Maafushivaru Island Resort was the second Maldives Resort we stayed at on our 20 days trip to the Maldives! It’s a part of Universal resorts and share the same owner as Kuramathi and Kandolhu.
If you’re curious about Maafushivaru, keep reading as I will share my experience and what you can expect as a guest at Maafushivaru Island Resort.
Room Standard (2 Bedroom Villa with Pool)
So, first out in this Maafushivaru review will be our villa. Christine and I stayed in a beach villa with direct access to the beach. While many Maldives tourists are longing for the overwater bungalow villas (Maafushivaru has them too), I wasn’t too disappointed to be staying in one of their beach villas.
It’s a huge villa, and you have your own pool as well as less than a minute walk down to the beach. The bed is comfortable and it feels more private than the overwater villas. The beach villas are sold as 2 in a package, which means that you can stay here with your family, privately or with your friends, which is perfect!
It’s nice to have your own sunbeds and a pool since you might not want to be out in the water all day long, at least not me. I like going to the beach, but I also prefer hanging out by the pool while on vacation.
Since we were here on a Media trip, we also got to see some overwater villas at Maafushivaru, and while those are amazing too, I still preferred our beach villa.
In our beach villa, we had everything we could possibly need, a mini-bar, TV, comfortable bed, outdoor shower, indoor shower, spacious bathroom and bedroom as well as the terrace with the private pool. At the terrace, you will also have a couple of chairs and a small hut where you can sit and relax.
This is what you get when booking a 2 Bedroom Villa with Pool
Comfy beds with soft sheets
- Nice pillows
Bathroom with indoor and outdoor shower (free toiletries)
Terrace with sunbeds, private pool and cozy hut for shade
Couch
TV
Desk
Air conditioning/fan
Robes & slippers
Coffee/tea making station
- Complimentary Water
Minibar
Closet
Daily cleaning
Safe box
Overwater bungalow villa
Difference between all-inclusive and full-board at Maafushivaru
Full-Board
If you’re not familiar with Full-Board and all-inclusive, it basically means that you have breakfast, lunch and dinner included. At Maafushivaru they have full-board, but drinks are not included, except at breakfast such as juice and coffee.
The buffet is being served in the Cuisine Gallery in the main area.
All-Inclusive
Main Meals: Your breakfast/lunch/dinner buffets in the Cuisine Gallery. À la carte dining and private dining experiences are not included in the all-inclusive packages.
High Tea: From 15.00 to 17.00 you can have both tea and coffee + snacks at the Library Lounge between 15.00 – 17.00.
Beverages: The beverages included in the package are soft drinks, such as Coke, Sprite, Fanta, canned juices including orange, pineapple and apple, spirits and liquors, cocktails, house wines by the glass, Carlsberg draught beer and house mineral water. In the minibar in the villa non-alcoholic beverages are included.
Use of snorkeling equipment: Equipment can be borrowed for free. Basic knowledge is required, lessons are at extra cost.
Excursions: One Sunset Cruise is included in the package (per person per stay.)
Breakfast
Each morning Breakfast is being served in the main restaurant – Cuisine Gallery. It’s a broad selection of continental and Asian-style breakfast. You can have the eggs of your choice, pancakes, various fresh fruits, 3-5 different sorts of bread, yogurt, juice as well as a couple of dishes.
The bread was delicious, as was the various kinds of jam! (I love jam). For a sweeter breakfast, there are also many pastries to choose from, like croissants and danish.
Find the cheapest flights to the Maldives here
Outside the room
Outside your villa, you will have a beautiful island to explore where you can go for a spa (complimentary steam room and sauna), enjoy the sunbeds at the beach, pool, or go kayaking and paddle-boating.
There are plenty of photogenic spots around the Maafushivaru resort, and also places to relax. If you want to stay in shape there’s also a gym, and if you want to sip on some delicious cocktails you can always hit up their lounge bar next to the pool!
Lonobu Island
One of the absolute highlights with the Maafushivaru resort is the small island that lies next to Maafushivaru island, and this one is called Lonobu Island, and guests can go here for a free visit during the day, OR, even better RENT it and get your own private island and stay overnight!
How cool is that? We got to stay here just the two of us for 1,5 hour, and that was incredible. You’re really alone on a paradise island. It’s without a doubt one of the best experiences we’ve had in the Maldives, and if you go to Maafushivaru you should definitely take the opportunity!
The reef is also great here, so bring you’re snorkeling gear. For those interested in doing an overnight stay at Lonobu island, I can tell you that you will be staying in a rustic yet luxurious villa with your own jacuzzi! (as if the gorgeous sea wasn’t enough).
I’m not even sure how to describe this paradise island, so instead just have a look at some drone photos I took of Lonobu island and just be amazed by the natural beauty! Few places scream paradise as much as this island.
Dinner options at Maafushivaru Island Resort
We had dinner one night at the Cuisine Gallery, and the other night we had dinner with the resort manager at their Teppanyaki restaurant. The buffet at Cuisine gallery was quite well mixed, and the food I tried had good quality, which is not always the case when it comes to buffets.
desserts were plenty as well. As for the Teppanyaki restaurant, that’s an experience by itself since the chef will put on a dinner show and cook the food in front of you and then serve it (that’s a part of Teppanyaki). The food will consist of some sushi, wagyu beef and vegetables, and a dessert.
I can totally recommend eating at their Teppanyaki restaurant at least one night. It was a fun experience, and the sushi was great!
Staff
I must say that all staff was attentive and friendly during our stay. Smiling and greeted all guests. The watersport guy took care of our room key and some other items we didn’t want to carry on the paddle boat, so that was a plus too!
The bartender was great and friendly as well. and the drinks he prepared was good too.
WiFi
A review of the Maafushivaru island resort cannot be complete without a mention of the quality of Wi-Fi. Social media and online work is an important feature nowadays and you also want to stay connected with friends and family back home, even though you’re on vacation.
The Wi-Fi at Maafushivaru worked well throughout the resort area, and same in the restaurants and villas. I got no complaints, and the fact that you’re on an island in Maldives, it’s incredibly reliable I must say.
Location
The island resort of Maafushivaru is located in the South Ari Atoll, which is about 25 minutes by seaplane from Male Airport. We got here by speedboat from Kuramathi, and that took about 1 hour.
The location is great since you don’t have a lot of islands nearby, which makes you feel like you’re on a deserted island in paradise, which I think is just what Maldives resort life is all about!
Summary of my stay
Christine and I had a great stay at Maafushivaru and would love to come back another time, especially to Lonobu island and make an overnight stay over there and have a romantic dinner on the beach.
Overall, the food was good (not Michelin star quality, but good), the island itself is not too small but still small and private. Snorkeling is great around the resort and Lonobu island. It’s definitely a place for honeymooners or couples wanting a romantic vacation, but you could also go here with your family and friends and have a good time.
Maafushivaru has something for everyone, even though it’s quite cliché to say. I would definitely recommend you to choose Maafushivaru as your Maldives resort. Budget wise it’s cheaper than many others, yet provide quality for your money and a nice experience.
Useful Information about Maafushivaru
Flights and Hotel
What other guests say about Maafushivaru on Tripadvisor:
Most of the guests who have made a review of Maafushivaru on Tripadvisor has written that they love the island and that they feel it’s something special, particularly Lonobu Island. Guests also appreciate the privacy, even though Maafushivaru is quite a small island.
There were some complaints about the food, which can be understandable if you’re staying for 2 weeks, since they only have 2 restaurants available, but for, the food was good and also had variations, and most of the reviews are positive and other guests seems to love it just as much as I did.
Map of Maafushivaru
Down below you can see a map of where Maafushivaru is located in the Maldives.
Hope you enjoyed this Maafushivaru island resort review! If you have more questions about the resort, don’t hesitate to leave a comment with your questions or send me an email, I would be happy to answer from my own experience if possible.