Huvafen Fushi Maldives

It was a perfect stay, our 3rd stay and ready to book for the 4th time. The Staff, food, destination, weather, room, all amazing, not a complaint. They could not do enough for us. I would highly recommend Huvafen Fushi. For all of you ready to book I am jealous.

This is our third Maldives holiday (previous stays included Baros, Gili Lankanfushi and the Westin). We booked Huvafen last November during a Black Friday sale for five nights in early February 2025. We reserved an Ocean Bungalow with Pool for USD$10,400, a price inclusive of half board, transfers and taxes & charges. Although I hadn’t done much price comparison, it seemed like a good deal at the time. Having now completed our stay, I can confidently say that we would return! ROOM: 9/10. Although the island was buffeted by strong winds for much of our stay, our Ocean Bungalow was very protected, and we revelled in the spacious deck area and large plunge pool (we noted that the strength and direction of the wind may have made the deck area for nearby Lagoon Bungalows harder to enjoy). Our Ocean Bungalow was pretty perfect: its deck design included a daybed on a lower part of the deck, a pair of sun beds on the opposite side, and a dining area in the upper-middle, behind the pool (an extra sun lounge in a shaded area would have been perfect). Lazing on the sizeable deck, listening to music on the room’s Bose portable speaker and drinking a glass of champagne from the complimentary bottle of Taittinger, we noticed a pod of dolphins swimming by, 50 metres away. However, the best room feature was the easy access to beautiful snorkelling areas from our bungalow staircase. We saw healthy coral growth and an aquarium-like variety of small tropical fish, clams and black tip sharks (no turtles). There is a wide staircase into the ocean, with a hand shower nearby for post-snorkel rinse offs. We tried the beach access to the main reef (near the resort pool) several different times, but we found the access, visibility and fish variety near the Ocean Bungalows to be superior (of course, that may be seasonal). Wi-fi was excellent, and recharging our multiple devices made easy, with international power points etc. The bathroom was large, luxurious and thoughtfully designed. We were also glad to have a separate lounge area with a large screen TV in case of rainy days (which thankfully didn't eventuate) and delighted in it's glass floor for night-time fish viewing. The only possible room negative was the views of new islands being built, with giant sand factory ships which resembled mining installations. However, we noticed this type of island construction where-ever we went in the Maldives, so it may be unavoidable. It certainly has a negative impact on the sunset views of the horizon at Huvafen Fushi (photos included) but is also kind of fascinating. RESORT SERVICE: 9/10. Our ‘butler’ Naadi was excellent, with perfectly pitched personalised service, which was always discreet and hospitable, and ensured a wonderful stay. Housekeeping was consistently excellent, and we appreciated the home baked sweet treats delivered with turndown each night, which we enjoyed snacking on, as we never had room for desserts. We were able to keep the Um Bar cocktail menu in our room, and although they are not listed on the in-room dining menu, regularly had good cocktails delivered promptly. FOOD: 8/10. The waterfront breakfasts are lovely, with both a finessed a la carte menu (offering a choice of one hot and one cold item) and a very generous buffet featuring a wide selection of delicate breakfast pastries, fresh cut tropical fruits such as tamarind, longan and rambutan and many other hot and cold items. Half board includes a three-course meal each night at Celsius or a US$65 credit at Salt, the Japanese restaurant. While not Michelin star dining, we found the wide variety of dishes at Celsius reliably enjoyable. We could rarely finish even two of the three courses included in half-board and particularly enjoyed the various curries. The Uma cocktail menu was lengthy, with many imaginative, well-balanced drinks. Particularly liked the S & S which was a riff on a Cosmo involving mango and Goose Wing which - Grey Goose vodka, basil leaves, lime juice, Lychee Liqueur and Peach Tea Syrup. Of course, it being the Maldives, wines are mind-blowingly expensive, regardless of quality. We visited Salt once, and although we loved its setting and style, didn't especially enjoy the food (shared tempura vegetables starter, with lamb and wagyu beef mains) and found the service slightly condescending. SPA: 8/10. I loved the Spa offerings and its environment. I had two back massages by different therapists, both of which were very good and looking down through the glass pane beneath the massage table, watching tropical fish swim about was an amazing memory. I also had a basic pedicure, which was great. PRE-STAY COMMUNICATION: 6/10. Some pre-stay emails about various activities were hit and miss, and I had to send several queries 2-3 times before getting a response. Responses were brief and didn’t address the heart of the query. For example, we were interested in arranging a private Sandbank picnic, which the brochure marketed as a romantic, castaway picnic. In one of several emails. Huvafen wrote to us saying, “please note that the sandbank is not a completely private setup, as the small island is not owned by Huvafen Fushi. There is a possibility that other resort guests may be nearby.” Although the hotel brochure described the lunch as a picnic, another email informed us, “Unfortunately, we do not have a sandbank picnic option”. When I wrote three times asking what would happen if the weather was bad that day, I was eventually told that we could cancel two days prior. We decided not to proceed, considering the risk of unpleasant weather. We then sent emails asking about a ‘movie under the stars’ and got a single response to three emails before giving up. Given the price of these activities, failing to provide details was disappointing. As the weather was so windy during much of our stay, we were happy that we had not pre-booked these expensive activities.

The rooms have been renovated and the bathroom was excellent, but beyond that the resort is too scruffy and tired. Wherever you look in the resort there is something cracked, missing, scratched and worn. The staff are really nice but seem to be blind to decay. The food was ok but if we were staying there for ten days it would feel very limited; luckily we were only there briefly. I went diving and the experience was the same - nice, but not great. In many ways a bit of a let-down and in the Maldives standards are much higher in newer resorts regardless of price.

Very private, very unrushed, delicious food one wants to eat, flora well looked after, very reposnsive management. My wife and I are exacting travelers - we enjoyed every minute, proximity to main island a mixed blessing - quick transfer but quite a few new islands under construction on way from Male. BUt it is not very noticeable. Overall great value for money.

Rooms - Ocean View Over the Water is definitely worth the extra money. Perfect layout, incredible sunset view and access to the reef Service - AMAZING. A special mention to Naadi (our butler) and Ahmed (who made up our room). The thoughtful nighttime pictures were extra special - see photo. Naadi was born to work in hospitality - he strikes the perfect balance between being attentive but not being overbearing. Food - me and my fiancé were just joking how much we’re missing it. Acai bowl and personalised fruit plates at breakfast were a highlight. There’s something for everyone at Celsius and Salt is actually great value for money Gym - a little dated but has everything you need and was generally very quiet. Bugs - ZERO bites (even though I’m sure regnant and am supposed to be a big magnet) Spa - I didn’t get chance to use this but it must be good as everyone on the island seemed really proud of it Reef - was a little difficult to access as I’m pregnant and the water was shallow but my fiancé had no problem. A little tip would be to include some more info and the best way to navigate the reef to get to the edge in the rooms.