Joy Island Maldives by Cocoon Collection

The rooms are consistently praised for their cleanliness and well-equipped nature. Guests appreciate the friendly, helpful, and professional staff, creating a welcoming atmosphere.

We honestly had higher expectations for Joy Island due to the many positive reviews we had read beforehand. While we genuinely enjoyed our stay, the overall experience didn’t quite match what we had hoped for. Joy Island was pleasant enough, and we wouldn’t mind returning someday, but it wouldn’t necessarily be among our top choices. This isn’t meant to be a negative review at all, since we genuinely enjoyed our stay, but the value of a review lies in giving honest information to help future guests set realistic expectations. Nowadays, many resorts strongly encourage guests to leave extremely positive reviews and specifically mention staff members, but this often compromises authenticity, so I’ll avoid that here. Our arrival at Joy Island went smoothly. At Malé airport, hotel staff scanned our passports quickly, which simplified the check-in process. The speedboat transfer to the resort took approximately 45 minutes, shared with other arriving guests. Upon reaching the island, we received refreshing towels and welcome drinks, which was a nice gesture after traveling. However, the actual welcome felt rushed. Although each guest is assigned a contact person available via WhatsApp throughout the stay, the introduction we received at check-in was minimal. Instead of a thorough explanation of resort amenities and services, staff provided a simple instruction sheet and suggested we read it ourselves, inviting us to ask questions later. Excursion pamphlets were later sent via WhatsApp without any recommendations or guidance. Compared to other resorts, where staff typically take considerable time to introduce all facilities in detail upon arrival, this initial contact felt insufficient. The layout of the resort is pleasant, and we stayed in a Family Villa. This villa consists of two separate bedrooms, each comfortably accommodating up to three people, though two guests must share a double bed. Each bedroom has its own private bathroom. An inconvenience, especially during rainy or windy conditions, is that the two rooms are not internally connected—you need to step outside to move from one room to the other. In-room amenities included complimentary rosé and white wine, with additional beverages, chocolates, and sparkling water available for purchase. Dining at Joy Island generally functioned well, especially in good weather. All meals are served at “The Market,” an open-air restaurant styled like a marketplace with different stalls offering pasta, meats, seafood, bread, and other foods. The dining area has fans to ensure comfort, and for guests who prefer air conditioning—especially those with young children—there’s an indoor section called “Inside,” providing the same buffet. The dessert stall stood out, offering an impressive variety of high-quality options. Additionally, fresh pasta and mozzarella were prepared live at the restaurant several days per week, adding an enjoyable interactive element. One notable issue arose during our first dinner,

Wow. What an amazing place. From the second we arrived, we were greeted with friendly staff, given a cold towel and a glass of Prosecco - the service was honestly out of this world! Joy Island is beautiful and the room was 10/10. The staff who made our stay exceptional were Jazey and Chilli who consistently made sure we were having the most fun and the best holiday ever. Thank you to everyone at Joy Island we are SO grateful!