Naladhu Private Island Maldives

Rather close to Velana airport and it took only about 30 minutes to travel with the speed boat to the location. We were met and accompanied to the boat by a personal assistant. On the way to the island a captain kindly slowed down a boat for some time in the sea as we came to the place where a pod of dolphins were playing in the water. We were met on the pier by the resort staff drumming a dancing. We passed through a nice and brief welcoming ritual and then later were introduced to the whole Anantara surrounding. Our Kuwaanu Mr. Aslam Hassan and his junior assistant Nur toured us to the neighboring islands of Dighu and Vieli as well as the tiny island where tourists go for snorkeling introducing us to this brilliant place. For the whole duration of our two weeks stay at Naladhu Aslam was assisting us in everything we needed and advised us in possible and available entertainment at the location. We thank him so much for all this. The villa we occupied was faced to the ocean and the view was so exciting and the constant sound of endless waves supported a full tranquility day and night. The island itself is very green and perfectly maintained despite the age of the resort. Any little issues we reported were eliminated within the shortest possible time. The Living Room restaurant was beyond any expectations. Quality of the food and service was extraordinary. We visited also all the restaurants on the islands of Anatara as we were on FB and only grill restaurant on the Dighu was somewhat comparable with The Living Room. We had also a personal bungalow on the opposite side of our island where we stayed at the beach. The villa service was perfect. Tino - our servant was making every nice things to keep us feeling loved and respected. In general everything was at a really luxury level as we understand it. Thanks for the hotel management and its staff for our wonderful vacation.

Naladhu is probably the most private and personal resort experience we’ve had in the Maldives, coming here for over a decade The island is quiet and beautiful, and the villa is the kind of place where you can easily spend the whole day without wanting to leave. We had our own pool, the sea right in front of us, complete privacy, and at night we fell asleep listening to the ocean. What I loved most was how cared for you feel here. There are so many small things that add up. The staff remember your names and what you like. I had flowers in the villa and someone kept changing the water in the vase. Our beach cabana was always ours, so there was never any thought about finding a good spot or looking for a sunbed. The food was also a big highlight. The chef came over personally to ask what we felt like eating and suggested dishes for us. He even suggested something from my husband’s home country, which was such a thoughtful touch. I try to eat quite healthily and asked for a few things to be changed, and nothing ever felt difficult or inconvenient. Breakfast is very flexible, dinner is excellent, and the menu has everything from lobster to caviar. We did have a small issue at the beginning of our stay, and this is where I really want to mention Ali Shameem, the Resort Manager. He handled it extremely professionally, listened properly, and made a huge effort to make sure the rest of our stay was special. You could genuinely feel that he cared about the outcome, and he completely changed the direction of the experience for us. That kind of service is exactly what makes a place feel special. What I also really like is that you have the privacy of Naladhu but can still use the restaurants and facilities at the neighbouring Anantara islands when you feel like it. Then you come back here and it feels completely quiet again. One thing we also loved was how easy it was to get to the neighboring island for snorkeling. It is literally about a one-minute boat ride, so we ended up going almost every day. The reef there was full of life, and we saw many fish each time. We still have two days left and we’re already genuinely sad about leaving. We would absolutely come back.

We recently stayed at Naladhu in an ocean house for a week. For context, this is our 7th resort in the Maldives, but our first visit to this island. We usually stay in ultra -uxury and higher five-star Maldives resorts, which Naladhu clearly aims to be. We have previously stayed at Anantara Kihavah too. We did find that the lounge at Male is very small and shared with other Anantara resorts and is a step down from other resort seaplane lounges in this price bracket. This and the internal standard of the boat used for transfer felt a little inconsistent with the polished look Naladhu strives to achieve and is clearly delivered in the hard product on the island itself. Sadly, our arrival was a little disappointing as despite requesting one of four possible Ocean Houses six months before our stay, we were not allocated any of them and told they were all unavailable. Whilst we understand this can never be guaranteed this is the first time we have ever encountered this, and given we asked for any of four houses and in the middle of low season it was surprising. Whilst this was acknowledged by the resort, we were not given the option to move later in our stay if one became available despite asking for this. We again found this surprising as we then saw other guests leave and arrive in those same houses. Despite this, we did enjoy our house and they are really beautiful and very well appointed. We particularly enjoyed the super comfortable loungers, swing seat and large private swimming pool. Housekeeping was faultless. Be aware that the houses in the middle of the island have only rocks to look at for around 70% of the day, with the ocean being some way away. We enjoyed many meals at neighbouring Veli, although why they allow children at meal times on an adult-only island is a bit strange. I guess it is all about the money to be made from guests coming over from Dighu island. Had we booked Veli, marketed as an adult only island, I would have been very disappointed. Meal times are when children are likely most tired and noisy. We endured a number of meals with grizzly children on neighbouring tables or running around restaurants which really ruined the romantic atmosphere Veli tries to create. However, Ban Huraa’s Thai cuisine was stand-out for us and the best Thai food we have ever had. I preface this by saying F&B is important to us. The Living Room, Naladhu’s only restaurant, is great in offering flexibility as an all-day breakfast is served. This was a great perk and allowed us to go to the gym and shower without having to rush to breakfast. Whilst most dishes were well executed, we did feel it was a bit repetitive over the course of the week as the breakfast menu never changes - there are no daily specials as we have enjoyed at other resorts. There were also no iced coffees or smoothie choices on the menu and a complete absence of things like acai bowls or anything interesting we have encountered at other resorts. This was also the case of an evening and at lunch time where we found a very limited range of just 6 or 7 desserts that repeat every day and are the same at lunch and dinner and consisted of uninspired items like strawberry cheesecake, chocolate brownie, lemon tart. There was little in the way of tropical flavours, reflecting the location. Anantara as a brand feels very corporate and cookie-cutter in it’s approach to us. Naladhu appears to be trying to be a bit different and a step up, but apart from the hard product I am not sure it really is. It just felt a little uninspired. However, we had really good evening meals over in Origami, the Dohni bar, Cumin and Ban Haurra on Veli and felt the Living Room fell short. The quality of the drinks at The Living Room were excellent and the lack of supplements at meals was very welcome after experiencing many at Kihavah in the past. Whilst most of the food was good quality and well executed, such as the weekly BBQ, it was sadly not consistent. They encourage you to go off-menu, and I can see what they are trying to do, but sadly when we did try this the food we were given was quite poor (e.g. a poke bowl made with basmati rice, tomatoes and no sauce?) so I am not sure the idea really works. They also seem to run out of ingredients, which is understandable, but we were not told when they changed like 50% of the dish ingredients without telling us before serving it. It was annoying as it was a dish we had previously enjoyed and now included ingredients we did not like. Had we known we would have just changed our order. It felt rude to send it back after it had been specially prepared. Generally we found the service level below what we experienced in similarly priced resorts. It is a solid hard product at the right price - very nice - but nothing standout for us. We might return, but given the high competition in the area at this price point, likely only for a few nights on our way to meet an international flight if the price worked.

We had an absolutely fantastic stay at Naladhu Private Island and it ended up being one of the real highlights of our Maldives holiday. From the moment we arrived, everything just felt relaxed, personal and incredibly well looked after. Our Ocean House was beautiful — spacious, private and in an amazing setting right on the water. Naladhu has a completely different feel from a larger resort. It’s peaceful, intimate and never feels crowded, which was exactly what we were looking for. The service was exceptional throughout our stay, but we have to give a special mention to Mr Ali, the Resort Manager. He was always visible, approachable and genuinely interested in making sure we were enjoying ourselves. That personal involvement from the resort manager really says a lot about how Naladhu is run. We also have to mention Hajim, the senior waiter in The Living Room restaurant. He looked after us brilliantly and was such a warm, friendly presence throughout our stay. He quickly got to know what we liked and made every meal feel relaxed and personal rather than simply being restaurant service. People like Hajim really make a holiday memorable. The food in The Living Room was excellent, and we loved the flexibility of being able to enjoy the neighbouring islands and restaurants as well. You have plenty of choice when you want it, but then you can come back to the peace and privacy of Naladhu. The island itself is stunning — beautiful beach, crystal-clear water and plenty of marine life right on your doorstep. There were many occasions when we were perfectly happy doing absolutely nothing other than sitting outside our Ocean House watching the water. Naladhu wasn’t originally where we expected to spend this part of our holiday, but moving there turned out to be one of the best decisions we made. By the end, we really didn’t want to leave. A huge thank you to Mr Ali, Hajim and the whole Naladhu team for making our stay so special. A beautiful resort with wonderful people, and somewhere we would genuinely love to return to.

We spent 10 nights at Naladhu Private Island as a family, travelling with our two-year-old son and my parents, and it was one of the most special family holidays we have had. We had two ocean-facing villas next to each other, which worked perfectly for a multi-generational family trip. The villas are beautiful, incredibly private and spacious, with gorgeous pools and direct ocean views. The island itself is small, peaceful and very easy to get around. For anyone considering Naladhu with a young child, our experience was exceptional. The team went as far as installing a private safety fence across our two villas so our son could safely enjoy the outdoor areas. They also provided toys and made him feel incredibly welcome throughout our stay. That level of thoughtfulness allowed us all to completely relax. The service is what really sets Naladhu apart. Ameen, our personal host, was outstanding and seemed able to arrange anything we needed. Shameem, the Island Manager, was incredibly warm and welcoming and clearly leads an exceptional team. Food was another highlight. Chef Samet made sure that even over a 10-night stay, dining never became repetitive. The food was consistently excellent and beautifully personalised. We also adored the Living Room team — Russel, Faya, Dana, Andrea, Tej and Rashmina. They remembered our preferences, were fantastic with our son and made dining such an enjoyable part of every day. By the end of our stay, they genuinely felt like friends. Aly and Falah from Housekeeping also deserve a special mention for keeping our villas immaculate and looking after us so well. If you're looking for a huge resort with crowds and endless restaurants, Naladhu isn't that - and that's exactly what makes it so special. It is intimate, private and incredibly personalised, with a team who genuinely gets to know you. The Maldives setting is breathtaking, but we left feeling that the people were the best part of Naladhu. We were genuinely sad to leave and would return in a heartbeat. - The Davis Family Australia