Thulhagiri Island Resort

It is rare that I give a 5 star review across the board to any resort or venue. Thulhagiri exceeded all expectations in every category and, for me, it truly was a paradise island. I was very much looking for a restful, warm and peaceful environment, and whilst I found all of that, I also found much more. This is a tiny island, with white powder sand and crystal blue waters; a 'barefoot' island, where you can literally walk everywhere without shoes, flip-flops et cetera. About 160 guests and it takes around 15 minutes to walk around the island, but it never feels busy, noisy and you are not bothered by an animation team, hawkers. There are plenty of loungers, though there are no cushioning mattresses on the beach ones. The island is designed very sympathetically to its location, with vegetation hiding most of the services and retaining privacy for both guests and the staff. Staff are attentive, polite, helpful and any matter is attended to promptly. If you are AI there are additional benefits such as free hire of snorkels, flippers and masks during your holiday. The journey begins from the airport at Male where you are transferred to a speedboat for a 15 minute journey to Thulhagiri. I was impressed with the safety procedures undertaken by the staff during the boat, assisting passengers and lifting the luggage into and out of the boat. Each beachside villa looks out to sea, and there are sandy paths to the rear of the villas, cutting across the island. This way you never see or hear the many services from your beachside resting point. There is a large swimming pool with further loungers around it, but most people sought it for shade, rather than swimming, as the beach predominantly is shallow particularly low tide for around 20 m. In your accommodation aside from the usual, you will find 2 lifejackets. We found these very useful when snorkelling at deeper depths, or beyond the reef. Although I have read reports that there were not many fish, I did not find this to be the case-see pictures below. The baby sharks were a regular feature, easily watched from the swimming pool or pier areas. They are not a problem. We were exceptionally fortunate to be upgraded to a superior water villa for part of our holiday. Tipping is not expected, but much appreciated and many of the staff send money home to families. Turning to the food, it was plentiful and varied at all meals. There were plenty of choices for drinks, served at your table and, although the meals are buffet style, careful attention is paid to the heat of the food, allergies and any special needs. There is a dive centre on the island and they can arrange a variety of trips; snorkelling, diving and windsurfing. The bar on the west side of the island gets a bit busier on the beach near sunset and it is a pleasure to sit and watch the sun go down with 1 of the many cocktails, although you might have to wait a few minutes at this busy time. As there are relatively few guests, it almost becomes a large extended family for the sunset drinks before everyone plods off to get ready for dinner at 7:30 PM. the bar at the lounge as well staffed and my only slight negative is that it is hard to get away from the smokers; no smoking is allowed in the restaurant. I really could spend a lot of time telling you how wonderful this resort is and whilst I did not try the spa, apparently that is wonderful to given other guests' reports. At this point I would like to thank several members of staff we made our stay exceptional; at the bar lounge Susma and Ajuri at the restaurant Na-eem (fruit and dessert) and Hussain ("Chef Big Hat") at reception Thoja and all his team. This is not the place for anyone seeking nightlife, parties, pounding music everywhere, animation teams, gym classes et cetera. In short, I would not recommend this for young children and teenagers. To me that is bliss. I have included lots of pictures including that of the superior water villa, sunsets, wildlife seen, but nothing can truly demonstrate the beauty of this tiny island adequately.