Vacationing amidst untouched nature and breathtaking beaches in the Maldives – sounds like a beautiful dream, doesn’t it? This dream came true for me when I traveled to The Residence Hotel in the Maldives in October.
“A world away from everyday” – this is the motto of The Residence Maldives, where I spent my first week in the Maldives. This phrase fits perfectly, because relaxation, well-being and enjoyment are absolutely essential in the resort. It is not for nothing that the area where the beautiful hotel The Residence is located being called the “pristine south of the Maldives”. It’s the perfect place to completely relax and concentrate on yourself – without any loud boat noise or air traffic.
Advertisement: Your trust is very important to me: This article was created in collaboration with The Residence Maldives. However, any recommendation is still 100% my honest opinion.
Finally arrived at The Residence Maldives Hotel
From the international airport in Malé you take a 45 minute domestic flight. From there it’s only a 10 minute boat ride to The Residence Resort. But even the short trip to the Maldives was worth every minute. You will see the beautiful islands and visit a local island where the airport is located in the south of the Maldives. My tip: Give your suitcases to the friendly guide and walk the few meters to the port. It’s only five minutes, but you can enjoy the beautiful weather and the sea!
By the way, the times of the local trip (flight and boat trip) are communicated to the guests only one day before – this is very common in the Maldives, so do not be surprised!
Once there, I could not get out of the amazement. All the thoughtful details in and around the hotel The Residence Maldives, as well as the courteous service on site have inspired me directly.
Room No. 612 – the stunning Beach Pool villa
As already mentioned, indulgence is a top priority here at the hotel. Therefore, we first got a very tasty welcome drink before we were then led to our accommodation. At this point, I want to directly pass on a recommendation to you: If you ever want to stay at The Residence, book the room with the number 612. The luxurious Beach Pool villa with a huge private pool and direct view of the ocean is really the most beautiful accommodation we have seen here. Despite direct access to the ocean, the villa offers a lot of privacy, as it is densely overgrown with bushes and palm trees from the outside.
The difference between the accommodations is of course minimal. Nevertheless, we have not seen any other villa that was surrounded by so many green plants as this one, so I didn’t want to hold back this insider tip from you! Convince yourselves:
My favorite activities
For those of you who want to experience the diverse flora and fauna around the Gifu Alifu Atoll, this is the place to be. The Residence Hotel offers endless possibilities to get to know the Pacific island in many different ways. Small tip: Snorkeling equipment as well as the equipment for all non-motorized water sports activities can be rented free of charge at the hotel at any time!
The Residence consists of two resorts connected by a bridge. Fun fact: This bridge is the longest bridge in the Maldives with a length of one kilometer! The path is definitely suitable for a nice evening walk, because on foot you can enjoy the view best! My tip to you: With a buggy or bike it is of course much faster 😉
For those of you who like to cook as much as I do, I can recommend the Earth Basket program. You can simply book it and then you spend a noon together with the sous chef of the hotel’s own restaurant to prepare your own lunch. Before the cooking class, you will walk through the hotel’s vegetable and spice garden, where all kinds of fruits, vegetables and herbs are grown. There you will gather your ingredients for the dish. The chef is very friendly, explains each step and also gives many helpful tips. If you don’t like something, he is also super flexible, because according to the motto “never compromise with food!” the experience should be perfect for you. Here are a few impressions of the delicious menu – want the recipes? 🙂
Wine & dine at The Residence Maldives
Besides all the great experiences, I was looking forward to one thing in particular every day: The exceptionally good food at The Residence! In both parts of the resort you will find various restaurants and bars, which are all included in the all-inclusive package. This means that you can visit all restaurants at any time for free and experience one culinary highlight after the next. There’s no doubt that you will be enticed as soon as you start to look at their offerings; the restaurant menu design also seems to be made to especially cater to the customer’s taste-buds. I absolutely loved going through all of the restaurant’s menus and imagining what I’ll be ordering. I was also very positively surprised by the very good and large wine selection. The Chenin Blanc from South Africa was my absolute favorite. I promise you that no matter which restaurant you visit, you will experience wine and dine at its best!
The Dining Room on Dhigurah
We had lunch and dinner several times at the Dining Room on Dhigurah. This restaurant is located on the island of Dhigurah close to our villa. The food was very tasty, from starters to dessert – every detail was perfectly aligned.
The Beach Bar on Falhumaafushi
Located on Falhumaafushi, the calmer island, is the Beach Bar. This is not only the perfect place if you want to enjoy a relaxing drink after lunch, but it actually offers the best food I have ever eaten in the Maldives! My recommendation: the Chilli Crab and the Butter Chicken. You should definitely try this! I even liked it so much that I ordered the dish twice 😉
The Beach Club on Dhigurah
If you feel like partying in the evening, the Beach Club on Dhigurah Island is the place to be. Various DJs provide a great atmosphere and you can dance your feet off. In addition, there are extremely good cocktails, including my absolute favorite: The Coconut Daiquiri!
The Beach Club also regularly hosts other events, such as movie nights with a very good selection of films.
Chinese Restaurant – Li Bai
At this point I would like to make another recommendation: If you visit The Residence Maldives, you absolutely have to try the Chinese restaurant Li Bai! I have eaten a lot of good food in my life, but Li Bai at The Residence really blew me away. Not only the excellent quality of the food, but also the elegant and authentic ambiance of the restaurant made the evening very special. The quality of the food was outstanding. From the soups to the fried noodles and the meat dish, everything was very well seasoned and perfectly prepared. It was also accompanied by a very well matched wine.
Falhumaa Restaurant
For the ultimate fine dining experience, don’t miss an evening at Falhumaa Restaurant. The restaurant is located at the end of a 230-meter-long jetty above the reef and offers a unique ambience. The focus of the restaurant is mainly on fresh seafood and grilled meat. Each dish is prepared with great attention to detail and served with a matching wine. We started with a delicious soup as an appetizer. My main course consisted of King Prawns, a juicy Black Angus Steak and vegetables. The creamy hazelnut ice cream with chocolate cupcakes for dessert The creamy hazelnut ice cream with chocolate cupcakes for dessert finished off the meal beautifully.
Tip: In the afternoon, Falhumaa Restaurant even offers high-tea, with a great tea selection and delicious bites.
The Residence Maldives: Spa and wellness
The treatments in the exclusive Spa by Clarins were also a great experience. The spa offers a total of six separate, beautifully designed treatment rooms. In these you can be pampered with great massages and beauty treatments. It really is a unique feeling to lie there and let the tranquility of the island, with a view of the Indian Ocean, have an effect on you.
However, active relaxation is just as much a part of the program at The Residence Maldives. There are numerous offers for this: On a beautiful deck, you can try out a wide variety of Pilates classes and meditation sessions. If you want to take part in sunset yoga, it’s best to sign up for it in advance. The offer is very popular and the places for it are taken relatively quickly. We also wanted to try the sunrise yoga, but if I’m honest, it was just a little too early in the morning for us 😉
By the way, for those of you who don’t want to miss out on sports even on a wellness vacation, the hotel even offers a fully equipped gym. This can be used free of charge in the standard all-inclusive package.
The beautiful nature around the hotel
The location of The Residence hotel is also very impressive. In the middle of the pristine south of the Maldives, The Residence is located in Gafu Alifu Atoll. This atoll is considered one of the largest and deepest in the world. The spectacular colors of the reef are simply amazing to behold. So for divers it is an absolute paradise, because the atoll is also home of numerous animals. Therefore it will not be a rarity that you will see turtles, countless beautiful fish and small reef sharks during your dives. On our second day on the island, we took a sunset boat tour looking for dolphins. Maldives has plenty of these short trips to the sea, but if you can’t make it here, then there are also more local boat tours you can explore and get the same feel! Dolphins are truly a sight to behold, so if you haven’t had the chance yet, go on a boat tour asap. And indeed, it didn’t take us two minutes to see the first dolphins. So short I never had to wait before – perfect for me as impatient person 😉
The Residence Maldives – my personal statement about the hotel
I couldn’t have imagined a better place to start my Maldives trip and I really had a great time there. I can highly recommend The Residence Maldives, because the hotel has something to offer for everyone, whether you want to enjoy a relaxing spa vacation in breathtaking nature or prefer to spend your time there with a variety of activities. The Residence Maldives is truly unique and has exceeded my expectations by worlds. The hotel has definitely managed to create an absolute dreamlike oasis of well-being for its guests and visitors while completely preserving the beautiful surrounding nature.
I can say with absolute certainty that I will pay another visit to this island and especially to The Residence Maldives in the future. Who knows, maybe I will meet one or the other of you there someday 😉
Want more tips and details about The Residence Maldives? Check out my Maldives trip highlight on Instagram or check out the hotel’s website.
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