Itaca Luxury Collection to Open Seven-Villa Nilaa Coral Island in the Maldives

A new luxury resort is taking shape in the far south of the Maldives, and it will be one of the smallest in the country. Nilaa Coral Island, the first Maldives property from the Italian brand Itaca Luxury Collection, plans to open with just seven villas. The resort has not announced an official opening date, but its social media accounts suggest it will arrive in late 2026.

Seven villas on a private island

Nilaa sits on the island of Kodegalaa in Gaafu Atoll, toward the southern end of the Maldives. It will have seven villas in all, a mix of two- and three-bedroom homes plus a single five-bedroom villa. That is a very small count for the Maldives, where resorts often run to 100 rooms or more, and it gives Nilaa the feel of a private estate rather than a hotel.

For travelers, the draw is exclusivity. With so few villas, the whole island is shared by only a handful of guests at a time, and it could be booked out entirely for a family or a group. The largest villa, with five bedrooms, is built for exactly that kind of stay.

A remote corner of the Maldives

The location is part of the appeal. Gaafu, also known as Huvadhu, is one of the largest natural atolls in the world and sits about 400 kilometers south of the capital, Male, close to the equator. It is among the least developed parts of the Maldives for tourism, which has kept its reefs and beaches quiet.

The area is best known for diving. Protected sites in Gaafu can have coral coverage above 80 percent and support more than 1,000 marine species, with drift dives that bring divers close to reef sharks, manta rays and the occasional hammerhead. The southern half of the atoll is also a quiet surfing destination, with consistent, uncrowded waves from about April to October.

Getting there takes a little effort. Most travelers fly from Male to one of the atoll's domestic airports, Kooddoo or Kaadedhoo, a trip of around 60 to 90 minutes, and then continue to their island by speedboat. That distance is part of what keeps the deep south feeling remote.

Italian cooking and a focus on the reef

Food will lean Italian. An Italian chef will lead the kitchen, and guests can eat in the restaurant, at the bar, on the beach or in their own villa. The resort also plans wellness and sports facilities and a program of guided activities.

Nilaa sits on its own lagoon and house reef, and protecting them is a point the resort keeps returning to in its early marketing. That fits the wider reputation of Gaafu, where healthy coral is one of the main reasons people make the long trip south.

An Italian villa company moving into resorts

Nilaa is owned by Itaca Homes Maldives and operated under Itaca Luxury Collection, the hospitality arm of the Italian group Holding Carisma. Itaca built its name renting high-end villas, with 13 properties across Italy and three in Morocco, and it also runs a mountain lodge in the Italian Alps.

Nilaa is its first resort in the Maldives, and a step beyond the villa rentals that made the company. The idea, Itaca says, is to combine the privacy of a rented villa with the service of a full hotel, an approach that suits a tiny island where every guest can be looked after closely.

When it might open

The resort has not set an official opening date. Its social media posts point to late 2026, and it is already hiring butlers, kitchen staff and housekeepers, a sign that a property is getting ready to welcome guests. The timing could still change.

If late 2026 holds, Nilaa will join a small but growing list of openings in the Maldives' deep south, and its size alone will make it stand out. For travelers planning well ahead, it is one to watch for next winter. We will update this story when Nilaa confirms a date.