Country Houses in North Ari Atoll

"First of all, the speedboat transfer fee is daylight robbery. The 10-minute transfer to and from the airport costs USD $90 one-way per person. Keep in mind, it is a small shared speedboat — worse than the transfer I used to go to Maafushi Island, which took 45 minutes and cost only USD $25 one-way / person. This transfer fee was not mentioned beforehand and was not transparent. Therefore, I am very dissatisfied with such outrageous charges. Secondly, the water sports charges were outrageous. Paragliding costs USD $290, while it was only USD $60 in Maafushi Island — go figure. I felt like I was being taken advantage of by this hotel. Thirdly, some of the staff are not professionally trained (some reception staff, the man in charge of taking buggy transfer etc...), and their service was substandard. I received better service at Arena Beach Hotel in Maafushi Island. Overall, it was totally not worth it, and I regret staying at this hotel. If I had known earlier, I would have booked a hotel with a seaplane transfer. Although it might cost double for the transfer, at least I would have had the chance to see the beautiful Maldives from the air and with much longer flight time and enjoying the airport facility. Please think twice and do more research before choosing a private hotel. ps. I have much to share and if the hotel manager read this review and would like to know more the area to improve especially the staff, do reach out to me and I can share in details."

"Great hotel staff. Deluxe beachfront unit was 100 yards from the beach and no view. If you want a partial, you should book the premium. Swimming was marginal as water was 2 feet to 5 feet deep so all the coral is bleached and a low tide could not swim. We thought we were gonna get better than this is more a site issue than a staff hotel issue"

"Place was beautiful and excellent if you are looking to enjoy basking in the sun while enjoying some quiet time. Thank you Razan who was assigned to maintain our room. He was very polite and attentive. "

"We love our stay at Varu. All the staff are extremely friendly. They started remembering our drink preferences after a day or two and are very attentive. Our room is always clean with great view. The water villa are on higher walkways so they do not recommend for younger kids but they were able to set up an extra sleep space for our son. We also appreciate the comprehensiveness of their all inclusive plan, including all food, drinks, alcohol, spa, excursion and water activties. We did not have to spend a lot extra to have a great experience."

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"Everyone was amazing and the Resoet was Beautiful!!!"

" Great island, water villa spot on. Foo outstanding and cleaners and waiters/chefs and bar staff amazing. Reception staff need more training to ensure the same consistent friendly experience as they did not look comfortable dealing with guests and slow support. Would revisit however resort management need to urgently change health and safety warrior their maintenance staff. Such low standards exhibited working with electric equipment in water under the spa, no risk mitigation which is not acceptable. No personal protective equipment and high risk to loss of life in addition to impact on guests. "

"Amazing place, great water bungalow, staff are fantastic and the reef is incredible "

"Incredible 10 day stay at Kuramathi - with our 3 year old daughter! Highlights: We chose Kuramathi partly because of the kids club, which was even better than expected. It's much bigger than the website photos suggest, with two splash pads and a pool with slide, a garden, and lovely indoor play area. Our daughter loved it so much and kept requesting to go back. The staff are fun, caring and engaging. Huge thanks to Konnie, Rashma, Rachelle and Sara for making Wren feel so happy and secure. We were full board and ate at the buffet restaurants, rather than a la carte. The food was exceptional, better than any other buffet we have eaten at. The breakfast almond croissants deserve a special mention! The house reef is huge, wrapping three quarters of the island. While some parts have suffered slightly bleaching, there are numerous healthy varieties of coral. The fish life is incredible, and there is a huge population of black tip reef sharks. Access is easy from the beach or jetty - even our toddler could do it. Watching the black tips hunting fish from the jetty was such a highlight. Rasdhoo Dive Centre was excellent - we did a refresher dive on the reef, Wata was an excellent guide. We also did the Madivaru Dive, famous for white tip reef sharks, which was stunning. The excursions are excellent, well worth the money. We swam with manta rays on two separate snorkelling boat trips, which was an unforgettable experience."