Velidhu Island Resort

We stayed on the island for 6 days following 4 nights in Dubai. Emirates flights were excellent, well worth the additional costs. We also chose a seaplane transfer which was just fantastic - be aware though that the planes are infrequent and a long delay at Male airport is always possible!!!!! The island was excellent - the service from the staff was second to none and the food fantastic. Definately worth going all inclusive - could get expensive otherwise. Would recommend Velidhu - although the island is small it is perfect for a relaxing holiday. One word of warning - Virgin offer a free upgrade to a water bungalow for all frequent virgin customers subject to availability. We were delighted that a water bungalow was available on our arrival and loved it the whole time we were there. We were not amused when we left that we were charged $300 for the upgrade on our departure!!!!! the manager said that lots of people expect it for free and Virgin avoided our complaint by explaining that it is at the islands discretion whether you pay or not!!!!!!! Was fabulous but not sure I would have taken the room if I had have known the price! Would return to the island again!!!!

We just returned from an amazing honeymoon. This place is simply superb, a real paradise – pure white sand, turquoise green crystal clear water, cool breeze, swaying palms, blue sky – its picture perfect. Simply spectacular! This was our first trip to Maldives, and now we have a feeling that we were in our dreams in a heavenly place called Velidhu Island Resort. This resort has a very friendly Srilankan management staff. Always smiling and the best hospitality I have ever seen. The resort manager Sanjeeva took great care of us and saw to it that we are treated to the very best of services all the time. Also, front office manager Sumith looked after our needs and made us feel very special. On our arrival we were nicely greeted by Sumith, and our week long dream started off on a good note. We stayed in a water bungalow having a glass floor for viewing fishes. I would certainly recommend water bungalow, it’s simply amazing! Cleanliness at Velidhu is up to the mark. The beach is spotlessly clean and the walkways are promptly kept clean by sweepers around. The most important point is that there are no mosquitoes or ants out there and that’s the best part of it. Food at Velidhu is fantastic! They got theme nights everyday serving different specialties from all over, like Thai, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Srilankan, Indian, etc… There's lot of variety in food that you are spoilt for choice. Especially look out for the dessert corner, its simply out of the world! Bottled water is expensive at $3.5 per bottle as on other resorts. So, either carry lots of water or go on all inclusive. There’s lot to do on this small island. We really enjoyed Snorkeling and did it every day. Velidhu has a wonderful reef with lots and lots of colorful fishes. They say that it’s one of the best reefs amongst the resorts of Maldives. We also did night fishing and I caught a real big fish, it was great fun!!! I do recommend all the excursions arranged by Velidhu. They have a nice staff to show you around and help you out. They even play football and cricket in the evenings and you can join them. Velidhu has an extremely good dive center as well. Entertainment at Velidhu is good fun! Everyone enjoyed crab race. That’s an event you can never miss. The staff presented a fire show on the following evening and although they weren't professional, their efforts were worth the applause. The light house bar is the place to be after dinner to have some fun. The cocktails out there are simply amazing! Velidhu is a perfect place to unwind and relax. I think it's the best location for honeymoon, and for romantic couples to rekindle their romance. It’s equally good for oldies and divers. I am glad that we chose Velidhu as our honeymoon destination, and we have sweet memories to cherish forever. We will certainly visit again…

My wife & I celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary, (& her birthday on NY Day) over the xmas/new year period, arriving am xmas day. The whole experience was nothing short of magical. The Island, the staff, the accommodation, everything. A definate wow factor was the black tipped reef sharks & rays swimming within 1 foot of the waters edge chasing 'bait fish'. On arrival, was told that our beach bungalow was not available, so we were upgraded to a sea bungalow for the 1st night. Although it was great, we were both glad to be re-accommodated in a beach bungalow thereafter, as our 'dream' was to step out of the 'front-door' onto a white coral beach. Can't do that from the somewhat isolated sea bungalows. The food was excellent, and the 28 hour shift put in by the staff to prepare for the New Years Eve celebration was above & beyond. True that you cannot purchase anything in cash, but do take plenty of US$, for tipping. (These guys only earn about $70 per month.) My wifw highly recommends the Serenity Spa. Saw no sign of mosquito's on Velidhu, but still went prepared with repellant. The Geko's keep any room based insect life down, but we did have a dangerous centipede in our bathroom one day. Shame the mini bar is not on the all incusive list, as water is free from the resort bar & at meals, but charged from your mini-bar !? We are hopefully going again this coming xmas/new year time, & I suggest that if you are thinking of going to the Maldives, go before the sea reclaims them.

My husband and I stayed at Velidhu for two weeks in November and it was fantastic. The weather was mixed sunshine and rain but still great as the air was warm. The island was very clean and beautiful and the staff were excellent, nothing was ever too much trouble. The beaches and swimming were definately a high and we made good use of the snorkelling equipment we bought for the holiday. One tip if you are going on the island hopping trip - if you are prone to getting mosquito bites then make sure you spray before you get on the boat. I didn't get one bite on Velidhu but did on the neighbouring island.

great to see the coral recovering. Excellent snorkelling. We were surprised by the persistence of the rain/monsoon during our 2 weeks from 13/11/06. Not sure whether this climate change or peculiar to Velidhu(note raincoats provided) or what we should have expected. Friendly staff but probably could have done with less "entertainment".

My wife and I spend a magnificiant 10 days on the resort Island of Velidhu. We can only describe it as paradise, with lovely food, staff and accomodation. Having stayed in the waterbungalow was a bonus and something we recommend highly. Transfer from Male to the resort by sea plane is a must. Reefs for snorkeling were close to the shore and filled lovely fishies!!! We recommend this resort for those who want to relax, unwind and be pampered. This resort is a must!!!

Been to the Maldives before, stayed on Fesdu which at the time we thought was paradise found.. Now thats been 'upgraded' another word for ruined, we were looking for somewhere else. Arrived in Velidhu, lovely. Stayed in a beach bungalow to start with, was very nice, not far to go to the sea, seemed great. My suitcase didnt arrive so was on island in sheepskin uggs and jeans.. borrowed some clothes and bought a bikini top from the shop, bless him. Im a size 18 and the lad was bringing me these 'extra large' bikini's ie. a size 12 to 14.... anyway we adapted a tee shirt which I wore to swim in, and Iwould have won all the wet tshirt competitions going! Virgin were useless just kept saying it will be on the next sea plane... anyway, Raj the Manager made a call to the sea plane company and it arrived the next day.. by the way I really recommend the sea planes rather than the speed boats.. we watched people staggering of the boat. Im lactose intolerant and cant have any dairy products at all. So after watching me wandering around the buffets and me asking chefs what is in a meal or dessert, the restaurant manager came to speak to me. The next day he came to tell me they'd ordered me some soya milk in that comes from Australia! When it arrived we had a procession in the morning with our waiter with the tray, followed by the restaurant manager to pour... by now people were looking at us and whispering wondering why we seemed to be getting the grand treatment and who we were, bless. Then the head Chef heard about me looking for a dessert... he then came to see us with the rest of the procession, and created a fantastic chocolate mousse made with the soya milk, and presented it to us every night! Nothing was too much trouble for any staff members from the top to the bottom, anything they can do to help you they will. By this time we'd had a couple of days on the island and its great, but lots of Italians on it, this is not a bad thing but they do like to sit together on the beach... by day 3 we were totally surrounded by a huge group who pushed all the chairs together and were shouting and screaming to each other. Fine if thats their idea of a holiday and they were pleasant. But we go to the Maldives for solitude, so we upgraded to a water bungalow where you can be alone as much as you want, and can sunbathe on your private huge verandah... after this we can never go without staying in a water bungalow. Now Virgin have got great deals on and we've booked a water bungalow for little more than our original beach bungalow. Roll on April 2007..

We booked our holiday with The Travel Collection, and flew with Monarch premier which was well worth it in our oppinion because you get extra leg room, bigger seat room, television, better food, free drinks, quick check in, priority baggage. the hotel was excellent as soon as we got there we were greeted by very friendly staff that explained everything about the resort, when we arrived i upgraded our accommodation to a water bungalow and it was excellent, well worth the extra money. the food was so nice ranging from thai, indian, sri lankan, maldivian, chinese, japenese, italian and more!! you really are spoilt for choice. we went snorkelling every day and couldnt belive how many fish we saw all round the reef there were so many different types. my favourites were the clownfish, triggerfish, surgeon fish, sharks, squid and even turtles. it is such a relaxing place to go to. there isnt the hustle and bustle of cities no cars bikes noise just peaceful and beautiful in every way. its the perfect place to go to with the one you love, very romantic. in our opinion 2 weeks was nice but when we go back to the maldives again we would go for three, because the time just flew by. if i could i would pack my bags and go back there now, also its so casual there i just wore polo shirts and shorts of an evening with flip flops no need for shoes, jeans, trousers. all in all we had a fantastic holiday.

We just spent our honeymoon on Velidhu island and we loved it. Our tour operator rated it a 4* but in my mind it is deffinatly a 3*. Saying that though it is lovely and one of the nicest places I have been. The beach bungalows are not up to my standard, we had 167 which was very tatty, being on our honeymoon we were very dissapointed and we upgraded to the water bungalows which are lovely. We were welcomed with a bottle of wine and platter of fruit. It was my husbands birthday the following week and he recived a birthday card from the manager and a birthday cake at dinner which had a little candle in it too. when we got back to our room if had been decorated with flowers and our bed had spelt with palm leave strips "Happy Birthday and Honeymoon Holiday." It was lovely. Our roomboy Adam had made us origami birds and fishes from leaves too and gave us a bottle of wine also. Our bungalow had a glass floor you could watch all the fish from even at nite time as there was a light illuminating the ocean below. We saw all manner of fishes swimming past. We had a lovely view over the island with our balcony facing the beach we woulc enjoy the sun in the morning and then cool off in the afternoon. Being June it is monsoon season and we did experience storms. It was quite fightening in the bungalow as it swayed from side to side and the waves came up and under our door. I was very scared. It was a bad storm as the staff pointed out and we never had one as bad for the next two weeks. There were isolated showers here and there but it was a wlecome break from the scorching sunshine! The food on the island was very well presented and each evening having a theme. We only saw french fries once. There was very little choice for vegetarians i noted. The dishes were mostly spicy meat dishes with rice and pasta. Pork, chicken and beef being the main meats served. The waiters and chefs at Velidhu were fantastic and we couldnt fault them at all. There is no options for fussy eaters either ie. children. If your child will only eat chips and burgers i think they are going to starve if they visit Velidhu unless your willing to buy their meals separtly from the bar who cater sandwichs, french fries etc. You can also watch the food being prepared infront of your which was interesting. Our waiter Sanjeevin was really lovely also. It isnt really an island to get dressed up for eveing meals. I did and felt abit out of place sometimes. Many people walked round all holiday barefooted. It is a very relaxed island, just watch out for the crabs! The island has a brilliant reef to explore snorkelling as we did. It was fantastic with hundreds of fish everywhere! It you go down the main jetty and swim along the drop off just before the inlet you will find a family of black footed clown fish and then down the inlet on your right near a huge anemone there is a family of clown fish also, (Nemos as i call them!) A fellow guest saw a sea turtle but we werent so lucky. I wouldnt recommend this island for people travelling with children. There is no pool, and the sea even thought being quite shallow in places and protected by rock barriers is litered with reef sharks and sting rays. There was a family there with children and the little girls said they were scared to get off their lilo not knowing what was below them. I myself didnt venture into the shallows just stuck to the reefs. There is a small gift shop reasonably priced gifts. We went island hopping and the shops on Mathiveri we found tried to rip us off. Snorkelling gear is quite exspensive at the shop too and although you can hire it fromt he hotel it is best to buy your own before you go i think. The bar is a great place to hang out and relax and chat with fellow guests, have snacks, play games. There is normally a daily special offer on cocktails. Dont expect anything amasing fromt he bar though it isnt the best bar int he world but it inst the worst either. We didnt use the diving school, and the staff there didnt seem very friendly at all in stark contrast to the hotel staff. I would deffinatly say be transfered by seaplane. The speedboat journey in a stormy ocean was awful and we all felt ill! The veiws fromt he seaplane are amasing! Downsides to the holiday: 1. You sign for all your purchases and it is difficult keeping track of what you have bought so keep on top of your finances at recepetion. 2. You can only drink bottled water which is $3.50 for a litre and a half inc. a service charge. You need minimum two bottles each a day and the cost of drinking water adds up! 3. The island would benefit from a swimming pool! (In my oppinion!) Upsides to the holiday: 1. The staff are FANTASTIC. Everyone is well mannered polite and cant do enough for you. They include you in their games on their time off. We played beach volleyball and cricket with them and they are all really good fun. 2. The manager is always around asking if your having a good time and if there is anything he can do for you. 3. Fantastic location. The natural beauty of the place keeps you entertained. We would watch the fish on the jetty for up to an hour at a time. We saw parrot fish, eagle rays, sharks, clown fish, surgeoun fish, fruit bats, lizards, ghekos and lots of other amasing creatures. 4. Being away from all the things we have in daily life, phones, cars, internet just getting back to nature and enjoying simple pleasures. 5. Not being rushed, they dont mind if you are still eating your evening meal after the restaurnat closes and there is noone pushing you to leave or vacate tables int he bar etc. 6. Theres hardly any bugs! We used insect repellent but we never saw any annoying bugs. there are huge bumble bees and hornets and of course ants butt hey dont bother you. Things you must do: 1. Go for a walk in the evening down the jetty infront of the bar to look at the fish 2. Go snorkelling! 3. Go on the island hopping trips. 4. Visit the spa and have some treatments it is so relaxing!! 5. Go to the end of the water bungalows and there is a private area to sunbathe hardly anyone uses it and you can spend nearly all day on your own there!!! Go there in the eveing too and look up.... you can see the milky way and it is amasing. Go there also around 6pm to watch the sunset 6. Leave your worries behind and unwind! Tips 1. Dont take tshirts take cotton shirts for men it is too hot!!! 2. Take a sun hat and plenty of lotion 3. Take reef shoes to wear when snorkelling 4. Take into consideration the cost of water when planning your budget 5. Spend the first day getting used tot he humidity and the heat it really knocked me for six on the first day! And anyone flying Monarch air god help you! And I wont say anymore apart from RUBBISH! Dont let them spoil your holiday!!!!!! Overall Velidhu is brilliant. We would go back as it is friendly, small and very well run.

We stayed at the Velidhu Island resort in May 2006 and it was comletely perfect. The food was excellent with a different theme for dinner each day and a wide range of breakfast options, the restaurant and accommodation were very clean and the beds were comfortable, (we stayed in a beach bungalow which we thought to be excellent value for money). The waiters were all charming and helpful. The area by the bar and restaurant are lit up at nights which makes it very pretty. There were plenty of sunbeds and hamocks and assorted entertainment in the bar at night. The snorkelling was excellent and both the dolphin and manta ray trips were successful. We arrived by speedboat and left by seaplane and enjoyed both. There was some rain but it never lasted long. We will definately be going back.