Mövenpick Resort Kuredhivaru Maldives

We just returned from the most relaxing and enjoyable vacation at Movenpick Resort in the Maldives. The resort is physically beautiful and well-maintained by a staff that is the friendliest and most helpful we've encountered anywhere. We chose the Overwater Villa facing the lagoon. This roomy and well-equipped villa has a private infinity pool, a deck with lounge chairs from which you can enjoy incredible views, a ladder leading down to the lagoon itself and many amenities inside the spacious bedroom and bathroom. There were days when we chose to explore the many beautiful spots around the island and other days where we just enjoyed our pool and snorkeled in the sea outside the villa. As religous Jews, we had special requirements for Kosher food and this was where the Movenpick staff really shined. A week before our arrival, Chef Ricky met us over Zoom for a 30-minute conference during which we discussed the challenges of keeping Kosher and Shabbat in a remote island, completely cut off from any Jewish community. Chef Ricky assured us that the hotel would provide us with new pots and pans and cooking utensils and facilities for warming the food on Shabbat. When we arrived, Chef Maged met us with the pots and pans as promised, and waited while I immersed them in the sea (t'vilah). He then used these utensils to cook Kosher fish for us (tuna, cod, seabass, salmon), kosher pasta (De Cecco) with homemade tomato sauce, green salad, fruit salad. For breakfast, we were served omelettes and pancakes also specially prepared in our kosher pans. The resort has one kosher wine available (you can't bring alcohol to the Maldives): Unorthodox Sauvignon Blanc We sent food from Israel packed in dry ice, including steaks which Chef Maged prepared for us (in the second, meaty pan) and pre-cooked take-out food which he double-wrapped in foil and warmed in the oven. Obviously, people may have different standards of Kashrut and care should be taken to make sure that the food is prepared according to your standards, but we found that the wonderful staff at Movenpick did whatever they could to meet our requirements and give us a delicious and satifsfying experience. Aside from Kosher food, our experience with Movenpick was simply outstanding. When we arrived, we were greeted by the island hosts with beating drums, song, and hot towels. We were introduced to our island host, Humaid, who gave us a tour of the island and took us to our villa. For the entire stay, Humaid was avalable via WhatsApp or personally to discuss any needs or any assistance we required. Our reservation included a bunch of complimentary activities: 30 minute massages, use of mask/fins/snorkel for the duration of the stay, floating breakfast, mocktails, kayaking and more. There is also a chocolate hour every day from 4-5. The resort uses Callebout finest Chocolate from Belgium (certified Kosher). There is entertainment during the day and after dinner, featuring salsa wth Johanna and Roy. There are many, many other activities but these tend to be expensive and we were so busy with just enjoying the amazing beaches, pool and snorkeling on the home reef that we didn't feel the need to splurge. The resort was full and yet you never feel crowded. There are so many secluded areas where you can be alone if you want to. There are shaded paths leading around the island. You can explore on foot or order an electric buggy to take you from place to place. We also met couples from all over the world. Everyone was super-friendly and after a few days we began to feel totally at home. In fact, the most difficlut part of a trip to Movenpick Maldives is leaving it. Climbing into the seaplane on that last day is excruciating. Now that we're back at home in Jerusalem, we feel the Maldives beckoning us to return and I'm sure it won't be long before we return to its warm breezes, palm trees, sandy white beaches and dazzling tropical fish and the incredible staff that makes it all so beautiful.

Loved it all! The place was clean and well maintained. Everything was thought of carefully and well organized. All the staff were pleasant and helpful and made the stay unforgettable. Food was delicious! Variety was great. We had opted for full board and it was a good choice. The villas over the water was a dream come true! A special shout out to Shadwah our lovely host. 🥰 Minor needs: needed some air coolers or something at the meal areas and the music areas. It was really hot at nite when there is no breeze. The doorbells at the villas are really loud and makes u wonder if its for you and u end up opening doors. We were woken up twice on Sunday wee hours, due to the doorbell sounds next door. Not sure how they can fix though. Overall a great getaway at a beautiful place. 💖

We have chosen the hotel for its spacious 2 bedroom villas which are rare to find in Maldives. The villa was good indeed - Spacious, fresh with a nice and quite big private pool. Very comfortable air conditioning and overall very good. Another strong side of the hotel is kids club. It has its own pool and very interesting activities including cooking classes. All activities are free. Ekaterina and Guliya from Russia are super nice and professional. But food is definitely not a strong side of the hotel. There are only 3 restaurats in the resort (dont trust their web site 😅) and only 1 is open for lunch. The only tasty restaurant was Japanese (dinners only) which you need to book well in advance. So buffet will be your main spot for dinner. There is a good variety of food in the buffet but not so many tasty dishes except for Friday nights when the serve grilled lobsters. The 3rd restaurant - latitude (pool bar actually, open at lunch & dinner) has a short menu with a choice mostly between burger and pasta 😏 so for lunch we had to order room service and once got food poison. The beach and ocean is not so good compared to other resorts in Maldives. Too many sharp corals so you can hardly swim especially at low tide. Corals are grey (not interesting for snorkeling, but lots of fish including different types of shark (black tip, guitar) which swim in 2-3 meters away from the shore. Spa is good, but not more than that. Hotel offers some free activities: paddle board, tennis (located in staff living area) and chocolate hour with ordinary candies and sweets (why chocolate and not ice cream if its movenpick? 🤔). Also there is a cocktail with management team once a week. Overall service is relaxed. Waiter removed my plate but left used knife and fork for my next dish :) I think it describes the atmosphere there at its best. I don’t think we will come again. We didn’t understand the concept. They claim to create moments but we didn’t feel it.

It was one of the best experiences I've had in my life. Especially Shadwa who was very kind, attentive, receptive, polite and always available to help us, making our stay at the resort even more pleasant.

We were recommended Movenpick from friends who had previously spent their honeymoon there. After seeing the photos and videos of their experience it was an easy decision for us. Upon arrival we were greeted warmly from all of the lovely staff. We feel so lucky to have been assigned Donia as our island host. She made the experience so effortless for us and was accommodating to our every need. The resort itself is picture perfect, even amazing us still to the last day. Everything from the villa, the quality of the food, the cleanliness of the entire island and the beautiful staff made our experience all so memorable. We could not have imagined our honeymoon to be such a beautiful experience, and if we are lucky enough to travel back to the Maldives, going back to Movenpick will be an extremely easy choice for us.