{"id":29549,"date":"2019-06-24T07:22:56","date_gmt":"2019-06-23T23:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/?p=29549"},"modified":"2026-03-15T13:43:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T05:43:38","slug":"10-days-in-maldives-olhuveli-beach-spa-maldives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/2019\/06\/24\/10-days-in-maldives-olhuveli-beach-spa-maldives\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Days in Maldives – Day 10 – Olhuveli Beach & Spa Maldives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before we began planning for our Maldives trip, a stay at a water villa at an all-inclusive private island was the bucket list item. So, in a sense, the planning for our 10 day trip was first largely centered around this segment. Ironically, as we drew closer to our departure date and worked out activities for the local island segment, it became increasingly apparent that our private island stay would basically turn out to be a laze-and-relax segment where we’d probably just vegetate on the island and bide our time before we had to head back home.<\/p>\n

As it turned out, that was basically what happened in actual fact: we took it really easy at the Olhuveli Beach & Spa Maldives<\/strong>, in part because the weather was scorching hot, distances were far between our villa and other points of interest, we’d felt that we’d already done most of what we wanted to do on a Maldives vacation, and I was ill for all of the stay (more on that later), and finally, well, inertia.<\/p>\n

More comments!<\/p>\n

We’ve blogged previously<\/a> about the rate<\/strong> we paid: basically, we shaved about 25% off the cost of our package by booking through a local travel agent, which made the price of our four day three night stay a lot easier to stomach! Basically, if there’s one piece of advice we can give to other travelers exploring a private island stay, it is to first check with your travel agent if they are offering accommodation packages. Don’t rush to book through the usual third-party portals or even directly with the resort.<\/p>\n

We booked a Deluxe\/Standard Water Villa, but were allocated a Grand Water Villa<\/strong> instead upon check-in. Oddly, I’m not certain if this was an oversight on the resort’s part or an intentional accommodation they afforded us. We also don’t recall them mentioning this change of room type, and the wife quipped that this is not the sort of thing properties would neglect to mention. In any case, the upgrade – if it was really such – was very nice. We can’t say for certain, but the other water villas look like they’re on the main and older island, while our cluster of Grand Water Villas was situated on the newer interconnected island. I never quite got the name of the newer island, but one brochure from a Hong Kong-based travel agent marked it as “Dream Island”, with a soft-opening in Mid-April this year. So, not only did we get a better-than-expected water villa, it was relatively new too.<\/p>\n

Our Villa <\/strong>was 81 m\u00b2<\/strong> large – not the largest property we’ve stayed in so far, with our villa at Santhiya @ Koh Phangan<\/a> sitting at 115 m\u00b2.<\/strong> But coming out from the very compact room we had @ The Sunrise Huraa, the Olhuveli villa felt massive enough for us for the kids to do cartwheels in! The main room had an alcove that looked like it was specifically designed for an additional bed, and a fourth bed was placed in front of the king-sized bed. The en-suite bathroom was also roomy: with a full-sized bath tub, two wash sinks, and separate cubicles for a rain-shower-equipped cubicle and also the toilet.<\/p>\n

The resort throughout our stay felt like it was at 25% occupancy<\/strong>, and maybe even less than that. The cluster of Grand Water Villas comprises 52 units – according to one map – and I counted perhaps just 5-6 units that were occupied in our cluster over our stay.<\/p>\n

Most guests seemed to prefer dining at the island’s main restaurant – the Sunset Restaurant<\/strong> located on the main island and at the end of the jetty that stretches outwards into the sea. This fairly large restaurant seemed to offer the same fare as the smaller Malaafaiy restaurant in our neck of the woods, but there were more individual item stations to whip dishes up on the spot. So, I guess it depends: if you’d like a more private and quieter dining experience, then I reckon the Malaafaiy restaurant should be where you’re headed for meals.<\/p>\n

We opted for the full-board package<\/strong> but not the all-inclusive beverages. We intentionally opted out of the latter, on account that we’d be paying a hefty additional charge for alcoholic beverages we’d never touch. Hot beverages and juices from the main buffet spread are included for breakfast, but not for the other meals. So expect to pay about USD4 per 1.5l bottle of mineral water. Meal times, Olhuveli time, are 7:30AM to 10AM for breakfast, 12:30PM to 2:30PM for lunch, and 7PM to 9:30PM for dinner. We reckon it’s possible to get by on the half-board package by having late breakfasts and early dinners, but we absolutely do not recommend going for anything less: dining is expensive on the island, with the buffet meals at USD50 per person or higher, though you could get something cheaper from the in-room dining menu if you’re on a tight budget. The food items were well-presented though a hit-and-miss thing, with the frequently burnt naan breads coming to mind. It’s about what you’d expect in all-inclusive resorts like these, but not, in my assessment, approaching what you’d call a luxurious spread.<\/p>\n

Of the resort’s offering of activities: we checked out two pools<\/strong>: one on the Dream Island that’s a shared pool, though the spot also looked like it was a favorite place for young couples to have their Instagram shots, as the pool presented an uninterrupted view of the open sea. The other pool we visited was the kids’ pool on the main island near the Sunrise Bar. There is also a third infinity pool nearby, but that was adults-only, and a staff member told us that kids were strictly disallowed from the pool. Bummer. The surrounding waters around our villa had some marine life, including meter-long reef sharks that showed up in the evening. But the waters were quite choppy the morning we dipped in – so I scampered out just after spending a few minutes in it, while the kids and Matt had a blast in it.<\/p>\n

One characteristic of staying in a water villa was the potentially long walk<\/strong> to get to your unit. The initial brochure would have sounded real sexy: a romantic-esque boardwalk on top of clear turquoise waters on a sunny day to your private abode. What’s not advertised is the complete lack of shelter from the start of the boardwalk to however far in your specific unit is: and in the scorching unforgiving sun, any notions of a romantic walk in and out of our unit each day for meals and activities died real quick. In fact, we practically speed-walked in and out of our villa just to minimize our exposure in the sun, even with the room’s sun umbrellas!<\/p>\n

It might also have been an issue specific to our villa, but the air-conditioning<\/strong> in our unit felt like it was struggling to keep the room cold, even when we’d set the air-conditioning to the coldest temperature possible – 16\u00b0C<\/span> – and the fan running at the highest speed. Perhaps it was just the amount of sun that was smashing against the villa that the compressor had to work really hard just to keep up during the daytime. In contrast, our Ang Mo bud’s beach-facing unit felt like a 0\u00b0C<\/span> ice box LOL.<\/p>\n

Two other activities<\/strong> stood out too: firstly, the kids’ club was a life-saver, and the kids afforded themselves game console time there, alongside coconut painting too – Hannah was particularly upset that she couldn’t bring her painted coconuts back home! Our two kids would have spent all day at the kids’ club if they could. Secondly, our package included one of three complimentary activities: a snorkeling safari where visitors would be brought to three spots, a visit to a local island, and a dolphin-spotting cruise at sunset. We were initially tempted to join the snorkeling safari, but weren’t sure about the safety aspects of it, having been totally spoiled by the level of care and staff-guest ratio we enjoyed at The Sunrise Huraa. A visit to a local island didn’t sound particularly interesting to us either by this point, on account that we’d already spent seven days @ Huraa Island. So, we picked the dolphin cruise – or rather Ling and the kids did since I was feeling too sick for it – and from the pictures, they had a blast, with dolphin pods swimming up next to the two boats that went out, and even performing tricks to the guests’ delight too.<\/p>\n

The buggy rides<\/strong> that brought us to and fro from Dream Island to the main island were at times annoying. Specifically, the rides were infrequent at 30-minute intervals, with the first ride out at 8:15AM, and the last one at 9:45PM. Missing one ride, and many a times that happened because there were just too many guests waiting to ride out, meant we’d have to wait another 30 minutes for the next buggy. This was bad enough for off-peak season: I can’t imagine how the resort manages during peak season.<\/p>\n

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Buggy timings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ling was particularly annoyed on our last day towards the end of our stay when we ran out of Paracetamol. I’d been suffering from a fever of 39.5\u00b0C<\/span> since Day 05 @ Huraa Island. Initially, I thought it was a reaction from the severe skin sunburn I received on Day 02. We’d brought some Paracetamol from Singapore, and Sameer helped us get another strip from the local pharmacy @ Huraa Island. When we exhausted all our supplies on Day 09 and the fever just wasn’t going away, Ling called the island’s doctor, who agreed to meet her at the clinic<\/strong> to pick more up on Day 10. Unfortunately, the doctor was a no-show, and after a futile wait in the hot sun, Ling returned to the villa furious and gave reception her exact sentiments about having to wait in the hot sun in vain.<\/p>\n

To his credit, the doctor<\/strong> showed up at our villa’s doorstep with the medicine after that call to reception. But after learning that my fever had not subsided for 5 days already, he requested that I return with him to his clinic for a more complete check-up. His initial diagnosis was a high-grade fever, with a possibility that I’d contracted pneumonia. He insisted that I immediately be warded at Male hospital for observation, and when I declined as we had to head back to Male in an hour for our flight home that evening – even though I was well-covered by travel insurance – I signed a waiver that I was aware of the medical risks and would bear all consequences, before he packed a number of medicine items to treat the various conditions he’d detected, including a course of antibiotics. As it turned out, I had been hit by dengue fever and not pneumonia, as blood tests showed at the A&E at Changi General Hospital the morning after we landed. As to where I got bitten – Singapore or Maldives – I can’t say with certainty because of the long incubation period possible for dengue infections: though I have my money on being bitten just before we left for the vacation. What rotten luck.<\/p>\n

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The boardwalk that serves the cluster of Grand Water Villas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The price of the view. It’s quite a distance of a few hundred meters from our villa to the villas opposite ours.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The king-sized bed that occupies the center of the room.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Dual sinks – nice!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A long bath that the kids were thrilled to use.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The water was bobbing quite a bit and it didn’t take long for me to get nauseous! I snapped a few pictures, then clambered out of the water LOL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Didn’t take many pictures of the dining experience; the two of them here are of the main Sunset Restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Dessert table.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Kid’s Club: a life-saver!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Dolphin Watching @ Sunset.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In summary, and putting aside the bout of dengue fever that I’m still recovering from: is a water villa on a private island worth the expense<\/strong>? Keeping in mind that we got our full-board water villa stay at a good rate, if pushed to make a final recommendation on this, I’d say no \u2014 a water villa isn’t worth the expense for most<\/span> people<\/strong>. If you have the money for it, are born in water, and are fully confident you’re equipped to handle the unforgiving sun and also possibly choppy waters around your villa, then go for it: the experience is indeed quite novel, and you’d be certain to get some absolutely stunning pictures. For the budget-conscious though, by opting for either a beach villa or room, you’d save a wad of cash and can potentially have better and more immediate access to a beach, and shelter importantly for those of us with delicate skin. For certain, if we’re ever staying at a private island again, we’d be opting for these accommodation types.<\/p>\n

That aside, the Olhuveli gets a qualified recommendation<\/strong> from us for an off-peak season visit at least. There are little bits that didn’t work well – the dining and also buggy rides two minor annoyances that come to mind – but the place is definitely still very scenic, and you can also choose a room that’s on the newer and more secluded interconnected island for an even quieter stay.<\/p>\n

Next post: Reflections of this trip<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before we began planning for our Maldives trip, a stay at a water villa at an all-inclusive private island was the bucket list item. So, in a sense, the planning for our 10 day trip was first largely centered around<\/p>\n

Read More 10 Days in Maldives – Day 10 – Olhuveli Beach & Spa Maldives<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[653,608,613],"class_list":["post-29549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-traveling","tag-maldives-2019","tag-sony-a7-iii","tag-sony-fe-24-105mm-f4-0","wpcat-17-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blog-2019-maldives-day10-A7_06125.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38513,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29549\/revisions\/38513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}