Dhigurah Hotels with Gym

We spent two dreamy weeks at Nova Resort over Christmas and New Year's. The entire staff is incredibly friendly, especially towards children, and everyone put in a lot of effort to ensure we had an amazing experience and a wonderful Christmas and New Year celebration away from home. The buffet on December 24th and 31st was absolutely fantastic. Beyond that, the food is delicious and varied. The island is stunning, with sandy beaches all around, and the (beach) bungalows are very spacious and new. With our three children, we stayed in a double (family) bungalow, which was fantastic. The room service comes twice a day and is extremely friendly, thorough, and efficient. The house reef is teeming with colorful fish, sharks, and even turtles. The diving school staff provide excellent care and guidance. We hadn’t been diving in a long time and felt we were in very capable hands from the start. I went on the manta snorkeling tour by boat with my son. We were incredibly lucky and saw many mantas and even a whale shark. It was a breathtaking experience, but it really depends on luck—some didn’t see the big fish, which makes it an expensive outing for the whole family. Another matter of luck is the weather. We had great weather at the beginning but were a bit unlucky towards the end with lots of rain and wind. You should be mentally prepared for this, as you usually only see sunny pictures. It was our first vacation in the Maldives, but certainly not our last. The atmosphere of the small island, the friendliness of the staff, and the amazing underwater world absolutely won us over. Thank you to the entire Nova team for the wonderful time!

I spent 3 nights at Bliss and had a lovely time. I would recommend it, as it was value for money, comfortable and was at a great location. - My experience in booking my room was pleasant, the response was prompt and efficient. All the information I needed was sent to me in advance. The hotel booked my transfer details and had someone waiting at the airport for me. - The room was lovely. Quite adequate in size. A nice bathroom and a lovely veranda. - The breakfast consisted of a granola bowl and some toast. It was adequate. The coffee was good. - The location of the hotel is wonderful, just opposite the beach. The island is lovely, with a forested side and a beautiful sandbank. - The excursions were great. I did the manta tour and the whale shark tour and was lucky to see both. The boat captain was a good spotter and so was the boat assistant. Just know that you can only go on the excursion that is booked for the day, depending on demand. You can't book an excursion as per your preferences. - The staff was friendly and accommodating. Archana was great. They also helped me make some last minute changes to my airport transfer, which was greatly appreciated. Suggestions: - The bathroom had a slight bad smell sometimes - There was an electric kettle, but no coffee/tea/sugar/milk - The guide in the excursions was diffident and uninterested in us guests. He was mostly interested in taking photos and videos for himself. He was not a good spotter either, in fact the boat captain spotted more. The guide did not even speak to us, let alone tell us about the fish and marine life (perhaps he doesn't have the knowledge?). He did not look out for us, even though the conditions were very rough on the second day. He is not a safe person to snorkel with. I suggest the hotel changes to a different guide. - The food at Hermit's is overpriced. The sandwich I had was a big disappointment. I went to a restaurant nearby for meals (called Aveli's) I think Bliss is value for money and I would recommend it. I would stay there again.