Maayafushi Resort North Ari Atoll

Maayafushi is a gem of an Island!

Forget paying thousands to stay in Paradise when Maayafushi has that all for you for an excellent price.

This island is 30 mins by Air Taxi from Male Airport. Upon arrival to the Island, you will be met by the Island Manager and his staff who will then escort you to the bar area for an Island brief and a drink.

Maaya is very small compared to Kuredu for example, it takes approx 10 to 15 minutes to walk around. The Island is kept spotless by a team of very happy and friendly staff who clean up the leaves and spray the island against insects on a regular basis.

Food is Italian based and all fish produce is fresh off the reef. The food can be a little repetative but of an excellent standard (try the Roast Beef! Yum!)

The only Bar on the island is run by Benny. Benny and his staff (Idrish, Mr Bean and Naz) will ensure that your glass is never empty! They will remember your name and they will remember what you drink. Look after these guys and they will look after you. They remembered our names, drinks and what we did for a living when we came back to the island after a 12 month gap!!

There is also a small coffee shop, this is run by Jalal. "J" like his bar counterparts, will remember everything about you and will treat you like his own family once you get to know him well. "J" serves up coffee, tea, fruit juice and ice creams. There will also be a few light snacks here, if there arnt then tell Jalal and he will go running off to the kitchen to get you some more.

Accomodation is spot on. The beach bungalows are around the edge of the Island and all are no more than 5 seconds from the waters edge. In the centre of the island are the garden villas. These all have their own private garden with swing, large outdoor shower and big air conditioned rooms. The island also boasts 8 water villas, these again are quite new and ideal for the romantic!

All in all a fantastic island to visit. Many people do return for repeat visits and I must admit, Im one of them. I dont usually go to places more than once or twice but this place just feels right.

Ive got a couple of hundred photos of this wonderful island, please feel free to drop me a line.

Martin and Lyndsy.

just arrived back from 2 weeks in the sun. apart from the very long and crampted flights to and from manchester - booked holiday 11 months ago and couldnt get into premier class - arrived at the island by seaplane on time.

we stayed in one of the deluxe bungalows in the centre of the island,which had its own walled court yard and wooden swing.the room looked exactly like the pictures with the outdoor bathroom!(downside to it was that we could hear our neighbours, the 1st week a baby crying through the night and 2nd week the neighbours staggering back from the bar at 2-3am and falling out with each other the following morning)

although the food was basic by our standards it was very well presented and i even saw the head waiter checking the temperature of the curry with a probe.

bottled water was an issue for some of the guests as you had to pay $3.50 + 5% for this,but we didnt need to buy it as breakfast opened from 8.00am,the coffee shop from 10.00am,lunch from 1.oopm the evening meal from 8.30pm and the bar open allday. you will share your dinner table with upto 3 other couples,which in our case worked out fine as we met lovely people.

when its hot its hot when it rains it rains!!each room has a brolly provided.

for those who wanted, daily snorkling trips were available to other reefs or you could hire kit and snorkle around the island .the sea life is fantastic and you dont even have to get your feet wet to see reef sharks and blue spotted rays!

the staff were very friendly and helpful even luca(the dreadful singer) made our holiday an experience.

This was our first visit to Maldives and we loved every minute. New Year celebrations were particularly good.

All accomodation is lovely but water bungalows are very special although the noise of the wind at night can be spooky it's more than compensated by the stunning views.

Everything about Maaya was good. Food, location, facilities, dive school. Fantastic house reef teeming with sealife.

Enjoyed diving, snorkelling trips and night fishing.

Staff were efficient but not intrusive and island is kept spotlessly clean even the beach is continually swept. Best thing was NO mosquitoes!! Not one, nor sandflies or any flying creatures other than a few birds and cute little lizards. Already planning a return trip as are amny of the folk we met there.

Tips - Book with confidence and pack light it's a real dress-down resort.

This was our second trip to the Maldives and we had two wonderful weeks covering Christmas and New Year.

Accommodation - we upgraded to a deluxe room with Thomas Cook, which equated to a walled garden villa with a front garden with decking and a swinging chair, and a rear garden with an outdoor shower. Apart from the resident fruit bats, no-one overlooked any of the gardens, so you can shower in privacy, although the water was sometimes a bit on the chilly side. If you don't fancy showering outside, there was another shower in the bathroom, which we didn't use as we liked the outdoor shower. There was a mosquito net above the bed, which you also don't need to use - they spray the island regularly, and we didn't get any bites. The room had air conditioning, which was very effective, and sockets were standard UK 3-pin although an adaptor plug was also provided. There was a mini bar containing a few soft drinks, a couple of bottles of beer and bottled water which was re-stocked daily but not included within the all-inclusive package option. Each room has two sunbeds, which you can take to whichever part of the island you prefer. Eight water bungalows are also available, and you can upgrade to one of these through reception for $5 pppn. If you're staying in a beach bungalow, you can upgrade for $15 pppn. We didn't go in a beach bungalow, but we did go in a water bungalow, and they are lovely.

Food - at breakfast you could choose from cakes and pastries, toast, cornflakes or fruit and a chef would also cook you eggs (fried, scrambled or omelettes). Lunch and dinner were buffet style, with one course served to your table each day. There were lots of lovely salads to choose from, and the curries, fish and pasta were also very good. There were a couple of themed evenings, and the Maldivian night was excellent. We had a gala dinner on the beach on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and the food at both was excellent. The beach had been beautifully decorated by the staff, and New Year's Eve was definitely a night we'll remember.

Entertainment - there are various activities on offer and you can choose to take part in a much or as little as you want. We were asked if we wanted to take part in various activities during the day and night, and whilst we didn't participate, we were not harassed at all, unlike some of the other islands. Evening entertainment was provided by Luca who played guitar (very well) and sang (not so well) but was worth listening to anyway.

Overall - we much preferred this island to our previous destination (Meedhupparu) as it was smaller and the service more personal. Whilst the official rating is only 3-star this probably reflects the facilities available rather than the standard of the resort. We wouldn't hesitate to go back, and are already planning a return visit next year.

This is the third island we have visited in the Maldives and without a doubt the best so far. The accomodation was fantastic and very clean. Our bungalow was 10 metres from the sea. The staff were very friendly and effecient. The beach is cleaned continually for leaves and debis. The food was varied and pleanty of it. The fish being the speciality and marvellous curries. Sometimes buffet style and sometimes table service. Christmas eve dinner was buffet style on the beach.

The dive centre is very good and the staff really helpful. The dives are superb and I can recommend Maya Thila the fish are abundant and we saw Whitetips and countless fish types. I was also pleased to see Jack the resident Barracuda which is truly enormous and a magnificent sight. The island also has a good house reef.

We found the ilsand small enough to be friendly but big enough to get away on your own. You can walk around the island in ten minutes. The veiws are stunning.

Altogether a truly fabulous holiday.

Just arrived back from Maaya 14th Nov.It was an excellent holiday on a wonderful island.We stayed in a beach bung,which was basic but very nice and cleaned twice a day,with your bed sheet made into lovely patterns each night you came back to your room.

The food in the restaurant was good,but it was a little repetitive over the two weeks.Some nights you had to eat early as there was very little left by the time we got in there,after we had a few beers in the bar.The evening meal is from 8.30 to 10,but you need to get in there as close to 8.30 as poss!

The bar and the bar staff are great,everything is free apart from,maybe,5 different types of shorts,ie JD.But be aware,after midnight you will charged for every drink.We had 5 drinks which came to $31!!

In the coffee shop,Jay(lofty) is the main man,he provides you with what ever you want,including biscuits with your afternoon tea!!

The snorkerling is awesome,we saw sharks,morays,puffer fish,nemo's,rays and many many more,but the diving,apparently,is excellent too.

The weather was roasting whilst we were there, one side of the island had a cooling breeze,which was very much welcome,the other side was just like an oven,so if you like it hot,thats the place to be.

Not one person I spoke to had a single mozzie bite,which has to be good news.

The trips out all good,but we really enjoyed the desert island trip,the snorkerling was great ,followed by an awesome barbeque on the island,but beware,take plenty of lotion,it was roasting whilst we were there,and we all burnt badly!(Hi Gareth&Chris)

The staff try to involve you in stuff but they aren't pushy,but if you participate in the tug of war,you have to beat the Italians,they hated it!

The island is Italian owned,so expect plenty of Italians,but all the staff speak Eng,but at times it is limited English.

All in all,its a lovely island and you will have a great time there.

(Photos only)

Got back from Maayafushi last week after a fabulous 16 nights on the island. It was supposed to be 15 nights but that's Monarch airlines for you! If you can travel with anyone else, do so. We were delayed 21 hours (wonderful because we got an extra night on the island, but not for those arriving), then we had a further 5 hour delay and once in Gatwick we did not have a pilot to take us to Manchester. Not to worry though, we had a fab time before that. When we arrived, we were put in a beach bungalow, which was lovely, a little small, but with a beautiful location and great tree in the bathroom. Because they had over-booked rooms on our second week, we got a really good deal and moved into the water bungalows, 10 nights for the price of 7 $210 all in. Was really worth it, with veranda and steps straight into the ocean. The island itself was clean and well maintained, about 8 minutes to walk around. We chose to do nothing- reading, sleeping, snorkelling, eating and drinking was all we managed, but there is lots to do- canoeing, sailing, windsurfing, fishing, trips, diving courses are supposed to be excellent and very professional. The staff were superb, especially Jay in the coffee shop and Benny, Idrish and "Mr Bean" in the bar. Food was very good but never very warm. If you do want hot food, Jay will always warm up a pizza in the coffee shop. There was usually a good choice of food, except breakfast, but make sure you get there early on Maldivian night, as the buffet food runs out fast. Entertainment was dire, but we managed to ignore most of it with vodka and good conversation. Watch out for Christmas carols on bingo night!

We had been to the Maldives once before and were eaten alive with mosquitos, don't worry we did not see a single one. We brought twelve bottles of repellant and didn't use any. Probably why we were charged $151 excess baggage on the way home!

All in all we had a wonderful holiday and recommend Maayafushi to anyone.

We have just come back from Maayafushi and absolutely loved it. It really is a relaxing holiday and you have to go with the flow and appreciate that there is not much to do.

The food, whilst basic, was well cooked and fresh. Most nights were buffet style with the waiter also bringing you a couple of main courses, usually fish and meat. They never committed themselves to naming the fish!!

Italian night meant lasagna and pasta dishes whilst Maldivian night had traditional Indian fayre of curry and samosas, poppadoms etc.

Desserts were again buffet style and ranged from apple pie and cold 'custard' to freshly made choux pastry swans and profiteroles.

The entertainment was basic yet the 'singer' Corrado was so bad, he was good. Although, if I hear Bittersweet Symphony one more time....!!! The other staff (the animation team, as they're called) are friendly and enjoy chatting to all guests. The 2 Italian girls, Jovanna and Stefania are the Maldivian version of the Cheeky Girls!

We stayed in a VIP room - set off the beach within its own garden and it was superb. Rooms are cleaned every day and at night the sheets are turned down and manipulated into various designs.

All in all the holiday was so relaxing and the staff did everything they could to make our time enjoyable. The snorkelling was an added bonus and we didn't feel like we were missing out on anything by not going scuba diving.

If you're expecting luxury, excitment and home comforts then this is probably not the place for you. However, if you're looking for a basic, get away from it all experience then I cannot recommend it high enough.

We visited the Maayafushi resort the first two weeks of May 2005 and found the following:-

1. The island is extremely pretty but the accoumodation, whilst clean, is quite basic. It is worth upgrading to an overwater bungalow if you can. (We did it and it was great just watching the fish, rays and sharks swim by each day!)

2. The food is geared towards the Italians and as such there are lots of pasta dishes on offer. This can get quite monotonous and the british guests were like vultures on a Sunday night when the roast meats came out!!

3. The entertainment is extremely poor. The Island would be better off with no entertainment staff at all. The "singer" the island employs sings in true "pub singer style" and can get annoying after a couple of days!

4. Snorkelling around the island is safe and you get to see alot of different fish. Even I managed to snorkel and I hate putting my head under the water. So I advise everyone - give it a go!

Overall I would say that the Maayafushi resort lives up to its 3* rating.