Constance Moofushi All Inclusive Hotel

We’ve just returned from our sixth Moofushi trip and it’s every bit as good as our previous visits, in some areas even better, so next year will see our seventh trip to this wonderful island. One area where we saw a real improvement; and next to the staff probably the most important asset for this resort, is the reef. Coral bleaching is an unfortunate fact of life across the world, but many of the Maldives resorts are actively fighting back against it, with Moofushi more than playing its part. They’ve planted 265 coral baskets over the last couple of years, with 100 more planned for the immediate future; and the reef here is showing definite signs of recovery. It’s great to see and the fish clearly approve, we saw even more this year than last, and last year we saw plenty. But the staff are, without doubt, this resort’s greatest asset and they always have been. We’ve been treated like royalty on every visit here from our first in 2015 right up to now, as is everyone who comes here. We were horrified to read a bruising review a few weeks ago, someone complaining about preferential treatment for some people and poor service for others (them). Nothing could be further from the truth here. In our experience, having spent nearly 100 days at Moofushi over the years, everyone is treated brilliantly. Indeed, the sad facts tend to be the other way around, some people feel they’re so entitled that the whole of the resort should focus on them and to hell with everyone else. How the staff here keep their dignified composure constantly amazes us, but they do. Lots of familiar faces this year and some very welcome new ones, with special mentions for: The wonderful Hassan, Food and Beverage Manager, Head Sommelier Madu and his team of Aime, Koko, Geeth and Maeva. Nestor, Hassan’s no 2, was great, as was Risham, Ranjith, Mohamed, Yaabe and James, all of whom made sure that everything ran smoothly in the restaurants, which it always did. Key to this were Maiz, Wasee, Shammu, Saif, Ammad, Al Amin, Ali, Najaa, Nizz, Yammu, Irufan, Riche and Rasheed. The delightful Gopan heads up a great team of bar staff; Ramu, Fonseka, Ushaan and the three ‘flair show’ experts; Praveen, Darma and Kuber. All great, they know your drink within a couple of days and never get it wrong. The lunch menu in the Totem Bar restaurant has improved yet again, more expansive with a wider choice; likewise in the Alizee a la carte restaurant. But the buffet still remains our preferred dining venue, simply because it gives us a headache every time we visit, that of deciding what we haven’t got room for on our plates! Chefs Daniel, Dilup, Sunup, Priyantha* and Indu have raised the bar across the resort by quite a margin; and it was excellent anyway, with standout support from Yogi, Yanti and Hossein, just three more of the superb chefs at this resort. (*Priyantha makes the best ice creams we’ve ever tasted, but he won’t divulge how….) And it’s great to see Dylan back, a professional DJ and producer who’s made a real difference to the entertainment options at the resort. Good job Dylan, well done. We’ve always had wonderful service and attention from our room boys and this year, Saffah, was simply exceptional. We couldn’t fault anything in the room. Always spotless, everything topped up, little extra touches here and there, which make such a difference. Indeed, on that front, one morning Mevin, the general manager, noticed that Anne had had an accident with her sunglasses, one of the arms had snapped off. Within an hour she had them back, fixed. Brilliant. One or two niggly things happened in the room, again; fixed, more or less instantly. That’s the sort of thing that sets Moofushi apart from other resorts. But, as in previous years, we leave our last thoughts for the unsung heroes of this place, the wonderful team of people who keep the whole island spotless. Two of them are Alamgir and Gopal, very quiet but never still, always tending to the island as if it were their own. And Majib, again quietly and diligently keeping the ‘other facilities’ of the island in tip top order. Two weeks flew by and we weren’t bored for a second. We loved every minute of it, not least because we never felt like visitors, more like houseguests. And perhaps this is why people return to Moofushi year after year. You’re not a visitor, you’re family. And, unlike some members of some families…..we all get on, famously.