Kandolhu Maldives

This review is very, very overdue but I spent six nights at Kandolhu in March 2024. I booked the resort looking for outstanding snorkeling, a super quiet and naturally beautiful island, and excellent food/bungalows (yep, I was looking for it all). Overall, I was thrilled with my stay and look forward to returning, although I would book a bungalow other than the beach bungalow in the future. SNORKELING Yes! This island absolutely lives up to its reputation as having one of the best house reefs in the Maldives. There are two very easy access points from the jetties, with stairs so that you can just sit and then slide into the water; the arrival jetty also had a case of towels for you to use when you got out. Honestly, even if I had gone no further ever than the arrival jetty, I would have been thrilled. There were large schools of bait fish, nurse sharks, black tip sharks, and turtles right there. In fact, the very first morning when I got in, I swam maybe fifteen feet out from the steps in and a large nurse shark headed directly under me for the shade of the arrival pier. Being a solo snorkeler who is not the most physically fit of human beings, I mostly snorkeled between the arrival and service jetties; I did do the snorkel-around-the-island that is included with the Premium AI package and we snorkeled about 80% of the island, which was fabulous (unfortunately I couldn’t quite make it around the point due to the current and my physical abilities). There are so many anemones, beautiful coral formations, and sharks. Multiple times I saw lion fish underneath the service jetty, which also has the most gorgeous coral formations right by the step into the ocean. This is definitely a place where you did not have to be an Olympic-caliber swimmer to enjoy the snorkeling. An unexpected bonus, for me, was that when it was low tide, walking around the water’s edge was like looking into an aquarium. Just be aware that there can be currents at certain times of day, particularly on the “points”—and if it gets too strong, just turn around and you will go flying back to multiple exit points. THE ISLAND Kandolhu is a super pretty island. I was able to walk around it by the beach if I timed it correctly with the tides in about 10-12 minutes at a slow pace. It’s not big, but it is beautiful. The interior is lush and jungle-like. There are loads of herons, crabs, and juvenile sharks in the shallows. They strongly encourage you to ditch your shoes on arrival, and the sand here is very conducive to that. I encountered no mosquitoes, although there was an overly friendly millipede in my outdoor shower that simply refused to believe that I did not wish to be friends, nor did I want it to crawl up my leg. BEACH VILLA I booked and received a beach villa (111). The bungalow has a truly comfortable outdoor seating area that is covered and has a partial sea view; there is really no additional seating area inside other than the bed (there is a desk chair but I’m a lounger s

This was our first Maldives holiday in over a decade so we wanted to make sure that we chose well. I can say wholeheartedly that we did! There'd been a few less than glowing reviews in the weeks leading up to our visit and this did make us a little concerned, but the reality was that the resort fully lived up to our expectations....and more It's not one of these Dubai-style hyper-luxury resorts where everything is buffed to within an inch of its life and the staff are hot and cold running minions. It is however, extremely well maintained and lovingly looked after by a team that genuinely seem to care about the place and its guests. The staff (all of them) managed to maintain a balance between being friendly and engaging, and remaining professional. That is one heck of a balancing act. Our first names were used by some of the staff, but weren't 'worn out' from over-use like you get in some places. Again, the balance was just right (in our opinion). Also, as others have stated, some of the management team do use the bar and restaurants, but I just see it as a way of them engaging with guests, so a positive rather than an issue. On arrival we were told that our Duplex Villa (113) wasn't looking it's best due to erosion of the beach in front of it, so were offered a Pool Beach Villa (102) as an alternative. After 20+ hours of travelling we were a little put out by this, but the team couldn't have been more helpful in making sure we got the best option from our perspective. We weren't pressurised into moving and several other options were discussed. As it turned out 102 was the perfect room for us. I should also say that the conversations re the room situation were had with Monica, the General Manager, not delegated to other staff to deal with. No shirking of difficult conversations, just a willingness to work for the best outcome for the guest. Great management style. I think anyone who has been to the Maldives has probably experienced the issues that these (more natural) resorts have with erosion. It's an ongoing battle. Whilst we were there the maintenance teams were working hard to complete the sea defences to protect the beach on that side of the island. It didn't look great, I'd much rather that approach than see an island with a concrete seawall around it. Anyway, once settled into our room it became a daily round of eating, drinking, reading and snorkelling. We were on the Ultimate All Inclusive tariff and very glad we were, as it removed the 'bill shock' at the end of our stay. As others have said, there is a well stocked minibar (actually a full size wine fridge) plus another full sized fridge for soft drinks, beers etc. The range of wines was good across white, red, rose and prosecco. We didn't feel the need to go for the 'paid for' upgrades such as champagne as the choices included were perfectly adequate. The food was on the whole very good. We were particular fans of Sea Grill and ate there whenever it was ope