OBLU SELECT Lobigili: An Island Called Love

Arriving by speedboat just after dawn, the OBLU SELECT Lobigili signs glints in the morning sun. I am handed over a single rose on arrival, a nod to the island’s name. In Dhivehi, Loabi means love and Gili means island. Lobigili is, quite literally, the island of love.

Just fifteen minutes from Malé, this adults-only resort feels worlds away from the humdrum of the capital. There are only 68 villas here, spread along a ribbon of white sand and turqouise ocean. From SunNest Beach Pool Villas tucked along the shoreline to Water Pool Villas suspended above the lagoon, they’re all designed to reconnect you with the beautiful Big Blue.

I’m lucky enough to be staying in the Water Pool Villa, which sits above the reef, with a private deck, open-air bathroom and plunge pool that spills out towards the never-ending horizon. Waking each morning to uninterrupted views of the water and jumping off our pontoon straight into the sea to be met with a cacaphony of colourful fish, is a reminder of just how close to nature you truly are when travelling in the Maldives.

But not all resorts are created equal when it comes to sustainability. OBLU SELECT  Lobigili is Green Globe certified – meaning it meets strict, globally recognised standards for environmental and social responsibility. Their reduce–reuse–recycle philosophy shows up everywhere, from the in-house water bottling plant that eliminates over 100,000 plastic bottles every year, to biodegradable packaging that replaces single-use plastics, and solar energy that supplements power across the island.

Care for the planet at OBLU SELECT Lobigili also extends to the spa. A short walk from my villa, ELE|NA The Spa reveals itself gradually, first with a hammock suspended between palms swaying in the breeze, then an open-air lounge filled with the scent of lemongrass, butterfly pea and aloe grown in the spa’s own herb garden. Treatments are in light-filled rooms where the sound of the ocean whispers through wooden slats.

ELE|NA is Atmosphere Core’s flagship wellness brand and has been awarded Gold Standard accreditation by the Sustainable Wellness Group, a UN Environment Programme partner. As I sink into my treatment bed for a full-body massage, I learn that seventy per cent of spa products are sourced locally, with a target of 80 per cent by next year. Oils, scrubs and creams are plant-based, stored in pretty glass jars rather than plastic, while light-weight linens reduce energy consumption. As my magical hour unfolds, time seems to disappear, leaving me feeling rested, rejuvenated, and very ready for lunch.

Set beneath thatched ceilings, Ylang Ylang, is OBLU SELECT Lobigili all-day restaurant, with a menu offering an array of global flavours. The resort mainly sources produce from Malé, with deliveries timed to minimise waste. An in-house incinerator also ensures no food waste ever reaches the ocean, protecting the coral and marine life that define this resort and its fragile ecosystem.  

But the most exciting sustainability work here happens under the ocean. Over iced coffee one morning, we meet Giorgia Maggioni, the resort’s marine biologist. Her focus is ghost nets –  abandoned or discarded fishing nets that drift through the ocean for decades, entangling turtles, sharks and coral along the way. Made from synthetic materials like nylon, they can take hundreds of years to degrade.

She explains that the area faces this issue. ‘Ghost nets don’t respect borders; they drift, trap, and destroy everywhere’. Globally, an estimated 48 million metric tonnes of lost fishing gear float through the world’s oceans. In the Maldives alone, hundreds of these nets wash ashore annually. Giorgia shares that out of 74 regional ghost net incidents, a staggering 57 occurred in the Maldives alone.

Giorgia’s team spends their days combing the shallows, freeing turtles, disentangling nets, and documenting what drifts in. Coral reefs here are not just underwater gardens or biodiversity hotspots; they are natural sea defences that reduce wave energy by up to 97 per cent and lower wave heights by as much as 74 per cent. Without them, low-lying islands are at serious risk.

We are taken to OBLU SELECT Lobigili’s coral restoration programme, which focuses on nursery-grown fragments that are carefully replanted to create thriving new micro-reefs. Each one is a positive step towards rebuilding these critical underwater forests.

On our final evening, dinner took place beneath the surface at Only BLU, the largest underwater restaurant in the Maldives. Escorted down into the restaurant and welcomed by a soft blue glow, I felt as though I’d been transported straight into the underwater world. Every table is positioned next to a vast viewing panel, so wherever you sit, you’re eye level with the marine world on the other side. Schools of fish glide past and, to our absolute thrill, sleek blacktip reef sharks circle just beyond the glass, a reassuring distance after having come face-to-face with a few of them ourselves only hours earlier while snorkelling in open water.

The Maldives is often framed as paradise, and it is. But it is also one of the most climate-vulnerable places on Earth. Lobigili doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but through responsible operations and genuine conservation, there’s a sense that OBLU SELECT Lobigili is striving to give back more than it takes, and that’s what loving a place really looks like.

Details

Emirates and flydubai both fly daily nonstop between Dubai and Malé, with roughly around 4 flights a day each

OBLU SELECT Lobigili – SunNest Water Pool Villa starts from AED 3,041 per night for a 4-night, all-inclusive (Lobi Plan) stay.

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