Angsana Velavaru — Hotel in South Nilandhe Atoll

Honest Impressions from Our Honeymoon Stay at Angsana Velavaru (October 2025)||We stayed at Angsana Velavaru from October 18 to 26, 2025, for our honeymoon and my birthday. We had originally planned to book through Booking.com because the deal looked better, but the system failed during checkout and said the offer was no longer valid. We ended up booking directly through the hotel website at a higher rate. The website mentioned a clear package: Beach Villa with Full Board, plus several included activities like night fishing, a romantic dinner on the beach, and an $80 daily credit for water sports or spa. We also sent a message mentioning our honeymoon and my birthday, asking for a modern, quiet villa on the beach. The reply was short and generic — just confirmation of the booking and a note that transfer payment was due on arrival.||After a long journey with a layover, we arrived in Malé around 1:40 pm. The hotel’s representative was friendly and guided us to the Angsana lounge. Everything seemed well organized at first, but we were told the wait for the seaplane would be at least three hours. In the end, we departed Malé only at 5 pm, after sitting for over three hours in the lounge. The flight itself took about 1 hour and 15 minutes, with a stop at another resort for refueling. By the time we arrived at Velavaru, it was already dark and we had missed the sunset we were looking forward to.||Check-in was basic. There were only a few staff members, and the process felt rushed. Despite it being late and us clearly tired, we were asked to fill out paperwork before being shown to our villa. A young staff member with limited English led us to Beach Villa 133. Unfortunately, the villa was old and poorly maintained — worn furniture, torn curtains, cobwebs, yellowed bedding, windows that barely closed, and overall a very tired look. Privacy was also an issue, as we could hear every sound from the neighboring room. There were no sigh of welcoming gesture for us - no flower arrangements, no fruits or vine.||It wasn’t at all what we expected after our message about a honeymoon and birthday stay.||We immediately spoke up, and to his credit, the staff member said he would check for options. Later that evening, a manager named Imran approached us at reception. He apologized sincerely, acknowledged the condition of the villa, and offered to move us to Villa 128 at no extra cost. That villa was newer, cleaner, brighter, and much more comfortable — with a pool, quiet air conditioning, and fresh linens. We appreciated his attitude and finally felt we could relax and start enjoying the island.||From that point on, our stay was generally good. The island itself is beautiful, with lush greenery and turquoise water. Still, we noticed a lack of attention to detail and warmth from the staff. For example, even though the hotel knew about our honeymoon and birthday, there were no special touches — no decorations, no small gestures. My birthday was acknowledged later, which felt awkward and fake. ||I had mentioned I’m a certified diver and was interested in diving spots, but no one followed up. The activities included in our package, like night fishing or the beach dinner, were never offered. It felt like the team waited for guests to insist instead of proactively creating experiences.||Food was fine overall — simple but tasty. The main buffet restaurant had enough variety, and theme nights like “Mongolian Night” were amusing, even if unrelated to Mongolia. The Mediterranean à la carte restaurant was disappointing, but the Pan-Asian one was good. Service was friendly but inconsistent. Some staff members stood out: Imran, who handled our concerns with professionalism; Laila, a kind and attentive waitress at the main restaurant; and a young man from the pool bar who was also a photographer — all genuinely nice people who made a difference.||There were some logistical hiccups. One dinner reservation was made for us, but not mentioned where the restaurant was. We thought that, like another a la cart restaurant, it was on water villas and went there. We ended up drenched in the rain before realizing the restaurant is actually on a main island. The team later apologized and offered a small gesture, which was fair. ||The snorkelling crew were friendly. The spa was wonderful — we went a few times and loved every treatment. Water activities like jet skis and kayaking were also great.||When it comes to marine life, the house reef was disappointing. The corals are almost completely dead, and marine life is scarce. We saw just one turtle, one small ray, and a single shark during the whole week. Coral bleaching is a widespread problem across the Maldives, but this reef felt especially empty compared to others we’ve visited.||We were also unlucky with the weather — it rained for about half of our stay with strong winds. Of course, that’s no one’s fault, but better service and small thoughtful gestures could have made those grey days more memorable. Instead, we mostly kept ourselves entertained.||Every request we made was eventually handled, but usually after some hesitation or confusion, rather than with natural hospitality. There was no GM cocktail or welcome event, which most Maldivian resorts have, and that absence reflected the distant management style we felt throughout.||Our departure was delayed by about two and a half hours. The hotel offered a late checkout, lunch, and drinks while we waited, which was kind. A helpful lady at reception kept us informed, though we couldn’t understand why our flight was delayed while planes from other islands were departing normally. Eventually, we were rushed to a departing seaplane and barely made our international flight. Stressful, but it ended well.||In the end, Angsana Velavaru is a beautiful island with solid facilities and nice surroundings. The natural setting is truly peaceful. But the lack of attention to detail, personalization, and proactive service holds it back from being exceptional. If the management invests more in genuine hospitality and guest engagement, this could be a fantastic place. For now, we’d describe it as a lovely island experience with room for...

I was there for our family vacation in a group of 10 from 23-26th aug '24. It was our dream to visit this resort . Talking about the rooms. It was excellent. We took an all inclusive package but we didnt get even 1% what we paid for. Services are below average. Sunil, Shadoon and Laila made us survive our stay by serving the limited 3-4 items so that we can eat something during our stay. 1.The vegetarian food mentioned in the menu was not available apart from 4 -5 things mentioned below. Only below items were served for our whole stay in the main course. 6 major meals we had these items in 3 days of our stay. Parathas Aloo jeera Panner makhani Yellow Dal Biryani. The same was repeated for all 3 days.

We requested vegetarian Indian food on the arrival day and wanted to meet the chef, since we did not get decent Indian food. The chef didn't turn up.

Staff responses at the reception were not courteous enough. They didn't even pass a smile when you arrive except Shadoon.

Staff refused to give a water bottle in the room no.144 at 9pm stating no room service, even when one of the guests was down with fever. WHEN I EMAILED THEM THESE POINTS THEY MENTIONED WE DIDNT CHARGED YOU FOR MEDICAL SERVICES BUT I HAVE A PROOF OF THE BILL WITH $85 CHARGED AGAINST MEDICAL CLINIC AT THE END OF OUR STAY.

On one of the days we asked for an extra empty cup in the room, which was declined blatantly in our in ocean villa room no.345 by house keeping staff.

6.The Cart service was not available for free of charge to drop senior citizens and kids in the room in the InOcean villa.Parents were tired at a point of time as they didn't had enough energy to go back to the room after no food in the restaurant they denied to drop us to our room.

We requested for fruits, specially papaya and mango steen, which was not considered. We were a group of 10 all wanted to eat papaya. They served only 3 plates and then denied that it's over. Basically all the items in the buffet breakfast contains egg n were non veg. We didnt had option to eat except fruits. That too if we eat limited options like papaya. They couldn't cater to get from the market within 3 days of our stay .

Even on request, no special food was prepared for kids. Our kids asked for vegetarian burger to the staff names Laila but it was denied stating that we couldn't make it as it is not in the menu.

At the time of checkin only we specifically mentioned many times to make south indian breakfast but nothing was there on any of the days and being vegetarians we only had to fill ourselves with fruits and breads even after paying so much for meals.

We were promised that Mini Bar will be refilled once everyday but on requesting to refill the beers on the next day, they said only cold drinks will be refilled not the beer cans .Alcohol we didnt had.

We had a photoshoot included in our package for 15 mins but photographer denied for the shoot stating he is completely booked and doesn't have availability.

We asked the front desk the very first day to make us meet someone from the Management but no one come even once after asking to meet during our whole stay. They were least bothered to come and meet in the 3 days. Finally they came to meet us only on the last night of our vacation was over and our whole stay was spoilt. That made no point. Neither they offered us any additional services or benefit nor refunded any amount for this kind of services they provided.

Overall this Hotel is running only for Chinese guests bcox we could see majorly guests from china during our stay.They doesn't like Indian guests as it seemed. Their rooms and location are one of the best you will find in Maldives but sadly I can not say the same for their service and guest relationship. There one word apology finishes off there duty but that is not enough. We have paid a lot and had some basic expectations which was not fulfilled at all. Still waiting for the refund specially the the medical services which they said they didn't charge but they did. I can share the bill...

We stayed for 6 nights at the ocean villas part of the resort. To start with, this is our 10th visit to the Maldives and this is our 8th resort to try.

Positives: The details of the deluxe in ocean infinity pool villa is very nice and the double story villa gives an amazing view of the ocean and more amenities to enjoy. Food was very good across all outlets and room service as well. Sea life is amazing, reef is everywhere and you could easily interact with sea life in a very amazing way. Snorkeling is is just amazing SPA was okay

Negatives: I can summarize our experience in three areas: privacy, transportation and quality of service.

Pools across all water villas are not private at all. From your pool you could literally see all pools around you, however this remains to be subjective from a person to another. Staying at the ocean villas means you can only go to the main resort by ferry boat. Which is scheduled (see the picture below). It is exactly like you’re are moving via public transport system from a resort to another. Even the timing are not scheduled with constant gaps, for example sometimes the next ferry could be after 30 minutes, 45, 60, or even one hour and 45 minutes. Simply they dictate your timing and you have to adjust your activities to fit their schedule rather than the opposite. I had a big talk with the management on my second day and Mr. Amjad the front desk manager was kind enough to instruct his team for flexibility with us. However this remained to be a big concern for most of the guests we interacted with. Housekeeping is very poor, it is normal to be missed or delayed in the cleaning. Our first day lunch was on the second floor terrace for two days and the housekeeping staff did not clear it, apparently he did not bother himself to check and housekeeping the second floor The management is running the property under extreme cost efficiency manner where you as guest clearly feel it. As a welcome gift in our room, we had a plate of fruit which had one small piece of orange and an apple even without cutleries (see picture below). Although we are paying almost $ 1,500 per night (half board), once we entered the villa they told us we are allowed to consume two coffee capsules per day (and it is mentioned on the mini bar menu as well) otherwise you will be charged. Although we were on a half board plan (breakfast and dinner), we had to pay a compulsory $320 per person for the new year night gala dinner which was hilarious. On the gala dinner, they made the setup on the beach without proper forecasting the weather. We had a very heavy rain, food was watery and the management did not even have a plan B. Simply they have limited number of tables and all tables were moved to the beach. Guests themselves were lifting tables to go inside the main restaurant to get shelter from rain. Following morning on the breakfast same story, most tables are outside and rain started and guests had to do the self service of moving tables inside. Our do not disturb sign was not working, although I informed the receptionist and the housekeeper, but did not fix. We were awaken twice early morning in two different days because the housekeeper can’t figure out if we are in the room or not so he rang the doorbell few times. So I had to go old school and write on a piece of paper do not disturb and really worked out.

Having visited Maldives 10 times and experienced 8 different five stars resorts, I can easily say our experience was very bad. The way the resort is managed, prioritizes cost savings over guests experience and quality of service provided. Thus, they try to dictate your behavior to fit their budget.

My conclusion, this resort fit people who are budget conscious and would like to stay in a 5 star resort or first timer visitors to the Maldives but certainly not convince seekers as they have to work really hard to upgrade services to be able to provide personalized services like other five stars resorts like Constance Halaveli, Ozen Reserve Bolifushi, Finolhu or...