Alila Kothaifaru Maldives

My sister and I truly enjoyed our stay at Alila. Everything, from the management and staff to the facilities was excellent. I did notice that the buffet leaned heavily toward Asian cuisine, likely due to the majority of guests being from Asia. While the chefs were very accommodating and always asked if we needed anything else, I believe it would be more enjoyable if the buffet were diversified daily instead of focusing on themed cuisine nights. A wider variety of options would cater to all guests more consistently. There are a few minor points that could be improved: 1. Mosquitoes – The resort provides repellent creams and carries out daily insecticide fogging, but mosquitoes still caused some discomfort. 2. Swimming Flags – Only one flag was placed on the islands, and it was not easily visible. Distributing more clearly marked flags would enhance safety and awareness. I’d also like to give special thanks to some of the staff who made our stay even more memorable: • Our wonderful host, Syn, whose beautiful smile and warmth made us feel truly welcome. • Lemon and Asanka from the Mirus Bar for their exceptional service. • Ichou, Hamada, Chef Moataz, and Nyd from the Seasalt Restaurant for their professional hospitality . • And of course, DJ Kavi, who kept the atmosphere lively every day with great music and fulfilled all our song requests. Every staff member we encountered was professional, kind, and always wore a smile. Their genuine hospitality made our experience unforgettable.

This is a truly beautiful and outstanding resort. The food is delicious, and the staff are all incredibly kind and attentive. Special thanks to the staff at Seasalt who prepared fresh fruit for us every morning with such warmth and friendliness. Thank you to Ssandip at the Mirus Bar. his cocktails are absolutely phenomenal. We’re also grateful to Arya, Bilhy, Samy, and Alex at the Yakitori Bar for their exceptional service and hospitality.

Outstanding week at Alila Kothaifaru, made super special by numerous staff members who always wanted to elevate your stay. Dining options are all excellent with very high quality throughout. The 2 boat trips we took - reef snorkelling and a private manta ray search were both successful and will last in the memory forever.

We had an outstanding 11-night honeymoon stay at Alila Kothaifaru. After a 32-hour journey from Los Angeles, it was a huge relief to arrive, where we were kindly greeted by GM Thomas and his team. We were quickly whisked to our overwater villa via buggy by our lovely Villa Host, Syn, who was absolutely lovely, helpful, and responsive via WhatsApp throughout our stay. The villa was the highlight of our stay; the room, private pool, and views were incredible. Housekeeping was excellent, visiting twice daily with evening turndown service. We were also generally impressed by the programming around the Easter holiday. The dining experience had definite highlights, though also some inconsistencies. We opted for half-board (breakfast and dinner included). A general note on dining – portion sizes across most restaurants were extremely generous. For this reason, if we had to do it over again, we would have forgone the half-board for two and just ordered one portion to share at dinner each night. This would’ve saved us a significant chunk of change. Breakfast offered a decent selection but wasn't a standout compared to other meals. However, the service truly elevated the morning; the team in Seasalt, especially Agnes and Cherry, were lovely. They knew our drinks order by heart after just a couple of days and greeted us warmly each morning. Executive Chef Frank also checked in frequently throughout our stay to ensure the food was to our liking. For dinner, our absolute favorite was Teppanyaki in Umami – we upgraded to this twice. Our Indonesian chef (unfortunately didn't catch his name) was outstanding and friendly. Dinner at Yakitori, however, was our least favorite meal of the trip. That said, enjoying late afternoon drinks at the Yakitori bar while watching the sunset was a definite highlight, and service there was always excellent. We generally enjoyed the themed dinners at Seasalt. The Boat to Table BBQ (Mondays and Wednesdays) was excellent, especially the tuna sashimi and pasta station. The Indian and Mezze set dinners were also very good, but confirmed our earlier observation – the portions were ENORMOUS (one portion is certainly enough for most couples). We also upgraded to the hotpot dinner one night; it was very well executed but similarly massive, unfortunately with a minimum order for 2 people. A personal favorite dessert was the mango sticky rice at Seasalt! We also appreciated the cocktail party hosted by management on Wednesday evenings at sunset, where drinks, canapes, and even short massages were on offer. It was a great opportunity to get to know the resort staff and leadership. Water activities were perhaps the top highlight of our stay. The snorkelling (equipment can be picked up from the dive center at no additional charge) was stellar from the main beach—we saw so many beautiful fish as well as some small sharks and rays. We also went out on a dolphin search cruise (we saw plenty!) as well as a turtle reef snorkelling trip, which was lovely, though we only saw a single turtle from a distance. But our absolute favorite was the Discover Scuba experience, where we were able to see incredible marine life, including a majestic turtle, up close. The diving instructors, Fernanda and Mohamed, were friendly and top-notch! We can’t wait to get our scuba certification on our next holiday. I also cannot say enough about our visit to the Spa. My wife and I received “The Spirit of Giving,” which combined a 60-minute couples massage with a 30-minute mini-facial. Our therapists were outstanding, and we enjoyed the experience thoroughly. As expected for a luxury resort in the Maldives, expect premium pricing for dining and activities, but it felt appropriate for the level of quality and service. We thoroughly enjoyed this once-in-a-lifetime trip!

While the island and the resort was definitely top notch, what stood out to us the most was the service provided by ALL of the staff; always with a smile on their face ready and willing to help. We were also expecting the island to be catered towards couples but surprisingly it is so family friendly. We had our 4 and 6 year old.