Anantara Dhigu Maldives Resort — Hotel in Malé Atoll

It was my fourth trip to the Maldives, While I aim to write this review as objectively as possible, comparisons with other hotels are unavoidable. I hope this review serves as a reference for others planning their Maldives trip.

Lagoon - Anantara is renowned for its expansive and pristine lagoon in the Maldives. The lagoon stretching out in front of Dhigu's pool and the emerald-like spots scattered throughout are the greatest advantages of Anantara, in my opinion. If you prioritize the lagoon and want to capture stunning photos, Anantara Dhigu is the perfect resort for you. Underwater Environment - During my stay, the wind and waves made it difficult for me to snorkel extensively, so I'm unable to evaluate this aspect thoroughly. I've heard that the picnic island area is good, but snorkeling was not possible due to the waves. Hospitality - All staff, from the speedboat crew, receptionists, housekeepers, and restaurant employees to the facility staff, were kind. They tried to make eye contact and greet us, helped recommend and book dinner spots, and our assigned butler facilitated friendly communication and assistance via WhatsApp. Many thanks once again, Kadir! Food - I apologize to Anantara Dhigu, but I believe there's room for improvement regarding the food quality compared to the resort prices and name value. At Fushi, where I had breakfast and dinner, although the food quality was decent, I found the variety lacking compared to other resorts. Especially for dinner, calling it an international buffet seemed inadequate due to its limited selection. My previous resort, Riu Palace, offered varied buffets that remained appealing even after five days. For dinner, expect mainly spaghetti, roasted chicken, lamb skewers, tuna, vegeand pizza. The dessert section, however, was fantastic, and the dessert chef deserves endless praise. Most of the fruits lacked variety and flavor. Also, the replenishment speed for dishes was notably slow. For instance, mussels were not refilled once depleted, and cooked shrimp was offered instead, meaning late diners missed out on mussels. A quick note about Acqua Bar: While the pizzas were excellent, the sandwiches and spaghetti didn’t match the standard expected from Anantara Dhigu’s reputation. also $60 credit will be given at 3 restaurants which is not enough. It should be $100-120 to be honest. Apart from breakfast, it's not all-inclusive, and you have to pay $4 for Anantara still water. While this is common practice elsewhere, not all resorts follow this, especially concerning water. I'd suggest adding $4 to the room rate and providing water freely. I must highlight that the food and restaurant did not live up to the Anantara Dhigu’s reputation. Others - Since it wasn't peak season, I appreciated the resort for allowing us to stay longer in the room on the last day, as we had much time before our flight. Additionally, they helped with an early check-in (though I understand this is possible because it’s not peak season). This thoughtful gesture was unexpected, particularly given the $4 charge for water, and was hence more appreciated. Upon arrival early on the first day, we asked about having breakfast, which was charged extra as expected. However, at three previous resorts, they proactively offered breakfast or lunch to relieve travel fatigue and welcome guests, which contrasts with our experience here. Although offering a $90 breakfast per person at early check-in isn’t feasible, it contrasts with lower-tier hotels under Anantara Dhigu that don’t offer this. While revisiting and staying there made for a memorable 10th-anniversary celebration, there were numerous areas for improvement. With the Maldives developing and great local islands emerging alongside other resorts improving, competition will intensify. I hope Anantara Dhigu offers services befitting its name and becomes a beloved resort for many. *Please operate Sea, Fire, Salt during lunch! Why limit such a fantastic spot to...

Thank you to the entire team at Anantara!

We booked the Anantara for our honeymoon destination and it was the absolute perfect choice. From start to finish, we felt so welcomed and the whole experience was just incredible. We had such a warm welcome from the staff that greeted us from the jetty, we were immediately given a cold towel and a fresh coconut as we looked around the island to take it all in, the moment was perfect.

We were shown to our room which was decorated with ‘happy honeymoon’ in rose petals and were given a bottle of bubbles and chocolate covered strawberries which we enjoyed in our (gigantic) bath tub.

Our week was spend eating and drinking, relaxing and cycling around the island trying all of the restaurants, chilling out by the infinity pool, we booked snorkelling trips, did a wine tasting, kayaked to another island, watched the most incredible sunsets, enjoyed a number of massages in the spa and enjoyed the relaxation room, went surfing, did yoga and then continued eating and drinking. – it was HEAVEN!!

What stood out the most was not only being in absolute paradise but the staff are the most amazing staff in the entire world. We really got to know so many of them and left with new friends. We loved walking through the restaurants and knowing the staff on a name basis and them knowing us too, we felt extremely special.

Everybody was so friendly, the staff continued to check in on us but without being overbearing but with pure genuine interest in us and love in their hearts.

We want to give a lot of shout outs…

The staff in the spa – Nopi, Mena, Brij, Zoa, Mylaine – thank you for making us feel so relaxed and for caring for our bodies – it was the best massage we have experienced and to be overlooking the water was so special. I would highly recommend Zoa’s reiki massage and Brij’s yoga classes – both unforgettable.

The food & beverage staff – Preshan, Provern, Oggy, Denusha, Disni, Pop, Ice, Hanu, Rizan, Mr D, Ramu – your attention to detail was perfect. They always welcomed us with the biggest smiles, gave us tips for our holiday, recommended delicious dishes and were so on point with making sure that we felt looked after and we never left hungry (or thirsty!!). Their sequence of service was impeccable and made every dining experience so enjoyable.

The chefs – Thank you for the delicious meals you cook, the food was some of the best we have ever eaten, there was so much variety and it was all cooked perfectly and presented so beautifully. There was never a request that could not be done and we know you must have so much prep to do but each meal was 10/ 10 – DEEELICOIOUS!

The Aquafanatics team – Amr, Pedro – thank you for taking us out on our various snorkelling trips, we will never forget the snorkelling with the nurse sharks. What an experience! They made me feel so comfortable (when I usually get nervous in the water) and allowed us to sit on the top of the boat when we were finished which was so lovely to see the views and soak up the sunshine.

The TropicSurf team – Johnny & Mel – Lovely couple who were very knowledgeable with the surrounding surf breaks and conditions, looked after my husband well and he was stoked to get some beautiful little waves for the trip!

And finally to the dynamic duo – Pravenn & Ish – WOW JUST WOW. You both made our time at the Maldives the best! We were so impressed with your service in the beginning and then you really became such special people to us. Praveen’s (wine guru) knowledge of wine was incredible and so fascinating. Having come from a wine background myself, I really enjoyed the conversations we had. The wine tasting was fabulous and it was great to learn and taste more wines away from home.

The staff are just amazing and we were very sad to say goodbye to them all. Thank you to everyone for making it so special, it was a trip of a lifetime and we have the best memories. It was the perfect start to married life!

BEST...

Alright, where to start! I will try to get this review as accurate as possible to our experience at Anantara Dhigu as I can. I will first split up the pros and the cons, then go into detail on both in the same order.

Pros:

Transfer Service Staff Accomodation Kids club Food and restaurants The surroundings Activities

Cons:

Lunch possibilities

Transfer After a 10 hour flight, you arrive in a sunny Male. Anantara has done their best in receiving their guests at the airport. A representitive - excellent English speaker - receives you right at the exit. You are guided to the air conditioned lounge at the airport where you can sit and get offered a drink. Within 15 minutes the boat was ready to transfer us to the resort. Excellent boat, 30 minutes journey, you get offered water, we stopped to see dolphins. Just great!

Service The service in general is extremely good. Each and every staff member of Anantara seems to have a similar mentality when it comes to helping out the customers. Always with a smile, going out of their own ways to make themselves helpful. The reception is always available and ready to help and housekeeping is excellent! Absolutely 5 star.

Staff Throughout our stay, each and every staff member we spoke to seemed happy and joyful. From the aquafanatics staff to the kids club. Loved it!

Accomodation We stayed at a sunrise overwater villa. There is a lot of space and you lack nothing. Everything is accomodated and functional. Housekeeping comes twice a day to make everything ready for the day or for the night. And yes, the houses 100% meet the expectations based on social media posts about the resort.

Kids club Our 3 year old son was warmly welcomed at the kids club. He absolutely enjoyed himself. Even though the kids club is from 4 and up to let kids stay without parents, they did not make a problem out of it. Our son is quite social and speaks a little English. He is very independent and potty trained, so that might have worked in his advantage. There were various activities every day and the staff members were so nice and sweet!

Food and restaurants When staying at Dhigu with a child, you have the option for: 1 breakfast restaurant (buffet) 4 a la carte dinner restaurants 1 buffet dinner restaurant In addition, twice a week you can join the beach barbeque at a supplement charge of $90/each of have private dining for 200-300$ each.

And 2 options for lunch, which I have noted as a con.

Breakfast is great. You have a lot of variety and the staff is once again, amazing! Especially enjoyed the Thai lady who was at the pancake station and also worked at Baan Huraa in the evening and the Maldivian/Indian guy who worked at the egg station and at Origami in the evenings!

The dinner options are mostly amazing! For us, Baan Huraa was our absolute favourite! Baan Huraa is the Thai restaurant. We also went to the other 3 options, Japanese, seefood/grill and Italian. They were great as well and have a lot of variety!

The surroundings The lagoon is beautiful. Nice shallow waters, lot of sand banks, palm tree islands in the surroundings, just paradise!

Activities The resort offers a lot of activities. From snorkeling and kayaking, to scuba diving, windsurfing and dolphin tours. I enjoyed my scuba diving a lot! My instructor, Kasia (or Katia) was an absolute charm! Very good at explaining, guiding and full of energy.

Con: Lunch possibilities The only thing I enjoyed less was the lunch possibility. Our son woke up around 7:30 every day so we had breakfast at 8:00-8:30. Around 13:00 you start becoming a bit hungry. The only 2 options for lunch were Aqua Bar and Sea Fire Salt. After a few days, you run out of "new" options, so that might be something that could be improved.

So yea, if I had to rate this resort on a scale of 100, I would definetly say 98/100!

We were: 2 adults (both 34), 1 child (3 year old) We arrived on 19 Nov and...