Constance Halaveli

Another 5 star Constance experience. This is our second time at Constance Halaveli. On this occasion diving was on the agenda having as recovers as much as possible from a broken arm. The diving was 5 star all the way. Everything you need is provided. The boats are step off and ladder back both very simple. 15L tanks available for air waters such as myself. They have a preference for Nitrox so do the course before arriving. Excellent sites all around some with pretty stiff currents that mean you need a reef hook that they provide. The knowledge of the dive crew is excellent and they are super friendly. There is a reason this area is well known for diving as the photos will show. Our room was just perfect for us. We selected the beachside pool villa. Room maintenance was fabulous and our room guys did a great job every day. There are personalities on the island that make a massive difference. Tangi and Sameera in particular lead outstanding cuisine and operational standards. Nothing gets missed. They constantly seek feedback and respond to it positively and instantly. We have stayed at some of the best resorts the Maldives has to offer this is without doubt an exceptional experience. We will, as they say, be back :).

From the time of exit at Male, Constance staff were with us and checked in for us for the Sea Plane flight to Constance. When we landed we had a welcoming lineup of the heads of department. We felt so welcome. That was were the bar was set, but even more enjoyable were the efforts of The Culinary Team, Executive Head Chef, Hameed, Executive Sous Chef, Madan and Chef Atul. They went and presented with different veg food breakfast, lunch’s and Dinner. Truly Michelin Star quality food and presentation all round. Hats off to them. We had 4 sessions at the spa, and all the therapists were great at what they did. All the ancillary staff were always polite and greeted us whenever they saw us. Also a pleasure to note that the General Manager made the rounds and greeted the guests at least once a day, and the Manager, Vidyadhar Patole talked with us several times during our stay. There were many other staff, including Rakesh Qazi, Mahamed Rasheed, the Sommelier trio of Nishan, Puneet and Akul, Sameera, to mention a few who made this trip for a 60th birthday celebration so special, we are looking forward to seeing them all in the near future. Keep up the great work and hope to see you all soon.

You will often see very flowery, superlative-laden language used to advertise these kinds of resorts. Let me just say, having now returned from our honeymoon at Constance Halaveli, that anything you read describing it in those terms is absolutely true. It was an incredible stay from start to finish. The water villa was top-notch, with the deck being our favorite hangout spot. We could snorkel right outside of our villa and see tropical fish and other sea creatures. You are also basically guaranteed to see fish, reef sharks, and the occasional ray while traversing the boardwalk or strolling down the beach near the docks. My wife got a thrill out of seeing the rays and hoped to catch a glimpse of one every day (we managed every day but one). The food was delicious. I had the best duck I’ve ever had one evening, which was the standout for me, but nothing was anything less than fantastic, even the buffet. The massages we had on our first and last days were blissful and really helped us relax. The staff were lovely as well, always greeting you with a warm, heartfelt smile. I enjoyed the conversations I had with many of them. A list too extensive to cover here, but special mentions to Akul for the wine tasting experience (another highlight for us), the rest of the sommelier team, the chefs and wait staff for their friendliness and hospitality, and everyone who gave us a lift in the buggies, who often shared useful insights with us. Shout out to Jay from the cleaning crew as well for going above and beyond and taking our photo on more than one occasion. Truly an incredible, almost otherworldly place and we’d love to go back some day.

Constance Halaveli is second to none!! Amazing rooms, island food, wine, spa and snorkelling. This resort just ticks ALL the boxes. And the General Manager and his entire team go out of their way to make your stay memorable. Just Amazing! We have been to this resort 3 times, and we cannot wait to return again! There is just no comparison in this price bracket!

We spend our 7th Maldives Holiday with Constance Halaveli, staying 17 nights from August 31st until 17th of September. Our expectation was high looking to the great ratings of this resort and we compare to Hideaway Resort, Outrigger Maafushifaru (with both resorts we stayed twice), Amilla but not to Adaraan Prestige Vadoo - our first Maldives visit as the later clearly is two levels down to the other resorts. When we arrived we were somewhat pessimistic - I guess very much influenced by bad weather during our first two days but than we got lucky and had great weather and a fantastic holiday experience until we left with a strong desire to return to this wonderful place which in particular stood out with an unbelievable high standard of hospitality, friendliness and customer service where literally every single employee was making this holiday an experience of its own. Not that other resorts don’t have friendly staff but the level we experienced at Halaveli was unmatched by any other place we have been traveling so far. Every single request or question which reasonably could be solved was immediately taken care of. Halaveli Customer Service: 10 points I normally do not mention staff, but here I make an exception: Chef Madan was simply unbelievable: the consistency of the food, the quick reaction on questions. Or Anna, who always took care of us finding the right seating arrangement, and even remembering that my wife loves salmon sashimi which is not on the menu but still was available without an extra charge or Jay from Sri Lanka cleaning our pool and Iray who mostly was my buddy during my 25 dives over there. The Island rating: 7 points It is quite small (15 minutes walking around), and is more or less entirely surrounded by wave braking walls and certainly is battling climate change, increasing sea levels and the challenge to keep the sandy beach not being washed away. It is a beautiful natural island but compared to Hideaway (10 points) or Amilla (10 points) or even Maafushifaru Outrigger it clearly falls short. On the other side Amilla and Hideaway belong to the largest islands in the Maldives both with a relatively small number of villas and hence offering long beautiful beaches with a complete feeling of Robinson Crusoe kind of loneliness and hardly or none wave protection walls in the sea. House Reef rating: 6-7. the house reef is very basic, limited corals only slowly recovering and clearly falling short to Maafushifaru 9, or Amilla / Hideaway both with a 8 plus. Having said that, I was positively surprised of what you can see with some luck. I was snorkeling twice. On the first day I saw 4 black tip reef sharks, on the last day I saw 2 black tip, two white tip sharks and two Mobula rays all together at one spot close to the SPA on the drop off after having snorkeling for nearly two hours seeing little to nothing. Villa rating 8. We stayed in a water villa, number 38. We liked the architectural style of the villas, v

Firstly this is a big resort in fact the Jetty along which are dotted the various water villas is 800m long. The longest in The Maldives I was told! But let me go straight to our Villa, 20 and share the experience. There is a private door and upon entering you walk through the front of the garden with greenery either side of you as you arrive at another double garden door which upon opening you are greeted with what I can only describe as a mini beach estate! In front of you is a deck with plunge pool and his and hers deck chairs and a low gate (step over it) to your “private” beach entry with two more deck chairs with towels awaiting your swim in the clearest of waters. The villa is very nicely appointed and the grounds and villa are carefully for by a wonderful team. Each day they would sweep up the flowers and leaves that had fallen overnight and place flowers around the entry and into the plunge pool with so much care and pride. But it didn’t stop there as the back of the villa contains an open air shower, a seperate bath under cover and again the same treatment is reserved for this area, leaves and flowers swept and cleared up. But the highlight each day was the bed for our return - our Villa Host, Idris, would thoughtfully arrange pictures or messages etc on the bed - a work of art was created each day! You didn’t want to disturb it! Let me finish up by an overview of the Food and Wine. Firstly I’d like to acknowledge Sameera who kindly took an interest in our reservations for the restaurants whilst making recommendations which were all perfect.. but now the more surprising part which I did not expect and that is the wine list… Not only the most extensive wine list you could hope for and incongruously available in the middle of the Indian Ocean but assisting your selection were 5 Sommeliers! It was a real pleasure and I always feel is an honour to meet and talk about wine from Sommeliers who train and are passionate for what they represent. So thank you specifically to Puneet, Akul and Vincent who are part of a wonderful team able to represent the best choice your budget allows! Whether you are spending $100.00 or $1000.00 (or more) they just want to please and the service and wine list would not be out of place in a Michelin star restaurant in Paris, London or New York. Talking of food! My favourite was Meeru Barefoot Grill… from meat to fish - we experienced perfectly cooked, Hokkaido Scallops and had to have the Maldivian Rock lobster Thermidor.. This is not a budget resort and if you are looking for a great location, fine food and wine in the middle of the Indian Ocean this is hard to beat! But make sure Idris looks after your villa!