Plenty of Maldives resorts to choose from nowadays, so where to stay in Maldives is a difficult question to answer. Every resort is unique and has its own style and so is Kanuhura Island Resort & Spa. In this review I will take you with me to my trip to Maldives late November 2018.
My trip to Maldives in November 2018 lasted 22 days and in total I visited 5 Maldives islands. All resort islands this time. It was my 4th trip to Maldives and in the past I have also visited local islands. Have a look at my Fulidhoo travel blog or my Hulhumale Island guide. Comparable luxury resorts in Maldives to Kanuhura are Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort, Kuramathi Island Resort or one of my favorite resorts in Maldives: Lux South Ari Atoll.
How to get to Kanuhura Maldives
To get to Kanuhura Resort you will need to take a seaplane from the seaplane airport in Male. As soon as you land at Velana International Airport in Male, the Kanuhura representatives will be waiting for you. They will help you check in for your seaplane. The Trans Maldivian Airways check in desk is in the arrival hall as well. After your check-in a 5-minute bus ride will bring you to the seaplane airport where Kanuhura has a private lounge. I wanted to indulge on some sweets, fruit juices and pastries while waiting for my seaplane but before I even got settled we were already called to board.
Seaplanes arrive and depart at Kanuhura Island. As Kanuhura is a popular resort in Maldives with a high occupancy rate there are also a bunch of planes coming and going. Unfortunately these seaplanes make a hell of a noise. Therefore I would personally love to see seaplanes arriving a little away from the resort. Some high-end luxury Maldives resorts do this.
If you are looking for luxury resorts close to Male Airport then check out Kurumba Maldives or Adaaran Prestige Vadoo. Or when your budget for a Maldives holiday is a little less then try these resorts: Kuramathi Island Resort, Adaaran Club Rannalhi or Kandima Lifestyle Resort.
Kanuhura Maldives Resort vibe
How to describe the island vibe at Kanuhura? When I arrived the check in was performed in a kind of semi open air lounge kind of Ibiza style. This lounge is homey decorated with white furniture. A welcome drink was served and a team of staff members dressed in white was there for a warm welcome. You could feel the uncomplicated vibe straight away as we were introduced to the Kanuhura island and all its facilities.
Our villa host escorted us directly to our beach villa and pointed out some important areas on the island. The beach villa was very trendy decorated with some bright colors. The restaurants at Kanuhura are also all semi open air, a kind of feet in the sand experience.
Service
One of the things I liked about staying at Kanuhura Maldives was the provided service. Our villa host was always available for us, people all around the resort were super friendly and in restaurants the service was very professional and excellent.
This is a snap of our in-room dining experience at Kanuhura Resort.
Beach villas with pool
We stayed in a beach villa with a private pool. These villas are pretty spacious and are 120 square meter big. There is a little entrance hall and a walk-in closet, a semi outdoor bathroom, and a bedroom with a sofa that has a door to the outdoor patio and private pool. Our beach villa was on the beach and behind the private pool you walked right onto a very big beach that looked completely empty. Where are all the people I questioned myself!
The villas are pretty close to each other but there are bushes in and between that ensure a little privacy, but not completely. I was able to see through the vegetation and see my neighbours.
Semi outdoor bathroom
What I liked the most about my Kanuhura beach villa was the semi outdoor bathroom. It is walled all around and the outdoor shower was a blessing. Unfortunately it was raining a couple times when I was visiting, but that made me take an outdoor shower in the rain: heaven! The semi outdoor bathroom is big, I guess about 25 square meter and also has a big bathtub. The bathtub is big enough for 2 persons.
This is a Kanuhura overwater villa bathroom shot I took when I did a little site inspection. My bathroom at the beach pool villa, looked kind of the same.
Complimentary bikes
One of the most amazing feelings is cycling around Maldives islands. I know this sounds a bit weird as you may think islands are too small to bike and sandy. But cycling in Maldives always gives me such a happy feeling.
Wifi
All public areas at Kanuhura Island had wifi and so did our beach villa. But when you travel to Maldives I recommend you to buy a sim card at Male Airport. There you can find a local sim with 17GB data for just $25. There is a 4G signal on Kanuhura Island. Which makes you independent of WiFi signal when you travel to Maldives.
Restaurants Kanuhura Maldives
The Kanuhura Island resort was a dream for food lovers. There are multiple restaurants and I tried out most of them. On the last day I actually found out that there also was a coffee cafe. Very sad I missed it as I am a huge coffee fan. In my time I lived in Sydney on my working holiday visa I did a barista course.
A Mano
This is the main buffet restaurant that serves continental and Asian dishes. This is also were the breakfast is served. The breakfast is huge and there are loads of healthy options available which I love. All kind of nuts, fruits, and seeds. There is obviously also a grill station that cooks your eggs to order and pastries and pancakes and waffles. Too many options to choose from and therefore I love having breakfast in Maldives.
Prepare yourself for a 2 hour hotel breakfast. Click on the link to see more inspirational picture from luxury hotels around the world.
A Mano has buffet nights that are out of this world. I tried the sea food restaurant and I would definitely recommend it to you.
Cowry Bar
The place on the island to have lunch when you are lingering around the public pool. This pool bar serves refreshing and delicious salads and of course coconuts, my favorite thing to drink on a Maldives vacation. There is also a pool table.
Something I really valued was that the Italian executive chef from Kanuhura Island was always around, just like Suresh the food & beverage manager at Kanuhura Resort. Dinner, lunch and breakfast, this super friendly men always made sure their team was doing its utmost best to fulfil the needs of all guests.
Jehunuhura Island
A really cool addition to Kanuhura Island is Jehunuhura island, a little inhabited island just a good hundred meters away from the resort island. It is part of the Kanuhura Resort and there is a complimentary shuttle boat service between the islands.
At the private little island there is a restaurant called Drift Beach Grill, it is open for a unique lunch experience on a pristine little island.
Kanuhura Maldives Prices
Just as important as all the nice words about this Maldives resort are the Kanuhura Maldives prices. We are all dreaming about Maldives holidays so value for money is how to figure out the best resorts in Maldives.
I checked the Kanuhura prices for you for a random weekend in March 2019 and this is what I found:
Beach Pool Villa with breakfast, lunch and dinner: $1,900.
Beach Pool Villa All Inclusive: $2,250.
Water Villa with breakfast, lunch and dinner: $2,000.
Beach Pool Villa All Inclusive: $2,350.
All inclusive package Kanuhura
Personally I really like Maldives all inclusive packages as prices in Maldives are steep. There are resorts that charge over $20 for a fresh juice. Cocktails and wine are really expensive as well. For a standard lunch for two persons in Maldives resorts expect to pay around $50 per person. When you opt for the Kanuhura all inclusive package you will never have to look at prices and you can just order what you feel like.
Interested in reading some more reviews from luxury resorts in Maldives then check out: Soneva Fushi, Shangri La Villingili, Anantara Kihavah or Naladhu Private island.
Thanks for keeping up with Traveltomtom. May you have any questions about Maldives holidays Im always there to help you out. Leave me a comment.