Patina Maldives, Fari Islands
Low, modernist villas by Studio MK27 in North Malé Atoll, with a James Turrell Skyspace and a shared marina village.
- Neighbourhood
- Fari Islands, North Malé Atoll
- Status
- Open
- Design
- Marcio Kogan / Studio MK27 (architecture, with Renata Furlanetto; interiors by Diana Radomysler and Pedro Ribeiro)
Photo: Patina Maldives
Why we recommend it
Most Maldivian resorts are built of thatch and timber in a broadly similar manner. Patina is the exception: a work of contemporary architecture by Marcio Kogan, horizontal and precise, with a James Turrell Skyspace on the islands. For travellers who care about design, it is among the most architecturally ambitious resorts in the archipelago.
It is also more sociable than the usual arrangement of one island, one resort. The marina village shared with the neighbouring resort gives somewhere to go in the evening, and the range of restaurants is wide for an island of this size. The boat transfer of 45 minutes or so from the airport avoids the seaplane and its daylight-only schedule.
Our guide to where to stay in the Maldives, with four island resorts compared by atoll sets Patina beside its alternatives, and our report on the opening of Patina Maldives on the Fari Islands gives the background.
Rooms & Suites
The 90 villas stand either on the beach or over the water, with one to three bedrooms and a private pool each. The 20 Fari Studios are a smaller category, which is unusual in a Maldivian resort of this rank.
At the other end of the scale is the Beach Collection: six one-bedroom villas and a larger three-bedroom residence, linked by a private garden and seven pools. There is also a private residence of two storeys with a roof terrace.
Dining
The restaurants named at the opening covered an unusually wide range. Roots is plant-based; Kōen brings together Japanese and Nordic cooking; Brasa is Latin American; Wok Society serves Asian dishes with craft beers; Helios is Mediterranean, with an emphasis on Greece; and Farine is a bakery and café. Some of the produce comes from the resort’s own organic garden.
For comparison, see Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, the other resort near Malé known for the number of its restaurants.
Design
Marcio Kogan designed the resort with Renata Furlanetto of Studio MK27, and the interiors were developed by the studio’s Diana Radomysler and Pedro Ribeiro. The buildings are low and horizontal, in natural materials, with glass walls that slide away to open the rooms to the outside. The studio also designed furniture for the resort. Inside, rustic and textured surfaces, rattan and wood among them, are set against a few sharp, minimal pieces.
Amarta, the Skyspace by James Turrell, was made for the marina. It frames the sky above, and its outer wall of wooden sticks follows the palette of the buildings around it. Other commissions include textile works by Hiroko Takeda and a sculptural installation on the beach by the Portuguese studio FAHR 021.3.
Wellness & Spa
The resort has a spa, whose equipment includes a flotation pod, and a recording studio for guests who want to make music. Footprints, the children’s club, includes a workshop in which ocean plastics are turned into objects by three-dimensional printing. The island runs partly on solar power and recycles its water.
Location
The resort is in the Fari Islands, in North Malé Atoll in the Maldives, 45 minutes by boat from Malé International Airport. Fari Marina Village is shared with The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands.
- Website
- Official website
