Why Cheval Blanc Randheli Is Still the Design Crowd’s Favorite Maldives Getaway

Next, it was downstairs to catch a private seaplane in the same hues of gray and yellow, before spending half an hour in the air whizzing over the smudges of optic white sand and the glittering, mottled greens and blues of coral reefs below. Then, eventually, the resort itself came into view. Spread across a scattering of islands following the curved shape of the tropical atoll it sits on, its 45 modernist villas jut out over the water yet somehow blend seamlessly with the tangles of palm trees that surround them; as we began our descent, the staff glided towards the dock and began waving to greet us. With a sight like this to greet you after 16 hours on planes, it doesn’t take long to realize why all those travelers make the journey: It’s the full White Lotus fantasy. (Just without the murders, one hopes.)

The first thing you’ll notice—or indeed, won’t notice—is the service. It’s so breezy and seamless it just sort of happens around you, and before I knew it, I was being zoomed over to my villa in a golf buggy by a majordome—your own personal fixer, butler, and general helping hand, essentially—for a speedy, iPad-conducted check-in process. (No fiddly forms or faffing around with passports and credit cards here; all of that’s been taken care of before you arrive.) A lavish spread of macarons, homemade chocolates, and fresh fruit awaited, but that’s where the more traditional French-isms ended: the resort has plenty of Gallic flair, sure, but just of a more avant-garde variety.