Viluveli Holiday Retreat

Common areas and our room were beautiful, room was spacious, beds were very comfortable, view from our room was great, food was okay. However, the island itself was very disappointing. If you're planning a visit to Hanimaadhoo, read this. Despite being one of largest Maldives islands with an airport, Hanimaadhoo seems almost deserted. There's very few locals around and almost no tourists: I saw 4 foreigners inside hotel and didn't meet any on the streets. Large swathes of land with very few people here or there. There is no (real) bikini beach on Hanimaadhoo, not anymore. Manager told me they removed all sunbeds and everything from bikini beach. Now the "bikini beach" is just a hard to reach piece of sand with nothing on it (no beds, no shades) and not a single person there. There is no house reef, only a few small corals and fishes. It's shallow for 500 meters (20 min of swimming), after that there's no drop-off = nothing to see there either. It's a large island, unlike other Maldivian islands you may need to walk 1-2 kilometers or call a taxi to get where you want. For example, to get to an ATM – there’s no ATM in the village, only in the airport. I wanted to dive, but there were no divers except me! Hanimaadhoo has two dive centers: Barefoot Dive Center, which only serves clients of Barefoot Eco Hotel, and Hanimaadhoo Dive and Watersports which serves everyone else. I went to the latter and found I was the only diver who wanted to dive in the next several days = only diver on Hanimaadhoo, except possibly Barefoot. This is not the fault of Viluveli, I just want to inform other travelers who are considering to stay on Hanimaadhoo. Barefoot customers may have a different experience, they at least have a nice beach. I decided to cut my stay short and leave Hanimaadhoo asap, earlier than planned.

If you're planning to visit Hanimaadhoo, read the above (placed there to avoid review size constraints). What I didn't like in Viluveli: manager of this hotel is a sneaky person trying to squeeze every dollar out of clients: 1. As mentioned above I decided to cut my stay short. The booking was not refundable at this point, so I lost money, but Booking.com didn’t charge Environment Tax ($6 per person per night). Yet, manager insisted I must pay tax for the full length of stay, including the unused nights. Why - because I paid via Booking.com. How is one related to the other? I didn't pay this tax to Booking.com. Government takes the tax. Pretty sure he will inform government that clients left early and pocket the money for 2 nights. 2. During argument about tax, he said the tax is for each period of 0:00 - 23:59. It’s not true: Booking calculates it as $6 per person per night. 3. He wanted to get paid in dollars or euros, not Maldivian rufiyaas (MVR). When he saw I don't have full sum in rufiyaas, he said he can only accept full payment in MVR or full payment in USD, not partial. It was clearly a trick to make me pay in USD. Having seen the manager clearly lie to me in points 2 and 3 above, I don’t believe I needed to pay government tax for unused days, he’ll probably pocket these money.

Czysto, schludnie,przyjazny uśmiechnięty personel. W razie problemów natychmiastowa pomoc. Lokalizacja obiektu przy samej plaży. Dla osób ceniących ciszę i spokój miejsce idealne!!

Dobre jedzenie ale monotonne , zwłaszcza śniadanie.

Pohodlná izba, priamo na pláži, ticho, nízka cena.

Gemütliches Hotel, direkt am Strand gelegen, sehr ruhig und prima zum entspannen

Alle Zimmer sind durch zwischen Türen verbunden, auch wenn diese abgeschlossen sind, wird das Zimmer dadurch sehr hellhörig

We travel internationally quite often, and for the price and location, Viluveli Holiday Retreat offers very strong value. The resort grounds are beautiful, peaceful, well-kept, and very zen. And Hanimaadhoo itself was a highlight. The sand on this island is the softest I’ve ever felt underfoot, almost like flour rather than traditional sand. It’s a unique texture that really stands out. Overall, this is a peaceful property in a beautiful location, and for the rate we paid, it delivered solid value. Travelers to local islands should build in flexibility for transfers and scheduling, which is part of the Maldives experience.

Breakfast was simple but appropriate for the price point. If you’re expecting a large resort buffet, this is not that, but it was perfectly adequate to start the day. There were some transition challenges following a recent management change, affecting booking and transfer coordination. To their credit, the new management did make efforts to resolve the issues once identified. Our greatest difficulty was around travel logistics — particularly arriving on a Friday, when flights and transfers to the island are more limited. There were also occasional minor language-barrier challenges when coordinating timing, especially since we were on a tight multi-island travel schedule.

Comfort & Design: The hotel territory is very green, cozy, and beautifully decorated. The rooms are excellent — very stylish, with a comfortable bed and a great bathroom. I felt very relaxed and comfortable inside. Wild Beach: Although the hotel doesn't have its own private beach and you have to follow the dress code in town (especially during Ramadan), the wild beach was a highlight for me. It was very cool to find a cozy spot under a palm tree right on the ocean shore with very few people around. I loved it! Local Amenities: It’s very convenient that there are two shops nearby where you can pay by card or phone. This is a big plus for a local island! Diving: There is a diving school close to the hotel. I didn't have time this trip, but I will definitely go there first thing when I return. Price: The price is very reasonable and fair for the level of comfort in the rooms. Cons: Food: I had half-board, but the food was way too spicy for me. There were no seafood options or a variety of fruits. Perhaps February is off-season, as I saw green mangoes and bananas still on the trees, but I hope for more variety next time. Service: Unfortunately, the trash in my room was never emptied during my 3-day stay. This is something the hotel should improve. Location context: Keep in mind it's a local island, so you need to walk a bit to the wild beach to wear a bikini. Overall: Despite the issues with spicy food and cleaning, I really liked this place. The cozy atmosphere, beautiful rooms, and that spot under the palm tree made it worth it. I will definitely be back!

Чистота, уют и очень внимательный персонал

Всё было хорошо

L’albergo ha stanze molto ben arredate, spaziose e dotate di tutto ciò che serve. Tutta la struttura è sempre pulita con una piccola piscina e comodi lettini. Ci hanno consentito di mangiare in gruppo proprio a bordo piscina sia la colazione che pranzo e cena. La cucina è Maldiviana ma c’è sempre anche la pasta. La scelta è limitata ma ben cucinata e quindi siamo sempre stati soddisfatti. La spiaggia bikini non è quella fuori dall’hotel ma a pochi passi neanche 100 mt. L’hotel ci ha fornito anche dei lettini. Il mare è bellissimo ma il reef un po lontano da raggiungere anche con le canoe che l’hotel fornisce. Il personale è stato sempre disponibile ed attento ad ogni nostra esigenza e richiesta. Ci hanno consentito di lasciare la stanza nel pomeriggio avendo il volo la sera. Complessivamente siamo stati benissimo ci hanno fatto sentire come in famiglia con gli amici conosciuti in struttura. Direi che il rapporto qualità prezzo è ottimo

Potrebbero migliorare l’organizzazione di snorkeling sul reef magari accompagnando gli ospiti con una barchetta. Si raccomanda di aggiornare i cataloghi delle escursioni per evitare equivoci spiacevoli.

The manager Riyad and his team was amazing , good hospitality .

The out of yard smoking area . Would prefer to stand on the balcony and smoke .