Treasure island with a twist

Dolphins, turtles and rays abound in this atoll, but whale sharks are less common, prefering the stronger currents in southern Ari Atoll.

"What can you see here? A 3-D Jackson Pollock painting with 50 shades of coral, caves and overhangs," said resident dive instructor Andrea Balin from Italy.

At times I felt like a god -- Neptune, perhaps -- with the ocean, infinity pool and large dhoni excursion boat, modeled after a local fishing vessel, all to myself. At others I felt more like weird Joaquin Phoenix in Her as I fell in love with my phone’s Android operating system.

Single travelers are on the rise but the Maldives is still a dish best served for two – two humans.

As it pulls out all the stops to attract Chinese tourists, the resort must envy the name but not the over-crowding of neighboring Baa Atoll. Baa sounds like eight in Mandarin, China’s luckiest number, but you may feel luckier on Raa, especially if you arrive before the new domestic airport and three new resorts open.

Another airport-island in Alif Dhaal Atoll shares the same name, so be sure to visit the right Maamigili or find yourself soaking up the sun on runways at the home of Villa Air. This should be easy if you book at Loama, which has this piece of paradise all to itself. If you book early, you will feel like you do, too.

"Celebrities pay a lot of money for this," says Linzi Wolferston from Cheshire, England.

Loama makes Chinese guests feel at home with a chef from Yangzhou, three hospitality grads from Wuhan and an excursions manager from Singapore.

"The Chinese food here is pretty good, but we picked it because it's new, it has the best scenery and it's the best value for money," says Tang Zhuxia from Shenzhen, who was there on her honeymoon.