Last updated on February 7th, 2025

After months of being locked down for the COVID-19 pandemic, I was finally able to take a much needed break to a tropical destination. As most of you know, I have been spending most of my time in Turkey over the past eight months. I needed a change of pace and luckily Maldives was just what the doctor ordered. It’s been about three years since my first trip to the Maldives, which was absolutely spectacular, leaving a strong impression on me. I’ve dreamt of returning for years and was incredibly excited to do so! The first stop on this luxurious adventure was at Kurumba, which is the very first resort in the Maldives ever.

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After an exhausting 2-leg flight from Istanbul, we finally landed in Male. From the Male airport we met a Kurumba employee who was waiting for us. He spotted us easily and quickly organized a boat transfer to the hotel. Once aboard it only took 5 to 10 minutes to arrive at the resort! Talk about efficiency.

Once we arrived at Kurumba, we were greeted by several more friendly staff members waiting for us on the jetty. There was a nice and warm feeling straight away that continued throughout the stay. The staff brought us to the lobby which had very extravagant ceilings making it very spacious. Kurumba has a rustic charm, similar to some of the older high-end resorts in Thailand which made me feel like I was at home.

I think this was the first time, out of hundreds of hotels, that I was served coconut ice cream as a welcome refreshment. I must say that it did hit the spot! After the smooth check in it was time to board a buggy and dropped off at our Deluxe Pool Villa.

My first thought when I opened the door of the Deluxe Pool Villa was how spacious it was! The living room had a massive L-shaped sofa which could easily sleep a few people, large TV, beverage station, sizable closet, coffee-table, capsule coffee machine, and much more. The bedroom was connected to the living room but could be separated off with sliding opaque glass doors. The king-size bed was incredibly comfortable and had massive fluffy pillows. I slept very well throughout my time at Kurumba!

The island is fairly small and takes only about 25 minutes to walk around the perimeter. We were staying in Villa 229 which was practically opposite of all of the public spaces such as restaurants and the other main facilities. This meant that we only had to walk a short 10 to 15 minutes to get to anything we needed on the island. It’s also possible to call for a buggy to assist guests around the island.

There were a few extras strewn about the Deluxe Pool Villa including beautiful welcome art made from leaves on the bed, a beach bag, flip-flops, a metal reusable water bottle, and a complimentary bottle of sparkling grape juice. Thank you Kurumba for the lovely gifts!

We definitely need to discuss the private pool of the Deluxe Pool Villa. Just outside of the bedroom is a medium-sized pool with a very comfortable water temperature. I could literally swim laps in it. Don’t expect an Olympic-sized lap pool but definitely has enough space to move around in. Outside of the pool there were some lovely lounge furniture. Unfortunately throughout our stay, there was a lot of rain which made it hard to capture the true beauty of this Kurumba.

This Deluxe Pool Villa had an outdoor shower near the pool and a bathroom equipped with a shower as well. The bathroom also had a bathtub, single sink vanity and high quality L’Occitane toiletries. I much appreciated the bath!

As you can imagine, this sprawling resort property has so much to offer. What stood out to me most at Kurumba was the quality of the food and beverage. There were seven outlets offering a huge variety of cuisines with the addition of special seaside dining available on request. During my stay, I got sample dishes from each one. I would say 80-90% of the food I had was incredible. The remaining 10-20% typically were only in need of minor alterations that could be adjusted during ordering.

The first night at Kurumba we had dinner at the Thila Restaurant, which sits along the beach. Here we went for a surf and turf platter. The platter consisted various cuts of beef, lobster, shrimp, fish, and more. To accompany this massive platter we went for a few salads and an order of fries. This was a great introduction to Kurumba’s lovely food and a sign of what was to come in the other dining outlets later. For wine we went with a lovely rich and bold Australian Shiraz. The entire experience including service was top-notch and made me incredibly happy!

The Kurumba Resort does offer a live music multiple nights of the week. During this first night, there was an authentic Maldive drumming and dance performance.

For breakfast, we also enjoyed them at the Thila Restaurant. This was set in both a à la carte and buffet format. Both the menu and the buffet had a lot of variety to choose from. Once again, I loved everything that I ate! One of my favorites was the Corn Fritter topped with guacamole, poached egg, chili jam, and bacon.

For a lunch during the stay I had a chance to sample several of the dishes from all of the restaurants at Kurumba. This was efficient because they brought them all to me at once. This was the first chance I had to really see what the culinary team could do. Out of the dishes, the Indian fried shrimp with mint sauce really stood out to me. Delicious!

This all being said, the best meal I had during the stay at Kurumba was the authentic Thai meal on the last night. This was prepared by an extraordinary chef straight from Thailand who really had her abilities locked in. The chef and I spoke before the meal and she was able to even prepare some special dishes that weren’t on the menu and this got me extra excited! My recommendations would be the som tom, krapow gai, green curry, and the mango sticky rice for dessert!

Even though we didn’t get to use them much, Kurumba has a ton of facilities including a full-sized gym, tennis courts, basketball courts, multiple pools, a pristine beach, and more. All the facilities were in great condition and had everything most people could desire. They even have a garden which was more like a mini jungle that had koi fish and lots of flowers.

There were only a couple minor issues during our stay which the staff did a fantastic job of promptly fixing. I felt very comforted by the warm staff. Without a doubt some of the best service in the Maldives.

In conclusion, the experience that I had at Kurumba, the very first resort in the Maldives, was nearly flawless. This resort is full of quality, has a super convenient location, excellent facilities, and lovely staff. It was really all I could ask for in a holiday. Without a doubt, I can highly recommend Kurumba to everyone!

Kurumba

Resort

Vihamanaafushi, 08340, Republic of Maldives

Phone: +960 664 2324