The Amazing Noovilu Guesthouse - possibly the best guesthouse in the Maldives

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• Anonymous

  24 April 2018

  I was at the beginning very sceptic about all this awesome comments but everything just vanished when we met Mazin and his unique lifestyle. A blend of respect, quietness and joy of life that makes you feel everything is just perfect. The secret ? Mazin set up things exactly the way he would do for himself or his family. So that you won’t feel at any moment like a client, you just feel like home. And that is refreshing. Those two weeks were among the best times of our lifes. First, the bad points : Mahibadhoo is a very small island, you can go from part to part in 10 minutes. And the beaches are not very beautiful, as you can expect in Maldives. But still authentic. And, to finish, you can’t dress like you want, as you are on a local island. But all this small inconvenients doesn’t really matter as Mazin set up things with a sense of taste and detail. First, the rooms are clean and well arranged, and the open shower is a real good idea. It’s really cool to take your shower with a blue sky for horizon. Then, the dining room. Though it’s at the first floor, it’s filled with white sand, so that you can feel you’re taking every lunch at the beach for a unique atmosphere. A brillant idea. The meal are really good, essentially rice, vegetables and fish, very healthy and tasty. And the chief is always OK to make you confortable, just feel free to ask. But finally, the whole experience are the activities that Mazin will set up just for you : snorkeling throuh manginificent reefs, diving among manta ray, or just spending the whole day on the dhoni boat, fishing and cooking the perfect BBQ are just unforgettable memories that will last forever. This is a small budget you have to prepare, but it is definitely worth the while. And the final touch, that you shall not miss, is the whole day, and the overnight on a desert island, something you will only do once in your life, and make you say you’ve been in paradise. Only Maldives can offer you this experience and Mazin knows how to present it at it’s best.

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• Anonymous

  03 February 2018

  The Happy world, paradise…

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• Anonymous

  20 December 2017

  Mazin was an amazing host, fetching my wife and me personally as soon as we alighted from the ferry. He is friendly and approachable and is more than happy to share with us about Maldivian lifestyle and culture.
  
  As the owner of the guesthouse, him and his team (many are his actual family members) also bring us for activities and trips. He also tries his best to accomodate us while ensuring that we got the best experiences that he can provide.
  
  Thanks to the team's patience and efforts, my wife and I enjoyed our vacation in Maldive, complete with incredible sights of the marine wildlife ecosystem.

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• Anonymous

  26 November 2016

  I did not stay here myself, but I joined their excursion. Mazins' excursions are very good. You can expect there is several people in your excursion so the fee is not to high compared to just you alone or just 2 of you. Most of their guest said Mazins place is better. Just the downside, this island doesnot have bikini beach

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• Anonymous

  02 September 2016

  I met the owner many years ago and he is a real prince :) honourable and good natured. You will have one of the most memorable times in your life to visit his home !! Go visit now .. Everyone :)

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• Anonymous

  11 March 2015

  My wife and I stayed in this guest house in late January 2015. We have a much different opinion than most of the reviewers. During our trip to the Maldives we stayed at guest houses on two adjacent islands in the Ari Atoll; Hangngnaameedhoo and Omadhoo. We stayed one week at the Asia Inn on Hangngnaameedhoo at a rate of $165 per night which included taxes, all meals and a different excursion each day. This island had a nice small private beach area with a lagoon where visitors could wear a bikini. We stayed three days at the Keri Inn guest house on Omadhoo at a rate of $115 a night that included taxes and three great meals a day. Omadhoo is a relatively clean, lush island with a long sand bar with a swimming lagoon on either side. I mention these as a comparison to Noovilu guest house on Mahibadhoo Island.
  Staying at Noovilu guest house is fine if you want to go on a pay excursion every day. The going rate at Noovilu is $125 per night plus taxes which are $25. Excursions are higher price than comparative excursions at the Keri Inn. It must be said that Mazins' excursions are first rate. We went on one Noovilu excursion to a deserted island for picnicking and snorkeling at $65 each. We had previously gone on excursions while staying at the Asia Inn so we wanted to forgo excursions and sunbath and swim on the island for most days. The island of Mahibadhoo was a big disappointment. The island itself is relatively dirty and dusty. There is one potential good beach area with swimming lagoon on the west side of the island but the locals use it as a trash dump and there is a stinky, smoky trash burn site adjacent. We swam adjacent to a poor beach on the east end of the island. As soon as we got out of the water a local tossed a bucket of fish entrails into the area of water that we had just swam in. The only positive feature for the island was the nice view and lots of sitting outside Noovilu guest house on undholis or jolis with a pleasant view of the ocean. Also a big positive feature on the island was a ATM machine.
  Mazin who runs Noovilu guest house provides three meals a day at his family compound. The meals can be described as meager at best. One breakfast consisted of a favored orange drink, beans as in pork & beans (w/o pork of course) that you wrap up in a flour tortilla called roshi. I realize that Mazin is providing the type of meals that many Maldivians eat ; but for $150 a day most people expect more. I like a couple of cups of coffee in the morning, there was no tea or coffee served at breakfast. We also had a problem with the a/c in our room; the heating cycle that prevents the coils from freezing wasn't working so the unit would freeze up and turn off. You had to wait an hour or so for the unit to defrost while dripping water on the floor. Mazin said he would have it fixed, but nobody looked at it for the three days we were there. There was no WI-fi compatible for our computer so the owner of the Goby lodge guest house was gracious enough to allow us to use his WI-fi for a couple of hours.
  We had reserved a room at Noovilu for 6 days but were so disappointed in the island that we wanted to go to a guest house on another island. Mazin was gracious enough to get us three nights at the Keri Inn on Omadhoo. We had a little problem with Mazin at checkout because he wanted to charge us $80 extra in taxes. We had made our reservation several months in advance and at this time taxes were included in the $125 nightly rate. After showing our reservation page that stated that taxes were included and some heated discussion , Mazin final agreed to the $125 inclusive rate.
  

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• Anonymous

  14 January 2015

  Absolutely wonderful experience. The guys are very friendly and will do anything so that you enjoy your stay and don't get bored for even a minute. The snorkeling is absolutely amazing and we even saw the great whale shark. The rooms are brand new and extremely clean. Highly recommended!

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• Anonymous

  13 January 2015

  Great and an amazing place.. the best sea life & corals in the world!! Great hosts Syiam and Mazin.. The best vacation of my life!! A must have experience!

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