We have just returned from a week's stay at Maafushivaru. After a short 25mins scenic seaplane ride, and a 5 min speedboat ride, we were here! We were welcomed at the jetty by resort manager, Guillaume, and our assigned host for this stay, Nabeel. We had a nice welcome drink and check-in was quick. Our host, Nabeel, then took us on a short tour before heading to our villa.
The sunset pool villa, is absolutely beautiful, spotlessly clean, wardrobes were very spacious, bathrooms were tastefully done in marble. We requested for more bottles of drinking water and beers, all duly noted by Nabeel. It's wonderful that we can contact our host anytime using WhatsApp, so he's always just a message away.
We were on the HalfBoard plan, and the breakfast/dinner buffet meals were at Cuisine Gallery. Before we arrived, we were planning on the likelihood that we would be eating some of the dinners at their other dining outlets, fearing we would probably be bored of the buffet food by the 2nd night. How wrong we were! For the whole duration on our stay, we happily ate the buffet dinner nightly, and we actually enjoyed the food so much, we always looked forward to what dishes they might come up with each night! Coming from Singapore, we are foodies to the core, we are used to variety, and let me tell you this, variety is what you will get here. Every night, the food was varied, so much so, by the 2nd night, we told ourselves, we had to have a little restraint, we were eating too much! But we failed miserably, because every night, there will be new dishes, and we will go, "I have to try that!", and it goes on. We have seen impressive buffet lines many times, but as they say, it's the quality, not the quantity that counts, and here at Cuisine Gallery, as foodies, it gets our stamp of approval. There's something for everyone and for the week that we ate here, i don't think we saw any repeats of dishes.
We don't dive, which is a shame, since South Ari Atoll is home to whale sharks all year long. So most of our days are spent snorkeling off our pool villa, swimming over to snorkel at the house reef, enjoying our pool, and enjoying beers on our pool deck. We love the house reef at low tide, because there are shallow sandy areas that you can even stand, great for beginners and children to experience the reef first hand. Sadly, just like in many parts of the world, from the great barrier reef to the Maldives, most of the corals are bleached from the last El Nino event, but there's still plenty of marine life to be seen here at the reef and around the resort. It will take time for the reef to recover, and i can only imagine how glorious the reef must look like in all it's glory, but some recovery can be seen, and hopefully without another bleaching event, coral regrowth will accelerate.
We had an issue with the stairs leading to the ocean from our villa. The metal ladder leading into the ocean, doesn't extend all the way to the sea floor. On the 2nd morning we were there, i decided to go for a morning swim in the ocean, after which, i was unable to climb up the stairs. At low tide, the lowest step of the ladder, reached to roughly my chest level, which means, i would needed to lift my feet to my chest level to pull myself up the stairs. The combination of wet hands and metal railings, didn't bode well, and unless you're really strong and have the agility of a gymnast, most would never be able to pull themselves up the metal ladder. So there i was, in the ocean, wondering what i should do next. I was planning to swim to the beach, and as i started to swim, i noticed that the villa next to ours, their metal ladder extended all the way to the seafloor! Luckily the nice German couple next to us were out on their deck, so i managed to climb up their ladder, and after much apologies to them for intruding, i sheepishly explained the situation and exited their villa and walked back to my villa next door.
Once back in my villa, we contacted my host, and explained the situation to him, and also left a message at the front deck, that we wanted to speak to Guillaume, the resort manager. We received a call back shortly, and Guillaume was very understanding about the situation, and he told me he will sort it out shortly and would see what he could do. He called us back in less than 15mins, and explained in detail, that this issue with the ladders, was an issue they were aware of, and prior to the takeover of Maafushivaru by Outrigger in April 2022, this was what came with the last resort run by LTI. They were in the midst of correcting this issue, and currently, only 50% of the villas have longer ladders. He said he'd get someone to come fix this, and it'll take an hour. In my mind, i was thinking, "Oh no, how are they going to fix this in an hour or even in a day?" Within half an hour, a couple of guys, including the chief engineer of the resort, Azim and a couple of guys showed up in my room. We all went out to the deck, and i could see a barge approaching our villa with a few more guys, with a ladder. So these ingenious guys, attached another ladder to bottom of the one in my room, thus extending the bottom of the ladder by 5 more steps. There wasn't even knocking or banging, they fastened the other ladder to the bottom with some metal fasteners ( I'm no engineer, so i don't know what they used), and they were absolutely secure! It was a miracle, and it took less than half an hour! How is this even possible? Now i had a very secure ladder, absolutely sturdy and extends to the bottom! Let me say this now, this is the fastest service recovery i have ever experienced ANYWHERE. If someone told me you could resolved this issue in half an hour, i would have laughed in your face. But they did, and not only did they do it, they made it better than what it was originally. And to top it off, after the guys left the room, the doorbell rang again, i was thinking maybe someone left some tools behind, but instead, it was someone delivering a bucket of 6 ice cold beers and chocolates to us, with a personal note from Guillaume, apologizing for the inconvenience we encountered. Wow...just wow....This is the sort of service recovery you hear in fairy tales and paid reviews, not in real life, right? YES, it's been done, here's the proof, Outrigger Maafushivaru, has attained the level of Service Nirvana.
Ever since the ladder to the ocean was fixed, we have been able to enter and exit the ocean many times daily during our week long stay with ease. Guillaume has assured me that they are well aware, and will soon resolve the issue with all the ladders leading into the ocean. They know that this will be an issue sooner than later, so getting it fixed will be a priority. Getting this issue resolved, will allow everyone to enter the ocean at low tide without any problems.I have also brought it to the attention of Guillaume that the 2 ladders at the jetty leading to the house reef, also need to be fixed due to this issue, and this being the main entry point of many guests, especially those who don't have pool villas, and should be a priority. I can imagine someone would panic at some point when they realize they can't climb back up, especially older folks or kids, as much as there isn't any danger, but the thought of dangling in the ocean without a way of getting out is no fun.
We also did the sunset cruise, which was absolutely beautiful, we liked the fact that the cruise didn't feel rushed, boat was cruising at a comfortable speed, and they obviously know where to slow down for the best views. We were hoping to see some dolphins, saw one or two fins in the distance, but guess they were not out to play that day. Realistically, no one can predict if you can see dolphins, it's just nature, they come and go as they please.
Nights are very peaceful, and the time you would see the most people would be during dinner, and even then, it never gets crowded. You can choose to sit anywhere you choose, and we usually chose the same table every night. We mostly returned to our villa after dinner, to enjoy a swim in our pool with a couple of beers, and the water in the pool is still warm after a full day of sunshine, so it was perfect. Cold beers in a warm pool, just staring upwards at the stars, and the lovely "sea of stars" pool lighting at night is so cool!
Now on to the special people at Outrigger Maafushivaru : Being a small island, you will probably meet nearly everyone who works here at some point. As with life, there will be some you spend more time with and make connections with. Being a graduate from Singapore Hotel Association, having worked in F&B (bar/restaurant) and operating an F&B establishment previously, i think I've always had a connection with those in this industry, having walked in their shoes at some point, which also means i pay extra attention to details with regards to service/food/drinks/hospitality.
Special mention would go to the resort manager, Guillaume, who's always around, never imposing, giving guests their space,but at the same time, never far when you need his attention. Always with a sense of humor, so easy to talk to, he's got such a Zen vibe, always very calm, and so re-assuring every time we speak with him.
The other superstar would be our host, Nabeel, since he was our "go-to" guy for everything. Very knowledgeable, quick to anticipate our needs, and gets things done when we need something. You know how you hate it when you ask for something, and they forget about it, or takes half a day to get done? Doesn't happen here, everything is done promptly. He speaks very well, has a great sense of humor, and top points for not hard selling us. Most of the time, i think guests know what they want to do, the last thing we need is to reach a peaceful island and having someone trying to up-sell you take up every single activity, whether it suits you or not. He was well aware we were pretty "chill",
he was always there when we needed something, but also appreciative of not being imposing. He's what i would call a"front-line" personnel , being a host, he's the first impression that guests will make when they arrive and the last to see them off when they leave. He's perfectly suited for this role, and at some point, i believe he would be the profile that would be used to train every other "front-line" host/hostess. Judging from other reviews, other guests feel the same. The future is bright for this young man!
Another complete stand-out performer, would be Chandana. The very first night we were at Cuisine Gallery, he quietly came from behind me, and addressed me by name. I was so pleasantly surprised, considering he had never seen me before! So i jokingly asked him, "so how did you know my name?", he smiled and said, "Of course, i just know."
That was the best impression made on me by anyone in a long time. He's slightly older than most of the other serving staff, but during the moments when i see them interacting, it's apparent they look up to him. He's is very observant, even when we are carrying our food from the buffet, if he's there, he would offer to take our plates, and if he sees us walking towards our table, he's there, with the chair already pulled out, waiting to seat you comfortably. You can't train a good eye and anticipation. This guy, has got service in his blood. If i were hiring for my restaurant, i would hire this guy in a heartbeat. This guy oozes experience, he knows exactly what he's doing and he's fast. He's the guy we look forward to seeing every mealtime, be it breakfast or dinner, whenever he sees us, his whole face lights up, even from a distance, you can see him waving with a big smile on his face. You can't fake genuine love for the job, the love for interacting with guests, this guy loves his job, he loves the guests, and it shows. Outrigger is lucky to have this guy. Many times during my meal and I'm just looking around at everything going on around me, it actually seems he's single-handedly running the show, he is everywhere! I hope he is being used to train the younger staff, his experience would greatly benefit them. This wonderful man is destined for much greater things.
The 2 standout staff at Edgewater,one in the day, and one in the night, would be Chamilla, every night, he would always pop by to see us and have a chat, knowing we are always sitting at the same spot every night after dinner. He's such a charming guy and he brightens our night after dinner, We shared so many interesting conversations about life, food and everything else. The other would be Chara, who we usually see during lunch. She's so friendly and attentive, and always making sure we have everything we need, being also from south east Asia, we shared many similar interests in food and cultures, so it was always a pleasure to engage with her.
The 2 Indonesian cooks at Cuisine Gallery, Paules and Novy, you'll most likely find them at the live cooking stations, these guys are awesome. Novy is usually at the egg station for breakfast, and Paules would be at the live cooking station for dinners. Sometimes if you're lucky, you get them both for dinner. Being also from South East Asia, we shared many chats about food. We casually mentioned how we visit Bali very often and how much we love Indonesian food, we jokingly said we wanted Mee Soto for dinner the next day. Guess what? The next day for dinner, Paules made 2 portions of Mee Soto just for us, how crazy is that? Novy knows we loves our omelettes in the morning, he always says "special for you" with a laugh. When Paules found out that we were leaving the next morning, and knowing how much we love Indonesian food, he arranged it so that we had Mie Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Noodles) for our last dinner.
We also had the pleasure of meeting Ali, the F&B manager. Once during breakfast, they were serving Singapore Laksa, so naturally, us being Singaporeans, we had to try it. Unfortunately, it wasn't done right ,what we got was some noodles in clear soup, which neither looked or tasted like Laksa, which is a spicy coconut milk-based noodle soup. So during our breakfast chat, we casually pointed it out to him and the chef, and being Singaporeans who are very proud of our food heritage, we showed him some pictures of what Laksa should look like. So off we went for our morning walk, and when we returned to our villa, we found a bucket with a bottle of bubbly, and a note attached, from Ali and the F&B team. We were so shocked, and didn't expect this at all. When we met Ali and the head chef that night, we thanked them profusely for the bottle, and told them, we were never being critical about the food, we were just pointing out the obvious, because it was a local dish to us. Amazingly, the chef, and with the help of Paules, made 2 portions of Laksa, and presented it to us to try. We didn't quite expect they would go all the way to do this, after all, we are just 2 guest from Singapore, but we were so touched. As much as it wasn't authentic Laksa we know it to be, but with the changes, it was a 70% representation of it, which by all accounts, was a complete transformation of what we had in the morning. Considering that Laksa is by no means an easy dish to make, and with us being in the middle of nowhere, to whip this up with whatever ingredients and spices they have, is absolutely astounding. Here's a little perspective, in 2022, the total number of visitors to Maldives from Singapore was slightly under 16,000, representing a measly 1% of all visitors from all over the world. Which means that unless you've been to Singapore or south east Asia, you probably would never know what Laksa is, meaning that most of the other guests wouldn't even know the difference, but yet, they went all out to make an impression on us, just a couple from Singapore. They cared enough to even get it right for us...US, who represent such a small percentage of visitors in the Maldives. There isn't even a scale i can compare this on, because we've never experienced anything like this before! Let me state again, we aren't celebrities, we aren't royalty, but they made us feel like we were. Their willingness to make things right,
goes beyond what we were expecting. Kudos, Cuisine Gallery crew, Impressive!
Other stars of Maafushivaru : Azim (the chief engineer who fixed our ladder), Victoria (who we miserably failed to convince to say she saw us board the seaplane and letting us camp out on the beach for another month), Mahesh (Bar Manager, who looks so imposing and tall, but is just a gentle giant, who told us that all seaplane flight the next day was cancelled(joke), so we could stay longer), Jameel (who always remembers our fave table and our drinks every meal), Shubham (who served us really quickly at the bar everytime). Sorry if we left out anyone!
The other amazing factor is that most, if not all the staff, address us by our names! We seriously don't know how they could remember all the guests' names, but they just do!
So let's be completely honest, we've all read the fancy reviews online, and wondered how many of them are true, how many are paid reviews, and how many aren't actually done by people who have actually visited the resort. I have seen the praises here, the raves about the service, the quality of food, but yet we still wondered, how much of all that is true? Guess we'll never really know, until we get here, and we can state it as a fact, because we stayed here, it's as real as can be, pinch yourself, does a place like this even exist? Yes it does...HERE.
We aren't easy to please, but at the same time, we aren't difficult guests either and just like everyone, we have our own set of expectations. Expectation and reality can be jarring sometimes. But we are glad to say that during our stay, expectation and reality were absolutely as they were meant to be, and some levels, reality exceeded our expectations by a long shot. We don't impress easily, the last Maldives resort we visited only got a 3 stars review. We only give objective reviews, we call it like it is, and in this case, a 5 star review is in order here. Maafushivaru checks all the boxes as a place we consider to be worthy of a return visit in future.
We were worried because from the earlier reviews, we found out there would be no in-room dining or room service, since this would be the first resort we've ever stayed at without this. But it turned out to be a complete non-issue, since a casual walk out to the dining on the main island would take you less than 10mins. Still, if this option was available, it would certainly take it to the next level, since there are certain days we are just lazy after snorkeling the whole morning, and would have been nice to just order-in instead of heading to the main dining area.
We also visited the gift soft and bought all of the outrigger fridge magnets they had. We would have very much wanted to buy Outrigger Maafushivaru brand t-shirts/caps or merchandise, but unfortunately there were non. Our host, Nabeel did try to check if they could get us the dark blue Outrigger t-shirts, but they didn't have any in stock.
At other resorts we stayed at, we were gifted resort brand merchandise which we still use till this day. Just before we left, we told Nabeel that we would very much want the t-shirts, or other Outrigger merchandise and would be willing to pay for the shipping, let's hope we get those t-shirts ya? ;)
Thank you, Outrigger Maafushivaru for having us! We arrived with nervous anticipation, not quite knowing what to expect, but we left completely impressed. We believe that you are currently the under-rated gem of South Ari Atoll, The standard of service here, should be what other resorts aspire to reach. Whatever you're doing, you're doing it right, please keep it up! We completely enjoyed our stay at your excellent resort. We will certainly be looking to return to beautiful Maafushivaru again in the future!
