The trek from the United States (specifically in my case, Seattle) to the Maldives is not one for the faint of heart. We took 3 planes just to get to our tiny paradise for a week. I carefully picked out this resort after narrowing it down from the hundreds of options. If you missed my prior post about how to pick your resort in the Maldives, check that out here:
How I chose my resort in the Maldives
Getting there
Wherever you come from in the world, you will all land in Male, the capital island of the Maldives at the Velana International Airport. If you have a window seat, be sure to check out all the islands from your window. Customs is a breeze. I was through customs in about 10 minutes. When you exit the airport, be ready for chaos! There are about 85 stands for all the resorts. I got a bit lost trying to find the stand to check in for Kuredu. Kuredu is one of the back stalls (I believe stall number 56?). Kuredu is owned by the parent company Crown & Champa Resorts, which also own:
- Hurawahlhi Island
- Komandoo Island Resort and Spa
- Meeru Island Resort and Spa
- Mirihi Island Resort
- Veligandu Island Resort and Spa
- Vilamendhoo Island Resort and Spa
Travel Tip: Be sure to let Kuredu know at least a week before your arrival what your arrival and departure information are so they can coordinate your seaplane transfer.
Once checked in, we were led to the Kuredu lounge while we waited for our seaplane transfer. After about 25 hours of travel, we ended up having to wait another 2 hours before our seaplane transfer. The seaplane is small and seats about 12 people. The flight to Kuredu is about 40 minutes. I have never been on a seaplane before. It was loud, cramped and warm, but I was so happy to be heading to an island paradise for a week.
Mini Resorts within a Resort
Kuredu is one of the larger islands in the Maldives. One of the cool things about the resort that I didn’t know until we arrived was that they created a “resorts within a resort” experience. We were provided colored wristbands at check in. The burgundy wristband is the one you want! Anyone staying in the water villa with the all inclusive package are allowed in every part of the resort, pools, bars, restaurants, etc.
1. Sangu: Sangu is what our “resort” was called. Included in our resort are all the water villas, an infinity pool, a bar and a restaurant. During the day, everyone on the island can eat at any of the resort restaurants. At night, you have to call ahead to make a reservation at another resort’s restaurant. The best part about being a part of the Sangu resort was that we were the ONLY ones allowed to use the pool. In my opinion, our pool was the best! It is the only infinity pool on the island and was also the least crowded. Sangu is also adult’s only, which was also another plus.
2. O: The O resort is the newer part of the island. They consist of a bunch of beach bungalows, a pool a bar and restaurant that is right at the edge of the water. This was my favorite restaurant to eat at because you could sit at a table outside overlooking the water. The bar also had these really cool loungers underneath fans where we enjoyed a few drinks.
3. Main resort: This area was the most crowded of the three areas. There is a pool (which was packed the one day we went to relax there), 2 buffets, 3 dining restaurants and several bars.
Overwater Villa
One of the requirements for visiting the Maldives was that we stay in an overwater villa. There are roughly 30 overwater villas and on only one side of the island.
When you walk in, the main room is pretty large and spacious. There are two lounging style chairs, a small desk, a TV and an armoire. Since we had all inclusive, most of the fridge items were included for us and we were able to use the Nespresso machine.
The bathroom is a decent size as well with an open shower and double sinks. I really had no complaints about our room, there were just come quirky things with the villas not being brand new. We had to push on our front door as we unlocked it to get it and the back sliding door was a bit hard to open and close. The back deck area was our favorite part. Unobstructed views straight off the deck, two lounger chairs on the sun porch, a day bed and a table and chairs on the porch. We spent most of our time when in our room, outside!
Overall, I highly recommend experiencing an overwater villa at least once in your life! Waking up to the sound of water is the best thing ever.
Food options
I was worried at first when we booked the all inclusive that the food options at the buffets would be repetitive or not good. However, we were pleasantly surprised with the spread at every meal.
At any given meal, you can expect to find about 6-8 hot items, 3 options that a chef will cook for you, 5-6 salads, breads, fruits and dessert. Especially at breakfast, I found myself gravitating toward certain items like: grilled mushrooms, tomatoes, croissant, eggs, and fruit. I ate my weight in dragon fruit (because when can you get dragon fruit without paying $6 for one in the US). I tried passionfruit (which I decided I don’t like so I will stick to the passionfruit Ellenos Greek yogurt!). The dinners were awesome! Every day they would have a sign displayed for what the food theme for dinner would be. The ones that stand out to me are: Mexican night, Maldivian night and Sri Lankan night. I made sure to focus on trying foods from Maldives and Sri Lanka that I hadn’t had before!
Paid Restaurants:
Travel Tip: If you have the all inclusive package, you can get 50% off of the paid restaurants!
- Beach Shack: This is your classic seafood restaurant with a bunch of great vegetarian options as well. You can enjoy your meal right on the beach!
- The Far East: You can choose from teppanyaki or sushi. We had a craving for sushi and got to enjoy it right on the beach staring at the stars.
- Franco’s: Franco’s is a mediterranean restaurant that has Spanish, Greek and Italian inspiration
- The coffee shop: This isn’t really a restaurant but you can order delicious espressos, teas, beer and its all right at the end of the pier with the best views of the setting sun. We went at night and discovered they have a light in the water so you can sit and watch all the fish.
Activities
The thing about the Maldives is that everything costs money. The amount of money you pay when you get to the resort is up to you. There are kayaks, jet skis, paddleboards, wind surfing, snorkeling, etc.
There is also a small 8 hole golf course and driving range. My husband loved playing one of the days. The 8 hole course is actually pretty challenging because the grass is actually turf! We also had the outdoor golf bar to ourselves.
There are also two spas on the island. We booked a couple’s spa because, duh, honeymoon. Even though they had us fill out the questionnaire, they didn’t necessarily concentrate on the areas we said needed attention but I think did their regular routine.
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