Anantara Veli Maldives Resort

We just arrived home from the best holiday ever! Everything about Anantara Veli was amazing. Our over water villa was beautiful; we even had a turtle and stingrays visit us. The staff were super friendly and always ready to help, it felt like we were leaving family behind when we left! The snorkeling in the stunning warm turquoise water was always fascinating, especially at Picnic Island & every day we saw something new. Snorkeling with sharks, turtles and stingrays is something we will never forget. There were 7 restaurants across the two islands, Veli & Dhigu and we could choose where we wanted to eat each day. The variety of cuisines was fantastic and the food was always fresh and tasty. We loved the extra complimentary activities the resort provided including wine tasting on the beach and a cocktail party every Wednesday. We were there for 12 nights and were not bored for one second! Thank you to all the wonderful staff who made our experience so memorable!

We went to Veli on the all-inclusive package for 4 nights. Overall, I enjoyed our stay and am glad we went. Would we go back? No – too many restrictions even with the all-inclusive package. Food – we ate in the bar, picnic island, Cumin restaurant and also buffet at the family island. Overall the food is very good quality. We did not eat at the other restaurants due to the exorbitant price you had to pay over and above the all-inclusive package. I think from memory the teppanyaki was close to $200USD pp. Sorry, not paying that for Japanese on a Maldivian island. Staff - very professional service as expected. The ground staff maintained the paths/sand across the island beautifully. Location – the islands are lovely – and having access across multiple islands is a bonus. I did find the beaches on Veli to be a bit restricted/limited. You only have the small beach area near where you get dropped off. The beach on the other family island dighu is a lot nicer, particularly when windy (if you can find somewhere to sit – see below) Room – we were upgraded to a overwater pool villa which was lovely, Clean and pool did get used especially when it is windy and swimming in ocean is a bit tricky. Let me start be saying that we did enjoy our stay – these things just made it a little disappointing and contribute to us looking elsewhere if we decide to visit the Maldives again. We booked the all-inclusive package for a reason. I hate having a discussion while on holidays about how much it will cost if I want an extra drink or an extra bite to eat or … I knew there would be ‘limits’ but they are very difficult to find out about until you actually arrive. There are way TOO MANY RULES! - We had the drinks package for 12 hours per day but did exclude mini bar alcohol & snacks and champagne. Seems weird that you can have a beer in the bar and on the beach, but cannot grab one from the minibar fridge. Pack of chips – pay extra! For the price, this is a bit ridiculous. - There is no “anytime dining”. You get 3 meals per day and you get starter/main/desert. Want an ice-cream in the afternoon from the dighu island ice-cream van? That will cost more! - Want a snack in the afternoon in-between lunch/dinner – I didn’t even bother asking as I hate having “is it included” discussions while on holidays. - The beach in dighu is a lot wider and nicer, so I spent some time over there. Problem is there are no beach chairs for Veli island ppl to sit on. Each of the island villas in dighu are spread around the island and have their own designated beach chairs (with their number on it) on the beach. There are no chairs that non- dighu people could sit on. You had to go all the way to the restaurant area to find a chair (a shame as I wanted a bit more seclusion). - I wanted a beer while sitting on a beach at dighu – sorry, bar is closed until restaurant opened at 6pm. Anyway – we definitely enjoyed our stay and are glad we went. It was just not the all-inclusive we are used to at some other resorts we have stayed at around that world. For me to go back to a place, it must be AMAZING. Veli unfortunately fell flat in too many areas.

just perfect! Everything better than expected.

This resort exceeded all our expectations. The staff was amazing and happy all the time, the food was incredible and the ammenities were perfect. We cannot wait to return.

It was a great experience! From the reservations before we travel we communicated with Recca and she made everything smooth. We booked through booking but it was 1000 dollars more expensive so she cancelled our booking and booked for us directly! When we arrived at the hotel, Ibrahim ouf took us with a buggy to our resort room and he made this whole trip very pleasant and easy for us! Whenever we needed him he was present through WhatsApp day and night and whenever we needed a ride or had questions he was there to answer. He was more than helpful and very assistive.