Le Meridien Maldives (LMM) is one of our Top 5 Favorite Properties in the World. We've made annual visits to the Maldives in the last 13 years and stayed at other luxury Maldivian resorts , including Waldorf Astoria, St. Regis, Park Hyatt, and Conrad, but have concluded that LMM takes the crown. This was our 4th visit at the LMM.
Why we keep coming back
(1) Exceptional Service - from top management to landscape staff, the smiles are genuine and the care comes from the heart. You're made to feel part of the family.
(2) Outstanding Snorkeling - the house reef is vibrant and home to sea turtles, manta rays, eagle rays, sharks, among many schools of colorful fishes. Our favorite thing to do each day is wake up to the sunrise and jump in the water.
(3) World-class Dining – every meal was a delight with fresh ingredients and exquisite presentation! Our dietary preferences were always noted and accommodated with thoughtfulness and care.
(4) Happy Associates – you know you’re in a good place when staff retention is high and you’re greeted by familiar faces on each return.
A few additional points, if you are still reading.
(5) Comfortable Hardware - from functional rooms to well-maintained facilities, the LMM has everything you possibly need. The Waldorf or St. Regis might offer larger rooms, but in our experience, the well-designed layout of the LMM villas gives us exactly what we need.
(6) Social Activities - Plenty of complimentary and paid activities on the daily calendar kept us busy and entertained.
(7) No "Nickel-and-Diming" - unlike many other Maldivian resorts, the LMM doesn't charge for water or bread at the dining outlets. The resort genuinely treats you like family, and wants you to have the best experience possible.
The next section is to acknowledge all the fantastic LMM team members who work extremely hard to keep this place such a wonderful place for us to return to year after year.
Food & Beverage Team
We're both vegetarians with some specific dietary restrictions, but the food & beverage team takes them in stride and delivers delicious creations at every single meal. Specific shoutouts go to:
Karan, Abhishek, Shiraz, and Abby for managing the team so seamlessly it feels like no detail goes unnoticed.
Chef Muthu and Chef Devin for paying special attention to our dietary preferences and creating beautifully-presented tasty dishes at every meal.
The talented culinary team of chefs, consisting of Subam (the incredible dim sum specialist), Rahul, Pradeep (in charge of Velaa), Nikki, Sanchit and Delina (the chefs in charge of pastry, bread, and all things sweet), Suraj, Shoaib (in charge of Riviera), Hannah, Jesaya, Robert, Izam, Rafy, Miko, Ridoh, among others, for keeping the offering standards super high.
Supun, Aapaa, and Nasheeth for leading a great team of cheerful helpful friends at Turquoise - Jezzika, Erma, Nazim, Mauch, Mirrah, Puri, Upsy, Nooh, Ayaan, and many others.
Akbar and Lita for managing Velaa and the team there so effectively that it's always a special treat for us to stop there for afternoon pizzas or elegant evening dinners. Their associates Hafiz, Symon, Nishaath, Sameeh, and many others are always happy and ready to assist at any time.
Team members who normally work at outlets other than Turquoise but come to Turquoise to help - Puspa, Neng, Ali Baba, Ahmed, Rafdi (the resort barista), Toqjan, Dewi, Kyra, and many others - you guys rock!
Many whose names we don't know but work hard behind the scene in the kitchen or in-villa dining, and clean up the buffet stations after meals - we see and appreciate you.
Recreation
Under the leadership of Raj, the recreation team, consisting of Rupesh, Hari, and Ayushi, puts out an exciting program of daily activities, such as pool dance parties, scavenger hunt, Zumba, karaoke, and other sports offerings – we tried them all! Your high energy and special talent add to the enjoyment of guests. This is not typical for the other Maldivian resorts we visited before, so keep up the good work!
Housekeeping
Our housekeeper Gasim pays special attention to details, cleans meticulously, and refills everything we need during our stay. The villa is kept so comfortable and clean - kudos to the team for maintaining this high standard year after year. We sleep really well here at the LMM.
Front Office and Reservations
Francesca and Peter do an excellent job leading the front office team who are super responsive and helpful via WhatsApp or phone. Thank you to Ali, Jennifer, Alessio, Phoebe, Baku, Alyssa, Illey, Alibe, and many others who help in front of or behind the scene.
Special thanks also go to Ibrahim and team at Reservations for ensuring all the details of our stay are taken care of before our arrival.
Resort Management and Leadership
Thomas, Nafiu, Deepak, and others, we see how you take such good care of your team members so that they can provide the most authentic and genuine service to resort guests. During our stay this year, we met 4-5 couples/families we had met here at the LMM in the past. The number of repeat guests here at the LMM speaks volumes to how outstanding a job you all are doing. We notice that many of your employees have been with the resort since pre-opening and stay. This is not usual in the Maldives. Given what's going on in the world right now, we wish you the best of luck navigating the choppy waters and pray that the situation improve soon.
AT
HU
IN
AE