Kandima Maldives

We had an amazing time at Kandima, our first time on this island, and we were not sure what to expect before we arrived. There are lots of activities to do here, including daily kayaking and paddleboarding, which are part of the all-inclusive package. Other activities are chargeable. Life jackets are provided for all ages, and they also provide daily trips to the house reef, which you have to book with the Aquaholics team. The team are welcoming, but I did notice they had different views on the weather conditions and whether it is suitable for the not-so-advanced swimmers, where some would say the sea is choppy to give you some understanding, whereas others wouldn't mention it, even knowing we had small children. For the non-advanced swimmers, this is good to know before heading out. It's also important to note, you don't see lots of sealife near the shore, you need to head out more to the reef, apart from the cute baby sharks and a few odd fish! It might be the time of year we went, who knows? There are other activities like the daily Aqua Gym or Yoga sessions, but check on the app they provide and also check with the appropriate teams, as we found the app didn't quite match the activities that should take place. Some of the things we didn't quite like were the fact that on previous all-inclusive holidays, we would normally have the mid-meal snacks and ice cream for the kids all covered, but you have to pay for these, unfortunately. The same goes for the bike rental, which we were surprised they didn't have bikes for the kids, only one size. People around the resort are super friendly, and we found that everyone wanted to say hello and help us. Even the room cleaners are so polite and friendly, we had Wayne Rooney (not the footballer ;) ) and he did a great job. We found that if there was anything wrong with the room or needed sorting, using the app to message the team was quick and easy, and they sent someone out straight away. Knowing that the gym was open 24 hours was a massive bonus for us to go to before the kids were awake! The cocktails are slightly different between the bars, like Beach and Breeze, but it depends on the person making them. Most of the barmen made the cocktails similar, but a few we couldn't drink. I would recommend the ice coffees and also IDA from the beach/swim up bar, he was really friendly and he even made us his IDA Special, which should definitely go on the menu for anyone who like a sweet alcoholic and non-alcoholic (for the kids) specials! I was surprised by the lack of chips, pizzas, burgers and nuggets you would normally get during every meal in the restaurants, which was great for us as the kids would normally just be eating that every day! If you fancied some chips, you could always ask the chefs. We particularly enjoyed the breakfasts, where the Flavour chefs for morning omelettes and pancakes were very accommodating. The à la carte restaurants were amazing and I would highly recommend them all, especially the benefit of the all-inclusive package is that you can go to them every day if you want to! Just need to make sure you booked them in advance. The kids club (Kandiland team) were awesome, they would even have the kids play for 15 mins before we grabbed a few things from the room for them. It's important to know that some activities within there are chargeable, and it's best to check in with the team, as the app might not be fully up to date with the daily activities. We were a little disappointed with the evening parties, like the glow party was without glowsticks (but with glow paint), especially our youngest, who was expecting them and the white party was held in the adults-only Forbidden bar, which was a shame. Special shout out to INASH from the reception team, who went the extra mile during our stay and along with management helped us to enjoy the holiday. Omi was helpful too when we had to book our anniversary things. I couldn't remember the guy from the Gym who also led the Yoga and Aqua Gym sessions, he was really helpful! The buggy's really helped to go around the island and to/from rooms. We would definitely want to come back to this island again, hopefully one day soon!