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If you’re looking to escape with a loved one this Valentine’s Day, why not consider the romantic resort in the world?
As it turns out, that’s not a hyperbole, but an actual place: Baros Maldives was just awarded the title—for the seventh year in a row—by the World Travel Awards. (If you’re suspect of just one accolade, also consider this: in 2019, they also received a Trip Advisor Travelers’ Choice Award and a Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Award.)
While the Maldives are now chock full of top-tier tropical properties—the St. Regis, the Four Seasons, One&Only, and Cheval Blanc among them—Baros was one of the first luxury resorts to open there in 1973, long before the idyllic atolls were a global tourist destination.
What makes Baros so romantic, you ask? Oh, let’s begin. First, they’ve got the must-have item on any island getaway checklist: overwater villas, complete with timber decks where you can lounge in a daybed and gaze out upon the sea.
At Baros, there are three different restaurants serving delectable local seafood under the stars—that is, if you want to be with other people. Because you can also dine tête-à-tête on a secluded sandbank, on a traditional dhoni boat...or, if your villa wasn’t enough, on another stand-alone timber deck smack dab in the middle of a lagoon.
And, with a coral reef just off shore, you can snorkel or scuba dive amongst rainbow fish, and sea turtles.
It wouldn’t quite be right to say the Maldives is having a moment— tourism, especially from the United States, steadily rose throughout the 2010s, and it feels like the destination has been on our Instagram feeds forever. But, it seems our wanderlust for the country has never been higher: in 2019, it was Google’s top trending vacation destination..
Below, take a peek inside Baros Maldives. But fair warning: you may be struck with the urge to book a far flung adventure. (And, if you need some more inspiration—see one Vogue writer's experience at the Four Seasons,, and another at the St. Regis.)
Photo: Courtesy of Baros Maldives1/6The lagoon at Baros Maldives.
Photo: Courtesy of Baros Maldives2/6A nearby coral reef is full of sea turtles.
Photo: Courtesy of Baros Maldives3/6An overwater villa at sunset.
Photo: Courtesy of Baros Maldives4/6The Lighthouse, which is one of three restaurants.
Photo: Courtesy of Baros Maldives5/6Inside one of the villas.
Photo: Courtesy of Baros Maldives6/6White sand beaches.
