-house marine biologist, who educates guests on how to interact with wildlife responsibly and monitors turtles and other aquatic life for injuries and net entanglements.

Rooms are not ADA-certified, but some measures are in place to help guests with disabilities, such as wheelchair ramps to access restaurants, buggy services, and 24/7 support from staff.

Location

Getting to Six Senses Kanuhura is an adventure: The 40-minute seaplane ride from Velana International Airport in Male takes in coral-rimmed, turquoise lagoons and dazzling white sand islands. Once you’ve landed in Lhaviyani Atoll, your mode of transport will be limited to boat, golf buggy, or bicycle, which at Six Senses Kanuhura is provided free of charge and personalized with your initials upon arrival.

How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Stay

When you book four nights or more at Six Senses Kanuhura, you’ll receive up to 35 percent off on any villa category and complimentary breakfast and dinner for two people. Kanuhura also offers 25 percent off seaplane transfers for stays between May and late September and 20 percent off from October to December to lure visitors during the rainy season.

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