Viluveli Holiday Retreat

Like the room n view of my room n food

Dinner night n sandbank

Common areas and our room were beautiful, room was spacious, beds were very comfortable, view from our room was great, food was okay. However, the island itself was very disappointing. If you're planning a visit to Hanimaadhoo, read this. Despite being one of largest Maldives islands with an airport, Hanimaadhoo seems almost deserted. There's very few locals around and almost no tourists: I saw 4 foreigners inside hotel and didn't meet any on the streets. Large swathes of land with very few people here or there. There is no (real) bikini beach on Hanimaadhoo, not anymore. Manager told me they removed all sunbeds and everything from bikini beach. Now the "bikini beach" is just a hard to reach piece of sand with nothing on it (no beds, no shades) and not a single person there. There is no house reef, only a few small corals and fishes. It's shallow for 500 meters (20 min of swimming), after that there's no drop-off = nothing to see there either. It's a large island, unlike other Maldivian islands you may need to walk 1-2 kilometers or call a taxi to get where you want. For example, to get to an ATM – there’s no ATM in the village, only in the airport. I wanted to dive, but there were no divers except me! Hanimaadhoo has two dive centers: Barefoot Dive Center, which only serves clients of Barefoot Eco Hotel, and Hanimaadhoo Dive and Watersports which serves everyone else. I went to the latter and found I was the only diver who wanted to dive in the next several days = only diver on Hanimaadhoo, except possibly Barefoot. This is not the fault of Viluveli, I just want to inform other travelers who are considering to stay on Hanimaadhoo. Barefoot customers may have a different experience, they at least have a nice beach. I decided to cut my stay short and leave Hanimaadhoo asap, earlier than planned.

If you're planning to visit Hanimaadhoo, read the above (placed there to avoid review size constraints). What I didn't like in Viluveli: manager of this hotel is a sneaky person trying to squeeze every dollar out of clients: 1. As mentioned above I decided to cut my stay short. The booking was not refundable at this point, so I lost money, but Booking.com didn’t charge Environment Tax ($6 per person per night). Yet, manager insisted I must pay tax for the full length of stay, including the unused nights. Why - because I paid via Booking.com. How is one related to the other? I didn't pay this tax to Booking.com. Government takes the tax. Pretty sure he will inform government that clients left early and pocket the money for 2 nights. 2. During argument about tax, he said the tax is for each period of 0:00 - 23:59. It’s not true: Booking calculates it as $6 per person per night. 3. He wanted to get paid in dollars or euros, not Maldivian rufiyaas (MVR). When he saw I don't have full sum in rufiyaas, he said he can only accept full payment in MVR or full payment in USD, not partial. It was clearly a trick to make me pay in USD. Having seen the manager clearly lie to me in points 2 and 3 above, I don’t believe I needed to pay government tax for unused days, he’ll probably pocket these money.

Czysto, schludnie,przyjazny uśmiechnięty personel. W razie problemów natychmiastowa pomoc. Lokalizacja obiektu przy samej plaży. Dla osób ceniących ciszę i spokój miejsce idealne!!

Dobre jedzenie ale monotonne , zwłaszcza śniadanie.

Pohodlná izba, priamo na pláži, ticho, nízka cena.

Gemütliches Hotel, direkt am Strand gelegen, sehr ruhig und prima zum entspannen

Alle Zimmer sind durch zwischen Türen verbunden, auch wenn diese abgeschlossen sind, wird das Zimmer dadurch sehr hellhörig

We travel internationally quite often, and for the price and location, Viluveli Holiday Retreat offers very strong value. The resort grounds are beautiful, peaceful, well-kept, and very zen. And Hanimaadhoo itself was a highlight. The sand on this island is the softest I’ve ever felt underfoot, almost like flour rather than traditional sand. It’s a unique texture that really stands out. Overall, this is a peaceful property in a beautiful location, and for the rate we paid, it delivered solid value. Travelers to local islands should build in flexibility for transfers and scheduling, which is part of the Maldives experience.

Breakfast was simple but appropriate for the price point. If you’re expecting a large resort buffet, this is not that, but it was perfectly adequate to start the day. There were some transition challenges following a recent management change, affecting booking and transfer coordination. To their credit, the new management did make efforts to resolve the issues once identified. Our greatest difficulty was around travel logistics — particularly arriving on a Friday, when flights and transfers to the island are more limited. There were also occasional minor language-barrier challenges when coordinating timing, especially since we were on a tight multi-island travel schedule.

Comfort & Design: The hotel territory is very green, cozy, and beautifully decorated. The rooms are excellent — very stylish, with a comfortable bed and a great bathroom. I felt very relaxed and comfortable inside. Wild Beach: Although the hotel doesn't have its own private beach and you have to follow the dress code in town (especially during Ramadan), the wild beach was a highlight for me. It was very cool to find a cozy spot under a palm tree right on the ocean shore with very few people around. I loved it! Local Amenities: It’s very convenient that there are two shops nearby where you can pay by card or phone. This is a big plus for a local island! Diving: There is a diving school close to the hotel. I didn't have time this trip, but I will definitely go there first thing when I return. Price: The price is very reasonable and fair for the level of comfort in the rooms. Cons: Food: I had half-board, but the food was way too spicy for me. There were no seafood options or a variety of fruits. Perhaps February is off-season, as I saw green mangoes and bananas still on the trees, but I hope for more variety next time. Service: Unfortunately, the trash in my room was never emptied during my 3-day stay. This is something the hotel should improve. Location context: Keep in mind it's a local island, so you need to walk a bit to the wild beach to wear a bikini. Overall: Despite the issues with spicy food and cleaning, I really liked this place. The cozy atmosphere, beautiful rooms, and that spot under the palm tree made it worth it. I will definitely be back!

Чистота, уют и очень внимательный персонал

Всё было хорошо

L’albergo ha stanze molto ben arredate, spaziose e dotate di tutto ciò che serve. Tutta la struttura è sempre pulita con una piccola piscina e comodi lettini. Ci hanno consentito di mangiare in gruppo proprio a bordo piscina sia la colazione che pranzo e cena. La cucina è Maldiviana ma c’è sempre anche la pasta. La scelta è limitata ma ben cucinata e quindi siamo sempre stati soddisfatti. La spiaggia bikini non è quella fuori dall’hotel ma a pochi passi neanche 100 mt. L’hotel ci ha fornito anche dei lettini. Il mare è bellissimo ma il reef un po lontano da raggiungere anche con le canoe che l’hotel fornisce. Il personale è stato sempre disponibile ed attento ad ogni nostra esigenza e richiesta. Ci hanno consentito di lasciare la stanza nel pomeriggio avendo il volo la sera. Complessivamente siamo stati benissimo ci hanno fatto sentire come in famiglia con gli amici conosciuti in struttura. Direi che il rapporto qualità prezzo è ottimo

Potrebbero migliorare l’organizzazione di snorkeling sul reef magari accompagnando gli ospiti con una barchetta. Si raccomanda di aggiornare i cataloghi delle escursioni per evitare equivoci spiacevoli.

The manager Riyad and his team was amazing , good hospitality .

The out of yard smoking area . Would prefer to stand on the balcony and smoke .

L ambiance cool et familiale et le cadre cosy.

To start off we stayed her for 3 nights after a liveaboard dive trip during the off season. we were looking to rest and relax and we got that. The room was comfortable the bed was two twins put together but pretty comfortable. Great shower. English was only spoken by the nice gal in reception but she is only there from 8:30 - 6:00. Nothing against the staff we found this true on the island in general. Wi-Fi is good we did stream video with no issue. we couldn't see the beach because of the lush vegetation but you are a 1 min walk. Breakfast was from 8:30 - 9:30 and was buffet style. a mix of local food plus hard boiled eggs, cereal, yogurt and rotated with pancakes or french toast. Convenient to town but there isn't much there. We ate lunch and dinner at a cafe that was about a 5 min walk. If you just want to unwind and don't need to be waited on this is a good to place to stay by Hinamaadhoo standards. Make sure you have a copy of your paid receipt. at checkout we were asked to pay for our stay, I had the Travelocity receipt and there was no further discussion.

Viluveli is a great choice for a relatively low budget retreat with much of the perks of more luxurous locations. Its located few feet from a gorgeous sandy white beach and spectacular blue waters. This is usually accompanied with a constant refreshing breeze from the sea and you could just sit at the beach to enjoy the view and cool relaxing wind for hours. Also despite being so close to the beach its also relatively close to the heart island. Most of the shops and eateries are a 15 minute walk away so you are not trapped in a remote location and can easily get back to civilization. There is a reasonably sized clean swimming pool which can be refreshing as the sea itself maybe difficult to swim for some inexperienced swimmers due to the relatively strong waves which are present most of the day. They also offer free snorkelling gear for those interested. The staff is friendly and quite helpful. The wifi is great with good connectivity. The room was clean and comfy as well with overall good service.

Given the relatively low cost of the property and the services provided and the great location there isn't much to really complain about, but there are a few things I would note just to inform future guests. Firstly, they do not offer 24 hour restaurant services. They have a relatively limited breakfast menu, still the food is good quality and tasty even if it is only a few items. Lunch and dinner can be pre-ordered and it has to be pre-ordered around an hour in advance so that they can prepare the food and you can have the meal in the main eating area. The choice of food here too is quite limited to fried rice/noodles and few beverages. Also since the location has a decent amount of greenery and vegetation you can expect a few insects such and ants, dragon flies or other bugs in the pool area. It is a small local establishment with limited resources and you can feel it in the services they offer, but they do seem to be doing their best and everyone was genuinely friendly and helpful. None of these are a deal breaker and are just minor nit picks. Really enjoyed our stay.

. Well-built property in a good location.

Room and bed sheets were not clean. Bad smelling toilet with accumulated dust here and there. Dining room full of flies. Staff with dirty clothes. Did not provide drinking water. The manager was very rude. The manager tried to cheat by claiming additional payment.

there was nothing to like about this property. avoid it!

we booked this property from booking.com and as a special request we requested to (1) pick us up from the airport (2) arrange for midnight checkin, as our domestic flight to Hanimaadhoo (island on which hotel is located) lands on midnight. The hotel confirmed that they will accommodate our request. To confirm we tried to call the property, mobile was switched off. Hence, again I contacted the hotel through booking.com, and the hotel confirmed that they would pick us up from the airport and would accommodate midnight check-in. We were new to the island but relaying on the hotel we didn't book any taxis. When we landed, no one from hotel came to pick us up. we called over 10 times to the contact number on the booking.com and Facebook page, however they didn't pick up. A kind enough taxi driver offered a ride to the property. However the property was locked and a guy was sleeping on lobby sofa. We woke him up but he stated that he's not expecting and accepting any guests as the place were packed. We told him that we had confirmed the booking. He stated that he's not the one who deals with booking and that “he would wake his mother up” When he came back he refused, once again, to let us in and blamed booking on glitch of booking.com. We clearly stated that, the hotel has responded to our messages and hence it's evident there was no glitch. While we were about to get in to taxi, then came out the “mother” with this emotion 🤷🏽‍♀️ - “I don’t know, I don’t care”. She stated that check-in time is 11:00 in the morning and we should come back then. When we asked her, if that was so why the hotel responded to our requests and confirmed that they will pick us up from airport and arrange for midnight check-in, her only answer was “I will check”. To this day the Hotel has not contacted us. She was rude, unapologetic, unhelpful and so full of herself.