Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru

We had a wonderful week at Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru. It is a small island so easy to walk all the way around. Everything is very central including the bar, where the evening entertainment was really good (a sister and brother duo) and it was easy to meet and chat to other guests there. There are no overwater bungalows but the beach villas are beautiful with full sea view if you choose front line. We stayed in Villa 37, which was on the sunrise side of the island (near the beautiful Japanese restaurant - more on that later). The villas have their own pool and jacuzzi in the rear garden and look straight out to sea so when you wake up in the morning, the beach and sea are your first sight. Villas have both outdoor and indoor showers but no bath - the outdoor shower was great. The guy who looked after our room was really friendly and did everything he could to make our stay perfect. Liu, out butler, was excellent and organised everything impeccably for us. Staff in every location were wonderful but two places deserve a special mention: The marine lab does great work with the coral and the guided snorkel trips (free of charge) with Aman, Sama and Laura were outstanding both on Vabbinfaru and on its sister island. They really helped to make our trip special as did Viyaam on Watersports. He was super helpful giving advice about where to snorkel to see turles, sharks etc. We did an all inclusive package, which we felt was worth it although it excludes some drinks (but not enough to be a nuisance) and some dishes in the Japanese and Thai restaurants have supplements (but again, not many). Breakfast is buffet but very good especially Goud who ran the fruit station and Fipit, who also worked evenings in the thai. Both have great memories for what guests like. The best restaurant by far is Madi Hiyaa (the Japanese). Firstly, it is the most stunning building with gorgeous views. Secondly, it has a glorious breeze that blows through day and night to keep you cool while you eat. Thirdly, the staff were incredible. Our thanks to Uma, Nishanth, Viyam and Vickey for making our lunchtimes and the dinners that we ate there fantastic. The food was excellent and the service was outstanding and super friendly. I can't praise this team enough. If I had any criticisms at all, I would say that the 3 buffet dinners we had while we were there were good but not great. However, they were good opportunities to meet other guests (of all ages). Overall it is a beautiful resort and we would definitely go back. It's hard to choose a resort in the Maldives so definitely consider this one if you are looking, especially if you want a beach bungalow, you like snorkelling and you like Japanese food (although the latter is optional).

Wonderful week. Beautiful island, excellent staff including brilliant cleaning from Shuja and the team. Thoroughly recommend a visit.

Our first time to the Maldives and we were delighted by the whole experience. The transfer by boat was seamless and soon we were being greeted by Fatima and having our footprints in the sand photographed. This really is a barefoot resort and we adjusted to that quite quickly. We loved Villa 14 which felt sufficiently private and had a top class sunset view every night. We were HB and had no regrets. Our final bill was only $350 for extra food and drinks and we had one alcohol drink each per day of our 5 day stay. We paid $200 to keep our room until 430pm on check out day and thought this was not unreasonable. We had some cans of soft drinks with us when we arrived and used those instead of buying. We did not touch the minibar items ! The cocktails in Madi Hiyaa were worth a splurge of $24 each on a couple of nights. We enjoyed all the food and I preferred the buffet nights as the choice was extensive. Especially Friday nights when cocktails or wine beforehand are included. We are not strong swimmers but amused ourselves on the lagoon side of the reef or across at Dhawa Ihuru island where there is much to see close to shore ie lots of colourful fish. As landlubbers, we enjoyed the talks by Aman the marine biologist and Laura from UK who is new. Both the coral reef talk and the history of the Maldives talks were ace. Go and meet the collector urchin who babysits the infant coral cookies. I spent some time bird and bat watching. The fruit bats come along at around 4pm and (literally) hang out in a tree near Madi Hiyaa. We had perfect weather in mid-November, a little wind every day. Fatima greeted us each day and all the staff were marvellous. We were hoping that there would be a shared tips box when we checked out as we only had large notes. Apparently there is not such a box. I think it would be good to have and it is more comfortable for us from cultures unused to individual tipping. 5 days was ideal for us at the end of an action-packed 2 week holiday in India. I get the appeal of the Maldives and cannot fault this resort at all.

Second time at Vabbinfaru and we enjoyed as much as the first one. The new restaurant is a nice addition. Special thanks to Liu who made our stay special!

We wouldn’t normally visit the same island twice but after last year we decided a second visit was a must!. The Banyan is everything we want from the Maldives , the seamless transfer from the airport gets you to the island in less than 30 mins , the beach villas have been renovated since last year so wha was lovely for us was to see the changes that had been made . Fatima our host was exceptional, she worked her magic and ensured we had a villa we were happy with , her daily messages to say enjoy your day just gave that lovely personal touch, Lui also from the front staff made us feel very welcome every day and special thanks to Waheed. The food is delicious , Fipit one of the servers was just a pleasure to be greeted with every day , always a smile on her face and nothing too much trouble . The island is small , it’s run like a well oiled machine , and we couldn’t fault anything with our second stay. The staff are a credit to this island , and what makes people Come back, who knows we may come back for a third visit ! Thankyou again Banyan keep doing what you do !