OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi – Maldives

OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi is a laidback four-star all-inclusive resort in the Maldives and part of Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts. The resort which opened its doors in June 2022 boasts vibrant colors and is surrounded by a blue lagoon and sandy beaches – a wonderful getaway for families, friends, and couples alike. In this hotel review, I will give you an overview of the resort’s highlights and unique features. As always, all opinions stated are my own.

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

Due to its location in the North-Malé Atoll, OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi is located only 15 minutes by speedboat from the Velana International Airport. This allows you to maximize the time spent on the island without losing much time for transfers. The resort is interconnected with another Atmosphere property, the 5-star OBLU SELECT Lobigili, which also opened in 2022.

The Transfer & Check-in

After arriving at the international airport in Male, we were welcomed at the hotel transfer desk. After only a short waiting time, we could already hop on the complimentary speedboat to the resort. The speedboat was relatively new with beautiful décor. Unfortunately, we weren’t given any water or refreshing face towels before or during the transfer which also should have been part of their all-inclusive plan. The transfer took only 15 minutes but it was quite a bumpy ride due to the swell that day.

We checked in at the resort’s reception area and got some nice bubbly welcome drinks. We also received some information about the resort on a few pieces of paper and our room key cards. Unfortunately, we did not get a proper introduction to the resort and nobody guided us to our room which left us quite irritated as we had to find everything ourselves. We wish the check-in process would have been a bit more detailed and personal. The first impression always is key!

The Property & Amenities

OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi is a brand-new property with a vibrant, tropical and trendy design and open to guests since June 2022. Ailafushi means family island in the local dialect of Dhivehi. Although being an all-inclusive resort, the focus is on self-service for the modern traveler. This is a contrarian approach to what other resorts in the Maldives offer their guests. The all-inclusive plan of the resort is called FUSHI Plan and includes dining at the main restaurant, a selection of beverages, non-motorized watersports (only for a limited time), and complimentary speedboat transfers.

The property features three dining outlets, a bar, a kids club, a watersports center, a PADI/SSI-certified dive school, and one pool. You also have access to a spa, an overwater gym and La Promenade which consists of three shops. There is also a buggy that circles the island, however, you must be lucky to catch it and also hope that the spots aren’t filled already. Otherwise, you’ll have to walk everywhere from A to B.

The Rooms

OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi offers four different room categories. These are: Duplex-style Ocean View Rooms and Ocean View Family Rooms at the southern tip, Beach Villas, and more than 100 Water Villas at the northern end. We stayed in one of the Water Villas. Let me give you an overview of our room:

Water Villa

Each overwater villa measures 50 square meters and has the shape of a traditional Maldivian dhoni. The villa consists of a bedroom, a semi open-air bathroom, and an outside deck with direct access to the lagoon.

The room itself features a comfortable king bed, a sofa corner, a minibar with tea and coffee facilities, and a wardrobe. Unfortunately, a few room amenities have been missing in our villa such as umbrellas, robes, slippers and beach towels. We always had to request everything once we realized it’s missing. The accompanying bathroom has a double vanity and a rain shower. Hot water is powered by solar energy, so, unfortunately, we could only take cold showers during our stay as it was cloudy and rainy most of the time. Due to the strong cold winds in wet season, it definitely would have been nice to have warm water in the shower.

In addition, our room was leaking during the heavy rain, so the walls got wet on the inside. Not exactly what you’d expect from a newly build resort. We also told several staff members about it but no one seemed to care. As we only stayed for a few days at the resort, it wasn’t really a big issue for us but if we would have stayed here for a longer vacation, we would have loved to see that the staff cared more about such things.

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OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi Water Villa Bedroom

OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi Water Villa Outside Deck

The Restaurants & Bars

To cater to guests’ culinary pleasures, OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi features three restaurants and one bar.

Element X is the resort’s main restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It has a fresh and contemporary ambiance and different decor in each dining section which we really loved. They offer a self-assisted buffet with international cuisine from East to West. They have an Indian Ocean corner, an Asian corner and a selection of international cuisine. The food selection and the quality of the dishes is very good for a buffet restaurant. Our favorite dishes were the Asian dishes – they were always 10/10! However, the international breakfast selection could be improved.

At the restaurant, there is self-service for food and drinks, so you also take care of the all-inclusive drinks yourself, meaning there are various coffee and juice stations as well as fridges with drinks and grab and go counters for house wines. While it’s an interesting concept, we personally prefer having tableside service for drinks. Still, we would like to highlight the amazing restaurant reception staff that always welcomed us with big smiles. Moreover, the staff was also very quick with cleaning the tables and plates.

If you want to indulge in specialty dining experiences, you have two options: The Copper Pot Food Truck that serves surf and turf (seafood and meat) dishes or Only BLU, the resort’s horseshoe-shaped underwater restaurant. However, both dining outlets are not included in the all-inclusive plan.

If you fancy a drink near the beach or pool, you should stop at X360. There, you’ll find an array of drinks, spirits, cocktail, and mocktails. The barkeepers are also able to mix unique drinks based on your favorite spirits. They surprised us with really delicious cocktails.

OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi Copper Pot Food Truck — Copper Pot Food Truck

OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi Element X — Copper Pot Food Truck

The Staff

As the resort focuses on self-service, we barely had any contact with the staff except for the reception staff and the restaurant greeters. When it comes to the reception, we always had long waiting times when requesting something. However, the housekeeping team stood out most – unfortunately not in a positive way. First, they forgot to clean our room after the first night, then they forgot to fill up the complimentary water bottles and a little later we found that they also left us with little to no toilet paper. As mentioned earlier, we also never received robes, slippers, and beach towels. Ultimately, they also managed to lose our electrical toothbrush which we forgot in the morning of our departure in the bathroom. After arriving at the next resort on the same day, we realized that we forgot it and immediately called up the resort but after various calls with different people nobody was able to find it. So, it was gone not even 24 hours later. We would expect, that a hotel safely stores any items that guests forget (especially expensive items).

Activities

OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi offers numerous activities for their guests. The watersports center rents out kayaks, SUPs as well as jet skis and other chargeable motorized equipment, and the dive crew can take you out on various dive excursions. Moreover, you can join fishing trips, a sunset/full moon cruise, or snorkeling safaris.

There is also a spacious sports bar including popular indoor games in the upper deck right next to the bar. In the evenings, the X360 bar is the place to be where recreational activities and cultural shows take place. They also have DJ and live band performances every night, turning the lower deck into a dance floor.

OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi Watersports Center

Spa & Wellness

The resort also features a spa on the island: ELE|NA. The spa has various single and double treatment rooms, a relaxation lounge with juice bikes, outdoor hot tubs on the upper floor and ocean view sauna facilities. However, these facilities are only available when booking a treatment.

The One Unique Thing

The One Unique Thing at OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi is that the resort features Only BLUE, the largest underwater restaurant in the Maldives (together with OBLU SELECT Lobigili). While we didn’t have the pleasure of dining here, we visited the restaurant for taking some pictures and can only imagine that it is an incredible experience to dine 6.8 meters below sea level.

OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi Only BLUE Underwater Restaurant

Conclusion

OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi is a great choice for families, friends and couples looking for a modern and affordable Maldives vacation experience. The resort can be reached quickly by speedboat from the airport which is a big plus. The self-service all-inclusive concept is a unique approach that we haven’t seen anywhere else in the Maldives yet. The resort offers all the facilities you need for a fun-filled vacation. If you look for a more romantic honeymoon getaway, the interconnected OBLU SELECT Lobigili might be a better option, which also allows you to use all amenities of OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi.

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