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Added by Jopie, at 02 January 2017
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22 Reviews
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18 April 2018
When in Rome (or Maldives) splurge for the bungalows over the water you won't be disappointed. Fill up on the mangostene and snorkel the day away. The rooms on the beach were ok and would have been just fine. Although I developed an odd red itchy rash once we moved from the bungalows to the beach side rooms.
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23 March 2018
Review of Vilamendhoo
Some considerations most reviewers may not include
We snorkeled the house whole reef more than once and loved the colors, variety, and character of all the fish, coral, and invertebrates. We used the gym, which is great, walked the island extensively, kayaked, and went windsurfing. Vilamendhoo offers a huge variety of activities. You'll love it.
A visit to any of the more remote resorts, such as Vilamendhoo is similar to a visit to Mars. You're isolated with a collection of people in a remote area, just as you would be. A few critical resources are provided from the outside such as fuel and food, but many resources we take for granted must be generated on the island. This includes water, electricity (4 x 1000kw generators), waste treatment, air conditioning, medical clinic, entertainment, cooking, repair facilities. There are two parallel systems, one for the guests and one for the staff, providing sleeping, eating, and entertainment facilities. On Vilamendhoo you're surrounded by an enormous collection of alien species, swimming on the reef right around you. On Mars you may be searching for evidence of any alien life.
Vilamendhoo offers WiFi in the housing, but not in the restaurants, which is nice. It's OK for text, but don't expect to transfer videos, games, or full resolution photos. (0.8 Mbps)
All of the staff at Vilamendhoo are great. We had a particular admiration for the cooks. They turned out a huge variety of very tasty food, which is all the more remarkable because of the remote location and the fact that it's buffet style. I gained a few pounds.
You can go barefoot 24 hours a day if you like. The trails everywhere are sand, and the floors of the buildings are sand.
Vilamendhoo bent over backward to achieve safety. For example, there are life rings anchored every 100 yards or so along the edge of the reef to support any struggling snorkelers, plus additional rescue tools along the beaches. There was fire fighting equipment everywhere you looked.
We spent 4 days in another, less expensive, resort before transferring to Vilamendhoo for 6 days. We appreciated the variety of experiences this two-resort solution offered. The transfers were easy to arrange, the transfers almost always go via Male and the scheduling was done by the two resorts.
When you're planning, take into account the cost of the sea plane. It was $360 per person round trip. Resorts closer to Male offer much less expensive transfers by boat.response / report this review -
26 February 2018
Amazing house reef, this place is a snorkelling paradise. The staff are extremely warm and they make you feel special with their trademark smile.
The size of this island resort is just perfect. Not too small nor too big.
I would definitely recommend the water villa and the beach villas.
Food is great. Will suit people with all sorts of appetite.response / report this review -
15 February 2018
Been there 3 times in 6 years, one of the best resort I've been in Maldives. Good food, very nice entertainment, excellent room services and 9ne of the best housereefs ever seen. Good dive centres and the best dive sites you can have in Ari atholl🤙
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10 February 2018
The accommodation is excellent. The sea is wonderful. We spent a beautiful week here.
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03 February 2018
Amazing.. Everything was amazing and just perfect. Great staff.. Management.. Spot.. Nature.. Water.. Reef.. Food. Amazing
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03 February 2018
Best house reef, snorkeling here is amazing! Lots of water activities and a beautiful infinity pool perfectly positioned for sunset!
Rooms are spacious and beach rustic, personally love the semi open air bathrooms!response / report this review -
23 December 2017
Vilamendhoo Island Resort is truly a blissful place. Today we are suppose to leave this place and I cannot stop thinking about making our next plans back to this place. Main reason for liking this place is their staff is wonderful, welcoming, helpful and very kind. Their view from every angle was just perfect. Blue sea, long reefs to snorkel and Scuba dive.
We were on our honeymoon here and they treated our honeymoon with so much love and care. They decorated our room with flowers, a bottle of Carlo Roccy red wine and a exotic plate of fruits. Complimentary from the resort. We will always remember this.
Their food was awesome. We personally liked their Maldivian curries and food. Loved their cocktails and the variety of things they have to do on this island. They made us feel so like home. Also they have a clinic with a great doctor.
Last but not the least their DuniyeSpa was out of this world. We got so many treatments done. Like I said couldn't get enough. You guys are awesome and so it your resort. God bless you all.response / report this review -
16 December 2017
Best holiday destination ever superb hotel and the property has all the amenities and facilities one can dream of in a sea side holiday. The tours and guides are awesome and sunset tour is a must do.. we were lucky to swim with mantas but could not find whales. The surroundings of the hotel are rich in undersea flora and fauna..
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16 December 2017
Beautiful,peaceful and full with activities place. Incredible reef near to beach , the sand is white and mild. Food and service in resort is excellent. Say with one word- paradise 😉
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07 October 2017
Paradise
White sandy beach, villas, pools, food, chefs, employees, sunrise and sunset.. everything was amazing.response / report this review -
06 October 2017
Sorry for delayed review, we visited in 2014 & it was amazing. Chose this island as previously visited Kuredu & Komandoo, decided on Vilamendhoo as it had good reviews on the sea life, & must admit it was out of this world. Hope all your staff & sea life are all well & thriving
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21 July 2017
Great staff and facilities. Very comfortable bungalows and a wonderful islands with everything that would need: white sand beach, blue sapphire waters, wonderful reef a few meters away from the shore that is perfect for snorkeling. and of course perfect dive sites! !!!
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03 July 2017
Unbelievable. Truly paradise on earth. Experience it whilst you can ,you will not regret it. Honestly!
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27 June 2017
TERRIBLE!!
I'm not even going to waste the character count commenting on the resort, the rooms or the location - so utterly abysmal is the customer care at Vilamendhoo that everything else pales into insignificance.
I'm normally guilty of skipping straight on to the next review the moment I read someone complaining about service - learning that staff couldn't accommodate some fruitarians gluten intolerance isn't going to influence my decision to book. However, I urge you to indulge me, this isn't a trivial whinge about dietary requirements or the weather. Vilamendhoo's truly appalling disregard for their customers ended up costing us an extra $2,000 (on top of whatever we paid for the holiday).
Before arriving we went to the trouble of emailing ahead to highlight our flight times, and to check the sea plane transfers could accommodate our departing 8.35am flight. The hotel replied assuring us they'd arrange for a 6am transfer flight. Given that it's a 20 minute flight, we were only taking hand luggage and that the airline we were traveling with supports online check in we were happy this would put us at the airport with an hour to spare.
Upon arrival, at check in, we checked again that a prompt 6am departure would be possible. Again the hotel told us that the departure transfer had been booked for 6am and they were aware of the need for a timely departure.
However, at checkout after we'd paid the bill, we were casually informed that the seaplane had in fact been moved to the later time of 6.30am - ironically, for the convenience of guests staying at a nearby hotel. Despite the now very tight schedule we were reassured by staff that they'd phoned ahead and informed the airline that we'd be arriving a little late (but still well ahead of the boarding time) and all was fine. The sea plane then proceeded to turn up a further 30 minutes late - taking off a full hour later than the departure time we'd repeatedly been reassured of! Consequently, we missed our flights home.
Having been informed by the airline that the hotel actually hadn't phoned ahead and that if they had, they probably could have kept the desk open for us. We found ourselves stranded at Male airport (where there are no airline reservation desks).
In need of help we phoned the hotel. Our call was met with a response that even the most forgiving would describe as disinterested and dismissive, I find it hard to describe it as anything other than outright rude. Then ensued a series of calls where I'd repeatedly be put on hold for 10 minutes at a time only to be cut off or told to call back. Eventually after 7 calls and nearly an hour of being told to "email reservations" we gave up - the hotel clearly weren't going to offer any assistance whatsoever. Faced with limited options we booked alternative flights home at the cost of $1,600 (economy).
I can live with transport delays - they happen. However, I'd expect a hotel with any hint of respectability to take better care of their guests; to offer to help find alternative flights, a complimentary night while we wait for our new departure time, perhaps even an offer to reimburse us the (extortionate) sea plane charges. Vilamendhoo simply adopted the attitude of once you're off the island and we've got your money, you're not our concern.
It adds insult to injury that our significant bill for the week included a $750 charge for the seaplane transfers, over $100 on water (because apparently if you want drinkable water you have to pay for it, not a complementary bottle in sight). And the icing on the financial cake, $100 in mobile call charges to the hotel from the airport.
Ultimately, wherever you're staying in the Maldives you're completely at the mercy of your hotel to arrange your transfers and it's the hotel that takes your payment for your transfers - it should be the hotels responsibility to ensure those transfers are on time. Pick a hotel who takes that responsibility seriously and take the time to find a hotel with a better attitude towards their guests than Vilamendhoo.response / report this review -
07 June 2017
I Really Like That Place. Food Is Great. Pool Is Great! Drinks Are Great! Rooms Are Great! This Place Is Great. I Give You A Rating Of 5/5!
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04 May 2017
Visited here in 2010 and 2012. Both visits are amongst the greatest of my life. This really is paradise. Apart from the location and views, the accommodation, food are out of this world. add the amazingly friendly staff and this is a 5 star experience. In 2012 we returned for a wedding celebration on the beach. It was perfect. would visit again in a heartbeat.
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08 April 2017
An honest review!
They should tell you an advance that depending on what room type you book you will have access to different restaurants( only 2 restaurant for the full board plan ).
Beach villa have access to a 2nd class like buffet restaurant. Only 2 type of fish every single day, they only cook it in different ways: tuna and the same white fish, obviously we are talking here about frozen fish.
Full board plan incredibly do not include water, for some mysterious reason to me you can only get water at breakfast, but during the meal you need to pay for their desalinated water only 5 dollars, if you wanna san Pellegrino just 8 dollars.
Terrible experience with Danijela from the guest relation, she showed off at my beach villa saying to me: " are you the one using the drone, don't you know that this things are forbidden all over the world?! "
This women should not have any access to guest relations because there are better ways to interact with guests.
House reef is nice the other stuff is nice except my experience with Danijela, but the food is absolutely a no no.
Coming to Maldives you except an incredible varieties of fresh fish and fresh fruit and unfortunately It won't get it here.
I'd been happy to pay 100€ more for a week but food and service must be a priority, also because being on island resort you cannot escape and you should eat whatever they serve you.
Before bringing my drone to Maldives I have checked with the website if they were mentioning some restrictions and there was nothing and I have also checked with Maldives local laws and the only limitations are those:
Drone use is allowed in Maldives, but there are several drone laws that need to be followed when flying in the country. Operators must ensure that they follow the following laws when flying in Maldives, only limitations are those one:
Do not fly your drone over people or crowds of people
Respect other peoples privacy when flying your drone
Do not fly your drone near military installations, power plants, or any other area that could cause concern among local authorities
Do not fly your drone near airports or in areas were aircraft are operating
You must fly during daylight hours and only fly in good weather conditions.
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28 February 2017
Lovely place and great staff.
I would definitely go back there.response / report this review -
26 February 2017
Hidden treasure in MaldivesMagnificent beach, excellent food, spacious beach villa, open baths, we loved everything except our spa experience. Tini, reception at Spa was rude and she was giving very bad customer service.
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10 January 2017
Outstanding experience. Visited many islands in the Maldives and this was one of the best. Great rooms and wonderful reefs to explore.
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09 January 2017
Perfect for a relaxing honeymoon with lots of sun and snorkeling. The people here are working really hard to make the stay here best possible for each guest. The food from buffet is always really good. Good idea to bring not so tight clothing with you as they will not fit after the 4th day :D
The is a water sport center that offers different activities and a diving center to make a Padi license or just to rent diving stuff if you know what to do with it :).
If you get bored on the island there is a option of taking a 4 hours or 8 hours trip out with a boat to see Manta ray, whaleshark and turtles. Even on a short sunset boat trip you will likely see dolphins. We have enjoyed our 7 days and will miss it for sure.response / report this review
