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Travel safe during COVID-19
What you can expect during your stay
- All linens sanitized in high-temperature wash
- Face masks required for staff in public areas
- Hand sanitizer available to guests & staff
- Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
- Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
- Staff required to regularly wash hands
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Updated 09/02/20 Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
A note from Kandolhu Maldives
Updated 09/02/20 Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
About
#1 of 38 hotels in North Ari Atoll
Location
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Value
2020 Travelers' Choice Best of the Best
The best kept secret in the Maldives - Kandolhu is tiny yet it encapsulates luxury and bespoke service presented in rich Maldivian hospitality. Ringed by a stunning house reef with thriving marine life complete with wide stretch of white sandy beaches, Kandolhu makes for an idyllic getaway. Five distinct villas are your choices for slumber. Inspired by contemporary Maldivian architecture, all villas are lavish and unique in its own way. They come adorned with world class furnishings complete with modern technology to offer you the perfect home for your stay with us. For the top Kandolhu experience, book an Ocean Pool Villa with its spacious living space, "glass box" bathroom and the promise of breathtaking views of the sun setting over the Indian Ocean. Embark on gourmet journeys at four fine restaurants. Create your own quintessential Maldivian experience on Kandolhu with the Ultimate Inclusions package. Dine at a restaurant of your choice as you enjoy over 30 globally accredited old and new world wines, tropical cocktails, and a spectrum of premium spirits that are just some of the perks included in this package. World class dive sites are within easy reach of Kandolhu, where amazing encounters of the deep is made easy. Snorkel in the house reef and meet resident turtles. Tour the island whilst paddling a kayak or a stand up paddleboard, and come evening engage in a fluo night snorkelling. Invigorate your mind, body and soul at Varu Spa, and uncover complete wellness. Select sensual therapies from our signature product line, Voya an organic product range made from hand harvested seaweed.
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Room & Suite (839)839
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Property amenities
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Hot tub
Fitness Center with Gym / Workout Room
Free breakfast
Beach
Diving
Airport transportation
Spa
Wifi
Private pool
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Breakfast buffet
Special diet menus
Snorkeling
Couples massage
Facial treatments
Foot massage
Full body massage
Head massage
Massage
Concierge
Sun umbrellas
Private check-in / check-out
Dry cleaning
Laundry service
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Room features
Bathrobes
Air conditioning
Housekeeping
Private balcony
Room service
Safe
Minibar
Flatscreen TV
Laptop safe
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Room types
Ocean view
Non-smoking rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Hidden Gem
Languages Spoken
French
Location
Full view
Contact
39 Orchid Magu
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Popular mentions
We just returned from the most beautiful and perfect vacation at Kandolhu! Covid foiled our plans twice before we were able to pull it off. With each twist, Laura and team were on top of the latest travel requirements and helped us rebook with ease. This gave us the utmost confidence to follow through with our Maldives plans and a great indication of how well we'd be looked after during our stay. From the moment we landed, we were pampered. Every detail was carefully coordinated - from the airport representative escorting us to our seaplane, to the attentive service, immaculate housekeeping, and not to mention the on-site Covid test and doctor's appointment for our return. In case you were wondering, face masks are optional on the island. The staff wear masks at all times and the dining spaces and facilities are either outdoors or semi-outdoors with plenty of natural separation between guests. There is an indoor gym, but when you book it, it's for the entire space to enjoy yourselves. At times on the trip, we felt downright spoiled. Normally, an All Inclusive package boils down to a pricing plan, one all too often with extra fine print. At Kandohlu, it's something different and they place some thoughtful touches into the experience. Some fun examples include free usage of the snorkeling gear, kayaks, etc, and even a loaner GoPro to capture our snorkeling and scuba adventures! Kandolhu also extended one complimentary bag of laundry and packed us breakfast for our final day, given that we had an early flight. Perusing the TripAdvisor Maldives forums beforehand, we read lots about Kandolhu's house reef and boy did it not disappoint! It became a morning ritual for us to wake up to catch the sunrise and snorkel. Almost every day, we had the opportunity to swim alongside a sea turtle, shark, eagle ray, squid... basically any animal in the cast of Finding Nemo. A sea turtle even laid her eggs on the beach while we were there. The reef was just teeming with life and we grew fond of the birds, lizards, and hermit crabs making our way around the island each day as well. On that note, we were initially concerned about the size of the island, but there is no reason to fear. There are so many activities you can do and they would be exactly the same offering at a bigger resort. In fact, the smaller size of the island had some advantages and we really felt like we had the island to ourselves. We received plenty of individual attention on the guided scuba diving and Manta Ray excursions we booked. Let's talk about food. I've posted some photos, but the food was fresh, varied, delicious, and well presented! All of the restaurants had something unique to offer. Some of our favorite dishes were the rustic paella and Café Liégeois dessert at Olive, the marisco ceviche and rib eye tacos at Ata Roa, scallop Aburi Nigirizushi at Banzai, and the grilled red snapper and saffron seafood chowder at Sea Grill. At Market, we fell in love with the Kandohlu English Breakfast, Budae Jigae (Korean Army Stew) as well as the fresh fruit platters and healthy green juices. The Fish & Chips are also to die for and you can ask them to prepare it with different types of fresh fish. We'd very happily recommend Kandolhu to anyone traveling to the Maldives looking for an unforgettable experience. The resort has really figured out how to keep the Maldives experience strong even during Covid. We are looking forward to returning there when we have the opportunity to return to the Maldives! …
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Date of stay: November 2020
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+1
Hotel's Favorite
Our third Christmas in Kandolhu and looking forward to our next one. Laura, Marc and their Team make Kandolhu our perfect piece of paradise. It's Kandolhu's perfectly balanced mix of high end food, genuine friendly service and tranquil Island life that make this island so different to others we've been to. And Kandolhu tastefully spoil guests with extra Christmas indulgences (like champagne and caviar in the lagoon, sundowner wine and cheese tastings with expert sommeliers and a mixologist flown in for that extra special experience of very special cocktails). We were treated to an off menu breakfast on our last day of an insanely delicious Maldivian tuna curry, extra spicy! If like us, you're after a romantic getaway, experiencing the best the Maldives has to offer, with a no shoes vibe, then Kandolhu may just well be for you.…
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Date of stay: December 2019Trip type: Traveled as a couple
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
Lead by Marc and Laura, the whole team on this small and beautiful island, is cheerfully committed to make every moment of your holiday a joy to remember. There is a wide variety of menus, with food cooked to order, and five different restaurants. Want to add or remove an ingredient … it will be done. Fresh tropical fruit is always available. A good wine list complements the food. Mention something you would like, and it will be there! This is a “Kan Do” island, nothing is too great or too small a task. All furniture and fittings are of the highest quality throughout the island. There is a spa and well-equipped gym. Leave high heels behind, bare feet are the order of the day! Forget the make-up, although sunscreen is essential. Bring two swimsuits (one on, one drying) and a swim top. You can spend hours in the underwater world as you snorkel around the fantastic reef admiring the wide variety of fascinating and colourful marine life.…
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Date of stay: November 2020
Helpful
It's difficult to know where to start with just how perfect Kandolhu is. This was my 10th trip to the Maldives, and my second to Kandolhu. It's actually the only island I have ever repeated which perhaps says something about how entrancing it truly is. Visually, the island is as close to the 'intstagram-perfect' mental image people have when you think of the Maldives. Everywhere you look is just a picture postcard tableau; palm trees fringed against the uninterrupted blue sky, Friendly turtles waving their flippers at you from the shallows of the crystal clear turquoise lagoon, powder soft white sand - it really is almost a parody of a perfect tropical paradise. What really makes the island though is the staff; the level of service, combined with the genuine warmth and friendliness of the staff is truly remarkable. Every detail of the service is so polished and refined, it genuinely wouldn't be out of place in any of the world's Michelin starred restaurants, but it somehow also manages to be relaxed and informal at the same time. This is really no mean feat to achieve, yet Kandolhu has pitched it perfectly, with all the staff delivering exactly the same impeccable service, all of the time, yet nobody is standing on ceremony. The quality and choice of F&B is again astonishingly high. With pretty much everything being imported, in what must be challenging logistical circumstances, it could be forgiven if options were limited, but this couldn't have been further from the truth. The extensive choices were all available, and even when I ordered off menu, on a bit of a whim, the chef came up trumps every time with something incredibly delicious. Aside from the amazing staff, the jewel in Kandolhu's crown has to be its house reef. Close to shore, easily accessible either by Jetty or one of the many, very convenient snorkelling channels, it truly is a place of other-worldly wonders. So abundant and varied is the marine life that I often looked up from some creature (often one of the literally dozens of turtles) to find a friendly black tip reef shark, or spotted eagle ray swooping through the coral a matter of inches away from me. It's wonderful to see the corals on the house reef continuing their recovery from the 2016 bleaching - well on its way back to the vibrant and colourful reefs we remember from the pre 2016 era. I did a couple of excursions, both of which were remarkable in their own right and highly recommended. The Sandbank was even more jaw-droppinly beautiful than Kandolhu itself (and that is saying something!). I also did the Manta excursion which delivered within moments of being in the water - the Mantas themselves were almost showing off for my GoPro (the island provides you with one free of charge for use during your trip). The obliging speed with which the Mantas came to swim with us meant that we also had time on this excursion to snorkel a couple of other reefs nearby. These reefs truly were a coral-enthusiast's delight. I haven't seen such healthy coral in the Maldives for many years and it was actually quite emotional to see this beautiful reef in such vibrant good health. The island is taking the risks presented by Covid very seriously. There is a rigorous and consistent policy re hand washing and masks for staff in which it is clear that every member of staff has been very well-trained. Kandolhu is also unusual in that it offers paid leave for staff self-isolating due to Covid. Something I did unexpectedly really appreciate though, was the fact that Kandolhu felt totally 'open for business'. Undoubtedly due to low occupancy levels, I have heard of other islands shutting off parts of their property for 'maintenance', or only having a few of their dining options open. Not so on Kandolhu. All the restaurants were set up for a full service, with the tables fully laid with linen and candles (only every other table for Social Distancing purposes). It felt so welcoming and inviting and I loved Kandolhu for making that almost imperceptible, but genuinely touching effort. This has turned into a very long review, but I could honestly sing Kandolhu's praises all day long - I have been lucky enough to do a great deal of travel in my life, yet rarely have I experienced such a perfect island - I can't wait to be back!…
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Date of stay: November 2020
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Room Tip: They are all wonderful, in different ways.
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3 Helpful votes
Helpful
Like many have already said , the resort and island is just beautiful The service .... that just takes this place to another level Laura, Marc and the rest of the team were so helpful , and left no stone unturned to make our anniversary trip , a special one Choosing what to eat , which cocktail to try out , which part of the reef to snorkel in - these are some of the common problems we faced The house reef was teeming with life . We realised soon, we would see turtles & sharks nearly every time we snorkeled. Did the Discover scuba trip, -- amazing wildlife- including eagle rays, giant moray eels ,clown fish Kevin and adani, our cheerful scuba instructors made sure I was relaxed throughout The over water Villa was fantastic It was sunset facing ,great view,easy water access .The mini bar ( with our own wine rack ) was quite exhaustive. There is nothing you could want for , and hadn’t been thought of . It obviously helped that we were the only people in the water villas. The rest of the staff , were just brilliant , with a special mention to estella, wahyu, mamdhooh ,arushee. Always smiling and helpful. The bar setting is so nice with great cocktails. The food was nice and thanks to the 5 restaurants, always interesting The meal on the beach was really special. The complimentary sunset cruise was so well managed , and we were lucky to see a bunch of dolphins when we set out. Thanks again Laura and Marc for the warmest stay we have ever experienced …
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Date of stay: November 2020
1 Helpful vote
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PRICE RANGE
$671 - $2,662 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
kandholhu island hotel north ari atoll, kandholhu island resort and spa
LOCATION
MaldivesAlifu AtollNorth Ari Atoll
NUMBER OF ROOMS
30
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Claim Your Listing Frequently Asked Questions about Kandolhu Maldives
What are some of the property amenities at Kandolhu Maldives?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, free breakfast, and an on-site restaurant.
Which room amenities are available at Kandolhu Maldives?
Top room amenities include a minibar, air conditioning, and a flat screen TV.
What food & drink options are available at Kandolhu Maldives?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to Kandolhu Maldives?
Conveniently located restaurants include Jahaz, Jing, and Malamathi Restaurant & Bar.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Kandolhu Maldives?
Yes, guests have access to a fitness center and a private pool during their stay.
Does Kandolhu Maldives have an airport shuttle?
Yes, Kandolhu Maldives offers an airport shuttle for guests. We recommend calling ahead to confirm details.
Are any cleaning services offered at Kandolhu Maldives?
Yes, dry cleaning and laundry service are offered to guests.
Does Kandolhu Maldives have any great views?
Yes, guests often enjoy the ocean view available here.