Ozen By Atmosphere At Maadhoo

We just returned from our trip to Ozen where we stayed from May 15 till May 24. To be honest, I would rate the whole experience as a 4.5, but since Tripadvisor doesn't have half stars, I lean towards a 5-star rating mostly thanks to the amazing staff. Everyone we encountered was very diligent, hard-working, attentive, and caring. The service was simply over the top—probably the best we have ever experienced in our 5 trips to the Maldives. A massive thank you to our butler, who goes by the cute nickname Forty. Whatever we needed or had questions about, he would answer within minutes. He kindly arranged a complimentary upgrade to a Beach Villa with a pool for us when we arrived, and later arranged a move to a Water Front Villa for our last day. I want to mention the staff who made our stay so enjoyable, as many of them work different shifts across the resort and truly try to do their best: Moothamin, Maria, Ali, and Rejean at the bar. Sajan is an amazing juice maker who prepared freshly squeezed juices for us every morning. Hakeem and Erika, the managers in charge of the main buffet, do a fantastic job. Sunny, the Indian chef, runs the Indian restaurant and also prepared the most delicious Indian breakfasts in the main buffet. Finally, Ekaterina the DJ played very cool music that added to the beautiful ambiance. Apologies if I missed anyone, but they all deserve recognition. The positives: The food and drinks are top-notch everywhere. A lot of great things are included in the package, like organized snorkeling tours, and sunset and fishing cruises (which we didn't take, but I'm sure many enjoy). Getting 6 massage vouchers per room was also a fantastic touch. Regarding the villas and the beach: We have been to the Maldives 5 times, usually taking a seaplane to islands much farther away. Ozen's sand felt more compact and firm compared to the massive, powder-soft beaches on more natural islands, though the water colors are still spectacular. Our Beach Villa was very comfortable to sleep in (they have a big mesh net against mosquitos around the bed), but there isn't much useful space inside. After all, who comes to the Maldives to spend time inside? The private plunge pool was very handy for a morning dip or during the hot day. However, it wasn't really possible to spend time outside on our patio during the day due to mosquitos. They do spray daily and provide natural repellent, but it didn't seem to be very efficient. Also, we couldn't always swim in front of the beach villa because the ocean recedes quite a bit, making it very shallow. We spent our last 24 hours in a Water Front Villa, and it is a completely different experience. Normally we prefer to have the beach right in front of us, but at Ozen, the water villas are a much better option in our opinion. First of all: no mosquitos! The villa feels very private, the overall design is much cozier and more inviting than the beach villa, and you get a beautiful, unobstructed view of the ocean with fish swimming right in front of your eyes. All in all, we loved our stay. Despite the mosquito situation on the beach side, the top-quality dining and the incredibly caring staff made it a wonderful trip.