Athuruga can only be described as a holiday paradise. You’ll discover a s small, intimate Island with great character only 250 metres long, you can walk around in 10 mins. I booked the Over Water Villa for our Honeymoon. I was expecting a great deal but what I experienced was more & actually exceeded our expectations. Its not often you can say that ! The OWV is luxurious accommodation with large decking area leading to steps into the ocean. Cleaned & changed out daily by our lovely housekeeper Nazeer. Wifi /mini bar walk in wardrobe. From the moment we arrived until we left you really feel like a VIP. Upon arrival we discovered our bed made up with” Happy Honeymoon” adorned all over, champagne on ice & a congratulations card from the Resort manager. The best is the wide sliding doors opening up to the view of the Indian Ocean…amazing ! As a previous member mentioned …the stand out highlight is Athuruga’s team. The staff at the bar, restaurant , housekeeping, water sports & management team were incredible & couldn’t have done more to make our holiday feel so special. Thanks to all of them but Saba at the bar & Naish at the restaurant stood out. I must mention the food also…fresh fish each day marinated & grilled simply delicious. The restaurant has a different theme each evening eg Italian, Maldovian…. Such a vast range of cuisine, you will never be disappointed. The OWV restaurant has a better range of fine wines & is table service. The waiting staff look after you so well. The snorkelling on the reef is outstanding. The first time I snorkelled I couldn’t believe the marine life on show. Many different types of fish with an array of colours you’ll never get bored of, I was lucky enough to see a 5ft black tip reef shark swam right in front of me. You may also see turtles, Rays, eels. It’s perfectly safe to snorkel on the reef yourselves but each day the water sports team do an accompanied snorkel on the reef which is free part of the holiday package. To conclude : Simply the best location, along with the best staff & the best food. I hope to visit again in the next few years. If you can a must visit. …
This was a fabulous holiday destination. We had a beach room, fully air-conditioned with an outdoor bathroom and private balcony straight out onto the beach. Beautiful ocean views. The room was cleaned twice daily and bathroom and beach towels changed at least once a day. My dressing gown was also changed regularly and lovely crispy sheets were replaced daily, The food was very good with a huge buffet so there was something for all tastes. The restaurant theme changed every day. The snorkelling is excellent and I went swimming with sharks. We also went on a sunset fished trip when we caught lots of red snapper and a dolphin cruise. Kayaks, yoga mats, snorkelling gear, surf and paddle boards and catamarans are free to use.
Athuruga diamonds has it all.. house reef on your doorstep with, besides turtles, sting rays spotted eagle rays a huge variety of different fish. The foods outstanding from a la carte to buffet, even people that don't eat will eat here for sure with something for everyone. Service is impeccable with the most pleasant and friendly staff. The accommodation is luxury from beach villas to their over water villas... The island is small with everything easily accessable. The Bar, the restaurant, dive shop and entertainment area all within a stroll from each other. The safe and protected swimming beach is great for kids and more than sufficiently replaces the need for a swimming pool which they haven't got. Their "all in" package is excellent and includes all popular alcoholic drinks such as wines, beers, whiskey, gin etc. water and cool drinks aplenty. We've been to many different resorts and islands in the Maldives but rate this as one of the better ones if not the best. Strongly recommended!…
We had 2 weeks over Christmas on Diamond Athuruga. This is a beautiful island with one of the best reefs we have seen in the last 10 years. We prefer a beach villa and were in a Junior Suite Villa. We selected this because it came with wifi. The villa was spacious, clean and opened to an amazing beach. The food was amazing and every day/night over Christmas the team went out of their way to create a special theme or event. The grill is an absolute highlight and if there for Christmas you will enjoy the most spectacular feast. The best thing by far on Athuruga is however, their team. Everyone is super friendly and what is lovely is that they enjoy the island and events as much as you do. You are made to feel like you are part of a big family. Things to highlight: the reef is regenerating and has lots of new corals, a lot of colourful fish, turtles, a large pod of stingrays, an eagle ray, lots of black and white tip reef sharks +++; all villas are amazing but be aware that the standard beach villa does not have wifi and you will need to go to the reception or bar area for connectivity. Christmas attracts a lot of Italian families. This make for a lovely festive feel but can be quite loud. The island has an amazing lagoon which is calm and like a big pool. You can canoe, stand up board, do laps and its great for kids. There is talk about putting in a pool on the island. I think this would be a pity and will spoil it. Dont do it! Consider to put wifi in all rooms instead and leave the island as is. A special call out to Sabarish who was the best barman every! Also…
Had two very special weeks staying in a wonderful beach villa, the island is perfect for a truly relaxing Break. The staff were all very friendly and helped make our holiday special (thanks especially to Sabarish in the main bar he is a big asset and is so friendly and good fun). The food is amazing with lots cooked to order, sometimes not warm enough for us but that's buffet food. Total brilliant holiday would love to return one day.
A great little island, a proper Maldivian get away. No TV, no swimming pool, just perfect to relax. Very good beach with fine soft sand. Excellent buffet and a BBQ cooking station with freshly caught fish, chicken and succulent beef, and fresh delicious pizzas served every day. All cooked and served by the wonderful Athuruga restaurant team. You should be so proud of your team Monsieur Perrin. They are the best. The boys serving at the beach bar are also outstanding and they remember every drink you have and always served with biggest smiles. Our beach bungalow was of a good size but the decor is looking tired, furniture with peeling paint and out door bathroom could do with being replaced. We had a fabulous 2 week stay and have just returned home totally relaxed. Well done Diamonds Athuruga. Send our special wishes to our waiter Abdulla , a real star…
You feel like the most important person in the world from the first step when you arrive to this magical island. Interior decoration of this place is like a dreamland. We were in beach bungalow, nr. 2, it has very big sandy beach and very nice interior. The bed and linen and general room fittings are luxurious, the bed is huge and the most comfortable I have ever slept in. - Staff is so friendly and we cannot thank them enough. Especially Shahir our waiter who took special care for us and served our wishes, he is such a great person. We were celebrating my birthday and they made it a really special occasion. Every dining was wonderful experience. There are different theme evenings with special culinary experiences. Three different live cooking actions: appetizer, main course, grill barbecue with many kind of fishes. Try the red snapper. Italian cuisine and local specialties available every day. The guys in the bar are always so nice and friendly. Best ever beach with crystal clear water.The house reef is amazing with many many colorful fishes. Snorkeling is so much fun due to the variety of fish and alive corals. It’s amazing and one of the best in terms of marine life. We will most certainly be visiting again. Many thanks to the team making our holiday perfect!…
We stayed in November, 3 nights in beach bungalow and 2 nights water villa and we were meant to stay 2 nights in the suite but they offered us 2 nights in the sister resort which was a lovely gesture. Out of the two we definitely preferred Atharuga. The accommodation is amazing, the privacy of the beach bungalows make it so surreal, and the outdoor shower is a real feature. The water villa was tremendous and the views are to die for and this was a great place to get engaged which we did! We seen loads of wildlife including a turtle and eagle rays which came right up to the shore. The food is the best food we’ve ever had it is so fresh and the bbq live cooking is amazing. We couldn’t get enough of it. Our waiter Ahmed, a special mention he was so helpful, always checking up on us and just having general conversation which is lovely. All the staff were brilliant and they really do look after you. The bar was a great place to relax and enjoy the World Cup and the staff were always checking if you need another drink. The entertainment was great as you might think because it is such a small island you may get bored but we certainly didn’t. Again it is definitely the staff that make the stay 5 star, we can’t wait to come again and have already been recommending the place to friends.…
We spent in the hotel an amazing week.Everything was great. The hotel is placed on a beautiful Ari Atol. The villas and the rooms are very nice and cosy. We had a fantastic view on the ocean and a nice beach with a white sand in front of our terrace. The crew was super nice and helpful. I was very nicely surprised by the surprises they made on my birthday day. The food is delicious. Titu is a master chef preparing great grilled fish and meat, Abdulla - super nice and helpful waiter, the cook making salads offers really great choice of them, decorated with the wide smile. I also recommend SPA , particularly balinese or Adam & Eve massage. Sport center offers the equioment for snorkling, SUPs, kayaks, yoga sessions and other activities. We spend a great time there , really enjoyed with the stay and felt tge great care. Hope to come back again soon.…
We stayed here for 3 nights at the end of our honeymoon trip. It was lovely but by no means the perfect finale to our honeymoon we had planned or expected. It is the Maldives so the island itself it beautiful. It is picture perfect and exactly what you see/expect from the Maldives. We stayed in a water villa, it was lovely and the room itself was clean and comfortable. That said there were a lot of small flies in the bathroom area. The curtains at the patio door a little mouldy and the external shutters dirty. Perhaps it shows more because it is all white. The food in the water villa restaurant was lovely and staff were attentive enough during service (the only criticism is that drink service can be a little slow). Out with the set meal times I did not see and wasn't aware of any snacks provided only the main bar for drinks. The biggest issue I have with the resort is the distinct lack of communication and the attitude of front of house staff. We had this 'perfect' end to our honeymoon planned for months. We sent several emails to the hotel none of which got a response (unless my husband called them at 0630 GMT). They did manage to provide the honeymoon package however, we had requested dinner on the beach on our first night and a few other things (all additional cost). On arrival we had to wait 2 hours to be shown to our room, we then discovered that the dinner on the beach had not been booked nor had any of the other things. We got a phone call to say that they could not book us in that night as it requires 24 hours notice (despite being emailed and called weeks in advance) they also said the weather was not great that night (it was fine) and in the end we settled for the following evening.... Romantic dinner on the beach with the first games of the World cup blaring in the background..... not quite what we had planned!!! We also asked in the emails we sent if we could have a late checkout, this was met with silence by email and phone calls. We asked when we got there and during our stay and in the end were told no which is fine however, we had to wait 2 hours to check into our room after we arrived on the island (we arrived 1500 got to our room at 1700) I can only assume this was due someone else having a late checkout. We were advised we could leave our luggage at reception and use the public shower prior to our departure (not until 1640) which meant we could still enjoy our last day. We went to get changed only to discover our luggage had been put on the boat, with staff looking blankly, my husband ended up going to retrieve our luggage so we could get changed . In all it was good, definitely not 5 star though with terrible communication which tainted the 'perfect' end to our honeymoon trip. …
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