We chose Anantara Kihavah Maldives for our yearly Maldives trip due to the TripAdvisor reviews and the availability of tennis courts (we are keen players) which were available on the three other resorts we visited in the Maldives.
We were greeted directly off the plane using the “CIP service” which we have always used as so much nicer. We then flew in the small plane to the islands being greeted by drums the island Manager and our to-be “Villa Host “ Ifoo and a welcome drink and photo shoot at the entrance sign, which would be better taken later I felt as we were very tired, sweaty and worn out.
We had chosen a beach villa as we had such a great experience in a beach villa at the last resort, we had stayed at Huvafen Fushi in February 2023. But we soon realised the mosquitoes were out all day and night and we got bitten a lot. My Husband got night fever and it was impossible to open the doors on either side of the villa as the humidity was so high the room turned into a skating rink and dripped with water from the air con. The main issue was the outside bathroom, which looked so lovely in the pictures but with no air con it turned into a mission. We are at the age we have to go to the bathroom a few times during the night and you took your life into your hands with the mosquitoes. The water in the private pool in the villa was very cold as no sun could warm it due to the foliage. The beach sunbeds were so hot and had a great view of the sunset. Snorkelling on the beach in front of the villa was achievable but, sadly, it was almost completely lacking in sea life, so you had to bike to the dive centre area on the other side of the island. We asked to be moved to an overwater villa as which was a dream and we wished we had booked this originally. They are more spacious, more attractive, and more private and the bathroom was inside “phew” and lovely. The only annoying thing was that the bathroom had no air con just a fan overhead. I have never been to a Maldives villa with no air con in the bathroom, so it was a bit of an “oh my” moment. But it was a dream compared to the beach villa. And no more mosquitoes. The room move was made seamless by Ifoo our Villa Host, who knew how I liked everything “just so” and he was amazing at putting all my bits and bobs in the right places and carefully hung all my clothes as I had hung them. It was amazing we had breakfast while ifoo and his team moved us to the new Villa. Thank you Ifoo we were so much happier and got to see the dolphins on our first day in the new room in the sea in front of the villa many times which was another special moment.
We are keen gym people as well as tennis and the gym is ok, but not much of a view, sadly. The toilets and the changing room have no air con so it was not pleasant they were so hot and humid. We played a lot of tennis and as there was no air con changing facilities it was not so pleasant. The court needs upgrading as not in great condition. The Tennis coach Andrea was wonderful, and I learnt a lot from him and am now putting it into practice I hope, Thank you, Andrea
We booked a full day onboard the Ocean Whisper, the resort's private yacht, it was divine and with staff to look after our every need, we had wine, beer and a lovely lunch all served by the onboard staff. We were taken to two reefs to snorkel, where saw many turtles which was so lovely, and then went to find dolphins much to our joy we got to see a few swimming beside the yacht, and this made our day perfect.
The Observatory is a must if you can, we had a private viewing and it was amazing seeing all the stars and planets and a wonderful, guided explanation of the solar system, with wine and some tapas food to add to the whole wonderful experience.
The restaurants -
Manzaru -Italian was very nice, and we ate here a few times during our two-week stay.
Plates – is breakfast which was great it was available up to 11 am and had a huge variety and if something was not there you wanted just to ask it will appear. All is beautifully laid out and the staff were excellent.
Spice –Asian This was our favourite and ate here many times during our stay and had our last meal a lobster, all was beautifully prepared and served by the excellent staff.
Fire-Japanese, we ate here once only as the main Fire was under refurbishment, they had located the restaurant temporally above Manzaru, the food was limited and the atmosphere not so good, so that was a shame, we would have loved to have seen the finished new restaurant.
Sky- A lovely sundowner bar, it is truly beautiful and has a great selection of cocktails and wines etc., worth going to see the beautiful sunsets, again the staff were excellent..
Sea- The underwater restaurant, is a must at least once .. we went twice because they had a guest chef experience and we enjoyed this very much, the food is very fine dining. We were shown the Sea restaurant by Ifoo in the daytime before we left, and the views of the fish and coral were amazing.
The Snorkelling – We went most days, around the dive centre, on the house reef and it is excellent, in fact one of the best we’ve swum in the Maldives. We saw lots of fish and rays which was amazing so close to you.
The People- My favourite bit of a review, as if there are issues… if you have the right people around you none of it really matters and that is the case at Anantara Kihavah, We had so many lovely people who made it all special for myself and my husband, they will stay in our memories forever...
Ifoo of course our Villa Host who would just appear from nowhere, always smiling, and make everything happen .. I can’t thank you enough you were perfect you made sure were very well cared for all our requests were taken care of so quickly and seamlessly.
Riza- Our Villa attendant in the beach Villa who made everything beautiful and soon got to know what we needed and how we liked things left.
Haneez -Our Villa attendant in the Overwater Villa was excellent, he got to know what we needed and how we wanted things left out, so it was lovely.
Muiz, Zimbe, Ali, Amie, Waheed, and Baba were the standouts of the many restaurant staff who looked after us so beautifully, and got to know very quickly what we wanted and how many coffees to bring my husband in the morning and beers in the evening. All were attentive, kind and always so welcoming with a sunny smile each morning or evening, you all made a difference to our holiday and made us feel very special, we will always remember you all.
Maurice the Manager Was around most days and very easy to chat to. I found out he had only been on the island a few months and was already making a difference and was certainly open to ideas to improve the resort. Many of the above issues we faced I told him about and seemed receptive to making the improvements.
All said we loved our time at Kihavah and met so many lovely people working there, and as we left I said to Ifoo it's the people that make a holiday perfect and I cannot fault that at all the people who work there are kind happy people and only want to make your holiday the best it can be.
Ifoo Thank you so much for making our holiday the best alongside your many colleagues.
Go and discover Kihavah, the “Young Coconut” 🥥
