The 14 Best Overwater Villas for a Honeymoon in 2027
From a stargazing slide villa to glass-floored classics, these are the overwater villas worth crossing the world for on your honeymoon.
Fourteen villas, one very specific fantasy, and a shared understanding among the hoteliers involved that a honeymoon is not the moment to economize on ceiling height, pool size, or distance from other human beings. Soneva Jani’s One-Bedroom Water Reserve with Slide is 555 square meters and comes with a retractable roof for stargazing from bed. Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora’s Otemanu suite is 1,576 square feet with a plunge pool aimed directly at the mountain. Cheval Blanc Randheli gives every villa a 12.5-meter infinity pool regardless of category, and JOALI Maldives angles its best villa toward the sunset on purpose. The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort’s Royal Overwater Villa spans 2,798 square feet and features glass floor panels; Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi gets you there by a 30-minute yacht ride before you’ve even checked in. Gili Lankanfushi built something it calls, with a straight face, the world’s largest overwater villa. Velaa’s Romantic Residence is reachable only by boat. Six Senses Laamu ends its jetty in a villa with a glass bathtub sunk into the floor. And Bawah Reserve and Song Saa prove the whole genre works just as well outside the Maldives and Bora Bora, if you’re willing to go slightly further off the map.
Here are the overwater villas actually worth the flight, the seaplane, and in a few cases, the boat after that.
Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora — French Polynesia
There may be no view more synonymous with honeymoon fantasy than Mount Otemanu rising over an electric-blue lagoon, and Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora gives you a front-row seat to it. Book the One-Bedroom Otemanu Overwater Bungalow Suite with Plunge Pool — 1,576 square feet, a private infinity-edge plunge pool aimed straight at the mountain, and a teak terrace long enough to actually use. The resort leans into the romance on purpose: Champagne and caviar delivered by floating tray, breakfast brought out by traditional canoe, and a Sleep Beneath the Stars turndown available only in this suite. It’s Bora Bora exactly as advertised, which is rarer than it should be.
The Haute Living Verdict: the postcard, delivered in full, with the mountain thrown in for free.
Soneva Jani — Noonu Atoll, Maldives
If one resort turned the overwater villa from honeymoon cliché into something genuinely worth the seaplane, it’s Soneva Jani. Book the One-Bedroom Water Reserve with Slide, a 555-square-meter floating hideaway where the bedroom ceiling retracts at the touch of a button for sleeping under actual stars, not the metaphorical kind. Outside there’s a private freshwater pool, a sunken dining area, catamaran nets, and the signature curved waterslide that dumps you straight into the lagoon — a detail that sounds gimmicky until you’re the one doing it at sunset with a drink in hand. A Barefoot Butler handles the rest, which in practice means you never have to think about anything except whether to use the slide again.
The Haute Living Verdict: playful, private, and unapologetically extravagant — which is exactly the point of a honeymoon.
Cheval Blanc Randheli — Noonu Atoll, Maldives
For honeymooners who want their romance with a little more polish, Cheval Blanc Randheli is the fashion-insider’s Maldives. The One-Bedroom Water Villa runs 220 square meters, with sleek indoor-outdoor living, a double dressing room, and a 12.5-meter private infinity pool suspended over the water — a spec that, unusually, applies to every villa category on the island, not just the top ones. The design skews elegant rather than tropical, and the service is the exacting, quietly attentive kind LVMH properties are known for. Add Guerlain rituals on a dedicated spa island and just five restaurants total, and Randheli feels intimate in a way most 45-villa resorts don’t manage.
The Haute Living Verdict: the Maldives for people who want serious European glamour with their overwater view.
The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort — French Polynesia
Bora Bora does overwater villas well across the board, but The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort does them large. Honeymooners should look at the Royal Overwater Villa — 2,798 square feet, positioned for spectacular views across the lagoon toward Mount Otemanu, with a wraparound terrace that makes the room feel like its own private stretch of water. Glass viewing panels are built into the floor throughout, so the lagoon and its resident fish stay part of the experience even when you’re indoors. Add the brand’s signature Butler Service and this is grand-scale Bora Bora romance, no notes.
The Haute Living Verdict: classic Bora Bora, scaled up until it borders on excessive — in the good way.
The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort — Dhaalu Atoll, Maldives
One of the more architecturally striking resorts in the Maldives, The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort is for honeymooners who want contemporary design alongside their castaway fantasy. Its sculptural buildings rise out of the Dhaalu Atoll like something from another franchise entirely, while the overwater villas deliver the fundamentals well: private pools, generous terraces, uninterrupted ocean, and the attentive St. Regis service that follows the brand everywhere it goes. Days here can be as indulgently empty as you want — swim off your own deck, disappear into the Iridium Spa, and come back to a villa where the ocean is quite literally under your feet.
The Haute Living Verdict: the design-forward pick for couples who find whitewashed thatch a little predictable.
Photo Credit: Joali Maldives
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi — South Malé Atoll, Maldives
Space is the real flex at Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, where even the standard overwater villas feel closer to private residences than hotel rooms. Every villa on the property comes with its own pool and unbroken ocean views, but honeymooners should look specifically at the King Grand Overwater Villa with Pool for the most indulgent version of the stay. The appeal extends well past the room, too — Ithaafushi has become one of the Maldives’ genuine culinary destinations, which matters for couples who want their evenings to involve more than deciding where to watch the sunset. And instead of the usual lengthy seaplane connection, you arrive by a 30-minute yacht journey — a noticeably better way to start a honeymoon.
The Haute Living Verdict: proof that the transfer can be part of the romance, not just the price of admission to it.
JOALI Maldives — Raa Atoll, Maldives
JOALI is the honeymoon for aesthetes. Art runs through the entire resort, and even the entry-level overwater rooms feel more like a stylish private home than a hotel category. For the honeymoon, upgrade to the Luxury Sunset Water Villa with Pool — 280 square meters, with a 35-square-meter infinity pool angled directly at the horizon and a private Jadugar (butler) attending to whatever comes up. Book the sunset-facing version specifically; there are few better honeymoon rituals than having absolutely nowhere to be while the entire sky turns gold.
The Haute Living Verdict: the Maldives villa for couples who’d rather look at art than at Instagram.
Gili Lankanfushi — North Malé Atoll, Maldives
Where some Maldivian resorts lean toward marble and overt extravagance, Gili Lankanfushi has perfected barefoot luxury instead. The villas are built from natural wood and glass and designed to keep the lagoon as the actual star, with an open, indoor-outdoor sensibility throughout. Couples chasing the ultimate splurge can move from the resort’s standalone Crusoe Residences up to its Private Reserve, a freestanding overwater world that takes privacy about as far as it can go. The romance here comes precisely from the lack of formality — shoes disappear at the jetty, schedules stop mattering, and honeymoon life settles into swimming, eating, and watching the Indian Ocean change color.
The Haute Living Verdict: barefoot luxury done properly, with nothing performative about it.
Velaa Private Island — Noonu Atoll, Maldives
For a honeymoon where privacy is non-negotiable, few accommodations compete with the Romantic Residence at Velaa Private Island. The 598-square-meter, one-bedroom residence sits alone in the lagoon and is reachable only by boat, with its own pool, jacuzzi, sunken outdoor bath, private gym, spa treatment room, and a floating dining gazebo with its own kitchen where a private chef can cook while you look out at uninterrupted ocean. Steps lead straight from the terrace into the lagoon, but the real luxury here is seclusion — Velaa has essentially built a tiny private resort for two inside an already extraordinarily exclusive island.
The Haute Living Verdict: the honeymoon suite for couples who want their own private island within the private island.
Photo Credit: Conrad Bora Bora Nui
Conrad Bora Bora Nui — French Polynesia
Conrad Bora Bora Nui offers a slightly different version of the Bora Bora fantasy. Set on a private motu, the resort looks outward across expanses of lagoon and open Pacific rather than leaning entirely on the classic postcard angle, and its overwater pool villas give couples plenty of room to disappear. The combination of private pool, direct lagoon access, and cinematic Polynesian sunsets makes it one of the island’s strongest alternatives to Four Seasons and St. Regis, and there’s something appealingly self-contained about the whole stay — snorkel in the morning, spa in the afternoon, Champagne on the deck as the sky turns pink.
The Haute Living Verdict: the quieter Bora Bora honeymoon, for couples who don’t need to be the loudest name on the beach.
Six Senses Laamu — Laamu Atoll, Maldives
For honeymooners who want barefoot romance with a genuine sense of place, Six Senses Laamu remains a standout. Book the Sunset Laamu Water Villa with Pool, positioned at the end of the jetty for privacy and uninterrupted sunset views, with a private pool, direct sea access, an outdoor rain shower, and one of the property’s most memorable details: a glass sunken bathtub looking straight out over the ocean. There’s even an upper deck built purely for watching the horizon. Six Senses’ emphasis on wellness and sustainability gives the stay substance beyond the photo, and Laamu’s marine environment rewards couples who actually want to spend time in the water rather than just admiring it from a lounger.
The Haute Living Verdict: barefoot romance with a bathtub view that does most of the convincing on its own.
Likuliku Lagoon Resort — Malolo Island, Fiji
The Maldives and Bora Bora tend to own the overwater-honeymoon conversation, but Fiji deserves a seat at the table — and Likuliku Lagoon Resort is its strongest case. The adults-only retreat is known for its traditional Fijian Over-Water Bures, which bring local architecture and materials to a category that can otherwise feel interchangeable from one ocean to the next. The appeal here is as much cultural as visual: warm Fijian hospitality, a lush island setting, and a sense of place that’s distinctly South Pacific rather than a Maldivian rerun. For couples who’ve already done the Maldives, or simply want more personality in the package, Likuliku is the answer.
The Haute Living Verdict: the overwater honeymoon with an actual sense of somewhere, not just an aesthetic.
Bawah Reserve — Anambas Archipelago, Indonesia
Getting to Bawah Reserve is part of the romance. Set within Indonesia’s remote Anambas archipelago, the private-island retreat feels genuinely detached from everything else. Its Overwater Bungalows measure 105 square meters and sit directly above clear turquoise water, with covered dining verandas, sun decks, copper bathtubs, and steps straight into the lagoon. The rate is also unusually inclusive at this level — meals, non-alcoholic drinks, spa treatments, activities, and even laundry are folded into the daily price. But Bawah’s real honeymoon luxury is isolation: pour a drink, walk onto the deck, and look up. There’s very little competing with the stars out here.
The Haute Living Verdict: proof that the best overwater honeymoon doesn’t have to be in the Maldives at all.
Song Saa Private Island — Koh Rong Archipelago, Cambodia
For something genuinely unexpected, trade the Maldives for Cambodia. Song Saa Private Island, spread across two private islands in the Koh Rong Archipelago, pairs overwater living with jungle, conservation, and a far stronger sense of discovery than the usual honeymoon script. Its overwater villas offer the requisite private decks and direct sea access, but the appeal here is less about glossy perfection and more about disappearing somewhere that still feels genuinely wild. Honeymooners can move between water, rainforest, and spa while staying cocooned in a private-island experience that never feels predictable.
The Haute Living Verdict: for couples who want their honeymoon destination to prompt the question, wait, where is that?
Still deciding between the Maldives and Bora Bora? Explore more of our travel coverage for city stays to pair with the beach portion of the trip, or browse Haute Living’s Travel section for more honeymoon inspiration.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do all villas at Cheval Blanc Randheli have private pools?
Yes. Every villa category at Cheval Blanc Randheli, including the 220-square-meter One-Bedroom Water Villa, comes with its own 12.5-meter private infinity pool.
What makes JOALI Maldives different from other Maldivian resorts?
JOALI centers its identity on art and design, with even its overwater villas curated like private residences; the top honeymoon pick is the 280-square-meter Luxury Sunset Water Villa with Pool.
How big is the Royal Overwater Villa at The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort?
It measures 2,798 square feet and includes glass floor panels throughout, with views across the lagoon to Mount Otemanu.
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