V Villas Maldives Mirihi Resort Opening In Early 2026

Accor's MGallery Collection is preparing a high profile entry into the Maldives, converting long running Mirihi Island Resort in South Ari Atoll into V Villas Maldives at Mirihi, an all villa hideaway scheduled to open in early 2026. The move matters for travelers who favor small, design led islands, including Mirihi loyalists and members of the ALL Accor Live Limitless program who want to earn and redeem points at a boutique scale property in the atoll. Anyone sketching a Maldives itinerary for 2026 should watch the construction timeline, plan around the 25 to 30 minute seaplane hop from Malé, and compare opening offers against existing South Ari favorites before locking in flights.

The V Villas Maldives Mirihi resort opening in early 2026 effectively turns a 38 villa barefoot classic into a 42 villa MGallery flagship, giving Maldives travelers another way to pair South Ari diving and whale shark excursions with a small island, points earning stay.

Mirihi's shift from independent icon to branded boutique

Mirihi is a tiny private island measuring roughly 350 by 50 meters, long marketed as a "no news, no shoes" retreat with a strong house reef and a loyal base of repeat guests. The existing Mirihi Island Resort has operated with 38 villas and suites, split between beach and overwater categories, and sits in a part of South Ari known for manta ray encounters, whale shark trips, and easy access to nearby dive sites.

Under the MGallery plan, the island will gain four additional villas for a total of 42, including beach villas, classic overwater villas, and multi bedroom suites with private pools that are designed to appeal to families, small groups, and high spending couples. Studio Gronda, a Madrid based architecture and design firm with prior resort work in the region, is leading the redesign with a brief that mixes coral stone textures, Maldivian craftsmanship, and open plan indoor outdoor living.

For travelers who already know Mirihi, the key change is not that the island suddenly becomes a mega resort, it stays one of the smaller properties in the Maldives, but that rooms, public spaces, and services are being pulled into a more formalized luxury framework with brand standards and loyalty hooks.

How the new V Villas layout is expected to work

Public information from Accor and development filings paints a picture of an island that keeps its basic footprint but upgrades almost every guest facing facility. All villas are slated to receive new interiors, with softened color palettes, higher spec furnishings, and expanded outdoor decks in many overwater categories, plus private pools added to multi bedroom configurations.

On the wellness side, plans call for a signature spa and a dedicated wellness sanctuary, including an indoor and outdoor gym, a yoga pavilion, and expanded treatment rooms. That is a step up from Mirihi's existing compact spa and yoga space, and positions the resort more clearly for week long restorative stays rather than purely dive focused trips.

Food and beverage will also shift under the rebrand. While Mirihi already operates an overwater restaurant and main buffet space, MGallery's plan introduces refreshed concepts, including an upgraded overwater dining venue, a reimagined main restaurant, and a new bar built around longer evening service and more structured cocktail programs. The island will also gain a central pool area, something it historically lacked, which changes the daytime social hub and gives non divers more to do between snorkel sessions and excursions.

Getting there, transfers, and timing

Reaching Mirihi remains a seaplane play. The resort sits roughly 85 kilometers south of Malé, and existing resort and tour operator materials describe a 25 to 30 minute seaplane transfer from Velana International Airport, depending on routings and intermediate stops. That transfer window puts it in line with many other South Ari properties, but travelers should remember that seaplanes only operate in daylight, and that late arriving international flights may require an overnight in Malé or a domestic flight and speedboat combination.

For long haul flyers, the practical move is to avoid tight same day returns. Build at least three hours of buffer between your international arrival or departure and the seaplane window, especially if you are mixing separate tickets or using miles for long haul segments. Weather in the northeast monsoon, roughly December through April, is usually calmer, but high season also pushes rates and occupancy up across the Maldives.

Loyalty, pricing tiers, and who this resort is for

As an MGallery branded property, V Villas Maldives at Mirihi will sit fully inside Accor's ALL Accor Live Limitless ecosystem. That means eligible cash stays will earn status and rewards points, and members will be able to redeem points for nights and event spend at the resort once it is live. For travelers who already concentrate business travel stays with Accor, the new island gives a Maldives outlet for points that might otherwise be spent in city hotels.

Positioning wise, Mirihi has long been marketed as barefoot luxury rather than flashy ultra luxe, and early partner descriptions of V Villas keep that tone, emphasizing "quiet luxury," house reef snorkeling, and intimate scale rather than water parks or nightlife. Expect pricing to reflect a move into the branded five star bracket, but not necessarily into the eye watering top tier occupied by some of the region's most elaborate private island developments. Couples, honeymooners, and serious divers are likely to remain the core audiences, with the new multi bedroom villas opening more space for small groups and families willing to accept the island's low key vibe.

Sustainability and reef considerations

Accor has flagged V Villas Maldives at Mirihi as part of an ESG pilot program, with sustainability baked into design, operations, and guest experience. Details are still high level, but travelers can reasonably expect more formalized coral conservation projects, stricter energy and water management, and curated snorkeling and diving guidelines that protect the house reef while still allowing close encounters with manta rays and whale sharks in nearby channels.

That ESG framing is not purely marketing. South Ari is already a high traffic dive region, and small islands like Mirihi are under pressure to prove they can add capacity without accelerating reef damage or eroding the exact quiet, nature driven experience that draws guests in the first place. Travelers who care about these tradeoffs should ask specific questions about reef monitoring, anchoring policies, and excursion group sizes once bookings for 2026 stays open.

What to watch between now and opening

The next year will mostly be about execution. Mirihi's current operations are expected to wind down as renovation work ramps up, and there will likely be a period when the island is entirely offline for guests. Because some third party booking engines are already listing V Villas Maldives at Mirihi for late 2025 and early 2026 dates, travelers should treat any near term availability cautiously until Accor publishes firm opening dates and rate plans.

For now, if you are building a bucket list South Ari trip and want a small, design forward island where you can still snorkel from your villa steps, V Villas Maldives at Mirihi is worth keeping on a 2026 watchlist, but it is not yet the place to anchor a nonrefundable honeymoon or milestone celebration. Wait for opening photos, early guest reviews, and concrete confirmation of transfer schedules before you pivot away from proven alternatives.

Sources

• MGallery announces the signing of V Villas Maldives at Mirihi
• Accor, V Villas Maldives at Mirihi hotel page
• Accor debuts MGallery in Maldives with V Villas Maldives at Mirihi
• Mirihi Island Resort profile, Signature Luxury Travel
• Mirihi Island, Maldives background