The Residence Maldives – Honeymooners paradise

*authentic travel report by traveling_chabas & traveling_c

Introduction / first impressions

The Residence Maldives is located on the Gaaf-Allif Atoll in the South of the Maldives. Two islands are belonging to The Residence Malvides, named Dhigura and Falhumaafushi. Dhigura island opened recently in 2019, just before the Covid-19 outbreak. The islands are connected with the longest private bridge of the Maldives islands. It has a length of around one kilometer.

How to get there from Male? No worry – the Resort will organize the domestic transfer in a perfect manner. Once you arrive at Male International Airport an employee of the Resort welcomes you directly after leaving the luggage area. Nearly everything is managed now by employees of the Residence. They will accompany you to the domestic flight terminal, takes care of check-in procedure and invites you to join the lounge until your connection flight is ready for boarding. The 5-stars service is in place already at the airport. After the domestic flight, you take another five to ten minutes by speedboat after you finally disembark in paradise.

Electric cars will bring you to the lobby for a short and well organized check-in procedure. We travelled with two little kids and were really exhausted after such a long journey. However, opening the door of our over water villa blowed away all stressful thoughts immediately.

Room / Villa

We enjoyed two different room types at The Residence Maldives. The Lagoon Villa and the Overwater Villa. We have to say sorry if you will ask us for a clear recommendation as both have pros and cons.

Of course, the view from the Overwater Villa is absolutely breathtaking and awesome. We stayed at room 848, which is at the end of Dighurah Island. Maybe for some of you, the way to the dining room is a bit too far. On the other hand, we enjoyed the way across the palmtree forrest every single day. We received bikes with child seats and used them everytime. If you want to go by electric car – no problem, just dial zero and ask for the pick-up service. Within 15 to 20 minutes a friendly guy will take you to whereever you want to go.

Room service was very friendly as well. Water and coffee is complementary. You can expect all amenities of a 5 star resort with a high-quality standard, like for example air conditioning, Nespresso machine, daily housekeeping and turndown service or 24-hour in-villa dining. The space of the villas are more than sufficient and the overwater villa has its own dressing area. This was highly appreciated by us, as travelling with two little kids always mean lot of luggage and organizational chaos.

You want to go snorkeling? No problem, just open the door and take the stairs down to the ocean from your private villa. At low tide you can walk nearly until the edge of the reef. Life vests is in your room and the snorkeling equipment you can rent for free at the watersports center.

Resort / Outdoor area of The Residence Maldives

Where to start – the two islands offer a lot of possibilities for having fun or just relaxing. You can enjoy and relax at the main pool area, which we can recommend to visit during the sunset hour.

For sure, one of the main attrctions is the big jetty between Dhiguah and Falhumaafushi island. The sandbank during the low tide is the perfect place to make some honeymoon shots. You can also relax in one of the three hammocks, which are placed at the beginning of the sandbank.

Besides the crystal clear ocean, we loved to enjoy walking around the palm tree forest as well.

Of course the islands offer a lot of possibilities to lean back.  To be honest, travelling with two kids combined with some sportive activities may encourage the wish for a further relaxation. For this, the spa area of The Residence, which is equipped with product of Clarins, provides you the perfect opportunity. he Residence Maldives is the only resort on the Maldives with a Spa of Clarins. The treatment rooms of the Spa are simply amazing and unique. We enjoyed our signature massage two times and have to state that it had been far too less. After the treatment, we received a fresh tea and relax on the terrace of the pavillion. If you are enjoying The Residence Maldives as your honeymoon stay, needless to say, that some relaxing moments are obligatory.

Gastronomy / Dining

As mentioned before, the two islands are connected by the long jetty. You can enjoy your dining on Falhummafushi or on Dhiguah island. At our arrival, we asked for vegan options at dinner. On the first evening in the dining room we were welcomed by the cook. He was pleased to serve us some vegan options. Even without that special service it had been very easy to find many vegetarian and vegan alternatives at the buffet.

All dishes and ingredients were very fresh and some of them coming from the self made garden, which is located in the middle of Dhigurah island.

During breakfast time, you find a fruit bar and in the evening hours you have a pasta and a grill station. 

Family / Honeymoons with kids

Traveling with kids is completely different. Since 2018, we know what we are talking about. It’s not that easy to find a resort where all fits for the whole family. The Residence Maldives is offers a kids club and a playground. Our little ones loved to play the whole day in the pool, watching out for the fishes and turtles from the jetty. Collecting sea shells along the sandbank was a daily ritual as well. The whole resort is very child friendly. In every second we had the feeling that the littles are welcome.

Hospitality

It shall be known as a compliment to the resort, that we are not really sure what convinced us the most, the outstanding landscape and nature or the hospitality. The Residence Maldives has between 500 and 600 employees on both islands. So far, we visited many hotels and places in the world, but without any doubt, we immediately can confirm, that the hospitaltiy was exceptional.  Whether it has been the gardner, the cook, the front-desk manager, the waitress, the lifeguard or the driver – each single employee we met on the islands was absolutely friendly and courteous.

Short summary

The Residence Maldives is definitely worth a visit. Without any doubt we can recommend the resort if you consider a stay on ofe of the Maldives island. It’s not a matter of course to find such an intact nature. We can give a guarantee to see stingrays, dolphins, turtles and sharks. Snorkeling at the edge of the reef is like being captured in another world. As stated, besides the fantastic landscape the resort itself is managed in a perfect manner. It is really not easy to find a team of so many employees working together well. The Residence Maldives made the job. We have to say thank you for an unique experience.