Joali Being

Winner of the 2024 Tatler Best of Asia "Best Wellness Retreat" award

It’s hard to imagine a better environment to inspire well-being and promote deep healing than among crystalline lagoons, barely touched beaches and swaying coconut palms. And while spas and wellness programmes are nothing new to the Maldives, Joali Being is the country’s first dedicated immersive wellness retreat, centred around four pillars—mind, skin, microbiome and energy. 

Arriving at the island, guests are greeted by an ethereal, wave-like sculpture by artist Seçkin Pirim, with undulating layers inspired by the flowing skirts of whirling dervishes in the artist’s native Turkey. Occupying the secluded island of Bodufushi in Raa Atoll, Joali Being has 68 villas—all with private pools and an appointed butler or jadugar, which means “magician” in Hindi. The villas’ design is clean and minimal, with playful touches of turquoise and taupe, swinging lounge chairs and a section of floor made of glass in the overwater villas. Villas also come with an electric bike, with a wooden plate engraved with your name.

Other forms of movement include yoga at a stunning cantilevered sala hanging over the ocean; and a fitness centre with a boxing studio, Pilates reformer racks and the archipelago’s first cryotherapy chamber. 

If you have a specific wellness goal in mind, Joali Being offers programmes that address areas including Gut Reset, Tranquil Sleep, Mother-to-Be and the unique Wellness Together programme, designed for couples to deepen their bond. Alternatively, let the experts take the wheel and have a bespoke programme drawn up following a series of consultations and assessments.

Its core wellness space, Areka, is a temple of holistic healing with no less than 39 treatment rooms and a series of what it describes as “transformational spaces”. This includes a sound therapy hall; a herbology centre; a hydrotherapy hall featuring pools, a banya, an aufguss sauna, a Turkish hammam and more; and a large salt room with illuminated pink Himalayan salt bricks.

When it comes to dining, the approach is more about well-measured decadence than deprivation, with delicious, nourishing meals served in beautiful settings—be it a poolside lunch or a candlelit dinner on the beach.

Tatler Tip

If you’re a fan of sound healing, check out Joali Being’s Discovery Sound Path—an alfresco trail of gongs, tubular bells and lithophones among fragrant pandan trees where you can stroll, strike the instruments and tune into the vibrations.