Designed by an Italian and owned by an Italian, the guests were Italian for the first twenty years of the resort's life. Over the last few years other nationalities have discovered it, fallen in love with it too, but not quite made it their own. The ambience is still Italian; the look is loose white linens and cottons with open necks showing rich tans. You might say Nika today is cosmopolitan with Italian characteristics.

The unique aspect of Nika is the level of privacy you can have when you want it. Each land room is hidden in a wreath of greenery and has its own private beach, defined by a groyne on either side. The groynes, sometimes large, will disturb some more than others and they do mean you can't walk around the island, but that is the nature of a holiday here: undisturbed intimacy mixed with sociability when you wish.

A single sandy path runs in an oval around the inside of the island. It leads you through an equatorial garden of flowers and shrubs, shaded by arches of white and purple bougainvillea and the blazing red flowers of the flame tree, passing the majestic banyan tree that gives the resort its name. Grey herons nest in the banyan tree and lovebirds, along with others, delight the walker with the uncommon sound of birdsong.

The owner Mr. Balasi's love of gardening is seen again in the model fruit, vegetable and herb plot. The fresh produce finds its way onto the dining table where, famously, the quality of the ingredients is integral to Italian cuisine. And in this we have another of the reasons to fall in love with Nika.

With one restaurant only and a small number of guests, all on full board, the Italian chef is able to prepare perfect plates for the evening meal, served at your table from an à la carte choice. The old restaurant has now been replaced with a much larger structure, but the traditional Maldivian design is very sympathetic with the rest of the resort's architecture, imitating the pavilion style restaurants at other Maldivian resorts of a similar age. Three spheres (one large, two smaller) lead into each other, providing ample space for guests to enjoy the food without feeling crowded. In the evenings dinner is served under the starlight on the new outdoor terrace, adjacent to the restaurant and overlooking the lagoon. There's a different theme every night. Breakfast and lunch are usually buffets, which are also very good though the piped music of old standards might rankle a bit with some.

Evenings are generally very quiet but those wanting to linger for longer by the lagoon can enjoy the modern but laid-back new bar next to the restaurant. It's set overlooking the water, with plenty of comfortable indoor and outdoor seating to lounge around on, and great views across the water. Alternatively, the cosy bar by reception has a charming Italian feel to it.

The daytime sees several popular excursions to local inhabited, uninhabited and desert islands. Three new speedboats are at the resort's disposal, although traditional dhonis are also used. The excursions are all very reasonably priced, which, I must say, is true of everything on the resort and very welcome. A long-time speciality of Nika is trawling for big game fish. Ibrahim, a local, is considered to be the cleverest fisherman around and many a guest comes back especially for these trips.

The new Lotus Spa, which opened in July 2011, is a tranquil-looking spot near the dive base.The eight wooden treatment huts are surrounded by a gorgeous lily pond. Ayurvedic, Indonesian, Thai and Swedish treatments as well as sports massage and beauty therapies are all available. They look simple on the outside, but all of them are air-conditioned and many of them are kitted out with high-tech equipment for things like celulite treatment and pedicures and every hut has its own private shower. There's also a new swimming pool for spa guests tucked around the corner.

The dive base was run for many years by Rainer and Robert, but Nika Island is set to take over the management of the dive school in January 2012. The centre will continue to offer personal dive courses and diving trips in small groups. 

Snorkelling is excellent here and easily accessible from every room. The lagoon too is ideal: clear, sandy, not too shallow and not too big. The beach inevitably varies but with the groynes in place there is good beach at least at low tide for every room and some rooms have a permanent fine beach.

The curved, shell-like design of the rooms is still a unique delight even if a few top resorts have surpassed them in size. At 70 square metres, with a huge bathroom, wooden parquet flooring and a mix of eclectic and homely furnishing, these are rooms that still compete at the top level. There are two main categories of land villa - Sunrise Villas and Deluxe Villas. The Sunrise Villas have new outdoor showers in a private walled garden behind the bathroom. A few of the villas have now been turned into Family Bungalows, with the addition of an extra bedroom with a single bed and its own ensuite bathroom. 

The 10 new waterbungalows represent the high style of resort life. 3 conical thatched roofs cover the designer bathroom, the chic lounge and the bedroom and - this being Nika - completely hide a large wooden deck for ultimate privacy. Steps take you down to the perfect lagoon and a few strokes away from great snorkelling.

Nika is still Nika: unique, beautiful, classy and private.

Review updated 2 December 2011