Oaga Art Resort review: all-inclusive Maldives hotel near Malé airport bursting with colour and creativity

As the speedboat slices through dazzling waters, the island ahead unfurls in a riot of colour. Bold murals and mismatched pops of colour peek through the lush greenery, as a traditional Maldivian call of Aanlheoa alerts the artistic tribe that you, their latest guest, is arriving.

This is Oaga Art Resort, a relatively new arrival on the Maldives hotel scene focusing on overt creativity and culture rather than the traditional stripped back aesthetic favoured by most of the country’s other resorts.

Beneath its forward-thinking approach, Oaga’s origins are deeply rooted in history and heritage — the hotel is 100% Maldivian owned, 99% Maldivian managed and the vast majority of its team members are local.

Thanks to this, the experience here feels organic, authentic and easy going. With a name meaning ‘moments’, guests are to be their true selves, to exist in the moment and to fully embrace island living.

Middle East Traveller checked into a Haruge Beach Villa with Private Pool on a Greatest All-Inclusive Plan.

The Hotel

Opened in 2023, Oaga is a relatively small resort built on a long, slender sandbar — yet its clever design ensures it feels anything but cramped. Villas are thoughtfully scattered along the shoreline, their privacy safeguarded by lush greenery that screens them from both each other and the resort’s communal spaces. Adding to the sense of exclusivity, the island is peppered with hidden nooks and secret spots that are perfect for those seeking solitude.

What Oaga lacks in size it makes up for in colour, by bucking the high-end design trends of pale palettes and glitzy golds. The interiors break all rules — bar stools with abstract black and white coverings are set against graffiti-covered barrels repurposed into tables; sun loungers are flecked in multicoloured paint; fences are striped with purples, blues and reds. Even the golf carts are bright pink. In the evening, these colours transform as the resort is lit up in neon — a soft dreamy glow that complements, rather than competes with, the starry sky.

True to its name, Oaga Art Resort is a living, breathing gallery, proudly showcasing the largest collection of any resort in the Maldives. Communal spaces burst with creativity, adorned with playful floor-to-ceiling murals crafted by local artists depicting everything from island life to anthropomorphised cats and the underwater world. Guests are invited to support this artistic community by purchasing one of the 150 unique pieces featured in the Suvasthi Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, placed in every room.

The resort is peppered with playful details that showcase its creative touch. Every room number is handmade and distinct – ours, for example, was carved into a clay pot – while Catville, home to the island’s resident felines, greets visitors with a fun sign: “Where Oaga cats rule, humans are optional, and every day is a Caturday. Paws here for a purr-fectly good time!” Even morning coffee comes with a side of inspiration, served on coasters engraved with uplifting quotes.

Oaga’s sustainability initiatives are just as imaginative. Near the jetty, a striking manta ray sculpture – aptly named the Manta-ceptor – doubles as an interactive art piece. Guests are encouraged to fill it with ocean plastic they collect, mirroring the filter-feeding process of these majestic creatures while contributing to a cleaner sea.

The Arrival

Located in the North Malé Atoll, Oaga Art Resort is a 45-minute complimentary speedboat transfer from Velana International Airport, where the team meet you at arrivals.

Oaga’s nod to creativity and culture begins at the jetty where, in a flurry of warm smiles and soothing hot towels, we were guided beneath a sleek, modern archway and welcomed with a spirited traditional Maldivian dance. Forget strict dress codes or formalities here — the resort invites you to embrace laid-back island living from the outset.

Check-in is refreshingly informal. Instead of a traditional reception desk, we settled into the main bar with a welcome drink in hand, where we were introduced to Naajee, our Maalimee — a ‘host navigator’ assigned to each group. Naajee guided us through Oaga’s thoughtfully curated Greatest All-Inclusive Plan and helped us design a bespoke itinerary tailored to our preferences.

Throughout our stay, Naajee was only a WhatsApp message away, always prompt and eager to assist with any request.

The Room

Oaga’s celebration of creativity, tradition, and storytelling continues inside its rooms. The resort offers four distinct accommodation types, each varying in size but all sharing the same artistic flair that defines Oaga’s unique style.

When we walked into our Haruge Beach Villa, our eyes were immediately drawn upwards to the dramatic high ceiling, an expansive, open-plan design housed within an impressive A-frame structure that pays homage to the traditional Maldivian boatyards that have shaped the region’s maritime heritage.

Dominating the centre of the room and facing the floor-to-ceiling windows was a king-sized bed. Its headboard was a masterpiece in its own right, splashed with bold strokes of colour and intricate line drawings. Part of a series spread across all the Haruge Beach Villas, each one tells a chapter in the timeless tale of Dhon Hiyala aa’i Alifulhu, a Maldivian Romeo and Juliet whose story adds a poetic touch to the space.

This wasn’t the only tale we learned during our stay. Every day, the housekeeping team left a typed-up chapter of a local folk story for us to enjoy — perfect for reading as we relaxed with a drink from the complimentary minibar.

In the bathroom, playfulness and tradition crossed paths once again on the graffitied brick wall. Every morning, the smirking, multi-coloured cartoon cat on the bathroom wall greeted me — a playful mural by local street artist Ahmed Sobah that celebrates the creatures who inhabited the island long before humans.

If you’re nervous about the riot of colour, don’t worry, because the calming outdoor bathroom space is inspired by a traditional Maldivian gifili, with a luxurious shower surrounded by banana trees.

But the coolest part of this villa is not the mood lighting, the enormous cut-to-size triangular black out blinds, the sleek tripod TV stand, the throne-like bean bag, or the muralled plunge pool. It’s the beach — step through the glass doors, walk down the winding jungle path and let your feet sink into the sand right at the water’s edge.

The Service

Alongside the focus on art and tradition, what truly sets Oaga apart is its open community concept — where the team’s personalities are as colourful as the resort itself.

In the hospitality world, there’s often an invisible barrier between staff and guests, with staff expected to fade into the background. At Oaga, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Here, you’ll instead find an authentic, diverse island community who, like any good hosts, take the time to get to know their guests.

This open community concept felt like a warm hug from the moment we arrived to the teary goodbyes at the end of our stay. Because the team mingled with the guests, we got to know the individuals beyond the name badges. Like with the folkloric murals on our villa wall, we learned the stories of the people who lived and worked on the island, and shared our own in return.

This personalisation extended into kind and considerate daily service. The bar staff effortlessly remembered our preferences — iced coffee to kickstart the morning, mojitos to wind down the evening. At dinner, a small but telling moment captured Oaga’s heartfelt hospitality.

Just as I was about to bite into some sugared dough balls, Shamyn, one of Oaga’s team members, gently intervened. Knowing I don’t eat fish, he wanted to make sure I hadn’t accidentally picked up Gulha, Maldivian tuna dumplings.

This attentiveness and concern embodies the service at Oaga — the type that comes from the heart and is delivered with a passion for genuine connection.

The Activities

Oaga’s Hoba Spa blends Maldivian medicine (Dhivehi Beys) with modern science to offer a personalised wellness programme that connects mental and physical health. Its philosophy is led by Xubba, an award-winning wellness pioneer who inherited healing practices from her grandmother and strives to keep Maldivian traditions alive.

Hoba is an ancient Dhivehi word for kindness, and that’s just what I experienced at the Spa. The entire resort team go out of their way to make guests happy, an ethos that extends to Oaga’s wellness offerings, which focus on the power of positive thinking.

Oaga’s healers are encouraged to create their own classes based on what wellness means to them. At a Tibetan sound bath session, class leader Shree shared how she first turned to the meditation practice to heal her mind and body after a personal crisis.

For Saritha, dance is a way to de-stress, which is why she asked to lead the Dhandi Jehun Dance Therapy, a Maldivian folk tradition where sticks are tapped together on the beat.

In a brilliant blend of cultures, Saritha led me through an energetic dance she proudly choreographed to a South Indian Carnatic remix of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You. At the end of the session, fizzing with ecstatic joy I wish I could have bottled and taken home with me, we gave each other a big hug, connected by our shared experience.

I also saw the team’s sense of pride and ownership in their work during my Free Flow art class. Open to all abilities, the class was led by local creative Naffah Shafeeu and joined by two resident parrots. Naffah encouraged us to shut our eyes and draw freely with crayons, tapping into a meditative mindset and a childlike nostalgia when mess was fun.

Free Flow was less about the pieces we created – although I was rather proud of my colourful sunset postcard – and more about finding perfection in imperfection, and happiness in creative expression.

Naffah explained that Oaga is the best resort for both creative guests and workers. As a singer-songwriter by trade, in other resorts Naffah would be expected to cover Western music — at Oaga, he’s encouraged to play his originals. Now, leading the Free Flow sessions, he has discovered a love for visual art, and a new way to express his creativity.

Guests can try traditional instruments at Kaa Studios, find freedom through movement at Dance Lab, or take part in a range of other activities including stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, jet skiing, tubing, scuba diving, cooking classes and cocktail making sessions.

The Restaurants and Bars

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included in the Greatest All-Inclusive Plan and, in line with the resort’s relaxed approach, there is no menu. Instead, like a bustling street food market, guests enjoy dishes from colourful wooden huts, with buffet options for sides and desserts.

The main dining area is indoor-to-outdoor spot Kaa Kada – meaning ‘food stalls’ in Dhivehi – where guests take their pick from food stalls offering culinary favourites from across the globe.

This dining style echoes historical Maldivian island tradition where neighbours would make dishes in their own homes and share them in a common area.

Mealtimes felt communal, with plenty of opportunities to stop and chat to fellow guests who, thanks to the relatively small size of the resort, we bumped into every day.

In the evening, the buffet theme continues. For dinner, the tables and carts move completely outside, so guests can eat underneath fairy lights and stars. Dinner options are more varied than lunch, as every night sees a different theme, and every dish is beautifully and creatively presented.

During our stay, we were lucky enough to experience the weekly Maldivian food night. While traditional dishes appear at every mealtime, this night was a full immersion in local cuisine and culture, introducing us to Garudhiya (Fish Soup), Bashi Hiki Riha (Eggplant Curry) and Baipen (Rice Congee), backdropped by breezy traditional music.

The drinking spots at Oaga are as laid-back as the dining areas. The walls of Raa Baa, the resort’s main bar, are bright with murals that glow in the dark, the floor is sandy underfoot and guests can drink at upcycled barrel tables, or lounge around the main pool’s swim-up bar. In a quieter corner of the resort is the beach-side Sobi Bar, with a pool and veyo, or garden stream, which connects to the mirror-fronted Veyoge Gallery Pool Villas.

Here, guests can take part in beer or gin tasting sessions as part of the Greatest All-Inclusive Plan. Right in front of Sobi Bar is a reef rich with marine life, including reef sharks, and we even saw dolphins playing in the water during regular snorkelling sessions.

If swimming isn’t for you, then the beach itself is beautiful, an untouched stretch of white sand lined with palm trees, where you can sunbathe with a cocktail while listening to the bar’s chill-out tunes.

Why Stay?

If you want an alternative to a classic Maldivian resort holiday, choose Oaga. The resort is still firmly high-end, with its detail-orientated approach, attentive service, and bespoke offerings. Yet, for Oaga, high-end isn’t restricted by the conventional and the formal. The resort doesn’t take itself too seriously, and encourages its guests to do the same.

This laid-back vibe nurtures an organic island atmosphere, where Maldivian traditions and culture blend more naturally with the tropical backdrop than Western luxury. Mostly importantly, Oaga’s culture has fostered an authentic hospitality that gives a human face to a high-end resort. At Oaga, you arrive on the island as a guest; you leave as a part of a community.