Fairmont Maldives - Sirru Fen Fushi 5 stars

It was a dream come true vacation. The entire experience from stepping out of the Male’s immigration desk till security check on Male’s airport while boarding home flight was seamless. Hospitality - I would rank it better than any of the Indian fat weddings. There was always a Fairmont representative accompanying us and taking care of the tiniest detail possible during our stay in Maldives. Every small wish/request made by us while booking our stay at Fairmont was taken care them. I never saw anyone frowning in the property - be it guests, residents or the staff. We had a personal butler - Mr Hassan who was warm and a delight to have around. He gave us multiple tours of the property, managed our activities in the resort, took take of our dietary needs and made every occasion special. Room and amenities - Seemed like we had a genie with us who was making our infinite wishes true. The room was huge with two beds inside and two outside (near the pool and beach). All the beds were big enough to accommodate the four of us together. The mattress were of different kinds to suit everybody’s back. I am very particular about the mattress and worried if I will get a good sleep there but slept like a baby. We had two shower areas - one at the backyard and one in the room. We had a clean pool on the beach and a pool-sized bathtub in the backyard for enjoying warm bubble bath. Walk in wardrobes with two full-sized mirrors were a delight for me and my two daughters. A goodies filled refrigerator, warmer, coffee machine, water kettle and exotic fruits loaded basket welcomed us in the room. And talking about details, they welcomed my daughters with beach set kits (which they weren’t obliged to) especially to make their stay memorable. They even provided slippers for all ages - which stunned me because I have not seen even Disney/Lego hotels managing all sizes of footwear for children. They provided us 4 pair of slippers twice everyday (4 days in total making it 8 pairs of each size) - for a 4 year old, 9 year old and couples. The lagoon villa was equally good and equipped as their beach villas. Our favourite though was our room - 517 - sunset beach villa. No pebbles, no dirt, no noise, few metres away from the infinity pool, the restaurants and recreation rooms - just perfect in maintaining privacy but giving access to everything. Service and Food quality - The room including the pool was cleaned twice as a regime. They filled the fruit baskets with variety of exotic fruits (mango, apple, pear, banana, Thai litchis, mango steen, grapes, etc. etc.) every time they visited us in the room. One basket of fruits was enough to feed the four of us for lunch. And not just the basket even their restaurants had international cuisine with atleast 2 dishes per course from each country, breads, salads, cheese, desert etc etc.. and it had more than enough choice for kids, elderly, veg, non veg, vegans etc. We are vegetarians and picky eaters - so they curated and customized each of our meals along with the regular options available. And all that was done proactively. Additionally, preparing popcorn for us at a call was a delight. Highlight of the stay was our floating breakfast experience - which was just amazing. However it was short-lived as the crabs on the beach marched towards us to share our breakfast. Nevertheless the taste and extended spread of the meal wasn’t compromised at all and for the first time during our travel we got it all when it comes to food - amazing experience with vast spread, quality and tasty Indian vegetarian food in a foreign country famous for sea food. Pizzas were mind blowing - tastiest pizzas I have ever had. Strawberry fountain was my daughters’ favourite. I missed my masala tea though but the fresh fruit tasty juices compensated more than enough. Please do visit all their specialty restaurants because each cuisine has a huge spread. And their recommendations are mind blowing - especially at their Japanese restaurant. Water activities - A 9-year old girl has done 2 snorkelling sessions and 1 discover scuba-diving along with her faint-hearted mother and adventurous daddy at this property for the first time in their lives. This establishes the quality of people/trainers involved in the activity. The property has preserved its coral reef and marine life so well, that we could see a shark while snorkelling barely few meters deep in the sea and within 30 mins of our activity. The activities were so relaxing that none of us wanted to come out of the sea and just experience the peace under water. More than enough for everyone - Kids recreation room was filled with all the activities in the world - had a slide, doll house, activity toys etc etc and enough to keep 100 kids there. The property had various photo points on the land as well as in the water - we loved shooting near the hammock and the swing in the sea and it’s a delight for people who want to shoot their portfolio, couple photos, babymoon pictures etc. They also provide bicycles free of cost for all ages - imagine the fleet maintained by them to cater to all age group. Utilities - 24-hour electricity with perfectly working white appliances. Fresh water in bathrooms were so good that despite shampooing hair twice a day, none of us had a single hairfall. My elder daughter’s hair is 3-feet long and she was either in the pool or the beach for 14 hours a day - we could maintain it very well by using their top-quality toiletries. Drinking water was light and so good that we did not feel the difference between bottled water and their filtered water. Locks, latches, furniture quality were all maintained top notch with good aesthetics - I realised that a plastic chair which is a must for the beach need not be bad looking after coming here. Not a single inch of wall/furnishing/floor captured moisture, fungus, humidity etc etc which are the common nuisance on a beach holiday. The air was so clean that I did not had to take my Asthama inhaler even once during my stay (I need it daily otherwise). None of us wanted the stay to end. It was a dream come true for all four of us because each of our needs were fulfilled - 100% - and a perfect way to celebrate my husband’s 39th birthday. Thank you Fairmont. You made our dream come true - in every single way and it’s not easy (rather impossible). I feel that the money paid on the trip was peanuts compared to our experience (steal deal). I hope that we do come back to stay with your awesome team again. Thanks - Priyanka and Rohit D., Prisha and Shanaya

We really loved the island, but felt that the 'VIP' service we were offered lacked. We were supposed to have a free room upgrade, and instead got a free bottle of champagne (only). Even though our butler said we would get nice things everyday. When we did try and book something (like dolphin watching) it keep getting canceled. For the cost, and the effort to get there, VIP should be more special. The restaurant was amazing, but drinks should be included in the package, we don't drink much but a glass of wine or two being charged just took away from the luxury experience.

Nothing special, I thought the long distance worth it but it wasn't

Everything was perfect. The staff from the butler to the restraunts are really helpful and nice. It was a really great experience which we’ve enjoyed so much .

Overall an amazing experience however an incident at the end of the holiday with our villa butler left a slight sour taste to the holiday. I will need to go into more details on this later on but this was a case of our butler not wanting to jeopardise his end of holiday tip and then lied about something he said he told us and did not. The truth came out eventually but not before words were exchanged in the restaurant. Really wish we had not left him his tip now and given more to the wonderful staff in the restaurants. The things that were outstanding.. Chef who seemed to work everyday really long hours going out of his way to cook and even serve us his well prepared food. Delicious. The staff in the restaurants were attentive and constantly pouring us drinks, friendly chatting with us and often remembered our drinks orders. Superb made the holiday.