Dhawa Ihuru

This was my 4th visit to Ihuru !!!! the first 3 ones were in 1991 - 1997. It was my dream to re-visit the island and I was happy to see my preferred spot again. Changes were made on the positive side. Food has changed a lot and is now of top quality and beautifully arranged settings thanks to their chef. Special thanks to Liusha who has really taken care of us and was supervising the team with energy and kindness. Also special thanks to our Room Boy Majid who was always eager to help and an artist in "flower decoration" without limits. I can only say many thanks to all (Bar, Reception, Management and employees of all kind) you were amazing with us. We will come back!

We felt very comfortable and welcomed by everyone who made us feel at home. Everything was wonderful: the house, the food, the reef, the service, the environment... everything is spectacular! We rested and did the best snorkel of our lives! And the hotel is beautiful and its people are wonderful. We miss you!!! We met a lot of people who come back every year and the truth is that it's like coming back every year. The place is spectacular but the experience in general is the best. Thank you for everything!

This was our sixth visit to the Maldives, when we arrived at the resort at 9:45am, check in was ok to a point, we were informed that our AI would not start until 14:00pm and the room was not ready. This is something we have not experienced at the other resort islands, if the room wasnt ready at that time then thats fine, however, on check in we were given a very small drink of tonic water with cherry cordial and just left to it, and when we asked if we could have some breakfast as the service was still open, especially as we had a long flight from the UK, we were told we would have to pay $60 each or we could get a snack from the "Nest", I wouldnt really call it a snack, a pack of 2 coin sized cakes and banana chips and drinks from a machine. The reason I query this is, ok we arrived earlyish, but during our stay, other guest arrived in the evening and missed out on quite a few hours of their AI, surely this would counteract us arriving early and as I said we had not experienced this at other islands, once your there, your there! We thought this was penny pinching!!! and $60 each for some toast and eggs, seriously!!! The island is beautiful, a lot trees and foliage around the resort and it looks authentic. We had a jet pool villa 42 which was nice and on the breezier side of the island which we liked, it was close to the restaurant and facilities, the room could do with some more storage though, one single wardrobe and 5 small drawers. A make up mirror would have been nice as the room is quite dark. The room attendant provided a great service. The restaurant and food was very nice, food was varied, always found something to eat, the breakfast is fantastic! plenty of things to choose from. The best thing about this resort is 99% of the staff are fantastic, they are a credit to the resort!! all the restaurant staff, especially our waiter Shariff, (sorry I cant name them all) the grounds keepers, Barman etc, they were friendly, attentive and always happy to help. Sadly a couple of members of staff - Front of House Manager and the Barmaid let this resort down. The front of House manager did not interact with us or many of the other guests throughout our stay. He used the bar as his own personal party pad with his friends and showed unacceptable favouritism towards the barmaid, leaving the barman to do most of the work. We witnessed him, the barmaid and his friends smoking Hashish/Kif from a bong/Hookah in the bar and it was clear to everyone that they were not smoking just flavoured tobacco, just seeing their alternating moods and the smell, proved it was obvious the bongs did not contain something innocent, plus if it was innocent why were the bongs not on the bar menu for everyone else to use? you couldnt help but see the barmaid unsuccessfully attempting to hide her taking payment for using them and putting the money in her apron, very suspicious. We are not prudish but we were shocked at the blatant abuse of the resort by the manager, none of the other staff used the guests facilities for their personal use apart from them two. Also I believe it is illegal to bring these substances into the maldives. We liked the resort and managed to relax, but because of the jet skiing, water skiing, paragliding, renovations, the constant use of the speed boats to and from the other Banyan Tree island throughout the day and what they are now called in the media the "mobile morons guests" in the restaurant, non stop whatsapp, text pings and videos playing, we did not have the quiet experience we were expecting. We were in the Maldives 3 years ago and it has changed and in our opinion not for the better. We had done our research on this island prior to booking and it is advertised as an authentic Maldivian island, as I say the island looks authentic and is beautiful but it is not quiet. The jet ski`s come from the other island and they show off by doing what we call "doughnuts" above the coral reef, I hasten to add they do not do this when the area manager is around! same with the small boats for water skiing and paragliding. The resort ask you to pay a Green fundamental fund (not compulsory) at the end of your stay, the reason we did not want to pay it was because the resort does little to be environmentally friendly, so we felt they were hypocritical to ask you to pay this. Would I recommend this resort, yes I would if the above is what you want but we will not be returning to the island and probably not to the Maldives again, we are not against change or modernisation, the enlarging of the airport, the numerous diggers and the large ugly tanker boats in the ocean sand dredging to build other resorts, the pollution in Male, it feels like the Maldives are trying to be something that maybe they shouldnt be, especially for the price you pay. Benidorm in the Indian Ocean springs to mind.

Everything was just perfect, the island is paradisiacal. The stuff s so nice and friendly, the villas are super comfy . Great hospitality Thanks Mr Naoufel, Hannan, Soliamane and all of you guys for making our vacation that memorable.

It was very nice and comfortable. The staff is nice and friendly. Especially the reception manager. There weren’t any problems with check in or check out. 100/100. So nice that here are interesting places like nest (where you can relax, watch tv, have snacks and drinks), fitness center and art gallery.