Fushifaru Maldives – Maldives – Hotel Review
Fushifaru Maldives is a five-star boutique luxury resort in the Maldives that is locally owned. It provides authentic Maldivian charm in combination with modern luxury and a laid-back island vibe. We visited Fushifaru twice already and it belongs to our favorite resorts in the Maldives. This hotel review takes a closer look at the resort’s highlights and the unique experiences that are offered at Fushifaru Maldives.
DISCLAIMER: WE WERE HOSTED ON A PRESS TRIP AT THIS HOTEL, WHICH DOES NOT INFLUENCE MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS AND REVIEW ABOUT THIS HOTEL. ALL EXPRESSED OPINIONS ARE MY OWN. THIS BLOG POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. I MAY RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION FOR PURCHASES/BOOKINGS MADE THROUGH THESE LINKS, AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU.
The Location
Fushifaru Maldives is one of the few resorts located in the Lhaviyani Atoll which is about 145km away from the capital Malé. The small island is located in the north of the atoll and can only be reached via seaplane. The resort is a beautiful getaway in the Indian Ocean and offers white sandy beaches, tall palm trees and aquamarine waters. As we first stepped foot on the island, we instantly fell in love with this stunning place and felt like home. No wonder we returned to Fushifaru for a second time!
The Transfer & Check-in
After transferring from another resort to Velana International Airport in Malé, we were already awaited by a friendly staff member of Fushifaru Maldives. As Fushifaru can only be reached by taking a seaplane, he brought us to the seaplane counter and did the check-in for us.
After check-in, he guided us to the shuttle service which brought us to the new seaplane terminal. There, another staff member led us to the seaplane lounge to wait for our seaplane flight. The shared flight to the resort takes about 35 minutes and is a fantastic scenic flight across the Maldivian archipelago. The views are truly spectacular.
Arriving at the resort, the seaplane captain flew a U-turn to land close to the resort which gave us the chance to marvel at Fushifaru Maldives from multiple angles. At the jetty, a big group of staff members welcomed us with handmade necklaces to the sound of Maldivian Boduberu drums. It was a heartwarming welcome and we felt immediately at home.
Our welcome drinks were fresh young coconuts with reusable straws on our first visit – the perfect way to win our hearts. On our second stay we got welcomed with some refreshing pineapple cocktails which were absolutely delicious as well. We enjoyed our welcome drinks in a separate lounge area while doing the check-in. We also got to know our resident host who brought us to our villa afterwards. In the villa, we were surprised with a Maldivian snack platter including fresh fruits as well as beautiful decorations on the bed.
The Property & Amenities
Fushifaru Maldives is a small boutique resort on a secluded island that offers 63 villas. It only takes 10 minutes to walk around the whole island, still, the relatively compact island offers all the amenities you expect from a Maldivian luxury resort.
Fushifaru Maldives unites contemporary style and modern luxury while at the same time staying true to the local Maldivian charm. You can see and feel that the resort is relatively new (opened in 2017) and doesn’t have any signs of wear and tear. The resort just celebrated 5 years this year (in 2022).
The reception area is a small open-style lobby with a separate lounge area and a small boutique.
For your culinary wellbeing, the resort features three restaurants and two bars.
Fushifaru Maldives further features a spa area with multiple treatment rooms, an oceanfront gym with all the equipment you need for a good sweat and a kid’s club called Kokko Club.
The resort also has a stunning infinity pool that is facing the ocean. The pool area is equipped with various sunbeds and umbrellas as well as sun loungers for two.
Fushifaru is also home to different marine life species that you can meet while snorkeling in the lagoon and a unique underwater playground which I will explain a bit more later in this review.
One thing I really loved about the resort is that it’s the most photogenic property we have visited in the Maldives so far. Next to the design and style of the villas, the resort team has done a fantastic job setting up an array of hammocks, swings and hanging chairs at beautiful spots around the island which not only are perfect for taking pictures but also to relax and live in the moment.
Fushifaru Maldives also makes it possible for you to say ‘I do’ on the island or the close-by sandbank and a wedding planner can help you arrange everything. Moreover, married couples can renew their vows in this magical setting. I can imagine that it’s a wonderful place for a honeymoon or wedding.
The Rooms
As mentioned before, Fushifaru Maldives offers an intimate island escape with just 63 villas on land and sea. The 44 beach villas are divided into Beach Villas Sunrise/Sunset, Pool Beach Villas Sunrise/Sunset and Beach Duplex Villas. The 19 water villas consist of Jacuzzi Water Villas, Pool Water Villas and Premium Pool Water Villas – 14 of these water villas just opened in November 2020 and we could still smell that they are brand-new.
We had the luxury of staying in a beautiful Pool Beach Villa Sunset, a Pool Water Villa and a Premium Pool Water Villa while being at Fushifaru Maldives. WiFi is complimentary throughout the island. I genuinely loved all the villa types we stayed in as they are designed with an eye for detail. I will give you an overview of the features and highlights below:
Pool Beach Villa Sunset
We started our first stay at Fushifaru Maldives in a Pool Beach Villa Sunset and were absolutely amazed by the tasteful design of the villa. These villas are located close to the infinity pool and built within the island’s vegetation, offering privacy and direct access to the beautiful white sandy beach in front of the villa. Our villa (#203) had a fantastic sunset view fringed by multiple tall palm trees. It was truly beautiful!
The room itself is equipped with a king-size bed, a sofa, a small seating area, a wardrobe, air-conditioning and a desk. The massive open-air, garden-style bathroom is placed behind the room and features a shower, two separate vanities, a freestanding bathtub, as well as an additional outdoor shower.
Opening your room’s floor-to-ceiling windows, you enter a veranda which includes a daybed, a seating area, and your very own pool where you also find two sun loungers. The plunge pool with a view of the palm trees, the ocean and the most incredible sunsets was my absolute highlight of this villa.
Premium / Pool Water Villa
Since there are only 19 water villas, just a handful of these are Premium Pool Water Villas. These villas are located at the end of a boardwalk on the island’s eastern part and built into the azure lagoon. We stayed in a Premium Pool Water Villa at the end of the row (#504), which came with the benefit of having uninterrupted ocean views to the South and the East, as well as in a Pool Water Villa #404 (when we visited Fushifaru for the second time). For our second stay we even got welcomed by a personalized welcome board in front of our villa – what an incredible surprise!
The newly-built Premium Pool Water Villas are as spacious as the Pool Beach Villas, measuring 122 square meters, and are equipped similarly regarding their furniture. The spacious bathroom features an indoor shower, a bathtub for two and two vanities underneath a huge mirror.
Still, the best part of the villa, in my opinion, was the amazing outdoor deck. The spacious terrace offers a glass pool, two sunbeds, an outdoor shower, a seating area, a four-poster daybed and a ladder into the ocean. My favorite feature was the net over the lagoon from where I could look into the crystal-clear water and soak in the sun. Fushifaru Maldives has done a perfect job creating a water villa deck with so many unique features in one place, making the outdoor area my favorite place to be.
The Pool Water Villas are equipped nearly identical but don’t feature a four-poster bed in the room, and don’t have a net and a glass-front panel in the pool outside.
Although I usually prefer water villas when staying at a resort in the Maldives, I can absolutely recommend splitting your nights between a (Premium) Pool Water Villa and a sunset-side Pool Beach Villa. Both experiences are so amazing that you cannot miss them!
The Restaurants & Bars
When staying at Fushifaru Maldives, you can dine in three different restaurants that serve food from around the world combined with island-inspired flavors. You can also choose to dine in the comfort of your villa or select from the many memorable special dining experiences Fushifaru Maldives has to offer.
At the beachfront Korakali restaurant, you can enjoy buffet-style breakfast, lunch and themed dinner nights with picturesque views over the Indian Ocean. We got to experience their Arabian and Indian dinner night and the food was absolutely authentic and terrific. Also, the daily breakfast menu was very delicious with lots of fresh options to choose from.
If you want to try out Fushifaru’s specialty restaurants for dinner, head over to Raakani, where you can feast on the catch of the day, seafood platters and grilled meat in a beautiful seafront setting or dine at Teppanyaki which offers live-action and teppanyaki-grilled beef, seafood and Japanese flavors.
Fanihandi Bar is the resort’s main bar and is located next to the infinity pool for those of you who fancy a drink. You can get everything from tea and coffee, mocktails, cocktails, fresh coconuts and poolside snacks, including beautiful vistas over the lagoon and the sunset every evening.
The second bar is Thundi, which is a colorful bus close to the water villas. It serves cold-pressed juices, immune booster shots and fresh fruit skewers. We actually had the honor to officially open the Thundi shack by cutting through the ribbon during our first stay at Fushifaru. This opening will always hold a special place in our hearts and we are very happy and grateful to be a part of the Fushifaru Maldives history now.
While staying at the Pool Beach Villa, we also had a private pool dinner which was such a unique experience and one of our absolute highlights. Our table was set up on the platform right in our pool, surrounded by lights and torches, and we could dine under the stars while having our feet in the water. The chef prepared our menus right at the beach, ensuring that every course was absolutely fresh, and the dishes were delicious! I can absolutely recommend this experience for a special romantic evening with your loved one.
Another unforgettable dining experience that we had during our second stay, was a romantic beach dinner. The staff prepared an amazing heart-shaped dining set up at the beach surrounded by candles. It looked truly stunning and the chef spoiled us with an incredibly delicious dinner again.
The Staff
During both our stays, the staff at Fushifaru Maldives was outstanding. Our resident host took care of every question we had, organizing our activities and villa change as well as inter-island travels. It’s a great feeling knowing that someone is there to assist you with everything.
Besides, every staff member was always cheerful, up for a casual chat and wanted to know how we feel about the resort and our experience. It felt like a genuine interest and gave them the possibility to find out if they could enhance our stay even further. We truly felt that their ultimate aim was to create the most perfect vacation for their guests. The housekeeping staff even folded and hung up our clothes when cleaning the room.
At the Korakali restaurant, the service was very attentive to find the best table for us and quick to take orders and take away plates. Our waiter took care of us effortlessly and even surprised us with a hand-written thank you postcard the morning we were leaving during our first stay which was very heartwarming. At the end of our second stay, we got handmade jewelry made of palm leaves from our waiter – such a lovely surprise! 🙂 At dinner, the chefs at the live-cooking stations were happy to explain the dishes, their background and what they contained, helping you dive into the dinner theme even more.
All in all, the hospitality at Fushifaru Maldives is amazing and the staff operates on an exceptional level and cares about you. You feel welcomed and are treated in a way that leaves you truly happy. This is something we will never forget!
Activities
Fushifaru Maldives has many activities on offer. The watersports center is located close to the arrival jetty and you can choose from an array of fun things to do such as SUP, kayaking, windsurfing, jet-skiing, parasailing or using a sea bob.
At the dive center, which is just across the jetty on the other side, you can borrow your snorkel equipment, take snorkel lessons or dive deep into the underwater paradise found in the Indian Ocean. There are many dive sites close to the resort and the PADI dive instructors will be more than happy to show you around and get you certified.
For on-island sports, Fushifaru Maldives features a table tennis hut and a multipurpose court.
In addition to the various sport-related activities, the resort offers many Maldivian experiences. Typical excursions include a dolphin cruise, a sunset cruise, a visit to a nearby local island and a Manta Quest. We opted for a private sandbank experience during our first stay, including a picnic. Just five minutes away by boat from Fushifaru lies a huge natural sandbank which we had all to ourselves for about two hours. We really enjoyed the fresh picnic they prepared for us and loved to relax in the hammock placed in the azure waters by the sandbank. Unfortunately, a storm surprised us after one hour on the sandbank but that’s a good reason for us to do this experience again on our next visit.
In addition to the sandbank picnic, we chose a very unique experience that you can have at Fushifaru Maldives: our very own ‘fruit lagoon’. The Fushifaru Maldives staff prepared a wonderful display of fresh fruits on the beach and we could take our time to have a tropical photoshoot with this fruity scenery in front of the turquoise lagoon. Definitely a very unique experience you should try if you’re a fruit lover like us!
Ultimately, we had planned to have a cinema under the stars during our first stay. The setup they had prepared for the outdoor cinema looked incredible, however, the weather turned and the cinema had to be canceled before we could start with the movie. Hopefully, we can experience and fully enjoy this magical setup another time.
On our second stay, we tried another unique experience at Fushifaru: a floating sushi dhoni. I really don’t know what I loved more – the delicious sushi (hands downs some of the best sushi we ever had) or the incredible presentation on a floating Maldivian dhoni! Definitely an amazing experience that I can recommend to any sushi lover!
In the evening, we then hopped on a real Maldivian dhoni for a little sunset cruise with canapés and sparkling wine. Unfortunately, we had really bad luck with the weather during our second stay, so it was a bit too windy and cloudy to fully enjoy the cruise, and it was also cut a bit short due to these circumstances. But we would definitely try it again with better weather!
Spa & Wellness
In case you also want to relax and rejuvenate when staying at Fushifaru Maldives, the Heylhi Spa is the best place to visit. The spa is nestled into the lush forest and has five treatment rooms. Various signature, body and facial treatments are offered, as well as multi-day packages. The spa combines Eastern and Western practices.
We got a small tour of the spa and had also planned to get a treatment in the morning of our departure day during our first visit. But, unfortunately, our seaplane flight to Malé was leaving earlier than planned (due to a change of the transfer schedule of our next resort), so we weren’t able to enjoy one of their spa treatments.
Sustainability
Fushifaru Maldives has many sustainable practices in place to reduce the overall impact on the environment. The resort relies on earth-friendly amenities, natural building materials and an energy & water management system. Single-use plastics are eliminated and water is provided in refillable glass bottles. Flowers, herbs and vegetables are planted on the island by the chefs, while other fresh and local produce is obtained from the nearby local islands whenever possible.
Looking at the ocean, the Best Dives Maldives team has initiated a coral restoration and regeneration program in the lagoon. There, they have planted coral fragments in several frames, including a distinctly shaped manta ray frame.
Luxury and traveling with a low impact on nature don’t exclude each other at Fushifaru Maldives. We loved to see that the resort cares for the environment and has a zero-waste goal.
The One Unique Thing
The One Unique Thing of Fushifaru Maldives is its underwater playground close to the shore. So, make sure to get your snorkel gear ready and head to the lagoon! The underwater playground consists of different underwater installations such as a cool underwater swing and multiple bicycles to have fun with, which also make for unique underwater pictures. As we love snorkeling, diving and being in the water in general, we visited the underwater playground a couple of times and had heaps of fun exploring this unique underwater attraction. Definitely a must visit spot!
Conclusion
Fushifaru Maldives is a small and secluded 5-star luxury boutique resort in the most beautiful and photogenic island setting. We really loved the tropical, laid-back vibes on this island. If you look for contemporary luxury with authentic local Maldivian charm and outstanding service, look no further! From the incredible villas, to the delicious dining options and the unique, unforgettable experiences that are offered at Fushifaru, everything is amazing! The resort is also great value for money. It’s the perfect location for couples, families as well as honeymooners looking for a relaxing vacation including unique experiences. I can’t recommend Fushifaru Maldives enough and I would go back again for the third time without thinking twice!
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