#11 in Top 20 Maldives for A Honeymoon · ★★★★★
COMO Cocoa Island
Dhoni-shaped overwater villas, the honeymoon villa as native fishing boat.
Dhoni-shaped overwater villas, the honeymoon villa as native fishing boat.
"The COMO Cocoa Island all-over-water resort, the working close-to-Male COMO Shambhala anchor."
Why this rank, COMO Cocoa Island opened in 2002 (originally as Cocoa Island, COMO took over in 2002) on the small Makunufushi Island in the South Male Atoll, 40 minutes by speedboat from Male International. 33 over-water villas only across the property (no beach villas); the One-Bedroom Loft Villa, the Two-Bedroom Loft Villa, and the COMO Villa are the signature accommodations. The COMO Shambhala Retreat over-water spa runs the wellness curriculum. The dining roster includes Ufaa (the all-day overwater restaurant) and Faru (the beach venue). The small-property scale (33 villas) combined with the all-over-water configuration produces a different Maldives-luxury register from the larger resorts: more intimate, more wellness-focused, less amenity-rich. The close-to-Male position (no seaplane required) suits the shorter Maldives trip. Best for the close-to-Male intimate COMO Shambhala Maldives stay.
Best room: Two-Bedroom Loft Villa
"Dhoni-shaped overwater villas, the honeymoon villa as native fishing boat."
COMO Cocoa Island is the smallest and most-architecturally-distinctive resort on this list. The thirty-three villas are shaped like dhonis, the traditional Maldivian fishing boat, and they sit in a single curved row along a sandbar in South Malé Atoll. The visual is unique: arriving at the resort by boat is the first time most guests realise the villas are not standard overwater bungalows but boat-shaped wooden capsules with curved decks and the characteristic Maldivian prow. COMO Cocoa Island is the smallest COMO Hotels property in the world (33 villas vs the standard 80-150 of competitor Maldives resorts), and the smaller scale produces a different kind of honeymoon, the staff knows every guest by name within 24 hours, the dining is a single restaurant, the activity programme is built around the COMO Shambhala spa. The COMO Shambhala wellness operation is the world's most decorated spa brand and the Maldives flagship is its proving ground. Dhoni Suite Villas have private outdoor decks; COMO Villas have a small extra room. For the honeymoon couple who finds the larger Maldives resorts too anonymous and wants the smaller-scale boutique alternative, this is the right pick.
COMO Villa (the largest of the dhoni-style units) or Dhoni Suite (the entry-level dhoni-shaped villa).
The COMO Shambhala spa offers a Cocoa Island Signature Massage that uses local ingredients and ends with a private deck-side meal; book it for day three. The single restaurant is small, make all dinner reservations on arrival to secure the deck table for the sunset hour.
COMO Cocoa Island sits within our broader Top 20 Hotels in the Maldives for a Honeymoon list. It scored an aggregate 9.5/10 across the three editorial criteria, competitive against the field but, on a honeymoon-specific factors, the angle above is what earned its rank. For the alternatives in the same Maldives neighbourhood, see South Malé Atoll and adjacent. For a different city entirely, see the related lists below.
If you have already chosen the dates, our editor recommends booking the room twelve weeks ahead. The best suites with the right view orientation go first, and inventory for the popular months is quoted in months, not weeks. Suite-level rooms with private plunge pools or terraces, the ones that earn this rank, are typically the first to sell out.
Editorial · #18 on the Top 20 Hotels in the Maldives 2026 list
COMO Cocoa Island's case for the Maldives stay is the small-scale all-over-water configuration combined with the COMO Shambhala wellness register. The 2002 property is on the small Makunufushi Island in the South Male Atoll, 40 minutes by speedboat from Male International (no seaplane required).
The 33 over-water villas only (no beach villas) include the One-Bedroom Loft Villa, the Two-Bedroom Loft Villa, and the COMO Villa.
The COMO Shambhala Retreat over-water spa runs the wellness curriculum. The dining roster includes Ufaa (the all-day overwater restaurant) and Faru (the beach venue). The small-property scale (33 villas) combined with the all-over-water configuration produces a different Maldives-luxury register from the larger resorts: more intimate, more wellness-focused, less amenity-rich. The close-to-Male position (no seaplane required) suits the shorter Maldives trip; the 33-villa scale suits guests who want the most intimate Maldives format. Best for the close-to-Male intimate COMO Shambhala Maldives stay.