Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru — Hotel in Malé Atoll

Thank you Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru for giving us this exceptional experience for our honeymoon ! The island exceeded our expectations.

I have never been to Maldives , and recently learned that it is indeed hundreds of scattered beautiful islands. Male is the capital and is an actual city with buildings and all. We stayed for 8 days and 7 nights Full Board, which I think was much needed for us. We had a very busy stretch of two months prior to the honeymoon preparing for the wedding and traveling and taking exams, so it was the perfect gateway. You will see a lot of couples come for 2 or 3 nights though. This island is for pure relaxation in a very romantic atmosphere. We loved loved our beautiful Villa. It had three showers ( 2 outdoors ) and a private pool and jacuzzi plus a lush bed and a large sofa inside and outside. So you need to know that there are 2 views when you book the Villa which can be quite confusing. Beach view is directly on the beach, and an Ocean View; which does have access to the beach but it's more inwards. Me and my husband thought we booked the Beach view but we did not lol. When we arrived we realized we booked the Ocean view. At that point, Adam explained to us the difference and offered an upgrade to a Beach view. However , being a Muslim couple, we appreciated the privacy the Ocean view gives you. Also we actually had a nice patio and a small garden with an extra outdoor shower that the Beach view would not give you. Also we wanted the Sunset view , however it was June ( btw June -October are THE WINTER SEASONS in Maldives, aka off seasons- which we also did not know ),with lots of wind so we were relocated to the sunrise room however you can still watch the sunset from anywhere. The island is very luxurious, but also at the same very well preserved from a nature standpoint. You will see lizards and Island birds walking around. We were actually barefoot the whole time ! Also there is fish in the ocean and turtles. Sharks are seen at night because they love the light but that is further away past the reef. There is a Marine lab that offers different activities to do from snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, kayaking, banana, donughts etc however we stuck to an hour of kayaking (which is for free) and pure relaxation on the beach and our pool. I need to mention that the weather was not the greatest so if you want to go try going November - April. It was cloudy and windey especially at end of our stay and sometimes it rained but despite all of that it was wonderful. Ask for the snorkeling equipment when you arrive because you get it for free. Let's get to the restaurant now: the food was AMAZING. We booked full board so that included breakfast,lunch and dinner. You would think given that it's included in the package It would be average however the meals are truely the tastiest we have ever eaten. And there is a lot to choose from ! My favorite were the Mange Creme Bulee, the Wanton* seafood soup and the steaaaak ! Ayman was our waiter and he added to this magical experience. He is very knowledgeable in Maldives history ( duh - he is from Maldives ) but he also did it with passion. Always smiling and welcoming. What we also liked that one waiter sticks with you the whole trip which is awesome. There is a spa that we went to for a Thai massage, but for COVID we did it separately ( not a couples one) which was still lovely. Also there is a gift shop and a bar with Hooka. We asked for a complimentary date night dinner at the beach and a photoshoot which were offered to us. When I asked my husband what was the best thing about our trip he said: THE FOOD and the fact that the island was almost empty lol ! Special thanks to Irufaan who made sure our Villa is well cleaned twice a day, and made sure we had the extra bottles of water. Also Thanks Waheed,the general manager, and Adam for your hospitality. The staff truly goes above and beyond to make sure you're happy. We made a promise to return back in 10 years...

We stayed with Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru for almost 3 months. It was an amazing experience and we were sad to leave. The island is in a very convenient location of 15-minute speed boat ride from Male airport. Their associates are warm, friendly and always greet you with smiles. They take extra effort to accomodate your request and make your stay memorable. The island itself is very beautiful and is really a sunny side of paradise. From sunrise to sunset the scenes are pictureque, even during rainy day.

The beachfront villa where we stayed was very nicely decorated, spacious, have natural roof made out of straw and deck with pergola on the beach. The outdoor shower, jaccuzzi and small pool is great to enjoy in private. We enjoyed lying down on the deck watching stars at night. We are happy with their sustainable effort in the resort of plastic-free approach by using glass water bottles, paper straws, biodegrable shampoo and soap. No plastic chairs and plastic bags. Growing thier own vegetables using a hydroponic system and organic gardening. Varieties of plants around the island making it habitable for beautiful and friendly water hens, herons, canary birds, fruit bats, bees, dragon flies, crabs, hermit crabs and many other small creatures. They take care of the island beach naturally so there is no unsightly rock barrier on the reef.

They also do effort to grow back the reef that was affected by the 2016 el nino, one of our favourite spot was the lotus, where my husband skin dive to try to reach the bottom everytime we are there. One of the reasons we choose Vabbinfaru and their sister island Ihuru was because of their house reef. The reef is nice with plenty of marine life such as black and white tip sharks, nurse sharks, eagle rays, sting rays, pocupine rays, turtles, octopuses, eels, tuna, bat fish, box fish, jack fish, nemos, and many more types of fish. We were lucky to spend full moon here where we witnessed an unsual marine life during very calm low tide. Even dolphins passby the islands in one occasion. We snorkeled everyday, dive to see manta ray and christmas dive at their house reef shipwreck with santa claus. Marine center has plenty of activities that guest can enjoy, snorkel set, life jacket and kayak are free to use.

Activities organized during Christmas and New Year was fun and we enjoyed it very much, the highlights for us was the swim across between the two islands, cocktail party, folk dance, live DJ, bed decoration and plenty of souvenirs from the Spa as well as local sarongs to bring home.

We enjoyed the local dishes and creme brulee their signature dessert. We are not big eaters and we choose B&B but still enjoyed the varieties of ala carte dinner at the restaurant and all day dining at the bar or in the room.

Their effort during the Pandemic by sanitizing, quarantine and taking covid-19 test before start work and making all the associates wear face mask is recommendable.

Thank you Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru team Naim, Simaad, Waheed, Habeeb, Hassan and all front office team, Naazim for taking care of our dinner, Chef Micheal fir great food, Hassan Farid and F&B team, Rasheed our house keeping for keeping our villa spotless, Don and Samouh for great drinks at the bar, Thola, Ali, Viju and Hamdan (our dive instructor) from marine center, Resort Doctor and to all associates that make our stay memorable and for the friendship. We will definitely come back and recommend Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru to anyone want to...

Stayed in Beach Front Villa 31 All Inclusive Package Day 1 - Transfer from airport to property was efficient. Agent waiting at the airport and transfer to speedboat. Speedboat took roughly 25 mins to property. Welcome drink served. Quick tour of property and taken to room. Rooms are just ok, not worthy of Five Star description compared to other properties ( been to Park Hyatt Hadahaa with much bigger rooms modern amenities and local touch) Went to snorkel a bit around the beach. Corals are mostly dead. Well blame it on El Niño even if you didn’t had one. Went for quick lunch in the only restaurant on the property. Buffet was being served. Not the best of spread considering it’s a Five star property and you paid more than $1000 per night. Choices for vegetarians very limited so if you are one stay away from this property. Unable to gauge mood of the servers. Poker faces all around. Wouldn’t provide you with drinks or food menu. Expectation was menu’s would be provided as per conversation with Banyan Tree booking agent. On raising concern about vegetarian food, chef cooked Thai Green Curry. I will refrain from putting food review here. BAR REVIEW. Again not the kind of service you would expect from 5 star property. All Inclusive menu provided after we asked for it. Drinks on that menu are mostly around $10-15 if you compare to the usual bar menu. Please don’t order cocktails. You would be in for surprise. Stick to beers/wine/whiskeys. Bar doesn’t serve food for visitors who bought all inclusive package. You can pay and order from Ala Carte menu (same menu but they will charge you). Bar only serves nut mix with drinks. No PEANUTS CHIPS etc. Which is kind of surprising. Now comes the DINNER. No one provided any menu (drinks or food). No one asked even for water. Possibly lack of training. Buffet night. Starters cold. I don’t know what you would put starters out in the cold. Instead just ask the guests and serve them. Next my Mrs got a bit anxious about food and she did order from AI menu available at the restaurant. Well she ordered a pizza. Again I will not review the choose of pizza here. Day 2 review coming soon folks. Going to their sister property to see what’s going on there. Day 2 opening with breakfast with Live Eggs station/juice bar/fruits/ pancakes etc along with buffet with Maldivian Fish Curry and Conjee and dessert spread. On special request was provided with Grilled sandwich. Went further out for snorkeling. Waves were slightly tough. Not an expert swimmer so didn’t go around the reef. Then went for lunch. South Asian style tofu and veggies served. Well South Asian anytime. Then after a good nap went for the spa. Massage therapists were good. Next quick stroll couple of drinks at the bar. And Dinner. Service wasn’t what you would expect. Again not lot of vegetarian choices. Did like mezze platter. And after that nobody cared to ask. Waited and waited for all that song and dance. Someone approached us and said he will speak to the manager. Asked for ala carte menu (included in AI package). DENIED. Gosh what did we do. Ultimately chef prepared veg cauliflower floorlet curry. Thanks to him we had it with rice along with our favorite cut ginger chili soy sauce and vinegar. Also upgrading my review to 3 stars on better day 3. Will...