Anantara Kihavah Maldives: An Honest Review Based on 600+ Real Guest Experiences

With 80 all-pool villas across beach and overwater categories, it occupies a well-earned position among the Maldives' most celebrated resorts — known equally for what lies beneath the water as for what sits above it. The island is naturally formed, lush, and entirely unspoiled. This review is based on real guest experiences across multiple platforms and languages, covering transfer, island, house reef, villas, food, activities, service, spa, families, and honeymooners.

Transfer, Island & House Reef

Anantara Kihavah sits in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — the same atoll as Amilla and Alila Kothaifaru — and shares their seaplane-only access and proximity to Hanifaru Bay. What sets it apart from neighbours is a house reef that guests and snorkel specialists consistently rank among the best in the entire Maldives.

Transfer

The resort is reached by a 35-minute seaplane flight from Velana International Airport, operated by Manta Air. The process is consistently described as smooth — resort staff meet guests at the airport, handle luggage, and guide them through the terminal. As with all Baa Atoll seaplane transfers, daylight-only operation applies. Seaplane costs are charged separately and are on the higher end compared to other resorts.

Tip: Book seaplane seats as far in advance as possible and share your international arrival time early — late-afternoon landings risk missing the last seaplane and requiring an overnight in Malé.

Island

Kihavah Huravalhi is a naturally formed island of moderate size — lush, well-maintained, and completely unspoiled in layout, as no trees were removed during construction. Guests consistently praise the island's beauty and cleanliness. One guest noted the entrance pathway at night as very dark, with small animals visible around the vegetation — a minor but recurring mention in older reviews that the resort has since partly addressed with improved lighting.

House Reef

The house reef encircles the entire island and is accessible directly from the beach and from overwater villa steps. Marine life reported includes sea turtles, eagle rays, reef sharks, cuttlefish, squid, lionfish, and large schools of fish — one guest described spotting more turtles accidentally during regular activities than on a dedicated turtle excursion at a neighbouring island. Night snorkeling from the resort is available and singled out by guests as a particularly memorable experience. Guest review: "The reefs around the resort are pristine and teeming with life — the reef at Anantara Kihavah easily outshone neighbouring islands."

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Tip: For the best reef access, request an overwater villa on the sunrise side where the reef begins directly at the villa steps. Night snorkeling sessions with the dive centre are worth booking early — availability is limited and demand is high.

Villas

Choosing the right villa at Anantara Kihavah takes a little more thought than at most resorts — the overwater villa naming system around sunset and sunrise can be misleading, and specific villa positions make a meaningful difference to the daily experience. Getting this right before arrival is worth the effort.

Pros

The resort offers 79 private pool villas across beach and overwater categories, with sizes ranging from 258 to 2,500 sqm — among the most spacious in the Maldives. The Overwater Pool Villas are the most popular choice overall, featuring glass-bottom bathtubs, overwater hammocks, a private infinity pool, and direct lagoon access. The beach villas underwent a full renovation in July 2025, now finished in neutral tones and natural textures with expanded outdoor living areas and direct reef-adjacent beach access — making them a stronger choice than before for guests who prefer solid ground. Guest review: "Our overwater villa was absolutely amazing — complete privacy, a real feeling-like-home atmosphere, and waking up to the reef directly beneath the deck every morning was something we had never experienced anywhere else."

Cons

Reviews flag the sunset villa categorisation as confusing — none of the standard one-bedroom overwater villas labelled as sunset face the sunset directly, as the boardwalk runs north-south rather than east-west. The resort itself acknowledges this, rotating which villas are marketed as sunset depending on the time of year. Villas 201–205 sit closest to the sandbank, which brings more boat activity and foot traffic. Villas 223–242 face the seaplane landing zone, which generates noise during transfer hours.

Best Side & Villa Numbers

Guests consistently recommend villas 206–220 for the best balance of privacy, views, and distance from both the sandbank and seaplane activity. The sunrise side offers faster reef access; the sunset side delivers better evening light.

Food

Anantara Kihavah has one of the most talked-about dining setups in the entire Maldives — the SEA.FIRE.SPICE.SKY overwater complex alone gives the resort a reputation that precedes it. For most guests, the food is a genuine highlight rather than simply a functional part of the stay.

Restaurants

The resort operates six venues. Plates is the main beachfront restaurant for daily breakfast and casual dining, consistently praised for variety and quality. The signature complex houses four experiences: SEA is the underwater restaurant and wine cellar six metres below the surface, serving contemporary European cuisine while manta rays, turtles, and reef sharks pass the windows — a five-course degustation menu runs at approximately $365 per person and is charged separately regardless of meal plan. FIRE serves Japanese teppanyaki and Peruvian dishes over an open kitchen, and is a consistent guest favourite for atmosphere and food quality. SPICE delivers Asian haute cuisine on an overwater platform with sunset views, praised particularly for Thai and Indian dishes. SKY is the rooftop observatory bar — primarily a cocktail and stargazing venue but worth visiting for sundowners. Manzaru is the Italian and Mediterranean beachfront restaurant, receiving decent but less passionate reviews compared to the rest.

Meal Plans

Half board and full board plans include dinner at Plates and set menus at SPICE and Manzaru, plus a dining credit toward FIRE. SEA remains separately charged under all plans. Guest review: "Food was exceptionally good with huge portions — Sky bar was lovely, as was the sommelier. Would definitely return."

Cons

SEA's additional cost surprises guests who assume fine dining is included in meal plans. One guest described it as not worth the value relative to the price. A few reviews flag the entrance pathway to the complex as poorly lit at night.

TIPS: Book SEA at lunchtime — marine life visibility is notably higher during daylight hours and the price is lower than dinner. Reserve FIRE well in advance as it fills quickly every evening.

Activities & Excursions

Anantara Kihavah offers one of the most genuinely varied activity programmes among Baa Atoll resorts — and unusually for the Maldives, several of its best experiences exist nowhere else in the country. Guests who engage with the full offering consistently describe it as one of the most memorable stays they have had.

Pros

The overwater observatory is Kihavah's most distinctive activity — guides lead evening stargazing sessions with a large telescope, Champagne, and canapes, and guests single it out repeatedly as unexpectedly moving. Saturn's rings visible through the lens in the middle of the Indian Ocean is a detail that comes up across multiple reviews. The house reef's Golden Wall and Yellow Wall dive sites are accessible directly from shore, with soft corals and reef fish at shallow depths that reward both beginners and experienced divers. The dive centre is praised for professionalism and guests from neighbouring resorts visit specifically for guided dives here. The Hanifaru Bay manta excursion is available between May and November, and whale sharks are occasionally spotted alongside mantas. Night snorkeling from the resort receives strong mentions — guests report cuttlefish, eels, and octopus appearing at close range after dark. Beyond ocean activities, the resort offers Muay Thai boxing, a rock climbing wall, tennis, padel, and the Thiththi Boli kids' club for children aged 4–12. Guest review: "Our guides were so passionate about stars and spent a long time with us showing us every star and planet they could find — it was a really unique experience that we highly recommend."

Cons

Activity and dive centre pricing is described as expensive even by Maldives standards. Whale shark sightings at Hanifaru Bay are rare and the dive centre communicates this honestly upfront. Some guests note the main swimming pool was closed for maintenance during their stay, limiting daytime options.

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TIPS: Book the stargazing experience and Hanifaru Bay excursion before arrival. Night snorkeling slots are limited — request one through your villa host on arrival day.

Service

Service at Anantara Kihavah is one of the resort's most consistently praised qualities across reviews in English, Russian, Chinese, Turkish, and Portuguese — and the personal butler system is central to that reputation. When it works well, which is the majority of the time, guests describe it as the single element that elevates the stay above comparable resorts.

Pros

Each guest is assigned a dedicated villa butler available around the clock, handling everything from restaurant bookings and excursion arrangements to special celebration setups and dietary requirements. Butlers are mentioned by name in a striking number of reviews — Siham, Tina, Zaheen, Kiki, and Zidhan appear repeatedly with warm personal accounts attached. A Russian guest who was pregnant during her stay noted that the team identified this immediately and adjusted service accordingly without being asked — a small but telling detail about attentiveness. Restaurant and spa staff receive equally strong praise, with multiple guests noting that team members remembered names and preferences from the very first interaction. Guest review: "We do not have to do anything besides sleep, eat and rest — our butler took care of everything we needed on the island. We felt like family here, and my wife cried when we left."

Cons

A small but notable share of reviews flag inconsistency at the staff level — one guest in July 2024 described a staff member refusing to transport them in an empty buggy as "incredibly frustrating and unprofessional." The same guest also experienced air conditioning failures over two consecutive days with a response they considered inadequate. A returning guest noted that a signature experience they had enjoyed on a first visit felt noticeably lower in quality on a second trip, suggesting standards can vary between visits and between individual team members.

TIPS: Share any special occasions, preferences, and dietary needs with your butler on arrival day rather than waiting — the team responds most effectively when given context from the start.

Spa

The Anantara Spa at Kihavah is one of the few overwater spas in the Maldives that guests genuinely seek out rather than visiting as an afterthought, and it is regularly mentioned unprompted in otherwise non-spa-focused reviews. The combination of the overwater setting, glass treatment room floors, and a notably broad treatment menu makes it stand out even within the luxury resort category.

Treatments Available

The spa sits on stilts above the lagoon with six treatment rooms, each featuring glass panels in the floor through which marine life is visible during treatment. The menu spans traditional Thai massage, Balinese massage, Ayurvedic therapies, hot stone treatments, body scrubs, facials, and the Anantara Signature Massage. In 2025 the resort introduced the first magnesium-based spa treatments in the Maldives, adding to an already broad holistic offering. A medical spa component offers aesthetic treatments, vitamin IV infusions, and immune-boosting therapies. A naturopath and nutritionist are resident on the island. Beyond treatments, the spa includes hot and cold plunge pools, a sauna, a manicure and pedicure station, and a hair salon. Complimentary yoga and meditation sessions are held daily on the beach and at the spa pavilion.

Pros

The overwater setting receives the most consistent praise — guests describe watching hawksbill turtles and reef fish through the glass floor panels beneath their treatment bed as one of the more surreal and memorable experiences of a Maldives stay. Therapist quality is highly rated across nationalities, with the Thai and Balinese massage therapists most frequently singled out by name. Guest review: "Having experienced many different massages in Thailand, Indonesia, and China, I can say that the Spa was also excellent — find Tini there, she gives a fantastic massage. We will definitely choose Kihavah again."

Cons

With only six treatment rooms, availability fills quickly — guests who leave spa booking until mid-stay often find preferred time slots gone. Treatments are charged separately under all meal plans. A small number of reviews describe the spa as feeling slightly rushed, suggesting an inconsistency in pacing between therapists.

TIPS: Book treatments on arrival day for mid-stay appointments — early afternoon slots offer the best light through the glass floor panels. The complimentary beach yoga sessions are worth using daily regardless of whether a full treatment is planned.

Families

Anantara Kihavah is one of the few ultra-luxury Maldives resorts that manages to feel genuinely welcoming to families without losing any of its appeal for couples — and families who visit tend to come back, which is perhaps the clearest indicator of how well it works in practice.

Child Policy & Kids' Club

The Thiththi Boli Kids' Club — meaning "beautiful shells" in Maldivian — is complimentary for children aged 4 to 12, operating daily from 10am to 6pm. The club is set within lush greenery at the centre of the island, with an outdoor climbing wall, giant Jenga, a shaded playground, a splash pool, a PlayStation corner, and a theatre space. Activities rotate on a weekly schedule and include arts and crafts, cooking classes, marine biology sessions, snorkeling trips to a neighbouring island, stargazing, treasure hunts, theatre performances, and local cultural activities. Children under 4 require parental supervision or a paid babysitting service — babysitting is available from three months of age and must be booked in advance. Teenagers have access to a separate recreation area with life-sized chess, badminton, volleyball, and padel.

Pros

The kids' club staff-to-child ratio consistently draws praise — families note that the quality of individual attention their children receive is what sets Thiththi Boli apart from comparable clubs at larger resorts. One family guest wrote that according to their children, the kids' club was so good that "Disney has nothing on Anantara Kihavah." The Kids Marine Biology Programme for children aged eight and above introduces snorkeling and reef education in a structured, engaging way — parents report children returning genuinely enthusiastic about marine life. The house reef is mentioned frequently by families as a natural highlight that requires no planning — children can snorkel in shallow, calm water with turtles and reef sharks visible from shore.

Cons

Overwater villas are not available for families with children under 12, limiting villa choice to beach category. Babysitting outside kids' club hours carries an additional charge that some families find accumulates over longer stays.

TIPS: Book the Beach Pool Residence for families needing more than one bedroom — the multi-bedroom layout provides significantly more practical space than two separate villas. Request the marine biology programme schedule before arrival so older children can join sessions on their first full day.

Honeymooners

Anantara Kihavah consistently ranks among the top honeymoon resorts in the Maldives, and reading through honeymooner reviews makes it easy to understand why — the combination of the underwater restaurant, overwater observatory, private beach dinners, and genuinely attentive butler service creates a setting that is hard to match.

Honeymoon Perks

The honeymoon package includes a Champagne breakfast served in-villa, a private beach dinner prepared by a personal chef, a stargazing experience at the SKY observatory with the resort's dedicated Sky Guru, and a couples spa package with a rose petal bath, Champagne, and signature treatments for two at the overwater spa. A sleep ritual by the Slumber Guru — a night-time treatment designed to enhance rest — is also included. All six spa treatment rooms can be reconfigured for couples, with double massage beds and a double-sized bathtub. Honeymoon benefits apply when travel dates fall within 12 months of the wedding date.

Pros

Honeymooning couples single out the Dining by Design private beach dinner as one of the most romantic experiences they have had anywhere in the world — a personal chef, candles, and the sound of waves on a deserted stretch of beach feature in multiple reviews. Dining at SEA underwater restaurant is described by honeymooners as an inherently romantic experience, with marine life drifting past the glass windows throughout the meal. The butler system works particularly well for couples — butlers arrange surprise in-villa setups, coordinate special occasion touches, and handle everything logistically so couples genuinely do not need to organise anything themselves.

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Guest review: "Everything was perfect for our honeymoon — our butler was with us all the time, giving us all the support we needed. The resort, the location, the gastronomic experience, the spa — all things were better than we imagined."

Cons

The most romantic add-on experiences — the private beach dinner, the stargazing session, and the couples spa package — all carry additional charges beyond the base room rate. The honeymoon package requires travel within 12 months of the wedding, which may not suit couples planning a delayed honeymoon.

TIPS: Book the Dining by Design beach dinner and SEA reservation before arrival — both fill quickly, especially during peak season between December and April.

Conclusion. Is it worth it?

Anantara Kihavah is worth its rate — and among Baa Atoll resorts, it makes one of the strongest cases for its price point of any property in the Maldives.

What justifies the cost is rare: a house reef genuinely ranked among the best in the country, directly accessible from the beach and villa steps; a dining complex that includes the only underwater wine cellar in the Maldives; the country's first overwater observatory; spacious renovated villas all with private pools; a kids' club that families return for specifically; and a butler service that consistently delivers genuine personal warmth rather than rehearsed hospitality.

The value equation only weakens for guests who don't snorkel or dive, find the activity pricing steep, or expect SEA and the most romantic experiences to be included in the room rate rather than charged separately.

For ocean lovers, honeymooners, and families who engage fully with everything on offer, it consistently overdelivers.

Research Summary

This review was compiled through deep research across multiple real guest sources, covering reviews in English, Chinese, Russian, Turkish, Korean, Portuguese, and other languages. Over 600 individual guest reviews and forum posts were consulted across major review platforms, specialist Maldives travel forums spanning several years, first-hand travel blog accounts, dive centre reviews, and independent resort guides.