The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands

10 years of traveling All across the world this is hands down the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at. Over many top resorts in the world. It’s absolutely fantastic and I’m extremely Grateful to be able to stay here. I will genuinely remeber this for the rest of my life and will definitely have my honey moon during Christmas here. This is an unforgettable experience and if you are reading this I advise you, you will not regret staying here, it will forever live within you. This hotel is nuts just with everything. Go during Christmas to new years time, you will enjoy!!! Thank you to everyone who made this experience amazing ! Our butler Malika was the best out of any property I’ve been given a butler at. I will come back soon!

This was our 2nd time in the Maldives and I'd say this stay was nothing short of spectacular!! Few call outs: 1. The staff is excellent and goes above and beyond to make your stay special. Everyone from Ford (our Aris Meeha), Ali and Audi (restaurant managers), Chef Abhay, Prince and Aiya, lifeguard Ramiz, Atai (the Shisha guy) - did everything in their capacity to make our stay memorable!! 2. The food is exellent. The Indian, Chinese and Japanese cuines were all some of the best we've ever had. It would be great if you the hotel could also bring in a Thai chef - I thought the menu lacked this. 3. The spa is outstanding!! On the negatives, the only thing I'd say is that the marine life imminently around the resort isnt that great. There are other resorts where the marine life is brimming with sharks, turtles, etc. All in all, we had an unblievable time there and really hope to be back there soon!!

The Ritz Carlton, Fari Islands is on (almost) all counts - absolutely mind blowing. Starting with the arrival experience, a seamless transfer to a luxury speedboat offering you a comfortable ride with a snackbox and drinks on demand set the tone for the rest of the trip. The room has to be the most spacious, well, appointed rooms we have ever stayed in. The fact that the sliding doors open up entirely allow you to have a feeling of expanse which is unparalleled. The uninterrupted views of the ocean are mindblowing - just be sure to get a room in which the view isn't completely covered with vegetation. The food across all outlets is also impeccable. We LOVED all of our meals at La Locanda, the Beach Shack, Arabesque, IWAU and the Summer Pavillion (as well as a private dinner which we arranged for ourselves on the beach!). While it's hard to pick, our favourites were probably the Chef's Table at IWAU (get the sake pairing), the Beach Shack and Summer Pavillion. What really makes this property standout though is the service. ALL the staff here go above and beyond. From a champagne bottle in your room on arrival, to additional dishes being thrown in for you to taste, to spa suite upgrades, to complimentary drinks to compensate for even the most minor of mishaps - the staff here will do whatever it is in their power to make your stay *absolutely delightful*. I have to call out the following people for going that little extra mile: Ausy from La Locanda, Jai from Eau Bar, Sippe from Summer Pavillion, Shaffaz from in-room / private dining, Chef Lamyai from in-room / private dining, Lahiru the sommelier at Eau Bar, and finally Shafraz at La Locanda. You guys are absolutely incredible! Tips which we wished we had been given: 1. Ensure your room has a view (and isn't completely covered with vegetation which our first room, #137, was) 2. Make sure you ask about special dinners / pop-ups which are being planned. There was a Maldivian Night and a Lobster + Champagne dinner that we were unaware of. 3. Make sure you check the "event list" in your room for other activities that are being planned. Again, we missed out on the wine tasting as we didn't realise it. 4. Arabesque and Tum Tum are in the Fari Marina village (not in the main island). It's hardly a 10 minute boat so it isn't obtrusive, but worth noting. 5. The Fari Marina Village also has other restaurants (run by the Patina Hotel) which seemed really nice but aren't promoted by the RC at all (for obvious reasons). 6. While the island is man-made and the reef life is still developing, there IS some interesting sealife on the island itself. You need to speak to various people to figure out what those locations are (and how to get there). 7. As a result of this, the snorkelling expeditions are a *must do*. We did both the Shark snorkelling and Turtle snorkelling and both were amazing. The latter is definitely easier from an intensity point of view, and you also get longer sightings given turtles are slower than sharks! While I will call out that the prices at the hotel really are reflective of a top 5 Maldivian resort, a vast majority of experiences are probably worth it (at least for special occasions). Thank you RC Fari Islands for an incredible 10th anniversary celebration for us. We will remember it for the rest of our lives.

This was a very special trip for us. We were celebrating our 20 year anniversary and a big birthday milestone. And I cannot envision any other place to end our trip, than at the Ritz Carlton in the Maldives. Everything was exceptional. There is not much more to say about this property than has what has been already said. And I understand that everyone's perspective is different. But we had an unbelievable stay at the Ritz. We stayed at the property for 9 days/8 nights. I'm a Bonvoy Platinum member and cashed in my points for 8 nights. And it was well worth it. Especially since being at any resort in the Maldives is extremely expensive. But throwing that aside. It was unbelievable. I used my points for an overwater villa and payed a bit more for a sunset view. Which was incredible! But a few days into our stay, on my husband's 60th birthday, the manager called our Aris Meeha (Ammadey) to speak with my husband to wish him a happy birthday. In doing so, they offered us a room upgrade to a 2 bedroom sunset beach villa suite. Which blew me away. And how could we turn that down. So during dinner, they moved our luggage to our new suite and Ammadey was communicating with me during dinner that our new villa was ready for our arrival, and to let him know when we were ready to be picked up by golf cart. UNBELIEVABLE. Ok...we do have some shoutouts to some of the amazing staff that really made our trip special. And I apologize ahead of time if we have misspelled their names. First of course was our Aris Meeha, Ammadey. He is AMAZING! He was very attentive. Communicating with us constantly thru WhatsApp. Especially since I came down with a cold and had to change our plans more than once. It's interesting, because even though my cold cleared out quickly, he knew when my husband's voice was becoming 'raspy'. (even when my husband didn't want to tell anyone he was coming down with my cold). I do have to say that each butler does manage 6 villas, and so that could be a bit overwhelming to some. But to Ammadey....he's a pro! Maria in management. At our prior resort we stayed at in Thailand, she was good friends with a manager there. And Poy in Thailand communicated with Maria about our arrival, and we got to spend some time with her, especially at the Bonvoy Elite Sunset Happy hour. That was amazing. And we are going to get the casing for diving for the iPhone!! Great Tip! Mafaz at the airport. Thank you for assisting us to getting us to our flight. Aly...room service staff....we missed you when we were transferred to our new room. Jean at breakfast/happy hour...I could chat with you for hours. Especially since you grew up in Asia and we just came from Thailand. Other names are Shaan, Yammu, Musto, Isko, Rudi and Ismail, Ahnaf, Lamyai and Maantey..thank you for our unforgettable private sunset dinner. I will remember that for the rest of my life. Mahalo Nui Loa! Thank you to all the staff and management in creating in unbelievable memory. To wrap things up. We had an amazing trip. The food was exceptional. Our favorites were of course breakfast. The Beach Shack. Eau Bar. And if you can splurge it. The private sunset beach dinner is Exceptional!! So special. Activities. Unfortunately we couldn't dive because I couldn't equalize my ears. But the snorkel excursions were exceptional. Highly suggest doing more than one. And what we saw during our snorkels were amazing. Even the dolphin sunset cruise was really fun. I do have to say, being a newer resort with a 'manmade reef', snorkeling off the overwater villa was disappointing. We stayed at the Conrad Maldives in 2019, and they had better snorkeling off the room. But we love being in the water and being from the NW part of the States. It's amazing to be in warm water in November/December. Lastly. The Ritz does offer a complementary 1 hour photo shoot. Take advantage of that! It's a trip of a lifetime! You do have to pay for most of the pics, it's really pricey. But the memories are priceless. And I do have to say. For those that are LGBTQ. We felt at home. No issues. And that meant a lot. And is part of our memory.

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of staying at several stunning resorts in the Maldives, such as One&Only Reethi Rah,Shangri-La's Villingili Resort,The St. Regis Maldives, **Jumeirah Olhahali Island, andKuda Villingili Resort. Each of thes The overwater villas at these properties were consistently spacious, elegantly designed, and offered breathtaking views of the turquoise lagoons. Every detail was thoughtfully crafted to provide a sense of comfort and sereni At the Ritz-Carlton Maldives, I found the same impressive design and natural beauty in the resort itself. The architecture and surroundings were undeniably stunning, and the dining staff, in particular, were extremely courteous, friendly, and eager to help, which added warmth to the overall experience. However, I must highlight some challenges I faced during my stay. The resort seems to lack professional staff and effective management that ensures a seamless and comfortable guest experience. Unlike other resorts, there was no clear point of contact with management or a reception desk where I could directly address any concerns or make decisions regarding my stay. The absence of proactive engagement from management was noticeable. Throughout my stay, no one inquired about my satisfaction or any needs I might have. If I needed something, I had to rely on the personal butler assigned to me, who acted as the intermediary with management. Unfortunately, while the butler was kind and willing to assist, they appeared overwhelmed and unable to address everything effectively. The lack of a cohesive management structure left me feeling that guest satisfaction was not prioritized as it should be in a resort of this caliber. In conclusion, while the resort offers incredible natural beauty and exceptional dining staff, the management and overall guest experience fell short of the high standards I’ve come to expect from luxury resorts in the Maldives.