Dhiggiri Vacations from $2,192

Amazing staff, beautiful coral reef

This resort is really challenging. It is brand new, fresh, and clean. However, as it has just opened, there are many issues due to its youth. The personnel is sometimes a bit rude, but the manager is a great guy who we had the honor to meet in person and really addressed our problems with the room. A word of caution: The seaplane experience is a nightmare. We waited for 3 hours in the lounge for a 30-minute flight. MAKE SURE THEY ASSIGN YOU ROOMS ON THE WEST SIDE OF EITHER ISLAND. DO NOT accept rooms on the east side. It’s windy, and the water reef is not appealing. Consider yourself warned!

I expected cleaner beaches

A little further out from Malé (50 minutes seaplane flight), COMO Maalifushi lies on a small 800 meters island. It is a human size property of about 60 villas and suites, some of them on the water. We spent 10 days on a water suite with 2 kids (family of 4), half board. We stayed there late July, a bit before the summer break boom, and before the "high season" (December to March), which gave us the opportunity to be on the island in a low occupancy time of the year. The staff was simply outstanding, we were truly treated like privileged guests. The amenities are top of the game, from a pristine spa, to the bar and 2 restaurants, it was just perfect, surrounded by a local reef with plenty of marine life. Our water suite was easily suitable for our family of 4, about 110 m2 (1200 sq feet), the layout was perfectly designed, with a superb deck featuring a private pool and direct access to the ocean, we enjoyed snorkeling directly from our private deck. The property is small, but it's easy to get around with the bikes provided to each guest. The kid's club has amazing activities for the younger ones. Activities for guests include snorkeling, diving (5 stars PADI dive center), kayaking, sport fishing etc. There is really nothing negative to say about this resort which, in my mind, ranks easily among the top 10 in the Maldives.