The Residence Maldives Reviews

Totally impeccable! Service was GREAT with stunning views! Dun feel like going home 😜

Thankyou for our most beautiful 5-night honeymoon in the maldives, quite literally paradise on earth. The island was a trek to get to but the staff were so helpful. We stayed in a over water pool villa and cannot recommend that enough. The room and pool was huge and beautifully and meaningfully appointed. It had everything we needed without being too much. The hot water was instantaneous and the bath tub overlooking the ocean was just stunning. We saw quite a few turtles and sharks from our villa decks! We loved that we had access to both islands and got to try every restaurant in our all inclusive package. We loved the variety of food on offer. Even though we had our own pool, we loved lazing by the public pool at the beach club. They definitely did not skimp on the liquor in the cocktails! A special mention to Jony, aizak, Inaasha, Rawindu, shina and Rabina for being so friendly and accommodating at the restaurants. Unfortunately we do not remember the names of the staff driving the buggies but they were always so friendly and often pointed out where the best place to see the sealife. We really hope to be able to return one day! Tips: - the overhead lockers on the flight to/from koddoo are small and dont fit the usual sized cabin luggages. This meant it got included in our checked in luggage and we went over the 20kg per person limit and got charged an excess. The staff do make an effort to average out the luggage with the other passengers staying at the Residence to avoid you having to pay the excess where possible though - make sure to use the mosquito repellants they have available, especially if youre doing the yoga! - the Dining Room at Dhigurah definitely had more options, especially with the grill at dinner times - be mindful that there may be rainy days even in dry season but the weather is never as damning as the forecast makes it out to be!

This is a stunning place to stay. We had an over-water pool villa, facing the sunset. The Villa is gorgeous and much more spacious than you can see on the website, with double height ceilings, separate living room, bedroom and bathroom, all with wall windows looking out over the sea. The infinity pool is a really decent size, and the villas nicely spaced, so you feel you have a big expanse of sea to yourself. The whole island is a magical environment- true tropical paradise, with almost constant refreshing sea breeze to ease the sunshine. Turtle, sting ray and baby sharks meandering round your villa and in the bays, endlessly friendly and accommodating service, and lots of gorgeous Sedona available. We had a private ‘fire’ dining experience, set up on an isolated beach, with magical lights, bonfire and personal chef cooking us lobster!… having dessert laid on the cushions staring at the stars… nothing quite like it! The beautifully dressed ‘flower and oil’ bath in your villa, is also not to be missed! This was our honeymoon and it was truly out of this world, thank you everybody for a gorgeous stay!

We had a 7 night stay at this fantastic resort at the end of February 2024. The location is very far down south from Male, which involved quite a lengthy domestic flight, but was worth it when we arrived. We stayed in a sunrise-facing over-water villa (number 123) with an infinity pool. The villa was very spacious, clean and contained all the necessary amenities. All staff were friendly and professional, and are a credit to the resort and the hospitality industry. Big shout-outs to the following staff members for excellent service: Hafiz at The Dining Room Dhigurra Hassan at the Beach Bar Falhumaafushi Aali at the Water Sports Centre Dhigurra Ravi at the Fires Private Dinner experience Jaavid at The Dining Room Falhumaafushi Hasan at Li Bai We highly recommend staying at this resort for a memorable Maldives experience.

We have always wanted to visit the Maldives and we weren’t disappointed! The setting, sea life and whole feel of the Island (being able to use both Islands was fantastic) was a World away from home and an absolute delight. The staff are alway eager to help. We had booked an over water villa but realised that it was quite a bike ride away from the amenities (breakfast/dinner/gym) so we changed to a pool villa and this was perfect. The included cocktails in the evening watching sunset was pure bliss. We have never seen such beautiful sunrises and sunsets. The only thing we would like to see improved for us to return is the food. The quality wasn’t what we normally expect from a 5star resort and although they try their best and were very helpful the quality just wasn’t there. (Most guests were saying the same at the time of our stay) We understand a lot of produce is (understandably) shipped in but we were surprised that this is the case even for the fish. Having said that we had a wonderful two week and witnessed sea life, sunsets and a setting that were simply amazing! We cam home rested and inspired and so happy we had visited this beautiful island.

Great service, water villa was lovely. Ate at the French restaurant which was amazing in the moonlit watching the baby sharks in front of us. Special mention to Afzal and Ahmed who looked after us very well several evenings - so professional and attentive. We also ate at the Italian /cantonese and again the service and food were superb. Vignesh and Yna were so helpful and welcoming when we ate both at lunch and dinner. Again very professional service received. All the staff at the dining room for breakfast were so friendly and attentive. Special thanks to Jaavid, Shina, ishan and Zahua. Any special requests for betroth juice or avocado at breakfast was no trouble at all. Sundar looked after us every day at our water Villa ensuring we always had beach towels, cleaned our villa beautifully and always checked when was best to come for turn down service to minimise interrupting us.

Just had an amazing holiday at The Residence and already looking at another holiday to the Maldives. We stayed in an overwater villa with pool, sunset view - room 329. Could not fault the villa, living area, lovely comfy bed in bedroom, huge bathroom with indoor and outdoor shower. The bar was restocked every day with 'sparkling wine', beer, soft drinks and we even had a bottle or 2 of Baileys. Francis deserves a shout out, he even came looking for us on the beach to see what drinks we would like in our room. The linen was changed as often as you liked, you just left a note on the bed asking for fresh sheets. Pool/beach towels were provided and were not restricted to one each. Bath towels were large and soft. No need to take travel adapters, UK plugs fitted everywhere. We would be in our pool and watch turtles, rays and reef sharks swim by and even watched the dolphins 100 yards away flipping in and out the water for 20 minutes, no need for books, too much marine life to watch. The bikes were rarely used, had to get 2 changed as brakes did not work and sister fell off hers. If we didn't want to walk we just called reception and a buggy was sent to us to transport us to wherever we wanted to go. We used the facilities at Dhigurah as the beach bar/pool at Falhumaafushi was undergoing restoration works which happened to be completed and re-opened on the day we left. The weather in July was lovely, don't look at the forecast before going, we were expecting rain everyday but only had 5 minutes rain one evening and a couple of hours over night one night. Food was amazing and the chef even made specials for us including some huge prawns on our last night. Good choice of menu at all restaurants, our favourite was probably the Cantonese. Every member of staff could not do enough for you, particularly in the restaurants, there are too many to name but they are all a credit to the hotel. We almost felt we were the only ones there and often had beaches or the main pool to ourselves, no fighting for sunbeds. There would be us and maybe another couple in the restaurant so if its a lively place you want, this would not be for you. One negative was the beach at South End on Falhumaa - it was not the soft white sand you expect and you needed beach shoes. The nicest sand was at Castaway island and the beach villas we saw at Dhigurah also looked to have nice beaches. Falhumaa v Dhigurah - I think Falhumaa was nicer to stay at particularly for adults, Dhigurah probably better for families. Dhigurah has more food options but with the buggy and bus it's no hassle to travel between the 2. It was a long journey, direct flight from Heathrow to Male (10 hrs) then a wait of 4 hours at Male for the internal flight and then 10 minute speedboat. Coming home was probably worse, had to leave hotel at 4am for flight back to Male and then another 4.5 hour wait for flight home. But was it worth it - YES definitely.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our romantic honeymoon for 5 nights on this spectacular maldivian island paradise. We were warmly greeted at the airport at Male with all transfers and transportation organised with friendly and professional service. Upon arrival at this most magnificent island location, we were welcomed by hotel resort staff and escorted to our beautiful and spacious overwater bungalow with our own pool to enjoy. Everything about our time here was superb. The food at all the various restaurants and bars was delicious sith well presented meals, and enough variety to select from. The beach bar staff on the island we stayed at were particularly friendly and offered amazing bar service, making us feel welcome and special. The inclusion of bicycles to move about both islands that are connected by a bridge enabled a wide choice of activities throughout each day and night. We chose a honeymoon package, which had many amazing inclusions to make our time even more memorable. These inclusions were a sunset dolphin cruise, a photographer 30 minute shoot around the island, a bath treatment with a bottke of wine, and two restaurant bookings at their alacarte restaurants. The snorkelling around the island was also magical, with marine life like reef sharks, eagle rays, dolphins, sea turtles, and numerous colourful fish. Golf buggy cart transport was also available throughout both islands. Our over the water bungalow was very spacious, including a large comfortable bed, a fantastic indoor and outdoor shower, and a deep bath with a view overlooking the water. The villa also had additional living spacs to retreat from the bedroom. Every day, there was always something interesting to see in the water from our villas deck. There is also direct access from the villa to the water beneath to enable snorlelling at high tide.Checkout was equally efficient with everything organised and seamlessly completed for us. We would most definitely recommend this beautiful resort to any couple looking for a romantic escape.

I know there was a song released which said heaven is a place on earth…. Well we found it here !! From the moment we arrived at Male Airport we were made to feel so welcome, the representatives were polite and extremely helpful and we got to the resort with no stress whatsoever. Upon arrival greeted warmly by the reception staff and taken to our Water Villa which was amazing, very comfortable and well equipped with the most amazing view across the Indian ocean. Nothing was too much to ask for, from Housekeeping to the drivers of the buggies all had a smile and a willingness to help and make the stay as enjoyable as possible. A mention of Christine ( hopefully correct spelling ) the chef and her brigade who produced the most fantastic and varied dishes, and Mousa who drive us to breakfast most mornings and always greeted us warmly. The food from all areas that we ate were exceptional but if you do holiday here you must without fail go to the BBQ night on the beach, the quality of seafood is amazing and totally delicious. But even at breakfast we ate very well with the staff being very attentive but not intrusive. If you can try to get Villa 316 which is right in the middle of the sunset facing area, beautiful sunsets every evening which just added to the magic of the place. There simply is nothing we can say which is negative we loved the whole experience and it really was the holiday of a lifetime, simply cannot recommend The Residence highly enough, we will definitely be returning and even now are jealous of the people who are arriving there now !!!

My bucket list vacation was fulfilled. What an amazing experience it was for the two of us. The Team members were amazing. Food and drink options were plentiful. Overall hospitality, kindness, friendliness was all "over the top". Over the water pool villa was wonderful. We stayed for 9 days and would have stayed longer if we had a chance. I would return in a heartbeat even with the 30 hours it took us to get there from the States.

Transfer & check in: We arrived at 12 midday in Male and got quickly through baggage, collection and passports control and were met outside the arrivals hall by a The Residence staff member. He took us to the domestic terminal and checked us in for a flight. The flight we were due to go on was scheduled for 4pm but he managed to get us on an earlier flight that had been delayed. My luggage was overweight and I had to pay nearly $100 be warned! We were then take to a lounge where we had some food and drinks all free. We spent about 40 minutes here before being collected by the same staff member and taken to the boarding area. Before long we were on the domestic flight which took 1hr 5 minutes. Once landed we got our luggage and were whisked by minibus to the speedboat about 2 minutes. We got a lovely refreshing drink and within 5 minutes we were at The Residence Dhigurah. No special welcome to the island apart from a necklace. As we have visited other islands we were expecting drums or a little fanfare. Never mind we then went by golf buggy to Falhumaafushi. We got checked in promptly in the library bar and were given another nice drink. We got all the information we needed and we were then taken to our villa. Villa: We spent 10 nights in an overwater villa with pool (302)on standard all inclusive. Booked with Destination2. We absolutely loved the room. It felt huge! We had a sunset view and as we arrived the sun was setting and then we were brought champagne and fruit and macaroons. This was a fabulous start. We watched the sunset with a glass of bubbles while we waited for our luggage. Our room was cleaned twice daily by Raushaan. He is such a lovely guy and worked so hard with a huge smile. I requested sunset view in advance of arriving and was thrilled that my request was honoured. Thank you The Residence. Our minibar was well stocked and we had the fabulous Francis checking with us everyday was there anything else that we needed for it. He was a pleasure to deal with. The resort: The resort is fabulous! Well maintained and in a beautiful modern colonial design. Castaway beach is beautiful- picture perfect. Pool is gorgeous and lovely and cool. We enjoyed cycling the 1km bridge to Dhigurah. We had the fortune of seeing dolphins swim by 5 times, twice from our villa. There is an abundance of sharks, turtles and rays all around the island. We enjoyed turtle spotting in the late afternoon on Falumaa bridge. Big reef sharks swim around the Falumaa restaurant also. We were unfortunate with weather and were not able to snorkel as much as we wished. We did the house reef orientation in Dhigurah dive centre and I would recommend this. We were shown where to go on the reef and we followed this advice each time- walking to the end of the Dhigurah dive centre pier and down the steps and out to the drop. It was like an aquarium at times. Well recommended. Food & drink: we were very fortunate in our first week that occupancy was low and all meals in the D

In all the years that we have been travelling this is one of the very few places that we absolutely will be going back to. We were celebrating our Silver Wedding anniversary and all the staff at the Residence could not have been more welcoming, their service levels were amazing. We were in a villa over the water which could not have been better, we could not believe the reef sharks, turtles, rays and fish that we saw every single day. We spent hours snorkelling and just watching the wildlife from the platform outside with a beer in hand. The restaurants and especially the a la carte ones were also top drawer, we loved the food and nonstop shark show at the Falhumma where we lucky enough to dine twice in our week long stay. Thank you so much to the waiter who really looked after us, apologies for forgetting his name. We cycled from one island to the other virtually every day and dined on both islands which means that you will never be bored. There are buggy’s if you don’t want to cycle. We also went to the Clarins Spa and the massages we got were also amazing (yes this word is well and truly warranted again and again). Thank you so much to everyone at The Residence we cannot wait to return.

The only word that can describe this amazing place is breathtaking. What an amazing relaxing holiday. The entire experience was incredibly well organised and the resort staff were so friendly and efficient. Will be returning next year!

We stayed for 10 nights in a sunset water pool villa. The room was beautiful, huge and very well equipped. The bars, restaurants and food are excellent with great choice across both islands. The bikes are great fun to get around which we used during the day and used the buggies to get around at night which always turned up promptly. We also renewed our wedding vows during our stay to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. The staff were exceptional! Ibrahim, Ahmed and their team made our day so special and memorable. Their attention to detail was admirable and it is clear they take such care and pride in their work! All the special touches and extras they made for us throughout our stay were fantastic! Our private dinner on the beach after our ceremony was outstanding and was planned personally with us by the head chef, Ashish. All staff are very attentive and always greeted us with a smile and cannot do enough for you. Ibrahim constantly checked in on us to ensure everything was ok and if he could do anything for us - a great asset to the resort! We had the best holiday and would thoroughly recommend this resort!