The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort

Our family of four, with two kids (6 and 8) had a fantastic stay at the Westin - our third trip to the Maldives. We were fortunate enough to spend 4 nights in a family beach villa and 4 in an overwater villa. Both are exceptional. We found the imagery on the website to be a bit confusing - but certainly our rooms (156 and 104) were very generously sized for our needs! They offered large open spaces, which were then very easily partitioned at night via solid sliding doors/walls - making the best use of the space for families in particular. From our research at least, vs paying for a 2-bedroom option in the Maldives...they look to offer very good value for money. This clever design is replicated across the resort - where the architecture - both in terms of visual appeal and practical use - is really impressive. Our room was kept in splendid condition by the housekeeping team - and we owe particular thanks to Shafy, Rohit, Jazzman, Rasheedh for organising an extraordinary floral bedroom display (see images) on our last night for my wife's birthday. Bassam, who kept checking in on us during our stay, also helped make it a really special day. The food at the resort is exceptional - whether it be the a la carte or buffet. Not only do each offer great options...it seems you can pretty much ask for anything you want and they find a way to make it - helpful at times for our somewhat picky children - but we also saw plenty of adults making use of this. The food and beverage staff were incredibly friendly - and we saw plenty of guests spending time chatting to the chef's (and even being offered a private cookery lesson). It's hard to call out many by name, as they were without exception friendly and helpful - but King and Amol in particular were really great with our two little ones. We ate at the pearl one night (recommended) and switched between Island Kitchen and Hawker for lunches and dinners - they are right next to each other, and apart from needing to book for dinner at Hawker at very peak season - you could pretty much walk up to either and choose there and then. The sunset bar is great - and the barman in there (Harisha) who also does the beach bar during the day - is a legend. Can / will make anything...including making tasty cocktails out of whatever random ingredients the kids threw at him. For us...the Negroni's hit the spot. Our kids made great use of the kids club - they really took to Karen who worked in there in particular. There's a full roster of activities 10-1 and 3-6, and every day there were at least 2-3 things ours were keen to go to. Pool fun (water balloons, inflatables etc) being the favourite - but cupcake decorating, pizza making and crafting came close...and there was in general a load of different things for them to get involved with the friends they made in there. The kids pool is well sheltered and the room air-conditioned, which made for a nice break from the heat for them. We made some good use of the recreation facilities - the gym is well equipped and the staff always there to help. There is a table tennis table and a few other games in the same airconditioned building which we made good use of. The tennis court is in good nick, and the coach (Rohit) made an effort to have a knock with myself, and then hit balls with the kids for 15 minutes. Santosh and the other member of staff (whose name I forget) were always helpful around the recreation area. Everything about our stay whilst there was organised through Anjal - who we met on the first day - and was incredibly responsive to all WhatsApp requests as well as checking in on us regularly. We went for the all-inclusive package. Hard to know whether we got value for money from this...I imagine it is possible to gorge at breakfast and dinner, and snack for lunch and end up paying less on a different package - however, we definitely appreciated the flexibility of feeling able to eat/drink as and when we wanted without having to think about it / sign it to the room etc. For context out felt like most of main courses were in the region of $40-60 a head, we didn't see the cost of the beverages. Somehow it felt like the entire staff worked out who we were and what deal we were on within a day or two. That package included a spa treatment (excellent, and it is a beautiful spa) and a dolphin trip (we didn't see any, but enjoyed a boat ride anyway). We also went for a sunset fishing trip and a "fun tube" ride. Neither were cheap - far from it - but were fun experiences. However, the best activity the Maldives has to offer - which is of course free - is the snorkelling. The house reef is exceptional - from either the beach or the overwater villa you are at the drop-off within a couple of minutes swimming. We went at least once a day, and saw reef sharks most times, a few turtles, eagle rays and moray eels, as well as an abundance of colourful tropical fish in every direction you looked. Of course this isn't unique to this resort, but it did feel particularly impressive and accessible (inc for our children) here. All together - we would highly recommend staying here. If we were to really nitpick, then the service attentiveness isn't quite Ikos-esqe, but you don't need it to be - and if you do (generally because of the kids!)...then it is. One other thing to consider is the seaplane transfer - to a large extent this is out of the control of the resort (operated by TMA) - but we for example had a 3hr+ wait from arriving in Male to taking off to get to the Westin - essentially costing us our first afternoon and not helping the kids tiredness after a long journey. Then on the way back the seaplane was late (despite being first flight of the day) and we were sprinting through the int'l terminal to make our return flight from Male. I think we were unlucky & challenged a bit by it being peak (UK half-term) week - we did meet others who had travelled on the same or similar days and had near-instant connections. That aside, the seaplane journey, take-off and landing was great fun - as indeed was the fact the "runway" was right outside our overwater villa ! Read less

It’s all in the details… We have just had the most magical 2 weeks at the Westin Maldives and we are so glad we chose here to have our holiday and wedding. We travelled with two boys aged 7 and 3 who also had the time of their life. The staff, There are so many positives to this hotel but the biggest one for us was the staff and the details, the staff no matter what level they are at they cannot do enough for you, they go above and beyond no matter how busy they are, they make an effort to make you feel seen, feel welcome and feel special. It is honestly the best service overall from the whole team we have ever experienced. As for the wedding they made it so incredibly special for us and really paid attention to detail. The water villa, what can I say I’m so glad we went for water villa it was a truly unforgettable experience, the most beautiful views, the best sunrises, so many fish, turtles, rays and sharks all seen from the comfort of our villa! It was incredible spacious (you can separate it into 4 rooms which is great) clean and the bed was so comfortable. The housekeeping was also so special we had some wonderful treats and surprises back at our room throughout our stay which would have taken so much time and effort and it just made us feel so special and the kids loved it! Food, There was so much variety and not one single meal over 2 weeks disappointed us, there was always plenty of variety and it was always high quality. To the point that we actually spent most of the 2 weeks in the island kitchen, we went to the Pearl restaurant once which was incredible and had a 5 course set menu… JUST WOW! The views from that overwater restaurant and the live music was just incredible. We also tried one night at the Hawker, again beautiful setting and delicious food. Even though there was plenty to choose from, the chefs would always tell us to just ask if there’s anything we wanted and they really do cater for your every wish and need! Spa, Set over the ocean it’s the perfect setting for pure relaxation and that’s just the start, the journey from the moment you get there until you leave is perfect, well thought out and a truly wonderful experience. We both had 2 treatments each as we just had to go back after our first visit. The treatment was amazing full body massage with oil of your choice and tailored to your specific needs, and all whilst looking over the ocean. It really is in my eyes a 5 star spa and a must visit. Gym and facilities I visited the gym most days and it had plenty of equipment and beautiful views. They also had a multi sport court, table tennis, indoor games, outdoor gym, sauna, steam and so much more activities you could do to keep you active. I personally chose to run outdoors most days as the scenery was too beautiful to miss! Kids club Amazing! My kids have never been fans of kids club but that changed here there was so much to do and so varied and Karen was just incredible she is so attentive, so kind and so involved with the kids she’s an absolute gem! From facepaints, to bracelet making, to cooking/food decorating and water balloon fights, it’s another example of the incredible service. I really could detail so much more but I’m at 2600 words already! So the main highlights I just want to say are - *Staff and Service - it’s a level I’ve not seen before and incredible point of difference for this hotel and a reason we would love to go back and highly recommend for couples or families Just some staff to look out for, but honestly we had 5 star service from every single person: Deepak - one of a kind Amol King Naafil Ramesh Laurent Mohammed Fikree Santo Idris Aju Lan Ika Srimal Hoodh Hussein Vijay It was also a great pleasure to see management so involved and so present. Read less

the food are very delicious,and you have lots of choices. You can have different countries' food, the chefs are so good and they cooked so yummy👍👍👍 the head chef MIN managed the site and food in perfect orders. The service is the best, i have ever experienced before. Everyone is so nice. The manger Baasam is excellent Everyone should come and enjoy holiday here! Read less