Veligandu — Local services in North Ari Atoll

To sum up: Veligandu was unique! It was the best decision we could make to travel to Veligandu despite COVID-19. And just because of COVID-19 it was a very special, unique and great experience.

We arrived on the day of the reopening, September 1st, as guests number 3 and 4 during bad weather on the island. Our island host Antje welcomed us right in front of the seaplane and guided us to the bar where we were warmly welcomed with soft drinks, wet towels and Bodu Beru. After a temperature check and a short welcome by the General Manager Fathuhulla Antje escorted us to our bungalow. As already announced by her, besides many other hygienic measures they also tried to reduce the paperwork to a minimum. So a few minutes later we received an email from her with the events of the week and further information about the island and the activities as well as her WhatsApp number where we could contact her at any time. An app which allows to access all the information and also book excursions, activities etc. was currently being programmed.

ISLAND For us it felt like a private island. Only very few guests were there ( max. 20) and you only met them at meals. We had Villa 180 which is highly recommended: free unobstructed view to the westward (sunset), a nice wide beach in front of it, direct access to the house reef, the diving school nearby ( no noise though), no generator or similar noise sources nearby. However, in summer (north-west monsoon) it is also the weather side, therefore it can be windy.

FOOD In short: Everything is possible. Following this principle, all wishes were fulfilled. Basically the concept during our stay was a mixture of buffet and a la carte. As a rule, one chose starter and dessert from the buffet. For the main course one chose from 5-6 food suggestions, which could be combined or adapted as desired. Three times a week there was beach BBQ with freshly grilled delights. The variety of food was more than sufficient and the quality of the food was very high. Of the 8 islands we have visited so far, the food on Veligandu is clearly among the top 2.

DIVING On 7 of our 8 diving days we were the only two divers in the whole atoll. Our guide Nooh obviously enjoyed visiting the otherwise often overcrowded dive sites with us after 5 months of shut-down. The diving school is well organised and Nooh is an excellent guide. The crew on the boat is very helpful and you feel secure and in good hands. We suggested that tea between dives would be great ... and the next day the wish was granted. And we were lucky: Whale shark, Mantas, many different sharks, trusty Tunas ... As we didn't want to stay dry on the last day we explored the house reef. The corals seem to recover slowly from the bleaching, lots of fish, turtles, stingrays and reef sharks

SPA We already knew the Spa group from Mirihi. On the second day we enjoyed our 15min welcome massage. Later we had a wonderful back and neck massage. The staff is very friendly, well trained and also here a lot of attention is paid to hygiene.

COVID-19 MEASURES In these times a special topic, therefore the following information: The hygiene measures on the island are very extensive and well thought out. Contact-free disinfectant dispensers are available at all entrances. On arrival and departure, luggage is disinfected. At breakfast the temperature is measured daily contact-free. Paperwork is avoided as far as possible. Employees all wear mouth-nose protection and attention is paid to a safe distance. The sampling for the free COVID-19 test ( starting at 5 nights) was done in a separate villa by the island doctor and was done very professionally. All measures were very discreet and completely non-disturbing!

We were very sad to leave Veligandu after the wonderful 11 days. The fact that the GM Fathuhulla, the COO Adam, Antje, Nooh etc. waved goodbye to us at the jetty did not make it easier. We can only warmly recommend Veligandu and we will...

Very disappointing when you find a dishonest act of the resort and they don’t try to fix it but only downplay.

I visited the resort with the All Inclusive Plan (AIP), which allows me to have unlimited “fine dining” in any of their restaurants. But I realized it’s extremely difficult to book their best restaurant (Raalhu) and it is because they limit the availability. Here’s what the resort manager said: They only accept 26 guests per night in the restaurant and maybe a couple more in a special occasion. The restaurant’s capacity is obviously higher. He also said there are 100 villas, of which 60% are on AIP. Although I don’t fully trust what he said, if I take his words, it means that there are about 120 guests on AIP. If they accept on 26 guests per night, a guest can use the restaurant only once every five days on average. And they still advertise as “unlimited dine around”. When you buy AIP, you pay upfront. So they can make more profits by limiting the availability of the restaurants.

By the way, the quality of the foods in this restaurant is way better than the buffet and the other “fine dining” restaurant.

The communications with the managers were extremely bad as they never got back to me after they said they’d so. They didn’t accept any of my requests, such as a partial refund of the extra I paid for AIP and stating the actual availability of the restaurants in the contract.

They served us a lobster and gave us a bottle of Champagne as a gesture of apology, but it wasn’t what I expected. I more wanted a public apology on their website as it’s technically a scam. But they refused.

And they still had to change me $10 for using the medical clinic because my partner had food intoxication from the resort.

What an experience. Of course there were many positive things too but this ruined my feeling...

UNA ESTANCIA ABSOLUTAMENTE PERFECTA

Cuando mi marido y yo elegimos Veligandu para nuestras vacaciones de verano en las Maldivas, ya sabíamos que era una apuesta segura debido a todos los excelentes comentarios y reseñas que habíamos leído previamente en Internet, pero en ese momento no sabíamos hasta qué punto íbamos a disfrutar de nuestras vacaciones allí. Nuestra intención era celebrar nuestro sexto aniversario de boda en semejante paraíso y hacer realidad nuestro sueño de conocer Maldivas. Después de nuestra estadía, solo podemos decir GRACIAS, GRACIAS DESDE EL FONDO DE NUESTRO CORAZÓN. Han sido las mejores vacaciones de nuestra vida, no solo por el lugar, que es absolutamente mágico, sino sobre todo por el equipo humano que trabaja en la isla que es 100% profesional. Gracias a todas esas personas amables, encantadoras, serviciales y atentas que dieron lo mejor de sí mismos, disfrutamos al máximo de nuestro tiempo en Veligandu. Nos encantó el ambiente de la isla y la sensación de ser parte de una familia, la familia Veligandu, durante nuestra estadía. Profundizando en el lugar, destacar el hecho que la isla es pequeña, te da sensación de privacidad y te ofrece una experiencia única. La water villa con jacuzzi donde nos alojamos, simplemente espectacular y muy confortable. La recomiendo al 100%. Dormir con el sonido del mar de fondo y levantarte cada día con esas vistas tan excepcionales del agua cristalina y turquesa de Maldivas, es algo totalmente increíble. Además el acceso al agua desde la villa es perfecto y se pueden ver fácilmente animales marinos nadando alrededor (peces de todo tipo, rayas, baby sharks...). El arrecife cercano brinda una experiencia de snorkel maravillosa. Las instalaciones de la isla y las actividades ofrecidas están muy bien. Recomiendo hacer la excursión a "Wonder Rock" y la "Manta & Turtle". ¡Fabulosas! El buffet, tanto del desayuno, como de la comida y la cena, de una calidad excepcional, buenísimo y muy variado. Y los cócteles en los dos bares, riquísimos. Destacar la atención del personal en todo momento, desde nuestra island host Adelaida (recepción), hasta el personal de los restaurantes y bares, las chicas del SPA, los guías de las excursiones, los instructores, el personal de limpieza y mantenimiento, etc., gente muy amable, risueña y servicial que está pendiente de ti, de que disfrutes al máximo y de que no te falte de nada en ningún momento. ¡Ojalá podamos...