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Cheval Blanc Randheli Is LVMH's Maldives Answer to French Luxury, Five Islands at a Time
On a private cluster of islands in the Maldives' Noonu Atoll, LVMH's Cheval Blanc Randheli pairs architect Jean-Michel Gathy's design with in-house names like Guerlain and Dior, landing somewhere between a resort and a French maison.
Sep 30, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Cheval Blanc Randheli opened in 2013 as the Cheval Blanc maison's first resort outside France, built across five private islands in the Maldives' Noonu Atoll, roughly 40 minutes by seaplane from Malé. It was designed by Jean-Michel Gathy, an architect behind several of Asia's best-known resorts, and it reads less like a standalone Maldives property than a Maldivian outpost of the same LVMH-owned house that runs Cheval Blanc's addresses in Courchevel and Paris.
French luxury houses, transplanted to a private atoll
The resort's roughly 45 villas each come with a private pool and are spread across the five islands, giving most guests long stretches without seeing another villa. What sets Randheli apart even among Maldives luxury properties is how openly it draws on LVMH's wider portfolio: the dedicated spa island runs Guerlain treatments, and the resort commissioned its own signature fragrance from François Demachy, the in-house "nose" behind many of Dior's perfumes. Few Maldives resorts fold a parent group's other maisons into the guest experience this directly.
A spa built as its own island
Rather than fold a spa into the main island's footprint, Cheval Blanc Randheli set aside an entire island for it, reached by boat, with overwater treatment pavilions and Guerlain-trained therapists. It's a scale of dedication to wellness infrastructure that few resorts anywhere, in the Maldives or otherwise, attempt.
Getting there
Guests fly into Velána International Airport at Malé and connect onward by seaplane, a roughly 40-minute transfer that is itself one of the more scenic legs of a Maldives trip, tracing atoll after atoll before descending toward Noonu.
Traveller tips
- The resort is reached by seaplane transfer from Malé, arranged as part of a stay; there is no scheduled public transport option.
- The dry season, roughly December to April, offers the calmest seas for both the seaplane transfer and diving excursions.
- Seaplane transfers operate only in daylight hours, so onward connections from international flights should allow for this.
- As with any high-end Maldives resort, confirm current villa rates, transfer costs and any resort fees directly with Cheval Blanc before booking.
Where this is
Randheli, Noonu Atoll, Maldives