Cinnamon Velifushi

Amazing stay at Cinnamon Velifushi! The hotel is located on an amazing reef with so much wildlife to see. If you are an avid snorkeler and interested in spending a lot of time in the water, I would recommend a sunset bungalow over a regular water bungalow as they are located right on the reef and you don't have to swim out to get there. The service was absolutely 5 star!! Amazing waiters, room service, housekeeping, groundskeeping, etc. Everyone was so friendly! S/o to Hameesh and Zaif from the restaurant as well as housekeeping Abdulah! The food was good and a good selection! We are vegetarians and that was not a problem except for one night that we ate dinner later and they ran out of most vegetarian options. I inquired and the supervisor and executive chef immediately came to me to apologize and tell me they would make me something vegetarian right away-- which they did! They said this is always an option so just to let them know! Super accommodating! They even set up a white tablecloth and had a nice desert for us to celebrate our anniversary! My biggest complaint is the condition of the rooms. They are certainly not 5 star. The bed was uncomfortable and the linens were not luxury (sheets and pillows appeared quite cheap and the towels were quite old). Additionally, the backside of the curtains facing the windows are covered in mold which is quite gross. It is expected that the bungalows need a lot of upkeep given the humidity and salt water, but this routine upkeep has not been maintained. Additionally, the lounge chairs on the deck of our bungalow were absolutely disgusting as well. Overall, the place could use a bit of a mini renovation, including repainting and deep cleaning. While it wasn't overly poor, it was not even close to a 5 star hotel room. One other disappointing moment was that you are definitely treated differently based on how much money you spend. For example, we arrived by boat (cheaper option) and waited quite a long time to be checked in. Some other guests arrived by sea plane (more expensive option) much after us and were immediately checked in and able to go to their room before we were! It didn't help that at dinner later I could see on their table they were staying in a more expensive room (they put your room number on your dinner table and the room numbers are allocated based on what type of accommodation you are staying in, with the 400s and 500s being the most expensive). Quite obvious! The island that the hotel is located on is so beautiful and so well kept. I wish they would capitalize on it a bit more as it was quite disappointing that there is a large outdoor villa area in the middle of the bungalows with the best sunset view that used to be the Marlin restaurant and is now empty and abandoned. Quite disappointing considering how beautiful and large of a space it is! We went for sunset one night and stood there to watch but it was a bit creepy how it was abandoned -- it would be perfect to have chairs to relax or to do yoga! They also didn't seem to capitalize too much on the beauty of the island when it came to other places to relax. During the sunniest and hottest part of the day, there is really no where to go in the shade except for the covered deck on your bungalow or in the pool bar. The umbrellas at the beach are super thin and don't appear to block an UV let alone be large enough to cover the lounge chairs so there is really no where on the beach to hang out during the day unless you want to get fried by the high UV index! There was also a lot of unused space in the main building which was quite a shame as well! There was a small ping pong game area (not in the best shape) and a post apocalyptic looking 'shopping boutique'. The pool also needs a serious repaint! The diving center and offerings really made our trip! We did a night snorkel which was absolutely amazing! Overall, I would recommend if you can get a reasonable deal as the staff really made our trip so wonderful!! Read less

A nice resort, surrounded by clear blue and turquoise waters, well run by a group of professional, courteous staff, ever willing to please, fairly big, so be prepared to walk alot from the overwater villas to the restaurant, food is good but a tad too salty, especially the Sri Lankan corner, we literally had tuna curry everyday and it was a different version daily, seafood was fresh, salads were good, so we're the cakes and pastries, looked after well by the courteous and efficient Ali and Zaif. Snorkeling was good especially at the edge of the house reef, please do go to for the 2 local island visits, a good insight to how the locals live, led by the ever informative and helpful Saaed who went out of his way to get me the stainless screws I was looking for. Please also go for the night snorkeling, ask for Saddam Hussain, a very nice, patient and informative guide with sharp eyes, the ocean comes alive at night, so one can see different fishes between day and night The speedboat takes 1.30 hours to get to the resort, so prepare some motion sickness pills beforehand. Read less

This was our second time at this hotel and we already knew what to expect. We had issues with our transportation and some things that needed fixing in our room, which were promptly taken care of by the hotel and we were given multiple complimentary gifts and even a one night room upgrade, which more than made up for everything. Food is amazing as usual and has a great variety. We had the premium all inclusive package, which meant upgraded drinks on top of the regular all inclusive, dinners at the beach, one couples massage and free tours. If you book direct with them you will have a better price and also additional benefits, which I definitely recommend doing. I would definitely return to this hotel again in the future. Read less