Originally Posted by
vuittonsofstyle
If you want to go a slight notch down, then Taj Exotica Maldives has excellent service and food, although the island is very small and close to Male (20 mins). Christina Ong's place, Coco Island has a good spa, but again is a small island. Good food, but service can be up and down. They have a couple of lovely suites at the end of the island, with unspoilt views and masses of space.
Avoid Huvafen Fushi at all costs. It is very 'plastic' and service is not great. It is one of those 'see and be seen' places.
For privacy and one-to-one service, the new Naladhu is interesting. It is owned by William Heinecke (Anantara etc., and FS in Thailand) and is his first deluxe resort, self-run. Suites are a bit too close together for me. It is a place for doing nothing and staying in your villa, so can become boring.
Hard to beat FS LG and O&O RR.
Missed this reply before! Thanks for the info, it's good to know to avoid Huvafen Fushi. I think our curiosity was piqued by the underwater bar. Not enough of a reason to weather bad service and sub-par accommodations, though.
Don't think we'll settle for a notch down, especially if we fly all that way, will look at the Four Seasons and One&Only then!