OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru Resort

It was the most wonderful holiday that we’d ever had. We (my husband and I) went for 8 nights with our good friends who are also our neighbours. From the moment we saw the sea-plane at the Malé seaplane airport, we were all very excited. From the greeting we received there by the Outrigger staff to the flight, the transfer of our luggage and the greeting we received from Naaif on the beautiful island of Maafushivaru we felt in good hands and well looked after. Our villa, an over the water sunset villa with pool, was exceptionally beautiful and roomy. It was everything that we had hoped for. Naaif couldn’t do enough for us, customising our mini-bar according to our preference; adjusting the air-conditioner vents, even bringing us a top to seal our champagne bottle. He would always greet us each day and advise us of what was on and where we were meant to be for that night’s meal (which were all pre-booked). We loved his sense of humour. In fact, we couldn’t fault any of the staff. Joy always greeted us by name and with a big smile at breakfast. Shashanke and Tahe were also in the Cuisine Gallery at breakfast and made sure we always had whatever we needed. Waail, Naseed and Simah were the wonderful waiters who we kept “bumping” into at the different restaurants. And Ninja who manned the egg station at breakfast put on a very entertaining Temenyaki at Koto’s. How versatile and energetic the staff all are, each one making us feel special. The meals too were exquisite! We had full board and even though meal sizes were smallish, there were so many courses we couldn’t do it all justice. Chaminda the executive chef even created wonderful platters of Sri Lankan curries and side dishes on our last night when he knew we had a Sri Lankan background. It was done especially for us and was sensational!! And to all the background staff - the cooks, cleaners, groundsmen, reception etc, a BIG thank you to you all for helping make Outrigger such a wonderful resort. We even had someone “watch over us” when we were snorkelling out by the jetty in front of reception in case any of us got into difficulty. And speaking of snorkelling, we were loaned a brilliant set of snorkel, googles and long flippers and had the best snorkelling we have ever experienced. Considering we have snorkelled in many well-known areas around the coast of Australia, that is really saying something! AND it was so blissfully warm in the water too. We would certainly love to come back one day and this time take an underwater camera so that I can capture and paint even more of the sea life. p.s. thank you Chloe (resident marine biologist) for the pics you did send me. ❤️

Outrigger Resort: breathtaking views, stellar hospitality, delicious food, and a magical whale-swim with private tours.

This was an outstanding experience, the stuff is very polite and predictable to our desires. We had a water villa, and it provided perfect privacy and very nice leisure time for me and my wife. Separate words should be said about the quality of food. It’s all the time a big choice and I had an opportunity to find everything I wanted. Same for a a la carte restaurants. And if you can’t find something at the buffet, I just needed to ask- and it appears on the table. I want to say thank you to Shazim-sales and marketing director, who could organize such a nice place in a perfect manner. I would definitely want to come back there with my wife again!

We have just retuned from a fantastic holiday at this amazing resort. It is a truly beautiful place, a little piece of paradise. From the minute we arrived the hospitality from the staff was exceptional. We were personally welcomed and met by our host Moosa, who was a superstar! He showed us around the island, answered all our questions and looked after us throughout our stay. He was always available and nothing was too much trouble. Thank you Moosa. All of the staff were fantastic but in particular we wanted to mention how brilliant the bar, restaurant and chefs were with our 5 year old daughter. They all got to know her by name, greeted her every morning, lunch and evening and nothing was too much trouble for them, including cooking things not on the menu for her. She had the best time and the little touches, minnie mouse pancakes, strawberries for desert and an individual starter at Koto - made her day! She loved it so much she wanted to stay! The food was fantastic in every restaurant and there was so much choice. Our firm favourite for the evening meal was Moodhu although the lunch choices at Edgewater were excellent too. We highly recommend the crab cakes and the paneer curry. Another special mention has to go to Aminul and Prahid at Kofee N Chill. They were so kind and friendly and made such an effort with our daughter. You guys are amazing! Thank you. We were visiting with extended family to celebrate my Father's birthday. A lovely touch was the meal on the beach under the stars, complete with cake. The island is beautiful and surrounded by beautiful turquoise water. It was lovely to swim in the warm sea and get the chance to snorkel. We also loved going out on the dolphin cruise where we saw lots of dolphins in the wild. I also thoroughly enjoyed my complimentary massage in the spa. Saeed also deserves a special mention for cleaning and tidying our room twice every day. The army of staff ensure this resort is truly somewhere special to visit. EVERY member of staff greets you and works extremely hard to keep the island clean, tidy and safe. We hope we will one day get the chance to return here as we had a fabulous time.

Amazing, wow, excellent! Our stay as a family of 4 with two boys aged 17/19 was exceptional from start to finish. The staff are all so friendly, polite, well groomed and can't do enough for you. The food was the best food we have had in our experience from the 7 islands we have visited so far. The attention to detail, the presentation, portion sizes, and more importantly the taste of the food was absolutely amazing. We had the all inclusive package which was the best AI we have had in any resort. There were no restrictions apart from if you wanted to drink a very expensive bottle of champagne or wine. The choices of wines and champagne exceeded our expectations and the mini bar in the room was fully stocked everyday with a full bottle of wine or champagne of our choice (from the AI range). We literally could not drink or eat everything on offer during the week. We stayed in an over water villa with pool - just wow! super modern bathroom and bedroom and a good sized outdoor area with a generous pool. It was pure heaven. With the all inclusive we had the choice of dining around and we ate in every restaurant and experienced their tepinyaki also. The food was exceptional in all the restaurants as was the breakfast and lunch at either cuisine or Edgewater bar. The service is 5 star throughout the resort - we honestly could not fault anything. The beach is lovely soft sand and the sea is clear and turquoise. The house reef is good but we have seen better in other resorts. Still it was nice snorkeling with lots of colorful fish, just not in abundance. They are trying to regrow the coral around the island which was clear to see when snorkeling. We saw lots of reef sharks, sting rays and some dolphins one morning. We didn't try out the water sports but they had all the options you would expect and free paddle and kayak boards to use. A special mention for our butler Moosa who went above and beyond for us and made my birthday special there. Other special mentions go to : Shashanka, Patham, Dyes, Chandana, Muslih, Niranja and shiraz, who were all the friendliest and attentive and lovely members of staff. All of them deserve a mention though as they are great. Our only negative and this is really a minor one was that there wasn't any live music or music at the bar in the evenings. Only very very soft music which was very quiet. A little back ground music or one evening of live music would have been nice. But honestly, we would 100% go back to this resort again and highly recommend. The sea plane is approx 35 minutes.