Mirihi Island Resort marks 20th Anniversary in True Maldivian Style

01 May, 2023

This year, Mirihi Island Resort celebrates its 20 year anniversary of bringing luxury hospitality to the Maldives. In 2003, Swiss entrepreneur Amy Stierli and her business partner Hussain Afeef, Maldivian pioneer of tourism, opened Mirihi’s doors to guests to experience the tranquility of the Maldives. In 2018, the ownership of the resort was passed to Thai entrepreneur Mr. Vicha Poolvaraluck who continues to build on the legacy with the same passion and motto–as unique as you.

The resort has received international recognition, such as the President’s Award for best occupancy in 2005 and 2006, voted in the Top 25 Best Hotels in the World by TripAdvisor, including notably the 7th Best in Service in the World and 4th Best Resort in Asia in 2015 and 13th Best in the World and 5th Best in Asia in 2021.

“We’re so grateful for Mirihi’s longstanding reputation of being a premier destination in the Maldives and look forward to celebrating all year. Our staff’s focus on guest experience has awarded us a number of notable accolades, but an achievement we are most proud of is the significant volume of guests who have continuously visited our resort over the last two decades,” said Mohamad Shareef, General Manager at Mirihi Island Resort. “Several guests have been with us more than 20 times, with 56% of all our guests last year being repeat visitors to this little paradise each year.”

Mirihi’s strong legacy is set to continue with the appointment of Helen Bolton as Director of Sales and Marketing earlier this year. Bringing over 20 years of experience in the Maldives, Helen will oversee and strengthen Mirihi’s sales and marketing strategy.

“I am thrilled to have taken on this key role as DOSM at Mirihi on such a milestone occasion as their 20th anniversary. Having lived and worked in the Maldives for over 20 years, it became my second home and, of course, I had my favourite islands, which I used to escape to for my R&R breaks. Most colleagues chose to travel overseas for the city life for these short vacations, whereas I preferred to simply enjoy my environment, not pack any shoes and take a staycation. Mirihi was always my first choice and having experienced the resort as a guest on several occasions, I fell in love with this barefoot gem of an island and am now honored to join Shareef and the Mirihi team as we celebrate 20 years of service excellence,” comments Helen Bolton. “I look forward to strengthening our sales and marketing efforts in our traditional markets and developing new markets whilst implementing creative initiatives to enhance the resort visibility, increase year-round sales and firmly put Mirihi on the international map.”

The anniversary will be celebrated throughout the year with elevated programming including:

• An International culinary pop-up by a 2-Michelin Starred Chef Noah Sandoval of Oriole Chicago
• In-Villa 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Cocktail Kit curated by Julia Momose of Kumiko, #25 on this year’s World’s 50 Best Bars. The kit includes Muraka Rum and local Maldivian ingredients.
• Wellness Holidays 2.0 package, incorporating the 20/20/20 Wellness Formula with 20-minute vegan cooking or mocktail class, 20-minute Muay Thai or boxing class, and 20-minute sunrise guided yoga and meditation.