I mentioned this a bit at the top, and it was really quite a surprise for me. Meeru Island is one of the larger island resorts in the Maldives, with among the highest number of guest rooms, yet even when it’s at full capacity, it feels mostly empty. And I mean this in a very, very good way.
If I were to count every seat in every restaurant and lounge, as well as every lounge chair on the beach and by all of the pools, I’d have to guess there are at least 1,000 places to sit or lounge on the island, not counting chairs and loungers inside each room. And yet there are only about 500 guests on the island even when it’s at capacity, which it often is. Since at any given moment, many guests are in their rooms or on the beach or on an excursion or on a romantic walk on the sand, it means that most seats and lounge chairs are empty most of the time.
A first-time visitor might jump to the incorrect conclusion that the resort is mostly empty, but it’s actually designed this way. Meeru Island is one of the Maldives resorts that is designed to be calm, serene, and totally unhurried. If you want to be within a crowd you can go to the main nightlife bar each evening, but more importantly, if you prefer NOT to be in a crowd, you have dozens of wonderful possibilities.
If you’ve been to a popular beach hotel in Waikiki or Phuket or in the Cote d’Azur, you are used to the place being crammed with guests and also crammed with daytime visitors just popping in to see how the other half live. On Meeru Island and most other Maldives islands, it’s the exact opposite. You feel almost like it’s a private island experience and there just happens to be a few other couples roaming around here and there.
Meeru is one of a few Maldives resorts with a “no news, no shoes” motto, and it really is the most relaxing place I’ve ever been. Even though I was there on my own, I could see that the place is clearly a popular romantic destinations for honeymoon couples and others on romantic trips, for the same reason.
One evening I was having a few drinks at one of the beach bars while watching the sun set. The couple two tables over (we were the only people there) set their drinks down to take a sunset stroll along the beach. The returned about 20 minutes later, and I had literally not seen another guest during that time. Again, it’s almost like having your own private island, and it’s incredible.