Lvis Blancura

I have visited the Maldives 7 times, during my first 2 visits, I stayed at Club Med Kani, located near Male. For my 3rd visit, I came to Dharavandhoo because I wanted to swim and snorkel with mantas in the open sea. I stayed at LVIS Blancura and I received a very warm welcome and great service from the staff here. The location of this small family-owned & operated hotel is right on the beach. For your information, not many hotels on this island are located on the beach, currently, only 4 hotels are located on the beach. The vibes of this place and the warm, friendly & helpful service left a lasting impression on me and ever since, I have always stayed here each and every time I returned to the Maldives. During my latest vacation, I stayed here for 7 nights. The room rates are very affordable, I paid USD60 per night for my room, which includes a complimentary buffet breakfast. The rooms are very clean and have all the basic amenities you would need. The buffet lunch costs USD10 per person, the buffet dinner costs USD15 per person. The food for breakfast is simple and adequate, you can have eggs cooked-to-order, in any style you wish. The food for lunch is simple and tasty, dinner is always the best meal of the day. Each Friday evening, they have a 'Maldivian Night' themed buffet dinner, whereby the chef prepares traditional Maldivian fare. This 'Maldivian Night' dinner has always been the highlight of my holidays here! In my opinion, the head chef at this hotel (Ayoob) is arguably the BEST chef on this island! The daily snorkeling and picnic excursions are also very affordable, compared to the excursion rates that all the other 5-star resorts charge their guests. A full-day boat excursion which includes a guided snorkeling session and a sandbank picnic lunch costs only USD45 per person. The food for this picnic lunch is similar to the buffet food served in the hotel for lunch, which is pretty good and plentiful. These boating excursions are a great way to connect with the other guests of the hotel and share stories of our snorkeling adventures here as well as in other parts of the world. I think these picnic excursions are excellent value-for-money because after the lunch, the boat crew will take you to look for mantas and dolphins in the open sea, during the manta season. During my most recent trip, we encountered a large congregation of mantas in Huraafaru, and we jumped into the sea and snorkeled with them! The Snorkeling excursions in Hanifaru Bay is usually the highlight for 99% of overseas visitors who come to Dharavandhoo and the Baa Atoll! Hanifaru Bay is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, where large numbers of mantas congregate to feed on the dense concentration of plankton from June to September each year. This period is known as the 'Manta Season' and it attracts lots of overseas visitors to the Baa Atoll. The number of visitors entering Hanifaru Bay is strictly regulated, a typical snorkeling session here costs USD60 per person and it lasts for only 45 minutes. Outside of Hanifaru Bay, you can snorkel with mantas for free and for as long as you want, you only need to pay for the boat operator's fees or excursion fees. Another thing that I wish to mention about Dharavandhoo is: if you are staying here, and you wish to purchase some souvenirs for yourself and family & friends back home, I highly recommend Reef Mantas Souvenirs! Nazim is the shop owner and operator, he sells a huge variety of souvenirs at a fraction of the prices that you would pay in the Velana International Airport/Male International Airport. A nice t-shirt here costs only USD10, compared to USD25 to 30 at the airport! All-in-all, this is a great place to relax and enjoy the beauty of the seascapes and marine life in the sea. Many thanks to Visham & Lishan(the brothers who own & operate this hotel), to Sumesh(the hotel manager), to Ayoob(the head chef), to Sohel Munshi, Ahmed Sajeeb, Aftab and the rest of the staff at this hotel, please keep up the great work you guys are doing! I will be back!