One of the questions we get asked more than anything else, from both our clients and our resort partners, is ‘where are people going to?’

This gave us an idea for a new style of post that will look at our best selling properties and how this changes over time. There are some that are always near the top of the charts, fuelled by repeater guests and, if we’re honest, probably our own innate bias – not something we’re concerned about, it’s always been our objective to introduce our clientele to places that we love to visit. Then there are those that pop up, perhaps exciting new resorts that grab our attention, but then drop away as booking success is converted into seemingly ever-increasing rates, or those that introduce significantly discounted offers that make them ‘no-brainer’.

As this is a relatively new blog, let’s start by reviewing the top 10 list for 2022, before moving on to our 2023 best sellers. We’ll leave out the moves in the rankings from 2021, which was a Covid hot mess and would tell us very little.

Top 10 Best Selling Indian Ocean Resorts 2022

• 1. Dhawa Ihuru Resort
• 2. Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu
• 3. Makunudu
• 4. Coco Bodu Hithi
• 5. Heritance Aarah
• 6. Milaidhoo Island
• 7. Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa
• 8. Drift Thelu Veliga Retreat
• 9. Constance Moofushi
• 10. Vakkaru Maldives

The Maldives is Angelfish’s biggest selling market by some margin, but it’s unusual to see our top 10 resorts made up exclusively from Maldives resorts. Perhaps as we emerged from the pandemic people were searching for a particular kind of experience to wash away the lock-down blues.

Let’s see how that evolved in 2023, counting down from number 10 (change from 2022 in brackets)…

10. Emerald Faarufushi Resort & Spa (+49)

We visited the newly opened Faarufushi, Emerald’s second resort in the Maldives, in late 2022 and loved it. Unsurprisingly, it featured in our subsequent promotions and bookings shot up in 2023. Smart villas with nice family options, a comprehensive all inclusive with good dining options, an excellent spa and superb house reef make it an attractive entry-level 5 star property. You can view our resort visit and snorkelling videos on our YouTube channel.

9. Reethi Faru Resort (+3)

Nudging up into the top 10 is Reethi Faru Resort, a solid budget level resort offering much of what one wants from a Maldives holiday, without breaking the bank: authentic feel, all inclusive, family-friendly, dining options and a super beach and easily-accessible house reef.

8. Adaaran Select Meedhupparu (+9)

In a smiliar vein to Reethi Faru, Adaaran Select Meedhupparu is another really good entry level property with much to offer. The AI plan was upgraded to ‘Premium All Inclusive’ in 2023, introducing well-known brands into the drinks lists, mini bar inclusions, dine around and some excursions, and this proved popular with budget-conscious travellers.

7. Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa (-)

Unchanged at number 7, the original Emerald has been a good seller for us right from our first visit. Thoughtfully created and expertly managed, the resort has gorgeous villas with sumptuous bathrooms, superb facilities (fitness area and kids’ club are particularly good), and a generous dine-around all inclusive package. The well-priced two-bedroom villas are very popular with families of all ages.

6. Milaidhoo Island (-)

Milaidhoo ticks all our boxes for a Maldivian island: a blend of the authentic and modern luxury, fabulous villas, exceptional dining, great bar, super house reef, top notch service. It vies for the top spot of our favourite resorts in the destination, and if you have the means it should be on your bucket list. Despite higher rates in 2023 putting some repeater clients off, Milaidhoo hung on to 6th place in our top 10.

5. Constance Belle Mare Plage (+16)

Breaking into the top 10 was our best selling Mauritian resort for 2023, Constance Belle Mare Plage. Constance has always been one of our favourite hoteliers and Belle Mare Plage has so much to offer for families and golfers who also enjoy quality dining options and a wide range of other activities. Pricing is suprisingly reasonable and we think the detached pool villas are a brilliant option for friends or families, especially golfers. Following our revisit in 2022, we posted Jo’s review and a look at the Legend Golf Course on our YouTube channel, which appear to have influenced some booking decisions in 2023!

4. Dhawa Ihuru Resort (-3)

(Formerly Angsana) Ihuru is a perennial top 5 property for one principal reason: its stunning and easily accessible house reef. Our snorkelling video was shot on a single lap of the circular reef and even reviewing it now it’s astonishing how much there was to see. In late 2022 the island went under a cosmetic refurbishment, introduced the new ‘rainmist’ villa category and added a very nice gym above the dive centre and a small kids club, and then rebranded as Dhawa. These things are secondary, since if you want all inclusive, a short hop from Male, with one of the best house reefs anywhere, Ihuru is in the frame. We think the only reason this was knocked off top spot in 2023 was limited availability during busy periods, so we advise booking early! Also see our resort visit video.

3. Constance Moofushi (+6)

Constance were one of the pioneers of a ‘comprehensive’ All Inclusive plan in the Maldives and Moofushi has never looked back. Despite ever growing competition it’s a resort that always seems to deliver to, and above, expectations, and client feedback is invariably very appreciative. Shifting sands around the island meant that some Water Villas were no longer actually over water for much of the year and a new category ‘Sand Villa’ was introduced, at a cheaper rate, and guests have eagerly snapped up this bargain offering that sits between the Beach Villa and Water Villa prices.

2. Drift Thelu Veliga Retreat (+6)

As many of our readers will know, we have something of a soft spot for Drift following close involvement with its development from a snorkelling excursion picnic island to a boutique, 30 villa barefoot hideaway. It’s called ‘Retreat’ for a reason, and for those who bore easily and need constant external stimulation, it’s a recipe for island fever. On the other hand, if you really want to get away from it all, Drift is a gem. On our revisit in late 2022 (see our video here), we were pleased to see healthy signs of reef recovery and a significant juvenile shark population in the lagoon, and the island retains an unfussy, yet undeniable charm. More and more guests are discovering Drift, and we’re pleased for the island that availability in high season is now patchy. Book now for 2025!

1. Coco Palm Dhuni Kohlu (+1)

Coco Palm, our 2023 best seller, and indeed best-selling property of all time, celebrated its 25th anniversary and the added interest was enough for it to regain top spot. We were pleased to see the introduction of a new villa category, the Deluxe Pool Villa, featuring larger plunge pools and an outside seating area.

There are some islands that exude a serene charm, and a few barefoot paces along Coco Palm’s sandy paths, under the shade of the tropical canopy, will commence the unwind protocol and daily life seems very far away. The number of resorts in the Maldives is approaching 200 and yet this authentic island is still a terrific choice to experience the destination for a first visit… or for some guests a 35th visit and counting 😉

We hope you found this run down of our top selling resorts for 2023 interesting, and if you have any observations or thoughts, please get in touch via the comments section. It’s early days of course, but 2024’s list already has a fascinating look!

Angelfish Travel are specialist agents for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Oman, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Dubai, Abu Dhabi