Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa — Hotel in Faadhippolhu

From the moment we arrived at Malé Airport, our stay at Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa has been nothing short of exceptional.||Arrival & Transfer|We were greeted at the airport by a friendly staff member holding a sign, who guided us seamlessly through the check-in for the seaplane. Even though one of our smaller bags pushed us slightly over the individual allowance, the staff handled it with kindness and professionalism, balancing everything across our family’s total allowance. The transfer to the lounge (shared with The Westin) was smooth; we enjoyed a quick coffee and even had the chance to shower before boarding our flight with Trans Maldivian Airways. The scenic seaplane ride was comfortable, and to our son’s delight, he was even invited to sit in the cockpit with the pilot for a photo after landing a memory we will cherish forever.||On arrival at the island, we were welcomed with drums, smiles, and an ice-cold drink. Check-in was refreshingly stress-free: no credit card requested, no transactional feel, just genuine hospitality. Because we had booked all-inclusive in advance, everything was arranged. This set the tone for our entire stay.||Accommodation|We stayed in a Beach Villa, which was the perfect choice with a toddler. Spacious, beautifully maintained, with both an outdoor coverd traditional shower and a Balinese-style outdoor shower. A baby bath and other thoughtful amenities for our son were provided.||The minibar was good it was replenished daily with soft drinks, juices, and beer. In addition, there were larger bottles of spirits such as gin, whisky, rum, and wine, which (although we don’t drink alcohol ourselves) were a generous touch and were restocked every four days.||Twice-daily housekeeping and turndown service kept everything immaculate.||From our patio, tucked just behind some shrubbery that offered natural privacy from the beach, we could step directly onto our own stretch of sand, complete with two loungers and a parasol. Morning swims together quickly became our favorite ritual.||Dining|Dining at Le Méridien exceeded our expectations on every level.||Turquoise quickly became our go-to for breakfast. The quality is outstanding: croissants taste like true French croissants, donuts are authentic, and crêpes are made to perfection. Breakfasts and dinners were a joy thanks to the genuine warmth of the staff. A very special thank you to Erma, who was wonderful with our son often taking him by the hand, allowing us a rare quiet moment to sip our coffee or enjoy an omelette. He absolutely adored her. We also want to mention Mauch, who was consistently attentive and friendly. On our last evening, the team went above and beyond, setting a beautifully decorated table on the sand for us, making it a truly unforgettable farewell dinner.||Velaa Bar + Grill offered our most memorable dining experiences. Chef Pradeep personally created a tasting menu just for us, moving it forward a night since the restaurant would be closed on our last evening. From a refined tuna tartare and creamy truffle pasta for our son, to a Wagyu steak with pumpkin purée and foie gras, and spectacular tandoori-marinated lamb chops, it was all next-level cuisine. Desserts included a Piña Colada-inspired sponge cake and a Valrhona chocolate lava cake that was out of this world. Service by Soma was flawless warm, professional, and genuinely welcoming. Even at lunch, we enjoyed shawarma wraps, sliders, pizza, and fish tacos by the pool.||While we also tried Tabemasu, the Japanese restaurant, and enjoyed it, we found Turquoise and Velaa suited our family best.||Service & People|The heart of Le Méridien Maldives is its people. Having Nifaau as our premier point of contact was invaluable from giving us a buggy tour upon arrival, to arranging reservations, answering every WhatsApp quickly, and even helping when we misplaced our villa key. His professionalism and friendliness made our stay effortless.||Asaf, the F&B Manager, was always approachable and made sure everything ran smoothly, particularly for families. At the pool and beach, Simon constantly checked in with a smile, kept our drinks topped up, and even polished my sunglasses small but unforgettable gestures.||Every single team member we met carried the same genuine warmth and hospitality.||Experiences||The Explore Spa, perched over the water, is breathtaking. My Balinese massage was excellent, made even more special by the glass floor panel through which I could watch fish swim beneath me.||The house reef is accessible. In just one swim I encountered stingrays and colorful fish, while other guests spotted turtles and reef sharks further out.||The complimentary photo shoot was a unique touch. We received a printed photo free of with the option to purchase more||For children, the Kids’ Club looked fantastic, with slides and indoor play areas, and even pizza workshops for little ones. Our son preferred the pool, so we didn’t use it, but we met one of the nannies who was incredibly friendly and reassuring.||The beach and grounds are meticulously maintained. Every morning, gardeners remove seaweed to keep the sand pristine. It’s truly a barefoot paradise no need for shoes all week. A tip: bring water shoes for the beach, as the coral in the sand and sea shells can be sharp.||Departure & Final Impressions|Even the departure was handled smoothly. We received a clear letter with our seaplane schedule, and the team accommodated our request to leave after lunch. It was managed perfectly within the seaplane company’s schedule, another example of how the resort fine-tunes details to guests’ wishes.||We left with only one regret: not staying longer. In hindsight, with the efficiency of the resort, we could easily have stayed until the day of our international flight.||Conclusion|Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa is the paradise we had been searching for. Not cheap but absolutely worth it and refreshingly affordable compared to many alternatives in the Maldives, while still delivering true luxury. The attention to detail, the high quality of food, the thoughtful amenities, and above all, the genuine smiles and care from the staff made our holiday unforgettable.||Special thanks to Nifaau, Erma, Mauch, Asaf, Simon, Soma, and Pradeep you turned our stay into something truly magical. We will...

Preface-|I debated whether to write a review for this five star luxury resort. It probably needs another five star review like I need a hole in the head. All I could write about was its positive points - almost no negative things. ||Positive-|—This resort should be charging more!This is Marriott’s more reasonable priced resort in the Maldives. Despite it being more “economical” (a word typically not associated with the Maldives), I saw nothing of the sort when it came to the high-quality of the villa’s, the superior quality of the staff, the amenities, the food quality, the activities, etc.|—The staff is tremendous - genuinely friendly and extremely helpful. English is widely spoken. |—There are about 350 staff members working on this exclusive island. With roughly 130 villas, even at 100% occupancy that’s an amazing ratio of over two staff members to one guest (closer to three).|—The water pressure was great (even to the outer over-the-water villas)|—The hot water was plentiful.|—The A/C in the room could almost make ice cubes if you want (but is individually controlled). But quite honestly, I didn’t use it most of the time. Instead, I opted to open the double sliding glass doors and let the fresh air in, and to also hear the soothing ocean waves crashing in the distance. |—The WiFi was fast and free. And it’s everywhere on the island! Not only in the villas and restaurants, but on the beaches and roads too (how cool is that). The quality is so good I even did video calls with my Mom in a nursing home with no problem. |—Ditto with making cellular calls. |—They provide you with bottles of purified drinking water each day.|—Your villa is serviced twice each day (in the USA, even once a day is becoming a rarity).|—Every type of bathroom amenity is provided (toothbrush/paste, comb, vanity kit, shaving kit, bath salts, etc.)|—The ability to go swimming in the Indian Ocean (which is really a safe lagoon) off your villa is magical! |—There’s 24 hour room service. |—You’ll never yearn for a pool or beach lounger - there are plenty! And they have deluxe thick cushions too. |—Want a private section of beach? There are sections all over the island without a single soul I found. But not private enough for any funny business though…|—I could go on and on - everything in this place screams of quality! ||Negative-|— I hated the swinging saloon doors on the closet - yuck. |—On their website, the color scheme of the over-the-water villas looks kinda tacky (really just the lime green shutters and saloon doors inside the rooms). In reality, it really isn’t that bad. Their pic’s just make it worse than what it really is. I think they need to switch that green out with another color.|—There is a strong water current beneath the over-the-water villas. Don’t think you’ll be able be swim there 24/7. Typically you can only swim there during low tide (Google for times). I’m a good swimmer and I dare not swim in the strong current during high tide. And they ask you not to swim off your villa after 6p for safety reasons. Swimming on the many beaches is a completely different story (very little current there). |—I’ve been told a top complaint is that the waiting time for a golf cart (which they call buggy) to bring you someplace. I didn’t use the golf cart service that much but when I did, it was only a few minute wait. I also didn’t use it that much because the walking distances weren’t that much. Also, I wanted to stroll (walk) along in the resort to actually get to know, love, and appreciate the resort. But I can also imagine at 100% capacity there could be a 10 or so minute wait at times. ||Suggestions-|—Don’t sweat the sunset/sunrise bungalow decision. In reality, given the earths rotation and the seasons, you might be in a sunset bungalow and not even see the sunset from your villa (it would be off in a far corner). Ditto with the sunrise villas. All villas are great!|—Don’t discount coming here during the off (rainy) season. In reality, during the “rainy” season it typically (sometimes) only rains for a few hours, then you have clear or cloudy skies. Some days there are quite sunny days. And the rates are less expensive. And I worry about sunburn (the sun is intense here), so cloudy skies actually mean less sunburn (and using less sun protection chemicals). |—Bring water shoes if you are staying in an over-the-water bungalow. |—Take a behind-the-scenes tour (you have to ask the tour - it’s not advertised). It’s fascinating how a five star resort on a remote island without any connected utility lines can support 350 staff and over 260 guests. ||Summary-|I would absolutely...

I have both cons and pros to this place I would've given it a 5star truly but there were just things that were cons to me and I would come back if the cons were looked into...

Pros: Rooms: The rooms are top notch. We got the over water pool villa and it faced the sunset. Gorgeous rooms facing the ocean. 😘 You can literally swim/snorkel in the backyard. Gorgeous.

Service: when we came we had someone serve us drinks and took us around the tour of the island. Migu was our guy and he was great. Service for the most part was great!.

Events: so many events! They give you a events list and if you wanna do sunset yoga it's there, if you wanna do boot camp it's there (highly recommend the trainer will kick your butt! And it'll be worthwhile)

Dive center: one of the best things we did was the speed boat snorkelling. Oh my God. We saw sharks, lobsters, so many fishes, turtles! I recommend so so much! So worth it.

food& drinks: the food is .. a hit or miss. Be forewarned food here because it's imported and such is very expensive. Like apps and salads are no less than $30. Just FYI.

Pro: Tuna tataki is pretty good this is in room service.

Pro: We liked turquoise for the buffet breakfast - one of the best breakfasts we had! And we had it for dinner as well one night it was Indian night and that was top notch.

Veeela: great grill/meat place. Liked the apps a lot.

Now onto the cons....

Tabemasu: okay ish sushi, husband likes the sable fish. But not the best sushi, but does scratch your sushi itch

Riviera: okay ish Spanish tapas

Drinks were hit or miss probably more miss than hit

Logistical impacts to reservations/events and buggy could be better and letting us know when things get cancelled in advance.

We had an event happening then it got cancelled. (We get Christmas tree lighting being cancelled because of weather..but the other event was food and drinks event..how was that cancelled due to bad weather?) Anyways... would be fine but we moved our dinner for it, and when it got cancelled we asked for earlier time slot for dinner and got denied because it got fully booked. Again, annoyed due to logistics being so close to each other. I don't want to say bad logistics I just wish it was planned better.

Another thing is the buggy, there was a time where we waited for so long for one and when the buggy came people behind us cut to get to the buggy and we who were there first had to wait another time for the (same) buggy to come back for us. Like the buggy people have Whatsapp and they can see who asked for what first and they should call out the room numbers in order it was asked for.

Another time they called and said the buggy was outside and didn't ring our doorbell bc our room was on privacy - no it was not. Anyways something was wrong with the buggy, but they failed to inform us until we called and asked what's wrong with it and can they send another one if not we miss our rez... This entire thing just made it more stressful than it should be. This day was not a fun day for us.

Also our seaplane back they said we had a lot of time to get through the airport but they were wrong. There was 3 abysmal lines at the airport and they didn't factor that in for us when calling the seaplane. We nearly missed our flight because they didn't anticipate the horrible peak male airport hell which they should've. And it seriously downgraded our experience.

Recommendation is: sometimes whether it be bad weather or whatever, and if you know it impacts events and especially during peak period needs to be planned at least 1-2 days in advance. Stuff does fill up, and I do wish the hotel plans these things in advance so we can also make reservations and the like in advance

Also they're not consistent - we met another couple here on their anniversary and upon checkout they got a nice gift while we did not ... So that puzzled me. Maybe they liked that couple better? Still offensive and inconsistent to us at best 😂 either do it for everyone or not at all bc some of us talk. I don't know this rubbed me super wrong 😂....