4-Star Hotels in Vaavu Atoll, Maldives

We were picked up at the Velana airport after an overnight stay at the local island, with transfer fee of $40 USD per person to take the speedboat to Fulidhoo, where Kinan Retreat is at. After alighting from the jetty at Fulidhoo, it's a short 5 mins walk to the Retreat. Welcome drinks and hot hand towels were offered. We missed the morning excursion trip but decided to go for it the next day. The room provided can have an extra bed for $15 USD. Fulidhoo is a small local island but it's the favorite hangout for stingrays and nurse sharks. You will be able to spot these lovely creatures around the shore, especially near evening time when there are people who start feeding them. You will be able to get up close and even touch them, but with caution. We went on an evening fishing trip that cost $45 USD per person, inclusive of a BBQ dinner for the dishes that were caught. On the next day before leaving for our resort island stay, we took the excursion trip to see dolphins, snorkeling with nurse sharks at SharkPoint and went turtle spotting, all these for $40 USD per person. Underwater videos were captured and shared by WhatsApp. Great service by the counter lady Shahidah. I will recommend this Retreat to visitors, and you will not be disappointed with the time spent on the island.

The hotel is nice, the food is decent (though the chicken and fish were often spicy), and there's always fruit (papaya, guava, pineapple, passion fruit, melon, and watermelon). On the first day, we were greeted with a welcome drink, and on our last day, we were given fresh juice and battered seafood as a complimentary dinner—a nice touch. The staff is friendly. We used the hotel's boat to get to and from the airport. The advantage is that if your flight is delayed upon arrival, they'll wait for you, and on the day of check-out, you can use your room and have lunch (we had a full meal plan). Overall, I recommend the hotel. The only thing is that the island is being actively developed, and construction is visible in many places. This spoils the overall picture a bit, and in the future, there will be a lot of people, making it difficult to find privacy.

We moved from the beach villa to our overwater jacuzzi water villa with ease Upon reaching the room, we loved the view where you'll be able to see sunrise on the left side and the sunset on the right of it. Tried out the jacuzzi pool, swam around our overwater villa throughout the afternoon. We brought bread from the meals and fed the fishes that were always around the villa. During low tide, you could even stand in the water under the overwater villa with fishes swimming around you, all the time. Once in a while, you may see a solo nurse shark swim nearby. The pictures taken are so Instagram-able . Really enjoyed our stay at this resort. After meals, will play at the pool table, air hockey, play darts and table futsal. My son also paid a visit to the gym. There is an Ameera Spa just behind the main dining hall.