Thulhagiri Island Resort & Spa

An amazing experience. Staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Our waiter Nizam was an absolute pleasure. Accommodation was perfect and we had a free upgrade when our air conditioning system stopped working. The resort was beautiful and hot, even in rainy season. Location was perfect. A short boat ode from Male airport. Definite value for money and I would highly recommend this resort to anyone. Rooms were kept very clean on a daily basis. Noise levels are very low. Perfect for relaxing. Amenities were as you would expect from a small island resort. All in all a lovely place with lovely people.

We spent 5 days and 4 nights on Thulhagiri. We chose it mainly for the location, and it delivered: just a 20-minute speedboat ride from Velana International Airport. After a long flight, avoiding the seaplane wait and stepping onto sand within half an hour is a big plus. The island is small and pleasant — around 50 beach bungalows plus a small number of water bungalows. Even at full capacity it doesn’t feel crowded. You can walk the perimeter in about 10 minutes, and the greenery keeps it feeling natural rather than overbuilt. Beach bungalow stay We stayed in a beach bungalow for all four nights. Opening the door straight onto the sand is lovely. A few comfort notes, though these are personal preferences: the mattress was firm (which suited us) but quite old — we could feel the springs. Some beds also creak when you turn over; we noticed this in rooms 143, 146, and 147. The AC unit was a bit noisy at night. Sound insulation between units is basic. Some rooms are semi-detached (shared wall): 102–103, 107–108, 117–118, 132–133. If you’re a light sleeper, worth noting. Noise considerations (important if you’re sensitive) Noise varies a lot by room. Rooms near 123 face the open sea and get noticeable wave noise at night. Rooms 101–108 have some shielding from trees and the sand bar. Rooms from 130 onward are further from the shore; 143+ have the pool as a buffer and higher elevation, so waves are quietest there. Rooms 121–135 are detached but close together, so you may hear neighbours. From 136 onward the layout is more spaced out. Rooms 128–135 are near the generator (constant low hum). Rooms around 122–127 back onto the staff area and can be noisy late at night. The sand bar has a Friday night disco until around 11pm — rooms near 143 can feel the low-frequency vibration. We visited in late September, during the southwest monsoon. Rooms near 123 are on the southwest (windward) side, so wind and wave noise were particularly strong. In the northeast monsoon or calmer weather, that location would likely be excellent. If you’re visiting in the southwest monsoon and are noise-sensitive, request a room away from the southwest shore. Beach & nature The beach is soft pale sand with calm shallow water — good for wading and easy snorkelling. We saw colourful fish in the lagoon. Snorkelling near the water bungalows was average (murky water, coral not in great shape). The main beach facing the open sea was better: clearer water, more fish, though rocks at the entry. The island feels natural and alive. Lizards, small reptiles, spiders (harmless), herons, fruit bats at dusk, tropical plants. The biggest surprise: we didn’t encounter a single mosquito the whole time. We had repellent ready but never needed it. My wife had one uncertain bite on day three, not even sure it was a mosquito. After all the warnings we’d read, this was a pleasant surprise. Mosquitoes may be more of an issue in other seasons or islands, but for us it was a non-issue. Food & drin

We went to Thulagiri island for our honeymoon. This place is absolute paradise. There are no other words for it. It’s relaxing, such a calming feel to it. We have never been anywhere with such beauty. The staff are all absolutely amazing. Nothing is too much trouble. The food, the drink, the weather, the scenery, the excursions. We grew very fond of two members of staff in particular. Mohammad, bar manager and one of the waitresses Susma, they made the stay just that little bit better. We will most definitely recommend this place and everyone in it. 5 stars all the way no doubt.

I stayed at this resort last month and had a wonderful time. As a Japanese guest, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the outstanding staff who made my trip so special. At the buffet restaurant, Maggie always welcomed me with a bright, warm, and gentle smile during breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. His dedicated hospitality truly comforted and healed my heart throughout my stay✨ Also, my butler, Shameen, was incredibly humorous and made me laugh every day with his great wit Furthermore, Isuru at the bar spoke excellent Japanese; since I am not very confident in my English, his kind support made me feel so relieved and safe It is because of such wonderful staff that makes this resort so special. Thank you so much for the unforgettable memories!

One of the first things that come to mind when you mention the Maldives are white sand beaches, tropical islands, exclusive resorts, and so forth. You get all of these when you visit or stay at Thulhagiri Island Resort & Spa. They say it's one of the affordable private Island resorts in the Maldives. Well if a US$700 overnight stay is affordable", then you're right. You pay an additional US$12 Green Tax. The resort offers you great services, from accommodation to food, spa, etc. The staff were very friendly and the place is a true paradise! We took a 15min speedboat ride from the jetty port just outside the Velana International Airport to reach the island. A round-trip ticket cost US$110 per head. We stayed in an overwater bungalow, which was really lovely! The resort also has a spa, a restaurant, an infinity swimming pool, a game area, a clinic, a souvenir shop, a chapel, and much more. We had a great time staying at this resort. But be prepared to shell out a lot of money, especially when you buy things from the souvenir shop.

A lovely island, with a little attention to detail it could be so much better. Check in needs to be more flexible. We arrived around 11.30am, guests check-out at noon so was advised our room would be ready at 2pm. If you know the guests are already on the island ( having been on the road and in the air for almost 14hrs) bring their room cleaning forward. We finally accessed our room at 2.30pm. It does not take 2.5hrs to clean a room. I would advise taking some swimwear in your hand luggage, we still had to ask for a towel! Our beach bungalow decking was quite dirty, food stains, etc. Deck loungers were stained also. Daily flies, so we asked to have it washed down. 10-minutes spraying with a hose, as soon as it dried they were back. This is a barefoot island but saw no proper washing of the decks/room. They only get swept. Suggest proper detergent and a hard brush to remove stains/debris on the decks. The pool decking was very similar. Yes, loungers are hard. We used spare beach towels to pad it out a little. There is a dress code but wouldn't say it is followed, still saw swim shorts and t-shirt at the evening meal. Possibly more of a guest issue maybe !! In saying this, Thulhagiri is a lovely island. Food was as expected, you will always find something. Minimum entertainment, most guests tend to go back to their rooms after dinner. The entertainment we saw was good, especially the DJ. We did the beach BBQ, enjoyed the atmosphere. Would recommend especially as an alternative to the same restaurant every night, and the same table. It can get a little bit of a repetitive routine as only the one restaurant. What stood out for us was the staff. Outstanding. Our waiter Muru had a great sense of humour. The girls in the sandbar were also exceptional in their service. Cannot fault any department for how they look after their guests. A little attention in some areas, few tweaks here and there, it could be a fabulous island.

We arrived at Male on a morning and we were directed by our rep from Mercury holidays to wait at the food court. We sat ages waiting for Russian people to disembark their plane and join us in the speedboat and it was really hot. Eventually the other guests arrived and we crossed the road to the speedboat. Getting in and out of the speedboat scares me to death but the staff do help you. Eventually we arrived at the island after a short choppy ride. We were greeted my reception staff and we were seated in the bar area with a refreshing towel and drink. A guy explained everything and said the room should be ready by 2. Mmm, we thought it would be ready immediately, that had been our experience on our previous 2 islands. We couldn't use all inclusive til 12 either. About ten minutes before 12 the barman said we could have drinks which was good of him. We had lunch and enquired about the room again. Not ready. We found the room and discovered the cleaner had finished so went back to reception and told them. So we begrudgingly were given our room. Now if you don't know before you arrive because they don't tell you this, at your first meal you go to the men in the red outfits in the dining room and they tell you where you will be sitting and you meet your waiter. This is your table for the rest of your stay, you don't get to choose. Now many people who haven't read reviews don't know this. They come in find their own table, sit down with food, then are promptly moved by the older red outfitted gentleman, who let's say aren't smiley and pleasant like all the other staff on the island are. If you're only visiting for a couple of days and you are met by their aloof attitude, well the opinion of the whole island decreases. Although our waiter Asim a younger gentleman was amazing. At evening meal we witnessed 3 separate tables of people being moved because they had no clue there is a procedure. They had plates of food, one table had already eaten a plate of food. This is disgraceful treatment. If there's a procedure don't you think it's a good idea to tell people, or have a sign. There is no formal area where you would actually think ooh I need to check by here, because they use a normal dining table, with a few menus on, where the red uniform people sometimes congregate and get in everyone's way. Third Maldive island we've visited and organisation in the buffet here is ridiculous. There is not much room to manoeuvre to the buffet, their table just causes a traffic jam. The food isn't the best. It's barely warm and nowhere to heat it up. Can I suggest a microwave? They work wonders for people who like hot food. The desserts are pretty tragic. Inch cubes of tastelessness on repeat lunch and evening meal. There's no cold meat or tuna to have a salad. The crackers with the one kind of cheese that's ever there are sweet and sometimes soggy. The cookies in the jars at breakfast are stale. I tried lots of different cocktails and they weren't great except one and n

We would like to note the quality of service provided by the hotel staff. From the first day of our stay, they took care of our opinion. We also want to mention the incredibly delicious cuisine and thank all the staff. We liked the idea of having our own table, it's very convenient. Please note that the drying system in the bungalow is not convenient enough, the soap smells bad in the toilet next to the reception, I wanted to have a pleasant hand smell. The beach towel and floor cleaner smelled delicious. There was an unpleasant smell from the toilet in our bungalow. There were bottom particles floating in the pool, which is unpleasant. there is a lot of vegetation and animals. It was more convenient if there were paper napkins in the dining room. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay, and your hotel gave us the best first impressions of our vacation in the Maldives.