Zero Degree Residence, Fuvahmulah — Hotel in Fuvahmulah

My partner got this diving holiday for me as a 30th birthday present and it is the best gift ever! Both Zero Degree Residence and Fuvahmulah Dive School completed my experience 10/10 in terms of comfort, quality of experience and attentiveness. Let’s go ahead to talk about each point in detail.

Comfort - Both accommodation and dive equipment, dive boat, transport are clean and well maintained! The room is much larger and newer/nicer in real life. The bosses and staff from both dive school and residence take pride in each of their roles and have put in loads of effort to make sure everything is well taken care of regularly and too notch for their guests.

Quality of Experience - I felt that the staff listens to our needs and concerns to make our experience the best possible it can be. At Fuvahmulah Dive school, Niyaz, Richard, Asaray, Imran, Panda, Jamie and all of the boat crew are amazing at educating us about sharks behaviour, conservation to make us feel extremely safe for all dives and they are great at finding the pelagics. I got to see thresher shark, white tip shark, tiger shark, hawksbill turtle and loads more. I am not particularly good with currents and surprisingly I did not feel stressed out by the current at all despite diving in open oceanic water as the crew is fantastic at finding the spots at the right time to dive and does not make you tire out unnecessarily with current fighting. At Zero Degree Residence, I would like to particularly point out Mohammed, Looth, Mattheen and Mulla! Mohammed is always punctual and ready to drive us around to and for dive school with a smile no matter how late or early it is for him. I can also highly encourage full board as the food is delicious and the ease of convenience of having hot food good size portions ready before and after dives is so convenient and helpful. As we did full board and wanted to change things up with the menu after a few days, the extremely kind, open minded and talented Chef Mulla manage to spin up some super impressive meals that left me wanting more. Lastly the front desk Looth and Mattheen are always greeting us with a smile and has a great attitude, always quick to help us out with any queries or requests.

Attentiveness - I have been to well over 10 dive schools and dive accommodation and I can safely say this is by far the best I have stayed in and dived with. Zero Degree Residence is run by a small team of 5-7 but you will be amazed how organised and well run the place is. Everyone knew what they had to do and always available for us to help on our needs and listen to our feedback. It feels very much like a professional hotel, a well oiled machine. Imran in particular helped us with the pre booking entirely down to arranging domestic flights and transfers, super clear communication and prompt responses. Fuvahmulah Dive School dive guides and instructors have these super chill and this down to earth energy that rubs off on us too and made us better divers. My partner did an Open Water Course and Asaray was absolutely GREAT instructor who was patient and gives amazing useful tips after each dive to help him improve and honestly I am even shocked how good and fast my partner became in just a few dives under Asaray guidance. Niyaz and Richard guided me for most of my dives and they were super clear at explaining what to expect during pre dive briefing and really good at calming me down before the shark dives and also super attentive underwater to make sure I am feeling safe and comfortable. They are great to chat with before and after dive about life and deep conversations. I definitely think my diving improved loads from this trip, we did a total of 22 dives with them between my partner and I and each dive is special and enjoyable.

Look no further, start booking now with the amazing coordinator Imran between both the dive school and zero degree residence and he will be able to sort you out end to end. He is...

Overall happy with my stay but there are definite pros and cons about Zero Degree Residence that previous reviewers did not talk about. First the good: the building and furniture are all new and the rooms are very well appointed. The rooms do have some kind of perfume that many guests enjoyed but if you're sensitive to scent then this would not be the place for you. Bed and pillows were very comfortable. Air con and fan worked well. They work closely with Fuvahmulah Dive School (Imran I believe is the contact person for both) so meals are served at the most convenient time for divers. The true standout is Matheen who is very considerate and will do his level best to make sure you have everything you need. And I should thank Imran and his friend in Male for arranging a surprise gift for me at the end of my stay - above and beyond, truly! Wifi is fairly consistent and strong throughout the building.

Now the not-so-good: for the majority of the week hot water was only available on the first floor (where I stayed) and even then it was only about 70 percent of the time. This was resolved I think my last day but there was another persistent issue of the water pressure essentially stopping mid-shower so you had to wait all soapy in the shower for 2-5 minutes before it returned. Also wall fixtures like towel hooks and the air con remote holder just fell off the wall. And I guess it's a good thing I don't watch TV or need to refrigerate things because they definitely did not work in my room. Next the food is catered to western European tastes so it is incredibly bland. I asked for chilies at each meal to add at least some flavor and heat but there's only so much one can do. I guess what I'm saying is that they offered salt and pepper shakers on the table... which may be normal back home but is essentially an act of desperation in this part of the world. Maldivian cuisine is delicious, heavily influenced by southern India, one should never need any salt or pepper to enjoy it. I hope they serve more local dishes in the future because who travels all the way to the middle of the Indian Ocean to eat spaghetti? I would recommend half board so you get out to the local restaurants to get good food. Also there were a fair amount of ants and spiders (including one shockingly large reddish brown spider 😳) sharing the room with me. Kind of an annoyance considering the amount of money one pays to stay here. Last, the guesthouse owner/driver of the diver shuttle is not very pleasant and was constantly texting on his phone while driving us. We're in the back of an open truck without any seatbelts - it would be nice if he prioritized the safety of his clients over whatever messages he felt he needed to send during the 8 minute drive.

Overall it was a pleasant stay. The location is not ideal for touring the island or beaches but the guesthouse can arrange a scooter for you for about $10-$15/day. I would try a different place the next time I visit but they do get the job done and I'm sure they will only improve in the future. Thank you everyone for an...

I recently stayed at ZeroDegree Residence in Fuvahmulah, Maldives and was blown away by the level of service and attention to detail that was provided by the entire staff. From the moment I arrived, I was made to feel like a valued guest and the staff went out of their way to ensure that all of my needs were met. One of the things that really stood out to me was the customised service that was provided to each guest. No two stays at ZeroDegree are the same and the staff take the time to get to know each individual and tailor the experience to their specific needs and preferences.

The rooms at ZeroDegree are nicely furnished and offer all of the amenities that you would expect from a top-rated hotel. The rooms are also equipped with flat screen TVs and Wi-Fi, making it easy to stay connected while on vacation.

One of the highlights of my stay was the dive school at ZeroDegree, which is working with Fuvahmulah Dive School to provide top-notch dives. The instructors that we had, Richard, Niyaz, Asaray and the Staff Imran and Rajeev are knowledgeable and experienced, and they go out of their way to make sure that each dive is safe and enjoyable. I made my Open Water Diving Certification with them and got to learn diving in a one to one environment. The dive sites around Fuvahmulah are absolutely stunning and I was able to see a wide variety of marine life during my dives. I even had the opportunity to swim with Tiger Sharks, White tip reef sharks, and Turtles.

Overall, I had a fantastic stay at ZeroDegree Residence and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation in the Maldives. The staff are friendly and attentive, and the facilities are top-notch. I will definitely be returning...