Makunudu Island Resort

This was my first trip to the Maldives, visiting Makunudu Island in December 2024 with my mother. Having traveled to many Asian countries, I can confidently say this resort is the best I've ever experienced, and I look forward to returning soon. The experience was incredible; it is truly a paradise with stunning beaches and an authentic tropical island vibe. Our bungalow, though not yet refurbished, had a nice beach on the jetty side and partial sea views directly from inside. The staff was kind and welcoming, making us feel at home. Mr. Shri, the reservation manager, contacted me via WhatsApp before our arrival, which made me feel more comfortable and reassured about our upcoming stay. Our waiter Bhasker was friendly and attentive, always mindful of our halal food preferences. While this resort isn't ultra-luxury by Maldivian standards, everything was of high quality: the accommodation, service, food, and beds, plus free Wi-Fi. Contrary to some reviews, our speedboat transfer from Velana Airport was smooth with no waiting time. The departure was also well-organized; our flight was in the evening but we were lucky to enjoy the resort until 4PM. Because it was a rainy day, we received a late checkout and could stay in our room until 1:30 PM and our last lunch was included. Our six-night stay flew by, and we wished for more time. We left the island feeling as if we were leaving home. Thank you, Makunudu, for an unforgettable stay! Small remarks: There has been leaks in the bathroom sink and hopefully will be refurbished soon. The speedboat transfer is quite expensive (249$ per person) Overall, these minor issues didn’t overshadow the wonderful experience we had. I highly recommend this resort to anyone seeking relaxation in a beautiful natural setting. Thank you, Makunudu team; we will definitely return and see you all again soon!

I was excited for my third visit to the Maldives and the reviews suggested that this was a good island for peace and quiet. However, as a solo traveller, I felt that I was treated worse than other guests. I arrived into the airport at 9.30 am and made my way to the pick up booth to be told I had to wait for other guests on a different flight which had been delayed. I asked to speak to the resort who promised me that I would be collected by 11.30. The time came and went and no sign of collection. I spoke with them again. The speedboat had just left and would take 45 minutes. So they made me wait for 3 hours in the airport before transferring me, I feel this was because I was a solo traveller as I saw a couple arriving the next day with the boat to themselves. Not a great start. After lunch I was taken to my bungalow which again was possibly the worst on the island. No idyllic beach access. No view of the beautiful sea and skyline. The sea was possibly accessible if you were a mountain goat as you either had to climb over trees and branches, or cross your neighbours' access. I went to reception and asked to be moved. Luckily for me, another couple were arranging their check out for the following day so reception were able to give me a choice of alternative bungalows. The second bungalow had the beach access their marketing promises and was exactly what I was expecting. I believe that they place guests in the rubbish one first to see if you will complain. The room itself was spacious with good facilities. However, the first night I experienced 3 giant cockroaches in my room - one of which was on the bed, the other two in the bathroom. I rang reception for them to send someone to remove them. They never came. I managed to get the one out from the bedroom and shut the bathroom door and wedged a towel under the gap. Safe to say, I didn't sleep well. When it happened again, someone did come and filled the bungalow with toxic chemical spray. The restaurant was fine with limited choice for the buffet, and the evening meal was high standard. Again as a solo traveller I felt overlooked for drinks service. Snorkelling was average. When passing on my comments to the management I was offered a free one night stay to be added on to my next booking with them. I explained that with so many other much nicer resorts to visit, and with the comments above, why would I return here? I believe they do have return guests who are treated much better than first time visitors and I wonder if these guests have actually experienced other resorts in the Maldives. There are many other resorts in this price bracket which are much better than this.

The Bungalow we stayed was very nice. But the management is very disorganized. They are very biased and treat the local expats visiting very differently than the internationals. Issue 4 is very important. Please read. The issues I had with them were: 1. The boat had to pick us up at 11.15 am. Instead, we started at 12:30 pm. We were very hungry and reached there around 1.30pm. We were asked to go to have food immediately before even checking in. 2. We had booked a 3-person package, and the rooms were not even ready for the third person. We had to request many times for them to come organize the room. 3. Food was very average. The quality was very poor. They told me it would be a Maladivan buffet, which we were very excited about. But most of the main dishes were just fish. People who won't eat fish had to eat just salad, and some side which was very disappointing. 4. Ara Iru Restaurant has a dress code which we were not informed beforehand. I was wearing a crop top and the manager came to me and asked me *"Where is your shirt?!!"*. Fricking unacceptable behavior. This is not the way of confronting a guest. Whereas there were many internationals wearing crop tops and sleeveless dresses. Such a biased behavior. 🚫 5. We asked around to buy a full bottle of liquor. But later decided not to get it because of its high price. But they charged for it and was added in the final bill. We had to prove to them that we didn't get the bottle. Poor management. 6. They told us all the meals were included for the stay. We stayed for one night and the next day around 10am they told us lunch is not included and we had to pay for it. 7. We had our boat at 14:00pm. Since they told us lunch is not included. We decided to take the 10.30am boat back to Male city. So we had to hurry our check out and pack everything in a hurry. Very very stressful and disappointing. 8. They give high preference to internationals and are very eager to make money out of everything. Fricking expensive for this bad and stressful experience. When confronted at the reception telling them I'll be giving them a bad review they smirked and said go on. This is the level of attitude they have. Completely not acceptable and very disorganized management. Overall, I would never go back.

From the moment you are picked up at the airport in the hotels speedboat, everything is luxury, and you really do not have to think about a thing. This island resort only had 38 bungalows, so limited numbers. If you are looking for quiet and relaxation this is the place for you. No tv, but Wi-Fi, if you need it. We had a bungalow directly on the beach, with a shared area with chairs and a swing, and sunloungers at the water. Rooms are large, and ours had had a refurbished shower, and although not outside was amazing. We were on all inclusive, and plenty of choice for food at every meal, and plenty of choice at the bar, you can have drinks not included, but need to pay for these. But we found such a great choice that we didn't need to. Great service in the bar from Abib. The resturant was self service buffet for breakfast and lunch, but our waiter was always looking after us with drinks, coffee etc, nothing was too much trouble. At night we had a full served meal, with one night sitting outside by the ocean, and another night was a bbq. Big shout out to Ismail, who really made our holiday. If you had to describe paradise this place comes very close, after 12 days travelling around India, coming to Makunudu was amazing.

This hotel is utterly charming. There are only 37 bungalows so not crowded, and the staff are what really make this paradise perfect. When you get on the boat at Malé you are given a nice cool towel and a bottle of water. When you arrive someone is waiting at the jetty with star garlands made from leaves. During check in you are given another towel and a delicious iced tea. The team work really hard and give you a personalised service. The beaches are pristine white sand with turquoise water. Snorkel equipment is available to borrow (no deposit), including full face masks. I'm not sure what the situation is for scuba gear, or kayaks. The bungalows are a perfect size. A HUGE bed, a partly al fresco bathroom, deckchairs, and sun loungers. Feels private, and you are only seconds away from the water. There's a handy tap at the back to rinse the sand from your feet. If my bathroom door was open I could hear my immediate neighbour in the shower or flushing the toilet. 5/7 days dinner is from a set menu. Soup, appetisers, fish/chicken/vegetarian mains, choice of 2 puddings and tea/coffee. There is a Madivian buffet on a Tuesday (delicious curry from a live cooking station) and BBQ on Fridays (which I'll miss as I'm heading home). The sandbar serves soft drinks, coffee, alcohol and snacks during the day. The flora and fauna are marvellous. 20+ hermit crabs by my back door. Crabs on the beach during the evening. Cheeky herons throughout the day and night. Sharks by the jetty during the early evening. Lizards/geckos, noisy birds with huge feet, plus the fish in the clear water. The place is kept really clean. Housekeeping came twice a day. I would just suggest a broom is added to the rooms so that any sand we've traipsed in can be dealt with straight away by us guests! We had rain for the first day or so and the staff kept apologising! It is warm rain and it's so peaceful. We went to the Maldives following a week in India and it was just the tonic we needed. I wish I had the names of the super staff to give them the credit in this review. Interestingly, I only saw 2 female members of staff, the team is effectively all male. What stopped this being a 5* review is that in spite of telling them on arrival that I was checking out the day after the date listed on their forms, and being told "that's fine", they expected me to leave a day early. I'm not sure being on the phone to the travel company at 21:30 is what I needed. Then, they asked me to check out at 05:30 for a 13:20 flight (almost 8 hours beforehand, despite it being a 45 minute journey from the island to the airport). They told me the boat wouldn't be back until 13:00. I appreciate that journeys need to be efficient but this really takes the biscuit. Perhaps they needed my room for a quick turnaround, who knows? My usual waiter wasn't at my last breakfast, I was disappointed. This meant I waited 17 minutes to be offered coffee. I had already eaten and needed to go back and finish packing so just had a quick sip. Again, a disappointing end to a good trip.