Noku Maldives

We just returned from a fabulous 11 night stay at Noku (nb first visit to the Maldives for us) and would thoroughly recommend. Our favourite aspects were: - gorgeous huge villas: there are 50 villas all more or less the same size and decor, so really you are choosing between beach / over water, with pool / without pool and whether sunrise or sunset facing. We stayed in an over water villa (no pool) facing north which had the sun pretty much all day but others are more directly west or east facing. Beds very comfortable and plenty of wardrobe space, huge bathroom with outdoor shower - we absolutely loved the villa. - very relaxed feel: admittedly it was low occupancy at the time but we loved the very laid back vibe. Staff are attentive and chatty but not over the top and it feels friendly not stiff. We would occasionally chat to other guests but otherwise we felt like we were on our own private island at times. Dress code is relaxed which also helped with the vibe. There were so many lovely people in the team we spoke to and they are all very good at having a conversation with you for a few minutes or even longer if you wish to, but then leaving you to it. A big thank you to Nuwan and his team in the restaurant in particular and Myra who looked after us as our host. Sai really looked after us attentively at the sunset bar and he makes an excellent cocktail to your taste! - spa: we had some lovely massages and there were nice spacious therapy rooms with small bathing pools outside. The therapists were really friendly and always wave and greet you when you walk past (it’s near the main restaurant so this happens regularly). They also run an hour kids activity every day which gave us a chance to snorkel on our own (eg painting their own t-shirts which was their favourite). - the island itself has a nice feel - one really huge beach on east facing side (maybe too big even as the water can be far from the villas on that side) and a very nice beach further up on the west facing side which is also near to the better snorkelling and not in front of other villas. The grounds are well maintained and nice variety of palm trees and various plants - well looked after but also some parts seem more natural and left alone which is a good thing. We suspect that possibly other hotels may have better snorkelling areas than here (unproven though) as this was ok but not exceptional. We did regularly see small reef sharks (harmless) off the jetty and rays, turtles on a few days - you’ll see something every day if you spend a little time looking out for it. Things that were very good but not quite at the highest quality: - the food: it was mostly very good and we had some lovely meals including some excellent local curries, beef tenderloin, beef wellington and seafood. We ate mostly off the a la carte menu which ensured our dishes came out fresh and hot. We did enjoy the evening buffet a few times and there is a good selection of options but slightly more controlled given the size of the hotel. We gave feedback that dishes in the hot plates were often not that hot and we suspected that was because of the low occupancy / low turnover of dishes being replenished with fresh/hot food. We really enjoyed the breakfast buffet options. Our feeling is they can probably take the food up one more level to really make an impact on the overall experience. So take this as the food being regularly 8/10 and occasionally higher than that but I suspect other hotels in the Maldives probably can hit the highest scores (again unproven). - the IHG brand has recently taken over the hotel and it is due for a formal relaunch at end of October 2025 I believe. As a result there were some things being worked on at the time, with refurbishments in the rooms and the Thari restaurant being closed which reduced our options to just the main restaurant. This only had a minor impact on our overall experience and the positive is that we expect Noku to go up another notch within the next couple of months when the work is completed. By extension of this we feel there could maybe be a few additions of things like a proper library/games area (as we mainly used the space by reception), more facilities on the beach, and some hammocks etc, that sort of thing. I am sure they will look at ways to further improve the experience with the refresh, and the team managers were actively seeking and listening to feedback. Overall we had a lovely time and are considering returning next year and look forward to seeing it fully refurbed.

Stayed in the resort in march 2023, unfortunately it was not up to our expectations. Breakfasts were really small and the selection of meats and cheeses were a little poor. Overall cuisine in the two restaurant was really mediocre. The only good part was the water villa - really spacious and with a big pool. But during last day of our stay we got bitten by some mosquitos, which left a mark. Thats the onky resort in Maldives where it happened to us. Overall i would judge this resort as a solid 4*, but not 5*. They really need to invest in restaurants and bar area

The memorable journey started when we arrived at Male Airport where their reps of Ali and Ilhu receives us and assisted with our seaplane transfer with their True Hospitality. When we arrived into Noku Maldives, we were warmly welcomed at the resort by General Manager Shahid and his team and that was the beginning of a truly memorable holiday. We would like to the Reservations Team of Chalise and May to name a few who have been in communications with ensuring every detail of our booking and arrangements was smooth and seamless even before our arrival. For the next 5 days, we had booked for their Sunset Sea Villa and looked after by their host Myra who has made our stay stress free with her attentiveness and personalized service. Rubiul who made our room everyday should be mentiones too, for keeping our villa impeccably clean and comfortable throughout. The team from Palms Restaurant, made our breakfast, lunch & dinner such a delightful experience. We would like to mentioned Farook, Marge, Margaret, Ihsan, Shwe, Manager Nuwen and the rest who have served us with their warmth and attentiveness sharing snippets of their lives along the way. Of course we cannot say enough of the Culinary team of Chef Vincent, Nathan and team, your yummilicious food has not gone unnoticed. Thank you so much for the surprise Nasi Lemak and of course, the Padesal (just because you found out its our favourite type of bun). What made this stay memorable is that the hospitality by eberyone at Noku Maldives exceeded all our expectations. Every single interactions are genuinew and we can see their True Hospitality in their service. Thank you to everyone at Noku Maldives for making our stay from 13th to 17th August an unforgettable one. We leave with wonderful memories and look forward to returning again in the future. Till we meet again... Amran & Azman from Singapore ❤️