Club Med Kani - Maldives — Hotel in Malé Atoll

Due to my work, I have been fortunate to go to many Club Meds over many years. I have previously stayed at Club Med Finholu in the Maldives which is the quieter, more 'luxury' resort a few minutes by speedboat from Kani. This was my first stay on Kani and I was not disappointed. ||I travelled with my 18 year old daughter for a week long stay in September. We were allocated in a Deluxe Beachfront Room with terrace which was spacious, had an incredible view and was located close enough to everything but far away enough not be disturbed at all.||As an older resort, things can be a little rough around the edges and there were certainly a few things in the room and around the resort that need updating, a bit of TLC and touching up but on the whole a great resort, lovely room, spacious and very comfortable. Worth mentioning that the two rooms (same category) next to us were being renovated whilst we were there so possibly the remaining ones will be too.||Having been fortunate to stay in some very high end Maldives properties, you cannot claim this is luxury in terms of finish etc. but it is luxury if you are looking for an excellent all-inclusive property, short boat transfers and superb activities on offer.||Food was varied and plentiful with new options every day with cuisines on offer to suit all tastes. My main criticism would be the main restaurant though, it is in need of a serious update. There was again some work going on around the area but not sure if a major update is on the cards.||TIP: There is an air-conditioned room in the restaurant which can be a welcome respite from the heat. ||We also ate one night in the a la carte which does need to be booked but is included. We had a fantastic meal and the seafood/steak sharing platter was superb.||The resort itself was very quiet with low occupancy. This was great for us and meant no queues for anything and no issues partaking in any activities from the twice daily snorkel boat trips, padel tennis, sailing, paddle-boarding etc.||The beach bar was great and the sunset music sessions were always something we looked forward to before dinner. I think as the resort was quiet, evening entertainment was centred here rather than the main theatre. It was a lovely setting to enjoy the Club Med atmosphere.||The resort is very family orientated with excellent kids club facilities and lots going on for many ages. There is also the exclusive villa part of the resort which is close to 'adult only' with no children under 8 permitted and I think unlikely that many families would choose the overwater villas. I did arrange an inspection of the villas and exclusive area and they are lovely but I still personally prefer staying on the beach.||Rageb, the Chef de Village is doing a fantastic job and his team were superb in all departments. Special mentions must go to Ripon at the bar, so attentive and always smiling - a credit to Club Med.||Also to Erica in reception for sorting out some presents for home that were mistakenly taken from the room (my daughter left them next to the bin!) and Selene on the snorkelling team - non-stop energy and really helped my very nervous daughter enjoy the snorkelling trips and wanting to go back for me.||We did pay extra to have the unlimited lobster one evening. Was set in a private garden and was worth every penny. An unforgettable experience for my daughter and first time she has had lobster, let alone unlimited. We also paid for one fishing excursion which was two hours at sunset and a although not hugely successful on the fishing front, it was a great experience.||We tried to do something every day. My daughter learnt to sail in near perfect conditions, we played padel (very hot!), we went on 4 snorkelling boat trips (two are included every day), played petanque, had a sushi making lesson, swam lots and had the most relaxing time but you can be as active as you want.||All in all a fantastic trip. Possibly a different atmosphere with higher occupancy but for us it was perfect. We may have been a little lucky with the weather but I would still recommend going 'off season' as it is very good value for money and still always...

My husband and I visited this resort this past June and stayed for 3 nights in a beach bungalow. As you can see from the rating, we did NOT think this property was exceptional by any means, but let me state my pros and cons and you can decide for yourself. ||Pros- |1. The actual resort and island is stunning. We loved walking around the island and exploring. We would stop along the beach and snorkel. We thought the snorkeling near the overwater bungalows on the backside of the island to be better and little quieter. |2. We loved the all inclusive package. It was very nice getting drinks and food as we pleased. I especially enjoyed getting cocktails by the pool as I read and enjoyed the beautiful view of the ocean. |3. There is a pretty awesome surf break right on the island that you can get to without paying for a surf excursion. You can also swim to it, just be careful of the tides. My husband especially enjoyed being able to paddle out and surf. |4. I had the privilege of trying out the trapeze and it was SO fun. The people working in the circus are very kind and patient and they are all incredible. Definitely something to try if you stay here.||Cons-|1. As mentioned we did stay in a beach bungalow. I found the bungalows to be very outdated and in need of a remodel. To the point that it smelled like sewage upon arrival in the bathroom. We did immediately go to the reception to remedy this issue. Their solution was to clean it and to no avail it still smelled because of the pipes. We were pretty frustrated by this. We were spending a lot of money to stay here each night and found it completely unreasonable for it smell like sewage in our bungalow. Another solution they offered was to move us to another bungalow. But the issue isn’t moving rooms, it’s that ALL the bungalows at least in that section of the beach had similar issues. Personally I think it doesn’t make sense to spend 800 dollars a night to smell sewage in your room, but that’s just me. |2. Upon arrival we were greeted by a GO (not sure if that’s what they are called) and her name was Juliette. Juliette was incredibly rude to myself and my husband and we wanted to leave the island the first night purely because of how rude this woman was. I would ask a question like oh are there bikes on the island? To which she responded, do you SEE any bikes on this island? Did you pack one in your bag? I was SO thrown off by this response. A simple, no we don’t have bikes on this island but here are some other options would have worked. She also was not AT ALL helpful with the whole sewage bungalow problem in my first con. When we expressed our frustration with our room smelling like a sewer system, she stated well it’s the middle of the ocean what can you expect! Now luckily my husband and I had the privilege of staying at different resorts and local islands during our stay in the Maldives. I told her no, that makes no sense. We just came from a local island called Thulusdhoo- (side note everyone should visit and stay there as the island is incredible and no sewer problems!) and on the local island which is also in the middle of the ocean had no issues. Club Med is making LOTS of money each day and should be able to provide a clean sanitary environment for guests to stay in especially for their price point. |3.The food is okay! It’s not bad, but it’s not exceptional either. The chefs are so nice and do work hard and the desserts were especially good. But again for the price, I’d say the food is just okay. ||So, with all that said would I stay here again? Probably not as the Maldives is SO incredible and there are so many other wonderful places to stay with guest relations that are kinder to their guests and do not make them feel bad for asking simple questions. It is pricey and the Maldives is a dream destination. Spend your money elsewhere. But that’s just my opinion. Juliette if you read this, I sincerely think a course on customer etiquette might be...

This was my first ever vacation with Club Med and I was unsure of what to expect. I would say that my expectations were very high especially since the prices are high end. The whole trip was organized through Club Med including flights and transfers to the island. We arrived early at around 6am at Malé airport in the Maldives. We were right away greeted by a Club Med representative, he informed us that we had to wait until around 1,5h for the boat transfer, since it was too early in the morning, this was a bit disappointing as we were exhausted and eager to get to the resort. However the time passed and our boat transfer arrived and brought us to Club Med Kani in around 30 minutes. As we approached the island we were very pleasantly surprised to hear some great music and a nice GO waiting for us. We were welcomed by the warm smile and enthusiasm of Emilie. Emilie, welcomed us to the island, brought us to the reception and took plenty of time to explain to us all the facilities and let us see where to get changed as we waited for our room to be ready. The room was available in the morning which was fantastic so we could enjoy a freshen up and nap before getting on with our first day. The rooms were below our expectations as they need a bit of a freshen up, but the bed and pillows were comfortable and the shower was spacious, with perfect water pressure. The cleaning was impeccable, so compliments to all the cleaning staff. As for the restaurant we ate at the Velhi and Kandu restaurants, since we had some intolerances it was often very difficult to understand which food items we could have, when we asked the staff they often did not know. We had to ask directly the kitchen for information which was not very convenient at times since they were so busy and we felt like we had to bother them. The fruits and breads were excellent, however the rest was hard for us to judge as most items we could not eat because of our intolerances. What meals we did have were not fantastic. Furthermore, the house wines are awful and the tap water after heavy rainfall tasted like bitter salt water. Despite these disappointments, this was one of the best vacations I have had in 10 years, thanks to the amazing Club Med Staff. We stayed for 12 days on the island and as the days passed the more we got to know the GO's and this made for an incredible stay. We went on many snorkeling outings with GO's: Mossey, Joey, Kevin, Iru, Sophie and Sham and these were some highlight moments of our holiday, we were fascinated by their free diving skills and also we got to see turtles, dolphins, rays, mantas, colourful fish. In the afternoons Nella organized the volleyball games and we became huge fans, and teamed up with GO's Sham and Iru who became not only our teammates but also friends. We looked forward to all the occasions to pass time together with them during the sports activities. The themed evenings that were the cherry on top after long days of swimming, playing, eating and drinking. The beach aperitifs in the evenings with DJ Victoria and visiting sister Emma were great fun, good music and good company. The shows were good, in particular we loved the Beyoncé show with Emilie as the front woman, great stage presence and amazing dancer! We joined in on all the dances and loved it, such a great way to unwind and pass time with our favourite GO's. Special mentions to the GO's: Behind the bars: Ferry, Anaïs, Arina, Kawser, Monir. Berenice for her smile, energy and laugh. During dining: Fellow Canadian Sean and also Vichy. Sham and Iru: for snorkeling, volleyball and their friendship. Dudu, who was everywhere on the island wherever needed, great smile, great dancer! David, for organizing transfers and crazy dancing at the end of the day. Brent and fellow GO's at trapeze who helped me in my first trapeze lesson ever, so fun! Thanks to all the staff for this unforgettable vacation, you made...