We have just returned from a 9 night stay at The Residence and wish we were still there! Arrival: We were greeted at international arrivals by the hotel rep (if you can’t find the rep ask anyone of the other hotels, they’re very helpful) and helped us to check in for our flight to Koodoo. Note they’re quite strict with the hand luggage allowance (soft duffel type bags or rucksacks only and a max of 5kg). We checked in one of our heavier hand luggage items without an issue. She then took us to the lounge where we were able to have a light breakfast and log on to the wifi. I know many people have commented on the lengthy travel to The Residence but we were fortunate that our timings worked quite well. It’s an hour-long flight, again you’re met at Koodoo by the hotel team, and then a quick 7-minute boat trip to the island. Arriving at this beautiful location by a team of smiling staff sets the tone for the rest of our holiday! Shanna met us and went through the very quick registration process before driving us to our two bed sunrise beach villa. The islands: One of the reasons we chose The Residence was the availability of two bed villas as well as the size of the island, we hadn’t realised it was connected to Falhumaafushi by a bridge which means we had the freedom...We have just returned from a 9 night stay at The Residence and wish we were still there!

Arrival: We were greeted at international arrivals by the hotel rep (if you can’t find the rep ask anyone of the other hotels, they’re very helpful) and helped us to check in for our flight to Koodoo. Note they’re quite strict with the hand luggage allowance (soft duffel type bags or rucksacks only and a max of 5kg). We checked in one of our heavier hand luggage items without an issue. She then took us to the lounge where we were able to have a light breakfast and log on to the wifi. I know many people have commented on the lengthy travel to The Residence but we were fortunate that our timings worked quite well. It’s an hour-long flight, again you’re met at Koodoo by the hotel team, and then a quick 7-minute boat trip to the island. Arriving at this beautiful location by a team of smiling staff sets the tone for the rest of our holiday! Shanna met us and went through the very quick registration process before driving us to our two bed sunrise beach villa.

The islands: One of the reasons we chose The Residence was the availability of two bed villas as well as the size of the island, we hadn’t realised it was connected to Falhumaafushi by a bridge which means we had the freedom to move around and not feel too restricted. You do not at any stage feel bored and loved being able to move around using the bicycles provided (we didn’t actually use the buggies at all). We would often cycle to The Beach Bar at Falhumaafushi after breakfast, swim and snorkel there before cycling back to Dhigurah either stopping at Castaway Beach for a swim, snorkel and chill in the hammocks or go to the house reef to snorkel. There is so much to see underwater and even my daughter who is usually quite nervous around the darker waters loved swimming out to the reef. For those that are reluctant to snorkel, all you need to do is take a slow cycle or walk along the bridge – we saw turtles, rays, sharks and a wide variety of fish from the top of the bridge. We went on a sunset cruise, saw some dolphins in the distance but the star of the show was the amazing sunset colours! We used the paddle boards and glass bottom kayaks at Falhumaafushi which was great fun.

Our villa: We stayed in a two-bed sunrise beach villa with our 13 year old daughter – it is huge!! Being able to step out our door, to the pool and then walk to the little beach area was just incredible. The rooms are beautiful, bathrooms incredibly spacious. Housekeeping were great and kept our room tidy while any items used from the mini bar are replaced daily. We went with the standard all inclusive option and it was definitely worth it. Apart from paying for a few milkshakes and extra items at the Italian and French restaurants, we didn’t incur any costs. The spa: My daughter and I both went for a back massage, so relaxing. I hadn’t realised the rooms were over water so the location is just beautiful. Ayu and Indi were lovely and we really enjoyed sitting on the deck afterwards with our tea and taking in the amazing views.

Dining:

The Dining Room – We have travelled extensively and can honestly say the buffet options at The Dining Room (Dhigurah) is the best we’ve experienced. The food is freshly prepared, a different theme each evening and the staff are amazing. The chefs station is incredible – freshly grilled seafood (tuna, calamari, prawns, mussels, rock lobster), various meats and then other options depending on the theme for that day (pasta, egg fried rice, quesadillas etc – the list goes on). The breakfast was varied and provided for everyday tastes as well as a few Maldivian speciality items. My husband loved the curry area. They were very happy to prepare anything that you couldn’t find – we had the dosa for breakfast on a few occasions – amazing! The staff are what make the experience though and we’d like to thank Kyra for her friendly greeting and always making sure we had a table near a fan to keep cool, Sajith for your extensive knowledge of wine and pairing our wine choice to our evening meal, Hafiz – possibly the happiest person we’ve ever met, so warm and welcoming (and thank you so much for our specially prepared ‘last night on the island’ meal – traditional curry dishes, loved it!), and then Navin (thank you for always offering to make my daughter a mocktail), Dinesh, Lateesh, Juaeid, Virin. The list goes on but unfortunately, I forgot to take note of all the names.

The Beach Bar (Dhigurah) – we would end our days at this pool to relax with a late lunch. The menu has choices to keep everyone happy. My daughter loved the chicken panini, my husband the burger but I worked my way through the seafood choices which were all amazing (especially the squid ink risotto!). The team here are friendly, always ensure your drinks are topped up and go out of their way to ensure your holiday is a relaxing one. Thank you to Atul, Pratik, Abilash, Thong and the rest of the team. The evening DJ was fab – great selection of music so we’d often pop in for a drink after our evening meal.

Long Island – This is the Italian restaurant which you need to book for (I’d suggest on arrival as it is quite popular). We had a lovely meal here, a very relaxing evening with truly delicious food. Jony and Ayu took care of us. Note they do insist on long trousers for men but if you wear shorts they’ll give you a long sarong to cover up.

The Falhumaa – if you can, book either a lunch or dinner at the French restaurant. It’s based at the end of a long pier so the views are amazing and the food is superb. Again they provide sarongs for men who wear shorts. The set menu which is part of the all-inclusive package was varied and the food was worthy of its reputation. The Caesar salad and scallop starters were particular favourites of ours. Afzal and Kavendra ensured that our experience was pleasurable from arrival (enjoyed the traditional Maldivian hand washing ceremony to start).

As you can probably tell, we loved every moment of our stay at The Residence. Would we go back? Absolutely although our only concern is that while we were there it was very quiet with many more people arriving on our last day or two. Would we have the same experience if the hotel was at full capacity? I’m sure we would as the staff are incredible and do all they can to make your stay a memorable one. Management are very visible and chat to their guests to find out if anything is needed. More