We found Gangehi island on Agoda while looking for a remote island resort far from Male city, and it is what we exactly expected. It is 1.5-2 hour speedboat ride from the city, and located on a tiny island at the westernmost part of Maldives archipelago. Being on a small island with 40+ rooms in total, everything is beautifully maintained, and guests are well served. It does not need to take 20 min to walk around the island, the garden in the middle is so tropical, and the rooms are on each side of the island. The small size of island also favors less crowd and provides maximum privacy. Beach side is small but nice - having some place to do snorkeling, there is a sand bridge (which is my favorite) extending like 500m into the ocean in low tide, the marine fishes can be seen just close to the beach along sand bridge, but the water villa side has strong wind during our stay in November which is not so nice for swimming. The room we stayed (overwater deluxe villa) is very spacious, decorated with beautiful antiques (looks really old, so feeling like in old palace), and the bathroom and terrace are also nicely arranged. Just one note about the attitude of some staff who did not treat well to Asian looking us. At the first time, I thought it was just forgetfulness, but it was not only once and observed that they treated better to European alike people. For example, we did not get a greeting while an European behind us was greeted and asked what drink he needs in the bar. Also in the restaurant, we were not prioritized, but the other people received. (found a review too on google map that an Indian was not treated well). Maybe vast majority of the guests are from Europe, so the staff have less exposure to Asians. Anyhow, it is better to be trained well to treat all equally. In a nutshell, I would say Gangehi island resort is a scarce tiny beautiful haven.

This was our first time in Maldives and we chose Gangehi Island Resort since it was one of the first islands reopened after the lockdown and the experience could not have been better. We stayed there in September 2020 and totally forgot about the current COVID-19 situation during the whole stay. Giorgio, the hotel manager was very attentive and friendly, and made sure everything was fine from the very first moment. He also joined us on our dives, which deserve a special mention since the diving was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT, much more than you can ask for. Gil, our diving instructor took us to the best spots around, where we could see stingrays, eaglerays, an insane amount of reef sharks and lots of wildlife around the coral reefs. We will never forget it. Snorkeling around the resort is also a must, you will never get tired of it and the only danger can be the sunburn on your back from not checking the time. We tried both the Beach Villa and the Overwater Villa and we got the best of both worlds. From the Beach Villa the best views are in the early morning, when you can see a gorgeous sunrise. On the other hand, the sunset from the Overwater Villa is stunning and you will end up watching it every day of your stay. The island is very small though, so in my opinion every room is worth it since you can reach any spot in the island in a few minutes walking on the beach or inside a beautiful garden. The rooms are clean and well prepared and room service was great. The same can be said from the rest of the staff: thanks to Manoj, Seelan, Rasheed, Hassan, and everyone else that made our stay even better than it was. We have also seen some "official" information from different sources which states that the island is closed. This is not true! The island is open and the resort is working so contact them in case you want to go, you will not regret it!

We bought a trip from travel agency and choose to stay in Gangehi Resort. The resort looks exactly like on the pictures, this is literally a paradise. The staff is super nice and engaged in their work (kudos to the bar crew!) Island is small and located far from Male (1,5h using speedboat), so it offers isolated experience. You can buy snorkeling trips to see sunrise, sunsets, sharks and mantas. There is also a reef located near the beach so you can see the sealife daily. The staff is flexible and can adjust to your needs. The cuisine is splendid. You can taste local fish, as well as Italian cuisine as owners are from Italy! Covid protection measures are very high - everyone from staff wears a face mask and they maintain social distancing.