Getting to Movenpick Resort Kiredhivaru
Movenpick is 45 minutes away from Male by seaplane. The resort usually will ask you for your flight information, and arrange transportation including the seaplane flights for you. When we arrived at the Male airport, one of the staff members from Movenpick was already kindly waiting for us right outside the arrival gate. We arrived around 2-3 hours late, and the staff patiently waited for us the entire time. He then guided us to the seaplane counter where he booked the seaplane for us, and gave us the boarding passes. After that he escorted us to a private lounge while we wait for our seaplane to arrive. The wait was only around 30-45 minutes and it was very comfortable. Beside large sofas, the lounge also have massage chairs and light drinks to help you relax while waiting.
First Impressions
Movenpick Kuredhivaru is surprisingly and honestly far better than what we have seen on the pictures. We thought that the pictures wouldn't be able to capture the beauty of this little paradise at Movenpick. The resort seems to be a lot more spacious, and it gives you a feeling that you are in a completely different world. The staff welcomed us at the seaplane gate with drums and applauses, and they knew our names before we even introduced ourselves. Then we got escorted to the room right away, and our luggages arrived to our room shortly after. I love how thoughtful the staff are, as well as the whole check in process. We felt really welcomed, and none of our time was wasted in paradise.
Facilities
The resort has everything you'll need to enjoy your stay. They have 3 restaurants, a gym looking out of the ocean, a children playground (if you have children), a spa with or without ocean view, a diving centre, a chocolate/dessert station, and a shop. Except for the shop and the spa, everything should be included with your stay (including 30 minutes per day for water sport). Don't forget to join their chocolate hour from 4:00-5:00pm for some delicious sweets.
The Restaurants
Movenpick has 3 restaurants on site: Latitude 5.5, Bodumas and ONU Marche
Situated on the main pool of the resort, Latitude is a more relaxed and casual restaurant. It offers a variety of international cuisines, such as Vietnamese, Singaporean, Indian and Western. Our favourite choices at this restaurant is the Singapore noodles, Lamb chops, and the Tuna steak. Though not mentioned in the menu, the restaurant also offer fresh coconuts from the island as well.
Due to the pandemic, the buffet restaurant, ONU Marche, is closed for guests’s safety so we didn't get to experience the buffet restaurant. However it is situated right off a white sand beach so you can hop inside the restaurant anytime when you're at the beach.
Bodumas is absolutely our favourite restaurant and this restaurant serves breakfast and dinner only. We love how the restaurant is situated right on top of the ocean and the food there is absolutely incredible. Our favourite dishes are the beef tartare and tuna for appetizer, duck and seafood for main courses and creme brûlée and mango pannacotta for dessert.
The Staff & Hospitality
One of the thing that really separate Movenpick from all of the resorts that we have been to is the incredible hospitality. All of the staff are so kind and attentive to littlest details to ensure your stay is comfortable, and memorable. The staff remember our food selection, who we are, what we like or don’t like and always clean our room while we leave for lunch or dinner. I like how we could text our butler anytime during the day and he responded in minutes.
The Accommodation
Movenpick has 3 different types of accommodation: the overwater villas, the beach suites, or president suites.
Unlike other resorts in the Maldives, the most ’basic‘ rooms at Movenpick are actually the overwater villas. The prices for the overwater villas vary depending on the villa view: lagoon, sunrise, or ocean view. We got a room with the ocean view, and also with the best sunrise view and that was totally the perfect choice for us since it offers we love hearing the ocean waves and looking out of the ocean all the time. Since we stayed in a overwater villa, we got access to the ocean right below villa through the ladder at the front of our property. We loved the water below our villa as it's very clear and quite shallow. We also love listening to the ocean waves while sleeping so the overwater villa was the perfect choice for us.
The beach suites and president suites felt completely private and also include a private pool. Each suite is secluded in a tropical land area, right off the beach and you won't get disturb by anyone. These suites are excellent for big families as they offer a lot of space, and more bedrooms for your family members if needed. I also like the beach suites because they're just steps away from the beach, the restaurants, as well as other facilities on the island while the overwater villas are a lot further away.
The one thing that separate the president suite to other villas or suites at Movenpick is that it includes unlimited massages for your stay, and there is a massage room right inside the president suite so you can enjoy the massages right inside the property. The pool is also so much larger and it includes floating beanbags so you can enjoy the sun while being in the pool all day.
Privacy
If you prefer a lot of privacy, I would definitely recommend booking an over-water villa with an ocean view, or one of the the beach suite villas as those offer a lot of privacy. We stayed at the the over water villa but also visited the beach suite villas . The overwater villas with lagoon view don't offer complete privacy as other guests from other villas across from you could technically see your entire villa, though they are fairly far apart from each other.
How long should you stay at the resort?
We stayed at Movenpick Kuredhivaru for roughly a week and it definitely felt really short. There are so many things to do on the island and I would suggest as least 7 days on the island. We arrived at around 9:00am, but didn't make it to the resort until 3:30pm due to customs and seaplane transfer. So chances are that you might only get half of the day, or no time on your first day and last day at the resort.
If you do decide to stay at Movenpick, we highly recommend you to book a sunset cruise, private sunset beach dinner and private movie night at Movenpick. Those are some rare and luxury experiences that not many resorts in the Maldives offer.
Overall value
After comparing most of the resorts in the Maldives, I can confidently say that Movenpick offer one of the best value for the overwater villas in the Maldives. Usually the cost of overwater villas in the Maldives range from $500/night all the way to ~$60,000/night from my research. The price of a basic overwater villas at other resorts without a private pool started from 500$. However, for the same rate, Movenpick offer very spacious overwater villas. Each of the overwater villa include 2 separate rooms, one with a bed and a large sofa, the other room includes a bathtub looking out of the ocean, 2 large sinks, make up table, and a bathroom looking down to the ocean. Outside the villa has the sleeping net above the water, a large private pool and 2 lounge chairs. The villa feels a lot more spacious and beautiful in person. In fact, Movenpick won the award for having the best design and interior in the Maldives.
Overview
We absolutely loved our stay at Movenpick Resort Kuredhivaru Maldives. From the food, the villa, the staff, the facilities and everything the resort has to offer. The resort offer an incredible value for what they offer. We highly recommend Movenpick Resort Kuredhivaru to anyone and we definitely will be back!
Movenpick Resort Kuredhivaru Maldives website:
https://www.movenpick.com/en/asia/maldives/kuredhivaru/resort-kuredhivaru/overview/
Love,
Annie Pham
IG: @anniepwanderlust