Sheraton, Le Méridien and Westin Maldives put culinary experiences at heart of festive season
Three Marriott Bonvoy resorts in the Maldives are preparing a range of festive culinary experiences for Christmas and New Year, with gala dinners, beach barbecues, ingredient-led activities and family pastry workshops forming part of programmes running across Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa, Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa and The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort.
The wider festive period runs from 20 December 2026 to 10 January 2027, with each resort developing its own programme around dining, recreation, wellness and island experiences.
For culinary and food and beverage teams, the three programmes demonstrate different approaches to festive hospitality, from large-scale gala operations and beachfront dining to interactive food experiences designed around ingredients and family participation.
At Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa, the festive concept will be presented under the theme “Island Lumière”, with celebrations running from 1 December 2026 to 7 January 2027.
The programme will move from a White & Gold Christmas theme into Peach Lumière for New Year, with food and beverage experiences integrated into the resort’s wider calendar of marine, wellness and entertainment activities.
Among the culinary highlights will be a Christmas Day Beach BBQ, placing festive dining directly on the shoreline.
Beach barbecues are a familiar part of resort dining in the Maldives, but their execution presents specific challenges for kitchen and service teams. Protein preparation, seafood handling, temperature control, live grilling, buffet replenishment and service logistics all need to be adapted to an outdoor environment.
During the festive period, such events also need to operate alongside a resort’s regular restaurants and other special functions, placing additional demands on mise en place, staffing and food production.
Sheraton will also stage a White & Gold Christmas Gala and a New Year’s Eve Peach Lumière Gala.
Gala dinners remain among the most operationally intensive services in the Maldives resort calendar. Culinary brigades must coordinate production across hot kitchens, garde manger, pastry, bakery and live stations, while front-of-house and beverage teams manage service for large numbers of guests within a tightly structured evening programme.
At Sheraton, these dining events will be accompanied by live entertainment, while the wider festive programme will include coral restoration experiences, yoga, sound healing and snorkelling.
Guests booking the resort’s festive package will receive breakfast, lunch and dinner at selected restaurants, as well as a USD 45 dining credit per adult per night for specialty restaurants.
From an F&B perspective, the structure gives guests access to both inclusive dining and à la carte or specialty experiences, requiring teams to manage festive demand across several restaurant formats rather than concentrating all service within a single venue.
At Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa, the festive season will be presented as “La Fête by Le Méridien”, transforming Thilamaafushi Island into what the resort calls “The White Isle”.
The programme will combine European-inspired holiday traditions with the Maldives island setting, with cuisine positioned alongside culture, music and discovery.
One of the resort’s most relevant experiences for chefs is The Greenhouse, where guests can forage for fresh ingredients.
On-island gardens and food-growing initiatives have become increasingly significant within Maldives resort kitchens, where geography creates particular challenges around produce supply and dependency on imports.
The Greenhouse gives Le Méridien an opportunity to connect the guest experience directly with ingredient sourcing and cultivation.
For culinary teams, on-island growing can provide more than a sustainability narrative. Herbs, vegetables and other suitable crops harvested close to service can allow chefs to work with fresher produce while also increasing awareness of seasonality, yield and responsible ingredient use.
When guests are involved in the process through foraging, the ingredient itself also becomes part of the dining experience rather than simply appearing on the plate.
The resort’s festive programme will feature a series of festive feasts and gatherings, with food forming part of its broader interpretation of European holiday traditions in an island environment.
Pastry and bakery will receive particular attention through Gingerbread Wonderland masterclasses for younger travellers.
Gingerbread preparation combines several technical elements relevant to pastry teams, especially when adapted as an interactive activity.
The dough must retain its shape during baking, individual sections need sufficient structural strength for assembly, and icing must perform both decorative and structural functions. For guest workshops, these requirements also need to be translated into a format that is manageable for children and families.
Such activities highlight the wider role pastry chefs play during the festive season. Beyond restaurant desserts and buffet displays, pastry departments are often responsible for gingerbread houses, festive cookies, chocolate decorations, cakes, amenity production and interactive guest experiences.
Le Méridien’s package includes daily breakfast, lunch and dinner across selected restaurants, alongside a USD 100 daily resort credit.
The combination creates another multi-venue operating model in which culinary teams must balance package dining with additional specialty experiences throughout a high-demand period.
At The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort in Baa Atoll, festive celebrations will run from 22 December 2026 to 6 January 2027.
The programme will include Christmas traditions, festive dining and a New Year celebration, alongside the resort’s wellness and marine offering.
Food and beverage will form part of the seasonal programme through dedicated festive dining experiences and New Year celebrations.
The package includes daily breakfast and dinner as well as a USD 100 dining credit per stay, giving guests scope to experience different elements of the resort’s restaurant portfolio during the holiday period.
For selected villa categories, The Westin will also offer a complimentary floating breakfast.
Floating breakfasts have become a familiar part of resort hospitality in the Maldives, particularly in pool villas. From a culinary and service perspective, however, they require a different approach to a standard breakfast service.
Presentation must work within a floating tray format, dishes must retain temperature and visual quality during delivery, and items need to be selected with movement, humidity and outdoor service conditions in mind.
The result brings together culinary preparation, visual presentation and villa service in a single experience.
Across all three resorts, families are a significant part of the festive programmes.
Sheraton will offer Santa’s Workshop and other children’s activities, while Le Méridien will place greater culinary emphasis on its gingerbread masterclasses. Complimentary accommodation and dining for children under 12 will also form part of the broader festive offer at participating properties.
For kitchen teams, catering to families adds another layer to festive menu planning.
Children’s menus and activities require consideration of portion size, accessibility, allergens and presentation, while interactive experiences need to be simple enough for young participants without losing their connection to professional culinary practice.
The three resorts also demonstrate how festive food and beverage operations are increasingly integrated with the wider identity of each property.
Sheraton is combining gala dining and beach barbecue experiences with its proximity to Malé and broader Island Lumière programme.
Le Méridien is linking dining to ingredients, creativity and European-inspired traditions through The Greenhouse, festive feasts and gingerbread workshops.
The Westin is incorporating festive dining within a programme shaped around wellness, marine experiences and its Baa Atoll setting.
For chefs, pastry professionals, bartenders and F&B teams, the festive season remains one of the most demanding periods of the resort calendar.
In addition to normal restaurant operations, teams are often required to execute themed gala dinners, destination dining, brunches, family activities, beverage programmes and special amenities within a relatively short period.
Menus also need to satisfy an international guest profile, accommodate dietary requirements and deliver a sense of occasion without losing consistency across multiple services.
The programmes announced by Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa, Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa and The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort illustrate that broader shift.
Festive dining in the Maldives is no longer defined only by the Christmas Eve buffet and New Year gala. It increasingly encompasses ingredient-led experiences, interactive culinary workshops, beach dining, specialty restaurants, family pastry programmes and dining formats designed around the individual character of each island.
Across the three Marriott properties, culinary teams will therefore play a central role in shaping the festive experience, translating the themes of each resort into food, beverage and guest interaction throughout Christmas and New Year.
Festive Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa Marriott Marriott Bonvoy Marriott International Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort
