It’s very difficult to put into words just how incredible this place is, but I shall give it a go. From the second we arrived into Malé, to the last footsteps onto the plane back home- the JA team exceeded hospitality throughout our stay. The Manager Roberto is always around the Island greeting and talking to guests which adds a lovely touch to the holiday. I just wanted to say a special thank you to Shaad, Pranita, Moosa, Jack, Rabin, the pancake & waffle man and of course our butler Imran for making our stay that extra bit special with their kindness, service and deep care towards us. We stayed in the Beach Residence which was absolutely mind blowing in itself- it was such a big place so a massive thank you to the cleaners, pool maintenance and gardeners for making sure our villa was always in top notch condition. The staff couldn’t have been more accommodating, anything we wanted or needed- we had it. I’m a bit of a fussy eater myself but if there’s anything I wanted to eat instead, the chefs & waiters didn’t even think twice about getting it for me. Everyone on the Island was so so friendly. The food is incredible in addition. So many different themed nights that cater to all, and even a section with french fries and chicken etc for the kids..
The fact that a big chunk of your meals are A-la-carté I love, your meals come freshly cooked but there’s still a buffet on offer on some of the nights too- a perfect balance. I’ve never quite had food and flavours like it. We chose to go on the new JA MANAFARU EXPERIENCE which incorporates snorkelling a beach picnic and a dolphin cruise afterwards. This was hands down the best experience of my life. We arrived at 10am to find that the trip was private for me and my family which was so special in itself, we were then greeted by 3 members of the dive team who took great care of us (nervous snorkelers) . I didn’t catch his name but the guy that took me and my family snorkelling was amazing with us. He never left us, he constantly checked if we were okay and we had the best snorkelling experience with him. We then arrived to a castaway island, only to find that we can see 4 sun-loungers and a private butler waiting for us on the island with a table on the beach, picnic and umbrellas for shade. A speed boat came from resort directly to pick us up from the long boat and take us to the island, where Rabin looked after us the whole afternoon. He was professional and gave us the best care possible during our stay. We couldn’t quite believe we had a whole island to ourselves. Shortly after, someone else from JA arrived to help build a canopy so we had some shade whilst eating. And then a jet ski arrived.. with a jet sofa. We were so nervous about this and we had no idea it was going to happen but the guy that was operating it again took such good care of us, constantly checked if we were okay and didn’t go too fast for us. We ended up having a blast! The dolphin cruise ended up being so special as well, it took a while but the team didn’t give up finding them and we ended up seeing around 15 dolphins that day. It was an unforgettable experience and the hard work that went into it to make it special- from the boat drivers, to the water sports/diving team, the catering team to the endless trips the JA team had to do to get us backwards and forwards to various boats were seamless and the effort that went in to make it special for us did not go unnoticed. It was worth every penny.
As I mentioned at the beginning, Imran was our Butler throughout our stay. Upon arrival, all of our restaurants were booked and any we wanted to change there was never an issue. Imran looked after us throughout and always checked on us to make sure we were happy. Anything we needed or were short of, Imran always sorted it for us. Our bike sadly broke a couple of times, by the time we’d finished eating we had a brand new bike waiting for us outside. One day we were short of milk in the mini bar, I messaged Imran and we then had a whole pack of milk every day for the rest of our stay. He went above and beyond for us, including giving us a private behind the scenes trip. In his words “in the Maldives no doesn’t exist, only yes’s” and that honestly sums up how well we were looked after by him. Thank you.
Coming into JA we were very nervous snorkelers (thanks to the triggerfish!) but having a lifeguard around on the jetty’s made us feel a lot safer. The lifeguard at the stingray jetty in particular was lovely. We gained our confidence after a couple of days and ended up finally letting go of the steps! The first day we ended up seeing a turtle. There’s a few designated places where you can snorkel on the island but the water is as you can imagine, is gorgeous and there’s loads of fish to see out there (big and small). The one thing that stood out for me at JA Manafaru was the attention to detail. Everything has been thought about through and through and that’s what really made the holiday as exceptional as it was. After snorkelling, the lifeguards bring you towels to dry off with. Upon arrival, you are greeted by management and staff with your name personalised on your buggy, branded JA coconuts and an ice cold scented flannel. After every meal, there’s a scented flannel for you. The staff pour your water for you and top it up without you even realising. When leaving, we had 4 pieces of coral to throw back into the ocean whilst making a wish. Everything you could think of, has already been thought about. That really shone through. One of the days we wanted an early dinner at Andiamo (the italian), we didn’t realise that Andiamo shuts at 6 but when we enquired about eating late, the waiters and chefs told us they’d stay and look after us as long as we wanted that evening without even considering it. They had set us a table up whilst we had a swim in the late afternoon. They never made us feel like a bother or inconvenience- but merely looked after us all evening. One of the waiters told us “as long as you’re happy, we’re happy”. They couldn’t have been more accommodating and lovely to us. Sadly I didn’t catch the name of the waiters that evening but thank you so much. Complimentary to our villa, we had a private beach bbq and cinema under the stars with a movie of our choice. On the night of the bbq, we were greeted by a buggy outside our villa that took us to the spot. We had a candlelit table on the beach with a private chef and a private waiter for the evening. The food was phenomenal, seafood (a whole lobster, large prawn and reef fish) for starter, steak, chicken and lamb for main and pudding was delivered by the in villa dining team. Thank you to the waiter and chef that looked after us that night. For the night of the cinema, we chose Mamma Mia. It was all set up for us- 4 loungers with blankets, a big screen with speakers, popcorn, a drink bucket with ice, glasses etc etc and then Kakuni (main restaurant) brought us icecream on top. The movie was a very special touch to the holiday. Ultimately, the day before the last day i started to feel it. I did not want to leave paradise in the slightest. And what got to me was that as our seaplane was leaving, there were at least 3 of us on that plane from different families that shed a few tears. If that isn’t a place that’s created magic for so many people, then I don’t know what is.
What a special place.
To anyone reading that’s considering going, book the holiday. I promise you will not be disappointed. 10 nights wasn’t enough and neither is 5*..
To the WHOLE team at JA Manafaru, thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this holiday unforgettable. This was hands down the best holiday I have ever been on and I have no doubts about returning.
Thank you again & see you soon…
- Fern
