COMO Maalifushi, The Maldives — Hotel in Kolhumadulu

My partner and I visited Como Maalifushi for a 10-night stay in what turned out to be the best holiday we have been on. From arrival to departure the service was simply exquisite. ||It all starts with the Como greet at Male airport whereby you are whisked off to the lounge at the seaplane terminal ahead of your flight across to the resort. The flight itself is an experience and offers amazing views of the maldives and all the various atoll’s.||Upon landing at the remote Thaa Atoll you are greeted by wonderful staff who take you by boat to the resort. There we met by the friendly resort manager and our amazing butler Citti, who took us by Golf Cart to our water Suite (416), which is great for that impressive Maldivian sunset view. Citti was a true stand out, she was amazing throughout, always on hand, but never over-bearing and very sweet. She even gave us a few little surprises, which were very thoughtful. |By far and away the best butler experience we have ever had. ||The overwater suite was understated luxury, very spacious (huge bathroom with large rain showers and a tub) with all the amenities you could wish for. The pool deck welcomed you into the lagoon whereby each day we saw various sea-life ranging from fish, turtles, rays and small reef sharks. We collected snorkelling equipment from the dive shop which we were able to keep throughout our stay to explore the wonderful house reef, beaming with marine life. We also kayak’d to the neighbouring small island owned by Como for a little exploration.||The food was simply amazing. At Madi the menu is extensive, well balanced and rotated every few days for variety. Tai was a great place for sundowners ahead of a great dinner with Japanese / sushi twist. The Chef’s come out to say hello too, and are clearly very passionate about what they do. I am Gluten Free (Coeliac) and they catered for this perfectly, pretty much being able to adjust every item on the menu and even surprising me with thoughtful gluten free options too! Gluten free pancakes and waffles were a staple for me at breakfast. I cannot speak highly enough of the service and staff throughout the resort from start to finish. Special mention for Naail, Zulaal and Anne who catered for us most breakfasts, lunches and dinners with the greatest of smiles on their faces and impeccable service. There was often live music in Thila bar which added to the laid back, relaxed atmosphere.||Activities wise we would highly recommend the dolphin sunset cruise, jungle cinema, Photo Shoot and of course a massage at the Shambala Spa. The spa lives up to its reputation and the dolphin sunset cruise was truly breathtaking. We must have seen in excess of 50 dolphins approach the boat and conduct acrobatics in front of us as the sun set. Fishing / diving / waterport equipment is top-notch and the staff are very knowedlgable on all things diving, fishing, and the ocean. Although we do not dive, other couples did whilst we were there and they mentioned how good it was. The jungle cinema was a great experience, very romantic and not something you get to do often. The photoshoot is a nice touch and not something we had experienced at a resort before either. ||To summarize, we would say the remoteness of the island makes it a very special and peaceful place. The resort was never too busy but at the same time provided a great relaxed atmosphere. Although we did not travel with children, there were families there with children and the resort appeared to cater incredibly well for families and yet it was hardly noticeable that there were kids at the resort for couples like ourselves. ||The service and it’s people are stand-out, the villa’s are luxurious and very spacious. The resort offers the perfect balance of activities but also the perfect place to relax and unwind.||Thank you Como team,...

The story of how our first acquaintance with the Maldives turned out to be a complete disappointment ...

…thanks to the hotel Como Maalifushi

(we booked our trip through a travel agent and therefore cannot leave a review on Booking)

We have long wanted to visit the Maldives. We watched photos of friends and other people and were able to imagine what a trip to this country should be like. Unfortunately this hotel does not live up to what you would expect from the Maldives.

Let's go through the points:

Food/kitchen. All food and drinks are of very poor quality, some of the dishes were not even touched - it looked so bad. The level of cuisine is at most an ordinary cafe, definitely not a restaurant level in a deluxe hotel. All menus in all establishments have a couple of decent dishes. And only on Fridays there is a good quality dinner in a buffet format, like a special person is brought for this just once a week.

Villa (we had a villa with access to the beach). The villa from the outside may seem pretty, but upon first detailed examination, a bunch of shortcomings are noticeable. Everything, every part of the villa, is very old. For example, sockets, not all are suitable for our chargers, and those two that fit are very loose, they just do not hold the charger. There is only one adapter btw. Very strange cosmetics in the bathroom (soap, shower gels), after them we had discomfort on the body. Almost no space for the clothes. Two times we found huge cockroaches inside, while we tried to close the doors instantly.

Paid minibar, even for coke, which is very strange in the villa for a solid payment. The tea bags have most likely been in it for many years and it is impossible to drink it.

And there is almost no privacy from nearby villas.

A villa with access to the ocean - along with very sharp sand made of shells to a beach where it is impossible to swim - absolutely everywhere there are reefs and very shallow. Even if you want to try - you cannot rent a rafting slippers, just to protect your feets. Hotel doesn’t have them, while island is surrounded by reefs. Hilarious.

Nowhere on the island is there more than a meter of that very soft white sand and blue water without reefs, which the Maldives is famous for.

Water villas are also aground, you cannot go swimming just from the villa with so much reefs and 1.5m depth max.

The internet is VERY bad.

Service. We did not fully understand the role of the butler in this hotel - if he carried out orders, then reluctantly and not accurately, even if the request was described in detail. During the meal, we could be approached by several employees in turn, without introducing themselves, asking us how we were resting. Not the best time, right?

Leisure. We were not in the mood to go to activities from the hotel, as the impression had already been spoiled from the first days, we did not want to aggravate it. So we decided to have fun ourselves, swim in the ocean. But it was almost impossible: there were either shallow + dead sharp reefs. Or deep + big dead sharp reefs. Yes, the marine life around the island is 90% dead. You will not meet any huge schools of fish if you do not go away from the island into the open ocean.

I can go on and on, but I want to finish and forget about this hotel.

The declared status and actual quality do not match. The price is unreasonably high, and we are far from greedy people. All this is reminiscent of deception for those who either do not understand quality, or for a one-time reception of guests.

The island, most likely, was originally unsuitable. This is not the Maldives you dream of....

Not only were we surrounded by natural paradise, but also by super trained and friendly staff - all the time! Not a glitch. Not only did they have all the character traits you would expect from a luxury resort, but they also had a really down to earth mentality that made it easy to connect on a deeper level. Everyone, from the room service, to the surf and dive instructors, to the chef, to the manager, were incredibly personable and friendly, and always went out of their way to make our stay perfect. When we had some health problems we were so relieved to be taken to the on-site doctor who took care of everything immediately. Amazing - a small but important detail we had not even thought of. It goes without saying that our room was simply stunning. Super clean and with classy furniture that made it individual and not just a mainstream franchise style room. The restaurant was simply delicious! Even though we stayed for a while, we didn't get tired of eating at the same restaurant almost every day. Quite the opposite, as the menu was updated almost daily (only small changes, but still), we were begging to get the incredible dishes from the night before. With a nice variety of regional and international cuisine, from Italian to Thai, and different country themed menus on the second day, we were able to sample a variety of different flavours and spices every day. As we were looking for an active holiday, we were happy to find that there was no shortage of this. With an amazing surf and dive instructor on site and complimentary yoga classes, we were able to keep up with our daily activities while still enjoying this stunning paradise. We were very thankful, that the resort is doing their best to reduce plastic waste in the region (which is unfortunately an issue as soon as you step from the island) by providing re-usable water bottles and re-fillable amenities. Thank you so much for our incredible experience and...