That was first time in Maldives and I was absolutely amazed by the nature, the color of the sea, the service, the food, the hotel location...
The island is one of the biggest, so you do not feel lonely in the ocean. There are different types of villas - on the sand and on the water.
You can choose between buggy and bicycle to go around the island.
The cuisine is very good, not as amazing as for example in Four Seasons on Bali but very good quality and tasty, especially the one you order a la cart in the restaurant.
It was difficult to book Japanese restaurant as it was always full, but when we got there - we were rather disappointed - it doesnt worth it. Main restaurant and main bar - are best.
Also we have booked yoga classes there and met amazing yoga instructor!!! She came from Thailand, very professional and experience and she shares very positive and energizing emotions. I was ready to get up at 7am, take my byke and go to spend a sunrise hour with her doing yoga, chatting and watching different fishes through the wooden floor of our yoga pavilion.
This is the place I dream to be able to come back one day.

We stayed here last Jan and found it to be a very different island to any other in the maldives we have visited by the sheer size of it . At first I was not sure that I would like a larger Island but what we found is that it gives each and every villa the most privicy with a large expance of beach also to cycle around was great and it really is all stunning each and every cove. Needless to say the service was wonderful breakfast was supurb as was the sushi restaurant. My only critisism would be the Spa not very special treatment rooms with such an abundence of beauty all around I would have expected more and have had nicer at other islands but would I return yes in a heart beat . We are booked to visit Niyama in April the partner to Huvenfen fushi where we have also stayed.

I’m mindful that this is a public forum and before I ventured to write an outright negative review, I went on tripadvisor to see if somehow our experience is some kind of outlier, if it was personal to us. However, upon canvassing through many positive reviews, I felt reassured as we experienced the same frustrations as reported in the negative reviews. We are not the only ones.

Not a ‘show stopper,’ but the often quoted negative points are true … the reason why this resort is so large is that much of the island was built by reclamations, producing quite an artificial and sterile feel, compounded by a not-terribly-special decor, as compared to the other Maldivian resorts. Yes, there is no ‘house reef’ … you will not see an array of marine life outside your water villa, unlike at other resorts.

However, what sets this hotel apart is simply how ‘difficult’ the management is and when you actually have special requests, how downright rude they immediately become. Two unforgettable examples:

- When flying in/out of Maldives, there is a slew of evening flights. Many Maldivian resorts permit late check-outs to ensure a smooth stay – after all, many new guests may not come in until the evening and we are all ‘captive’ to the hotel. As also mentioned in the “Paradise – but” review, this hotel simply will not permit late check-out (until say, 6pm) – they may have the availability, but they insist on charging you.

Our experience was even more incredible. They declined my request for a late check-out. I asked to speak to someone more senior. Even better than the experience of “Slipping down a slippery slope,” the Resort Manager actually called me back. He rang, gave his name and curtly said, “I’m calling you back” … he was not briefed, and went silent … I repeated my request for the third time. Without even an apology, he just said, “No, we are not granting you a late check-out” and even shortened my check-out time from 2pm to 1pm. I asked why the heck they are so strict, especially as we didn’t check into the hotel until 1am and paid for that day’s stay … as well as had some troubles with our stay already. He just hung up on me mid-sentence. I was shell-shocked.

We didn’t want the hassle and paid US$1,400+ extra to stay from 2 – 6 pm.

- This culture must be prevalent throughout their management. We chartered a private boat for a couple of hours, which cost over US$1,000. The cost is fine to us. However, as we understand, these excursions include some sandwiches and drinks. The resort forgot to ask us what we wanted to eat – we experienced many sloppy little mishaps during our stay here. They came clean, they told us that they didn’t prepare anything. Not a big deal – my husband then grabbed some chips and crackers from the minibar for the boat ride.

When we checked out … after spending around US$30,000 on this trip (including US$9,000 in extra charges) … we asked, out of principle, that they can kindly take this US$51 minibar charge off the bill, and calmly explained why. The Reservation Manager came out and said ‘no,’ as we didn’t indicate our food request until too late (yes, when they realized that they forgot to ask us). Moreover, what I don’t understand is why aren’t they the ones who should be asking us what we want, we shouldn’t have to seek this out. My husband – who is typically super relaxed about service mishaps, etc – just couldn’t take it anymore and went ballistic, asking, ‘Did we have to ask you to put the gasoline in the boat.’ The Reservation Manager proceeded to stick her hand at us – give us the ‘speak to my hand’ gesture – and said that she is simply not speaking to us anymore and walked away.

She even had the audacity – 2 minutes later – to send us off on the departing boat and say, “I hope you had a nice stay.” I just told her, “No, you really don’t” … we were livid … my heart was pulsating quickly. This is how One & Only wants their guests to leave their hotel, after spending close to the average annual income of many developed countries.

I couldn’t help to think why are they guys even in the hospitality business, it must be painful for them … they are better suited for the penitentiary business.

Company culture comes from the top … and I think this all starts with the General Manager. As described by in “Slipping down a slippery slope,” the GM indeed “waltzes” around … he never introduces himself and doesn’t really want to hear from you … rather, he will catch my husband yawning (yes, we were jetlagged) as say “Tired, aren’t you” and whizzes away … you just don’t know what hit you. As I see from the “Honeymoon from Hell” review, I’m not going to write to the management, they guys don’t care.

We love the Maldives … this is our 5th trip and of course, we will be back. I think if we want a “magical, hit-it-out-of-the-park” villa and romantic experience, we are going back to Soneva Gili (which I’ve heard has been just renovated). With children, we will go to Four Seasons (new resort) … Four Seasons is just a much better managed hotel chain. I’m now starting to feel guilty with my slightly critical review of W Hotel … W Hotel also offers new, hip, fantastic villas, a great house reef and their management at least tries … unlike here.

P.S. Why I didn't give this resort only 1 or 2 points ... it does have nice points ... a wide range of foods, great spa therapists, decent 'hardware' (the gym is new & great) and some very friendly front-line staff ... so I want to be fair.

Amazing location, fantastic service, most certainly felt exclusive and should be all of these for the cost. A very memorable break.
However, very quiet almost claustrophobic, you are on a very small atol with only the resort to occupy you, it was very windy when we there - no watersports (and on occasion we couldn't use the pool table as the balls blew from one end to the other), severely hampering what we could do.
If it is total seclusion and every need taken care of, it is a very good option but if you need to get out and do something, I suspect you will be dissappointed.