Mirihi Revisited: Same Tiny Island, New Name
Some places simply can’t change much, and Mirihi is one of them.
I stayed here a few years ago, when it was still Mirihi Island Resort, and I’ve written about it more than once. Now the name over the door is different. It’s V Villas Maldives at Mirihi, part of Accor’s MGallery Collection. A reader (and one very polite Maldives specialist) has kindly pointed out that my old pieces needed bringing up to date. Fair enough. So here’s an honest update from a man who hasn’t been back.
I’ll say that again, because it matters. I haven’t seen the new version with my own eyes. What follows is what I know of the island, what the people who now run it say, and what I’d want to find out before parting with my money.
First, the island. Mirihi is a speck of sand in the South Ari Atoll, roughly 300 metres long and 50 wide. You can’t build much on a strip like that, however deep your pockets. A new owner can change the villas, the furniture and the menus, but the island’s shape and size set the limits. And the beauty of Mirihi was never really the buildings. It was the ocean: the house reef a few strokes off the sand, the manta rays and whale sharks a boat ride away, and that light on the lagoon at the end of the day. Accor’s own pages still talk up the snorkelling and diving, and the manta rays, whale sharks and coral gardens. Nobody can redecorate that, thank goodness. MGallery Collection to debut in Maldives with V Villas Mirihi +2
What has changed, so far as I can tell, is this. The resort has a new name and brand.
According to Accor it now offers 42 overwater and beachfront villas, some with private pools and all with a dedicated private butler, and it reopened in 2026. accor
What I can’t tell you is whether the old Mirihi spirit has survived the makeover: the barefoot simplicity and the lack of fuss I remember. Some who loved the old place have wondered the same. I’d dearly like to go back and find out. If I do, you’ll read it here first.
If you’re tempted, my advice is to ask questions before you book. Check current rates, what’s included and what taxes and service charges are added, and how the seaplane transfer works. The prices in my earlier article are years out of date, so please ignore them.
Martin stayed at the resort before its renaming and has not visited since reopening. Details of the current resort are taken from Accor’s published information.
FACT FILE
Official page: mgallery.accor.com/hotels/C4Z3
Phone: +960 668-0500 hospitalitynet
Independent Maldives resort guide: luxatolls.com/resorts/v-villas-mirihi/ (external, opens in a new tab)
Earlier pieces: The Magic of Mirihi; Mirihi Island: An Honest Review; Healthy Maldivian Food
