Sun Siyam IruFushi Maldives
Well. . . Where to begin? We have just experienced two weeks of absolute bliss and over indulgence at the beautiful SSI resort. We are a family of 4, travelling with 15 and 11 year old boys and we are very well travelled with high expectations, SSI did not disappoint!
Resort - this is a clean, beautiful island with the signature Maldivian white soft sand and clear blue waters, sea water is lovely and warm. The island can we walked around in about 30 mins. The island uses glass bottles for drinking water to avoid and minimise plastic usage. Fish can be seen everywhere you go.
Staff - we were blown away by the hospitality on the island. All staff were helpful. Some staff that require a special mention are:
Jocel who simply made our holiday extra special, she went the extra mile to look after us and always had a big smile and great chat. We really enjoyed her attention to detail. She even sorted us a doctor within ten minutes! (Our son had a sore ear, from too much underwater swimming - Jocel noticed at breakfast then made a call and had us an appointment at the island clinic in under ten mins, try getting that service in the UK! The Doctor examined his ear and prescribed antibiotics and all was well. So Jocel thank you for everything; the amazing service, the endless tea, coffee, milkshakes and your great personality-we already miss you. X
Faust your never ending smile and happiness is catchy, and it was great speaking to you about your love of your home, the Maldives.
Sunam, Simrah and Gowrie thank you for looking after us at the Waters edge bar and providing us with delicious drinks and snacks- it was greatly appreciated.
Ashen - thank you for your welcome every time we entered the restaurant and for the whisky, as you now know my husband is a connoisseur and hopes you’ll be adding some more Scottish malts to the collection!
Manager Mwauchi you saved our holiday when our luggage was delayed by the airline and you tracked it down for us the next day. We had a few power cuts in the Villa, nothing major and they were fixed within half an hour when it happened. Mwauchi came to the villa to apologise personally, with champagne and coconuts, a beautiful touch.
Accommodation: we had a deluxe pool villa, it was perfect. Outside bathroom with 2 showers, cabana area, 2 sinks, toilet, and jacuzzi bath, it was a huge space. Main room was circular with a high ceiling- air conditioning was excellent with an electric ceiling fan for extra cooling.
This opened out into a patio with another cabana , then the pool which was a decent size and well maintained. 2 further outdoor showers and another huge circular cabana this leads to loungers on the beach. It’s a perfect layout for a family. Plenty of space to hang out.
Our cleaner Sutawan made the place look and feel like new every day, I honestly don’t know how he managed. He restocked the minibar daily and as we were AI we could take pretty much everything. The room snacks were Pringles or nuts, I’d have loved these to change to other items after a few days but all in all it’s not a big deal.
Food / drink: this was a real highlight, we were All inclusive so didn’t hesitate to try everything, we never had a poor meal the whole time we were there. The main resteraunt Iru was great for choice and the egg chefs at breakfast were superb, we will miss our omelettes! You have the main resteraunt for breakfast lunch and diner or you can book an a la carte meal for lunch /dinner. We mixed it up and each had our favourites- all were excellent, food was high quality and always fresh.
Trio was amazing, service was superb and the setting is gorgeous- boys loved the pizza.
Flavours (my favourite) was outstanding, scallops, steak and cheese board to die for. The setting inside and out is gorgeous. The staff here are beyond superb.
Bamboo - chefs were excellent and spoke to us each night. Reni the waitress was superb and really looked after us. I had the best Thai prawn red curry ever and the boys loved the coconut pancakes (sometimes asking for more 🙈)!
Taste of India - high quality Indian food.
Fluid pool bar we used for a few lunches for a change of scenery, food and service was also excellent. It rained heavily one lunch time and the staff were trying to shelter residents while serving lunch, it was above and beyond!
Activities - there’s plenty to do, swim, snorkel, water sports, football, tennis, volleyball. Boys loved the sunset fishing trips and caught plenty of fish each time they went. There’s a decent games room with darts, snooker and computers. Shark feeding at 5pm at Flavours is a must, it’s a frenzy of nurse and black tip sharks, we went for a look most nights.
The Thalgo Spa is stunning, we regularly booked the hydrotherapy suite as a family for an hour , this is a must as you get a boiling hot and a freezing cold plunge pool with sauna and steam room, toilet and changing room in a gorgeous private courtyard. I had a two hour massage from Radek, it’s well worth the price tag. The setting is beautiful, very tranquil and the therapists are highly skilled, the spa menu is extensive and children can go too (my boys loved it).
Tips:
- do not forget mosquito repellent, although the island is fogged regularly the mossies are relentless, I noticed multiple bites on pretty much every guest.
- Don’t bother bringing your shoe collection the island is barefoot, even for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Most staff and guests go about barefoot, all paths are sand as is the main restaurant floor!
- Travel light as if your weight is over on the sea plane you will be charged extra carriage.
- Bring small USD denominations for tips as you will inevitably want to tip the waiting staff and cleaners for their amazing efforts.
- Don’t bother bringing snorkel gear and flippers etc as everyone get a set from the dive centre that you keep for the duration and then return (wish I’d known that as we packed our own!)
- Toiletries are amazing in the room shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion all lovely, so no need to bring your plastic containers (island is trying to cut waste they use glass rather than plastic)!
