Maldives with children - does everywhere just do 1 room bungalows?

[WeeMadArthur]

Looking at the Maldives for a big birthday holiday. There will be me, DH and DS13. Everywhere I’ve looked at so far just has one bedroom bungalows or is seriously expensive. I think DH would have a hernia if I showed him something over £10k but I really don’t want to spend a fortnight in the same room as DS. I’m not really fussed if there is a kids club, DS is happy to potter on the beach/ in the water and so are we. Does anyone have recommendations on places they have stayed which would suit?

Some of the kurumba villas have a sofa bed in the living room area with a sliding door to shut it off from the bedroom area. We did this and it worked well - not total privacy but some. However I would say that kurumba was nice enough but very close to male so you don't get the desert island peace that some of the other islands have.

SAii Lagoon Maldives
Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa
The Nautilus Maldives
Hard Rock Hotel Maldives

Sorry, no idea on prices, but the above do two room accom (I write up hotel descriptions for a living).

Also, this is sometimes where it's best to use a ABTA/ATOL travel agent, especially in the current climate. Ring them up, give them your budget and wants and let them do the work.

Thanks all, I will have a look at all of those. DH has his heart set on going in a sea plane but I don’t want to rule out any resorts based on how to get there we aren’t fussed about total luxury, we just want a good house reef and some privacy!

@RidingTheWaves I agree about the travel agent, I’m not sure the best ones to look at for the Maldives though.

On the sea plane bit, we did a day trip on a sea plane even tho our resort was reached by boat - just an option

Try giving Kuoni a call, they are great for the Maldives. Hotels range from 4-5 star, b&b to all-inclusives. Plus they are recognised by Which, for the way they've looked after their customers during the pandemic.

@dramalamma that’s interesting! What sort of price would we be looking at?

@ladybirdpoppy I think I’m going to have to do that, my head is spinning, I’ve looked at so many resorts!

Sounds very ecologically unsound. The Maldives are really suffering from rising sea levels and the climate emergency. Why not go somewhere else?

@WeeMadArthur I couldn't even guess I'm afraid! My husband arranged it as a treat for my birthday and it was a few years back now. I wonder if it might be on one of their websites as an optional actvity? Or you could phone one of the resorts and ask.... sorry that's not helpful!

@IsThePopeCatholic the Maldives relies heavily on tourism though, if everyone stops going what will happen to their economy?

We used Simply Maldives when we went. They’re absolutely brilliant - they know all the resorts really well, and if you email them with exactly what you’re looking for, they will find the best island.

Lily Beach was great for us - it was right on the edge of an atoll, so the snorkelling/house reef was amazing. We had to get a sea plane there, but I think that you are going to have to fly if you want somewhere with a good house reef, as they are all a long way out of Male. Take ear defenders for the kids if you take a sea plane.

I wouldn’t recommend Lily Beach for you guys though, as I think they only have one-room bungalows. Good luck!

We went with Purely Maldives who were absolutely brilliant. We went to Ayada which our teenagers loved. They had their own room and there was lids for them to do on the island. We stayed for two weeks as we couldn't go to Sri Lanka after the 2019 terrorist attacks and loved every minute of our holiday!

Look into Kuramathi, I believe they have 2 bed villas. We browsed Kuoni for resorts and then asked Travel Designers to book for us and we saved £1500 off the Kuoni price. Travel Designers were fab, I'd seen them recommended on here.

Thanks all for suggestions, I’ve had info back from Kuoni and Best At Travel, waiting for Lux Trippers, I think we might go for Reethi Faru or Oblu, but I will take SlipperFeets advice and check out Travel Designers to see if we can save some cash.

Meedhupparu has 2 bed family villas - we were supposed to stay in one last may (and then this may so still haves gotten there yet).

We have two children so always need more room - just ask travel agent like ba they will search for you they recently helped with trip to Maldives but we didn’t go through with it when it went to the red list.