Kanuhura Resort & Spa

Overall Ludicrously beautiful place with excellent service, stylish details and fun activities. A luxurious spot to unwind, get some sun and do some diving. Beautiful clean beaches. Incredibly clear water. Villa We stayed in Villa 23, a deluxe beach villa with pool on the west side of the island, right next to the wider beach which is incredibly beautiful, on the side where the jetties are - and the seaplanes (about 5 a day come in and out). It also meant we got the sunsets. I would say that the other (east) side is wilder but we found our side to be v convenient. The villa itself was lovely. Loads of room. A large double bathroom with a bath and 2 showers. A sofa, rocking chair and a very large super king bed. A hallway. A walk in dressing room. Modern Californian style. Quiet. Air con. Regularly and discretely cleaned. Water replenished. The pool is for looks really. It’s 90cm deep so a plunge at best. Good with small kids I suppose. I hear the retreats are particularly nice. Service The service was excellent. Never imposing or annoying. Just friendly, efficient and quick to turn things around. We didn’t make much use of our GEM (Guest Experience Manager) - we’re quite low maintenance and can work things out ourselves usually - but she was there whenever we needed her and sorted stuff out very quickly. The team at Six Senses Kanuhura seems happy to be there. I got the sense they enjoy their jobs. Many have been there for many years, some since well before Six Senses became the operator. The senior team were very present and seemed to be running things extremely well. We sensed a very positive culture. Six Senses On top of the excellent service, our feeling was that Six Senses is particularly thoughtful about sensory things - how to create an atmosphere - and this suits us well. The music was cool and always the right vibe (Thievery Corporation, Bob Marley, Jamie Cullum). The lighting was beautifully atmospheric. They lit a fire on the beach. The buildings have nice details, materials and textures. If you’re the sort that lights a candle to create an atmosphere at home, they could be the hotel brand for you. Wellness There is a gentle emphasis on wellness here. An Apple cider vinegar shot (called rocket fuel) is offered at breakfast. We took our medicine every day with a water chaser. The spa has excellent (single sex) sauna, steam, hot and cold plunges as well as very good massage. It’s quite expensive ($200+) but arguably worth it if you’re here to recover from a busy life. We also took a yoga class - which was great. It was led by an Indian teacher with a quite disciplined approach. Teachers from that part of the world often have this - counting breaths, going straight into a strong representation of a pose. He was very good, but I tend to prefer to adapt and find what feels good. In any case it got the day off to a bracing start. It was $45 for a 60 minute class and I did wonder if this should be included. In general I thought that this could be a way of distinguishing Six Senses - great yoga classes included. We also did a sound healing session with the same teacher. Genuinely wonderful. He has a great set of chimes, singing bowls and gongs and took us on an incredible meditative journey. Then we literally walked 30 yards to the bar for a gin and tonic. The joys of being in a luxury resort! Costs and upselling Everything in Maldives tourism is priced ‘plus plus’ - ie plus service charge (10%), plus government standard tax (16% on top once the 10% has been added). This means a combined 27.6% is added to the published price. Six Senses offers a space for you to add a tip on every bill too. We started out tipping at 10% to 20% or so but started to feel like this was a bit sharp given the plus plus. Also we’re English and don’t usually tip except in restaurants. We also learnt that the service charge (the first plus) must by law be collected by the hotel and distributed evenly among the staff - so we felt a bit better about not tipping every time. It’s not cheap here. A bottle of wine (one of the cheaper ones) costs around $80 to $100 plus plus. They were nice wines - I would guess you’d find them at £18 to £20 in Majestic. You’re on a desert island in a non-drinking country though, a long way from any wine-producing regions. We just tried to enjoy ourselves and forget about the prices. There is quite a lot of upselling going on. For example, I finished a wonderful massage and the therapist suggested I needed a special oil given my Ayurvedic personality. It was $120 plus plus. (I checked later - on Amazon, it’s £25). A therapist suggested hair oil for my wife which was expensive too. When I came back from an amazing dive they asked me if I planned to return tomorrow. And if I wanted to do my Nitrox training. Our GEM recommended a visit the nearby island and said we should try the lobster for lunch ($75++). I fully understand why they do this - they’re a business and increasing average revenue per customer is their goal. We said yes a few times but ultimately learned to say thank you we’ll think about it. Weather We were here in early November. It rained only once, in the evening. Sunshine constantly otherwise for the 9 days we were here. It’s an incredibly comfortable place to be - a steady 30 degrees and a gentle breeze. We stayed out of the sun mostly. We got enough sun just travelling between things. What to wear There seemed to be no need to dress up. I was in shorts and mostly a Hawaiian shirt in the evenings. My wife would wear a dress in the evening. Shorts and T-shirt all day otherwise. Bare feet all day including in the evening. Some of the guests were a little more formal. Polo shirts, linen shorts and a Rolex at breakfast. Some of the women wore the swimsuit and sarong influencer look. Just wear what you are comfortable in. Food The food was plentiful and very nice. We were on Half Board. We didn’t have a bad meal. Breakfast was wide-ranging. An egg station, curries, hoppers, waffles, fruit and smoothie station, nice coffee, various granolas, salads (including lovely leaves grown on the island) and pickles. A menu of various things a la carte such as smoothie bowls, eggs Benedict, eggs, bacon etc. Lovely Pastries! Scoops is their free ice cream kiosk (I guess you'd say 'included' rather than free!) . Very nice and a treat to get something you don’t have to pay extra for! The Point - the raised circular bar/restaurant at the northern tip of the island - is incredibly fabulous. Like a Bond villain’s lair. Incredible views of the sunset. Nice cocktails. There is Japanese food at Sip and Sand. Sushi, sashimi, tempura etc. Really nice tuna sashimi. We’d have liked some more Thai or other south east Asian food but you can’t have everything! There is Spanish at The Point, Italian at Bottegas and twice a week there is an evening buffet at the place you have breakfast ('Market') - Seafood BBQ on Friday, and Asian Buffet on Tuesday, when we did get a bit of an Asian fix. We are a bit obsessed with those strong Asian flavours and they weren’t quite satisfied on this trip. Kids There were quite a lot of babies and toddlers. The place feels spacious so this never bothered us but this isn’t a couples resort. Crowd I would describe the crowd as upscale European. A few Brits, loads of Germans, a large Turkish family group, a few Russians. People just kept to themselves. Getting around We were both issued with a cruiser bike with our initials on a wooden badge on the back - a nice detail but also very useful for identifying your bike. Everyone gets around on these bikes - a very relaxing steady way to get around. We loved it. The island is a 25 minute walk around - and fully owned by the resort. It has beautiful beaches and incredible views throughout. They also have a small desert island a short regular boat ride away for the full Robinson Crusoe experience - with WiFi. There’s a small restaurant there too. Genuinely wonderful. Activities The dive school is first rate. Safe, clear and fun. My wife who was quite nervous was taken on her first dive and had an incredible experience. I am a relatively experienced diver and went on a number of dives. We saw children discovering diving too. There was excellent visibility, very warm water - 30C at the surface and only a couple of degrees less at 20m. So warm that I didn’t need a wetsuit, just a rash vest. The instructors were very experienced and calm, a number were locals too and I felt very safe. There were loads of turtles, blacktip reef sharks, rays and countless fish of all sizes. I also tried a few of the other activities at the water sports centre - the jetblades (boots which push a jet of water out the bottom and you fly up in the air), the hydrofoil electric surfboard, and the seabob. The kit was brand new and the team were brilliant at teaching and super enthusiastic. A great experience. There wasn’t enough wind for sailing or windsurfing but their kit looked very up to date. I strongly recommend Six Senses Kanuhura if you want a reliably brilliant spot to unwind and do watersports in VERY beautiful surroundings. I’d had enough after 9 days - I felt fully recharged, was a kilo heavier than when I arrived and keen to get back on with my life. Still it is fabulous and I’m glad we picked it.

We were there for several days as a four member family. It's been 14 years since we are coming back to Maldives and I have to say that it is one of the most beautiful islands we have ever seen. The staff is exceptional, the food is amazing and our overall experiance was truly amazing. The whole property really breathes with a quiet luxury vibe. Would recommend it to anyone.

There’s absolutely nothing negative I could say about my experience at kanuhura!The staff are lovely, the food is delicious, the nature is perfect and everything is done in such a thoughtful manner it’s shocking. Our gem shifu took amazing care of us. I can’t wait to return again and again

The resort was excellent - we’ve stayed in a few Six Senses resorts and this one is one of the best! It has more dining options than the other SS Maldives property and seems to also have a bit more going on, so good for kids or longer trips. Our GEM (Lucia) was great - she really listened to what we wanted and amending our itinerary accordingly. The breakfast was amazing and the choice of two pools great too. Nice touches with the management drinks, happy hours and unlimited sushi for dinner at Sip and Sands. The staff really cared about the property and its sustainability efforts too. Our stay was perfect and we couldn’t recommend more highly!

Without doubt my favourite hotel we’ve stayed at in the Maldives. We have visited the Maldives over 5 times staying at various 5* hotels and this by far this has been our favourite! We will certainly be back again! Upon arrival we were warmly welcomed by the staff and general manager. Our “Gem” Shifu was very welcoming always smiling and made the extra effort to make sure we were all taken care of from the beginning - our boys loved seeing her! She even made/organised a certificate and cake (as a surprise) for our youngest who learned to ride a 2 wheel bike for the first time! All the staff extremely friendly, the restaurant very flexible (appreciate this) offering off menu foods for our children. The activity Center had a wide range of activities. We had the opportunity to see a rare experience of snorting with a family of manta rays. The atmosphere and staff are so special here - that it was really a relaxing holiday where all we had to do was enjoy our time there. No stresses no problems - everything was taken care of -just pure enjoyment and fun throughout the holiday! All respect for the general manager who does a great job here; a true sample of excellent hospitality! Thank you again looking forward to coming back again!