Kandolhu Maldives

Incredible!! If you are looking for a perfect resort combining great food , great house reef (snorkeling experience) and great service, do not hesitate, Kandolhu is definitely the place !!! Famous for its house reef, Kandolhu has been on my list for a long time. Altho some corals have been bleached (like everywhere in Maldives) , you can still see abundant sea lives including the turtles-in-residence, eagle ray, a big live cora garden with many fishes. The food and service here certainly exceeds my expectations!!! A la carte with unlimited orders -plz do try the steak and frites and grilled filet! And breakfast is awesome with a great variety and quality. The staff in Kandolhu are absolutely amazing! They are so friendly and professional. I got bitten by some insets from the previous stay, and when I talked to reception and expressed it’s nothing urgent, the staff still urged the doctors to reopen the clinic and got me some meds. Appreciate how they prioritize customer’s demand, sometimes they care more than I do! Special shout out to Estela, Zihaad (sry if I misspelled), and so many many kind staff at reception , bar and Navid from diving center. The only thing tho, is that housekeeping could have done a better job and have more attention to details. During my stay, the desk and other furniture never got thoroughly cleaned :( But overall it’s heaven on earth!!Cannot wait to come back!!

Very romantic and charming island, perfect for a chilled and relaxed vacation. This was my 5th vacation on Kandolhu, and I'm still thrilled by this stunningly beautiful island, the beaches and coral reefs, the super friendly staff people, luxurious accomodation, perfect wine&dine... the perfect place for a perfect vacation!

This was our first Maldives holiday in over a decade so we wanted to make sure that we chose well. I can say wholeheartedly that we did! There'd been a few less than glowing reviews in the weeks leading up to our visit and this did make us a little concerned, but the reality was that the resort fully lived up to our expectations....and more It's not one of these Dubai-style hyper-luxury resorts where everything is buffed to within an inch of its life and the staff are hot and cold running minions. It is however, extremely well maintained and lovingly looked after by a team that genuinely seem to care about the place and its guests. The staff (all of them) managed to maintain a balance between being friendly and engaging, and remaining professional. That is one heck of a balancing act. Our first names were used by some of the staff, but weren't 'worn out' from over-use like you get in some places. Again, the balance was just right (in our opinion). Also, as others have stated, some of the management team do use the bar and restaurants, but I just see it as a way of them engaging with guests, so a positive rather than an issue. On arrival we were told that our Duplex Villa (113) wasn't looking it's best due to erosion of the beach in front of it, so were offered a Pool Beach Villa (102) as an alternative. After 20+ hours of travelling we were a little put out by this, but the team couldn't have been more helpful in making sure we got the best option from our perspective. We weren't pressurised into moving and several other options were discussed. As it turned out 102 was the perfect room for us. I should also say that the conversations re the room situation were had with Monica, the General Manager, not delegated to other staff to deal with. No shirking of difficult conversations, just a willingness to work for the best outcome for the guest. Great management style. I think anyone who has been to the Maldives has probably experienced the issues that these (more natural) resorts have with erosion. It's an ongoing battle. Whilst we were there the maintenance teams were working hard to complete the sea defences to protect the beach on that side of the island. It didn't look great, I'd much rather that approach than see an island with a concrete seawall around it. Anyway, once settled into our room it became a daily round of eating, drinking, reading and snorkelling. We were on the Ultimate All Inclusive tariff and very glad we were, as it removed the 'bill shock' at the end of our stay. As others have said, there is a well stocked minibar (actually a full size wine fridge) plus another full sized fridge for soft drinks, beers etc. The range of wines was good across white, red, rose and prosecco. We didn't feel the need to go for the 'paid for' upgrades such as champagne as the choices included were perfectly adequate. The food was on the whole very good. We were particular fans of Sea Grill and ate there whenever it was ope

I have waited a while to write this review, we have been to the Maldives 21 times and this was to be our last time, so we went in a strange head space, getting to the island was as efficient as always and we had a great welcoming and shown to our beach villa number 112 the villa was ideally placed it was the last of the beach villas. It had a lovely view and a nice piece of beach out the rear door. The villa was comfortable and well equipped. Food in the main restaurant The market was well presented and prepared but each day it was the same menu which we found repetitive, the staff there were quite good, Zinadh was the best waiter but most were helpful, we found it a little strange being referred to by our first names all the time by the staff, but I am sure some people wouldn’t mind it. We ate in Olive a few times and the food was excellent, we eat there on our wedding anniversary and the staff were excellent and we were very well looked after. All staff on the island try their very best and provide an excellent service, the food is very good even if as I said repetitive. Why the delay on submitting the review, well as I said it was supposed to be our last visit to the Maldives so we wanted everything to be perfect, firstly something that the island is not responsible for, it was peak season but the weather was awful 5 days of rain and strong winds, no one was snorkelling it was that rough, so the first five days were spoiled by the weather not the islands fault but still didn’t get off to a good start. We then had two days of sunshine when snorkelling was possible but the sea was still quite rough, I was a little disappointed with the reef which wasn’t in good shape, visibility wasn’t very good, but again not the islands fault but still disappointing. The remainder of our holiday it was rain and sunshine. The above wasn’t the islands fault, but these issues were. Firstly we woke up one morning to find a large cockroach and ant walking about on the sheets, I know there are cockroaches on the islands but we haven’t seen one for over 15 years, the room boy was told to spray the room every evening, he did it once we had issues with cockroaches on several days,Also in the room when we arrived was a bowl of fruit, it was fully infested with very small ants that were everywhere in the room I moved the fruit and the ants came from behind a mirror and moved onto other shelves looking for food, they were on all surfaces I sprayed a few times but the room boy wasn’t interested in my opinion. The other main issue was our flight to leave the island was early morning so the evening before the restaurant staff arranged for a box to be brought to the room with some snacks for our breakfast, when it arrived I placed it straight into the fridge, at 4am the next morning we opened the box to have our breakfast, as we opened it a huge cockroach climbed out…needless to say we didn’t have any breakfast. The management are aware of these incidents and have replied pr

Upon arrival we were greeted by the management & staff & shown straight to our room, a beautiful beach villa. Soft fluffy large bath towels, high quality linen, toiletries, beach bag & a pair of large beach towels were provided. Choice of pillows & a mattress topper were available. One complimentary bag of laundry was included for our stay which was returned to us in a wicker basket within 12 hours. The minibar & wine fridge were well stocked & refilled daily along with snacks. AC was very good as was the fan, the bathroom was a little warm though. Our room was cleaned daily to a high standard by a secret ninja who seemed to know when we left as we rarely saw him. The evening turn down service & little treats were a nice touch too. Our room view was exceptional & private as we requested. Often it felt as though we were the only guests. The beach outside the villas is suffering dramatically from erosion on this side of the island unfortunately. Our sun loungers were extremely comfy with thick padded mattresses, we had a sun umbrella, day bed, table & 2 chairs too. The foliage separating the beach villas provides shade all day, however due to beach erosion it was difficult to place a lounger in the sun. The reef is amazing, with some stunning healthy coral but also some which has suffered from bleaching. The anenome garden is thriving with lots of clown fish. The sea life is varied & plentiful with sharks, rays & turtles & we saw dolphins too. Staff are very friendly & know your name from day one, always asking how you are & having time to talk. The managers are visible & accessible, a nice touch. Food & drink are excellent, with chefs happy to amend dishes to your taste. We preferred the Sea Grill but all the restaurants are excellent. Sometimes the bar service was a little slow. Particular thanks to Estella, Maan, Zinadh & Elvira (for the kind loan of her fan to stop me melting) for their attentiveness & kindness throughout our stay.