Erika_Tokyo

Hi, could I possibly get more information? Should I avoid Amilla Fushi?

vuittonsofstyle

No, Amilla Fushi is not something close to Aman. It was created to serve people travelling in groups/families, but without the punishing villa rates of places like Reethi Rah and Cheval Blanc. It has its own grocery store for guests who want to cook, so it is pretty flexible. They also encourage guests to eat off island, which is novel. It is more like a villa community than a resort.

Kagehitokiri

Five Star Traveller, can you compare laamu reef with cocoa or huvafen ?
laamu developer planned residences. is new owner still considering?
seem to recall they recently added some new larger villas (like others)

speaking of per aquum, now co-owned by owner of anantara / FS thailand

soneva owners sold six senses (company and hotels) and soneva gili
i would bet they will sell kiri and fushi after selling out all residences

re aman, there's no low density in maldives, maybe unlikely to ever happen

11 - FS explorer - books cabins
25 - soneva jani - expensive, only 1 beach villa for a while
33 - cocoa (como) - reef (no multi-bedroom like jani etc)
37 - jumeirah Dhevanafushi
43 - Huvafen Fushi - reef, dhoni much cheaper than soneva
45 - cheval blanc - hard product, new
47 - velaa

O&O reethi rah - hard product, island
FS LG - 2BR overwater seems unique
coco prive - exclusive use, was from 8,000

overwater not connected to anything >
velaa - 1 Romantic Pool Residence
Gili Lankanfushi - 7 crusoe + 1 reserve
jumeirah Vittaveli - 7 lagoon suite

overwater connected to each other but not island >
16 - jumeirah Dhevanafushi
24 - soneva jani
34 - angsana Velavaru (only room category at hotel with direct access to house reef?)

many properties have multi-bedroom villas/residences up to 9BR

follow below link to see more properties listed >
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...l#post26788474
comparison of some island sizes >
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...l#post17832181

closed, unlikely any hope of similar again >
dhoni mighili - was 6 rooms, became big resort
BT madivaru - was around 6 tents, some good comments here

surftb15

Dhavenufushi over water aren't connected to main island but they do have their own pool and restaurant on the compound. Anyone can use the pool though, even if staying on the main island.

Kagehitokiri

thanks. that is a really unfortunate change, from when it opened. perhaps under new owner of property. presumably overwater restaurant/library now opened to all guests as well.

Erika_Tokyo

Vuittons, Thanks sooo soo much. I was this close to booking. Is there any other hotel in Baa Atoll area you would recommend aside from FS LG? I would be interseted in new FS opening in Dec but I will be travelling in Nov.

surftb15

Kihavah.

Kagehitokiri

it is not a new FS, it is exclusive-use only, much more than coco prive

you could take a boat from FS to cheval/velaa
or reethi rah, the beach villas with pools there

i would think other resorts have less expensive yachts than soneva fushi, but soneva fushi is also baa atoll, and if within budget and interest, they do have a brand new 2BR yacht charter.

surftb15

Not sure though. I'll be there soon. Going to split some time between each. Beach and overwater.

vuittonsofstyle

The new FS is an excluive rental, not a classic resort.

I am none too keen on the other Baa Atoll resorts. In the past, I have taken a boat from FS LG to O&O Reethi Rah - it can be done - you just have to ask.

ridefar

No it isn't and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I am not sure you will find anything remotely close in the Maldives.

Having said that it is a great resort.

Respectfully I disagree with a couple of vuittonsofstyle's observations. (She may be right about the original intent but the implementation seems to suffer.) I don't think off island dining is terribly realistic, but there is a reasonable amount of choice on island, at typically absurd Maldives prices. Oddly, the fine dining option (Lonu) is really no more expensive than any of the more casual alternatives. The other is, yes, the island is family friendly--but if you want an actual villa, then prices start at $9k. The multi-bedroom standard rooms on the beach are a better value but aren't true villas.

With all that said. We found the beach house very private. Overall, we would happily return, although I am not sure how great a value it is. That may be a reflection on the Maldives as much as Amilla specifically however. I would certainly say the beach houses are not great value compared to the OWBs unless you really really want to be on the beach.

If you have other questions, please ask. We were there for 7 nights.

Erika_Tokyo

hmm - I am really not sure about that hanging bench etc in their official picture. Your Jumeirah looks far more like the real stuff.

Oh, now I re-read about FS exclusive-use, thanks.
I would prob consider staying in cheval & velaa than hiring boat $1,200 between Baa Atoll - Noonu Atoll.


Thanks Vuittons, I think I get what you mean. I think I am more towards Noonu Atoll or falling for Dhevanafushi which is the taste for surftb15.

Five Star Traveller

Cocoa Island's reef seems to be the most lively (amount of fish) due to its location by a major channel at edge of atoll, but the corals were not in great condition (still recovering from major bleaching damage). The Laamu reef had larger and more pristine coral formations than the other two, which I was told was due to the southern Maldives being less affected by the bleaching caused by El Nino. Huvafen Fushi is a great one overall, both for corals and amount of fish. That was a few years ago though, and reef conditions tend to be quite volatile in the Maldives. I visited Park Hyatt twice and reef was noticeably more damaged the second year.

gallagher

We enjoyed our trip here - very good ^

surftb15

And pix? Tips? Suggestions? What room category?