Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru Resort

Very nice resort! Lots of marine life and the rooms were amazing. We stayed at a water villa.

When traveling halfway around the world to reach a bucket-list destination, the resort one chooses is of critical importance to ensure the investment in time and money pays off. Having just spent a week at Outrigger Maafushivaru I can say unequivocally that this was definitely the right choice. The resort exceeded every expectation and delivered way beyond the initial gorgeous location in the Indian Sea. Its design and decor, its food, its atmosphere, and most importantly, its people make it one of the best run resorts I’ve experienced, and deserves major accolades for everyone from management to each customer facing and and back of house employee they have. Let’s start with the physical attributes. Maafushivaru is a gem of an island, surrounded by azure waters and a reef teaming with aqua life. While we are scuba divers, we snorkeled a few times right at the resort and were blown away by how much variety and quantity of fish life we observed, including spotted eagle rays, reef tip sharks, bumper fish, parrot fish, unicorn fish, and many more. The water is truly stunning… all the blues you’ve dreamed of, with beautifully groomed sandy beaches for easy entry to the warm water. It has the requisite palm trees along with lots of flowering plants and vines like bougainvillea and plumeria. The landscape design is tranquil, with meandering paths through the property, maintained impeccably. The architecture is another standout… I would describe it as modern Maldivian luxury… the public spaces are built with natural woods, but in surprising shapes, with high ceilings, gorgeous lighting, and design details that says understated elegance without conceit. We stayed in an overwater bungalow without a pool, and loved the attention to detail in the room, like being able to walk from the outdoor shower on the deck (with hot water, meant for rinsing off with clothes on FYI) into the private shower in the marbled bathroom. Tons of storage/closets, a large safety box (though we never felt the need to use it), with a comfortable king size bed facing a glass door with views of the ocean, allowing us to wake up to gorgeous scenery each morning drinking coffee in bed from the in-room Nespresso. The ladder off the deck allowed us to jump in for a morning dip, as well as observe all the sea life around our room. The food was all around outstanding, from the buffet we used for breakfast and some dinners, to the specialized restaurants Moodhu Grill, Art-i-San, and Koto (our favorite). Each has tables with ample exposure to the outdoors, so the gentle island breezes were a constant companion, along with on-point decor, inventive dishes, and impeccable staff. Lunch is at the Edgewater grill, with a very extensive offering of salads and mains influenced by Asian, Indian, and western locales — we sampled many of them and found them all delicious. Finally and critically, the people who work diligently to ensure you have a fantastic vacation were the best hospitality team