Alila Kothaifaru Maldives

Great room and great experience overall. We slept well. My family with young kids loved it. Golf carts and personal host were great touches. Kids couldn't get enough of the Kid's Club. Only downside is the insanely expensive food and you pay even more if you book with your World of Hyatt member points which is disappointing.

We recently visited this property and had a great experience throughout our stay and with every member of the team we encountered. However, we had certain experiences with certain people that made our stay more memorable. Favorite restaurant: The restaurant we fell in love with was the Yakitori Bar. Beginning with the amazing view it has during the day for the ocean and during nighttime for the best view of the stars in the island. Aside from it fitting our food preferences, what made us go back every single night (and sometimes during the day too) was the exceptional treatment that we got from Chanaka and Arya. To say they are both amazing is an understatement. From the moment we would walk in, they greeted us with such a big smile and through the entire evening they always made sure we were happy. They would always remember what we liked and how we liked things + Arya would make us the best Pornstar Martinis of the Island. Another person that specifically made a difference in our stay was Muaz whom we already knew from our previous stay at the Ritz and whom took care of us during breakfast and sometimes in other parts of the hotel. He went above and beyond every time to take great care of us and make our experience incredible. Our villa host was Nasse and he took great care of us throughout all of our needs during our stay. We also had the opportunity to interact with Grace in regards to a request we had and she was awesome in resolving the matter as quickly and smoothly as possible.

The 4 stars are for all the things in control of the management, which they do very well! The missing 1 star is for things out of management's purview. I shall explain below & also compare with Hyatt's other property Park Hyatt @ Hadahaa. The positive aspects: The Villa: We were 3 adults & we stayed @ their sunrise beach villa. The villa is stunning IMHO. The best part is division of villa into 2 separate spaces, the living room & the bedroom. If You have a child with You, the living room turns into a sparate space for him/her. This offers so much privacy to guests in both rooms. The decor of the villa is amazing, very subtle. The open bathroom is something I loved & did not mind at all. The plunge pool is lovely. Overall, I would say that the villa is the highlight of this property, and definitely better than Park Hyatt Hadahaa. The staff @ seasalt: Some of the best staff members & team I have encountered in my travels are @ seasalt! Sebastian, Nugyen, Agnes & everyone else just do a wonderful job. I would like to make a special mention of Bhupendra (chef) for making those terrific masala omlettes for me, just the way I wanted. I dont know who was making those fish curries, but they were terrific as well. Thanks to Damodar (Chef) for constantly checking on us, and also Sandeep @ Mirus bar for his hospitality. Amazing staff. Housekeeping & Engineering Team: Housekeeping is very efficient. They are always on the job. Thanks to siddiq our housekeeper. Our AC malfunctioned on 2nd night. The enginner was there in 10 minutes and he actually changed the motor in 20-25 minutes & solved the problem! Problems can happen anywhere, its the resolution that matters. So we were quite satisfied. The transfers: The transfers were handled very well by the property. No problems on that front. There representatives will be with You throughout. The shortcomings: The Beach: The beach @ this natural island is IMHO not comparable to the one @ Park Hyatt Hadahaa. I am a beach person and notice all this. The beach here is narrow @ many points, slopes a lot. The property faces soil erosion issues a lot and therefore lot of rock are placed at many places on the beach. In my view it takes away the feel of being in a pristine beach resort. Again, because I have been to Park Hyatt, i feel this way. Maybe someone who hasnt might love this beach as well. Other things: The toilet makes a strange gurguling sound from time to time! I have no idea what thats about. At least it happened in our villa. It was quite strange. The mosquitoes: They ARE A REAL PROBLEM. We were VERY LUCKY that we were in villa 104, where the mosquito menace is very very less. In some of the other places in the property, you can even sit during daytime, the mosquitoes will bite you incessantly. For example @ the bar near japanese restaurant, we were unable to sit for 15 minutes, that too during daytime! The propery needs to do something more! Fumigation @ higher frequency or something, is needed! The main pool area: The decor can be better around the pool. The loungers etc can be placed in a more aesthetic way. The green area between seasalt & pool can be decorated better. Park Hyatt just had a more visually stunning pool area. In conclusion, I understand that its a very new property and a work in progress. I loved our stay here and would rate the Villa & Seasalt restaurant very highly. Thanks to the whole team for making our stay so comfortable. And off course thanks to our wonderful & responsive host Alla, for his help.

We just wrapped our one week stay and wish we could’ve extended our trip! The staff at the resort are extremely kind and attentive, making this our most memorable trip yet. I highly recommend visiting the yakitori bar and meeting Arya. He is genuinely so kind and will go above and beyond for you. He makes the most delicious cocktails and is a man of many talents. I would spend some time talking to him because he has many stories to share! Our concierge that was assigned was Nasse and he was great. It was nice to have a dedicated concierge that helped make everything so seamless. He knew our schedule ahead of time and would already be waiting for us to take us to our next destination. You’re lucky if you get Nasse! There are so many other crew members who work at Alila (restaurant servers, housekeeping, dry cleaning, spa, gym, etc.) that all deserve a lot of praise. I can’t remember all of their names but I will always remember how they made us feel during our stay.

I almost don’t want to tell anyone how amazing it was so that it stays a hidden gem. But it was such a wonderful experience. The staff makes the stay so wonderful. Everyone is so kind, the overwater villas were gorgeous, the food was great, especially at Pibati. They will go above and beyond to make sure you have a wonderful stay