The Residence Maldives

The most beautiful resort with the loveliest staff who cannot do enough for you! Bars remembered our drink orders, restaurants remembered our food requests and nothing was too much trouble! We mentioned in passing whilst laughing that one of my husbands beach shoes had been washed away when the tide came in to our waiter whilst eating dinner and all had a laugh about it. When we returned to our room, concierge had brought him several pairs of brand new crocs and insisted on him choosing some, free of charge! The atol is gorgeous with plenty of marine life. We were fortunate enough to be staying in an over water bungalow and saw sharks, rays and turtles daily! Don't let out of season periods put you off either ... the staff work so hard to clear up after any storms and they are short lived! Thank you for an amazing stay that we will remember forever!

We stayed here for our honeymoon in Jan 2025. The staff are amazing - always smiling, always very friendly and helpful. The room (water bungalow with pool) was incredible. The housekeeping staff including Francis were excellent. The food in the dining room was great and the staff there - Ishan, Shani, Nahil, Hazrat, Suhana were all lovely. I had a massage in the spa with Sanjay who was amazing. The snorkelling along the reef is absolutely beautiful and we had free use of snorkels, fins and life jackets. Fawaaz who met us in Male was excellent and very helpful. There was free paddle boarding or kayaking during a set time each day. We also had the option of lots of paid activities. There was a free gym. We did sunrise yoga everyday which was free and we really enjoyed. The downside: We had a disaster getting there which isn't the Residence's fault - but we had a big delay at Male airport, then a lovely staff member from t he Residence (Fawaaz) helped us and met us there - he brought us for a free lunch. Then the domestic flight to the island was delayed an hour, it then made a stop off on another island. So in total from leaving our room in Sri Lanka to arriving in our room in the Residence it took 12 hours. The meat at times wasn't amazing - you could tell it wasn't fresh - but I understand that it has to get imported to the island so it's not fresh that day. We weren't aware of all the restaurants and things on offer on the island - we felt that the lobby or information back we were given at check in could have been clearer and a little more thorough. Also when we arrived we were told most of the restaurants were booked up for our stay - but no-one had contacted us before our trip to say we should pre book which was frustrating. Overall it was an excellent stay and we would highly recommend it.

Great stay in the most beautiful place. All the staff were extremely helpful and friendly. We enjoyed snorkelling in the reef. You can spot sharks and turtles. The yoga instructor was very good and the yoga practice unforgettable. The spa services were very good. The food delicious and you can choose between multiple restaurants every day.

We enjoyed a 5-night stay in an overwater villa with pool at The Residence Falhumaafushi over Christmas 2024. We booked the standard all inclusive package which was well worth it. It included a daily buffet breakfast, 2 courses at lunch and 3 for dinner which was a huge amount of food and drink! Villa 302 was large and clean and nicely decorated and in a good location to access the nearby reef for snorkelling. I would pick Villa 300 or 304 next time for privacy reasons, as villa 303 could see directly into our pool. These rooms are located on the western side of the island which is great to see sunsets from. The villa is separated into bathroom with outdoor shower, normal shower, seperate toilet, freestanding bath, bedroom, and living area. Bedroom is air conditioned and opens up onto the deck so you have a view of the ocean. The food was incredible - particularly LiBai (Chinese) and Long Island (Italian). We understand the resort has recently won an award for their food and we can see why. The food was also good at the Falhumaa, but the service was lacking on the night we visited most likely due to it being peak season. We arrived early and were told to wait outside in the heat, which didn’t happen at Long Island. We also ate at Cafe Del Sol for lunch and the Beach Bar. Food was good but service was always better on the busier side of the island. Cafe Del Sol had umbrellas and Beach Bar staff refused to put umbrellas out. Staff at all restaurants were accomodating and understanding with food allergies, which were noted on check in but seemed to need to be reminded when dining. Special mention to Jaavid at the breakfast buffet on the Falhumafushi island who went the extra mile with avocado and lemon at breakfast. Most restaurants are located at the other resort, which meant a bicycle ride or buggy ride away. But it was worth staying at Falhumafushi was a lot more quiet and less crowded. We understood the resort on this island to be childfree, but there did seem to be some families with kids so the rules must have changed? It’s good to allow up to 15 mins for the buggy to arrive in peak times. All restaurants were super clean. We had a slight hiccup on Christmas night, as we’d booked Long Island (which was confirmed) and there was special event scheduled there and we weren’t notified so we had to go to the buffet that evening. Also at one stage we were told by a staff member our choice of alcohol wasn’t included in our package when it was. I queried this with the staff member and advised him I could show him our package documents which listed this as included. We really shouldn’t have had to do this. In terms of activities, we booked the JetSki safari, which took us for snorkelling and to a sandbank. We were supposed to do this Christmas Day, but the staff recommended we reschedule due to weather. We were glad we did. It was well worth doing as the reef we were taken to was beyond the channel you could reach by swimming. We saw so many fish, sharks and turtles and have dived in many other locations, this was by far the best. The sandbank was so picturesque we couldn’t believe it was real. Unfortunately, we never got to use the free water sports equipment, as it was always in use and the time you could use it was very restrictive. The resort needs more equipment for peak periods, four stand up paddle boards per resort isn’t enough for the amount of guests at the resort. We also used the spa, the 60 min peace massage was incredible. The bridge that connects the resorts is a great spot to see sting rays and turtles which the tide is high at about 1pm each day. The staff also checked us in at Koodoo Airport when we departed which was great service. Just be aware to mention to the staff if you don’t want to sit backwards. We weren’t aware and were issued 1D and F which face backward and would not have chosen these as I suffer from motion sickness. Staff also met us at Male Airport and offered to help us check in, which was a nice touch, but we were more than comfortable doing this ourselves. All in all, we had a great time and would recommend The Residence Falhumaafushi.

A memorable wonderful family stay which we will certainly recommend to others. Thank you for everything and making our stay so special.