Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives

Location was perfect as we were only staying 3 days it was close to the airport and still far away to not see Male. The hotel was full but it never felt busy to us. No noise! Our Duplex beach bungalow was perfect for us. Very clean! Close to the restaurant and we as parents had privacy because we slept seperate from the kids. Food was perfect. everything was there. Good service! The only minus point what I can say is that at 6 in the morning people put their towels on the sunbeds which was not so nice as we had to wake up very early to get the sunbeds in front of our room. The kids sometimes stayed in teh room because of the sun so it would have been nice if we had the sunbeds in fromt of our room so we could keep on eye on them. Price vs value : perfect! Read less

I would like to share our experience at Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives, which was absolutely perfect from the very beginning. Upon arrival, the staff took excellent care of us, ensuring a smooth check-in and providing invaluable assistance with navigating the island and its activities. I must highlight the first-class quality of the accommodation and, above all, the personal approach of the staff. A huge thank you goes to the team for organizing a romantic anniversary dinner for my wife and me. The evening was the highlight of our stay, thanks to the high professional standards of our waiter, who provided exceptional service. In the Rehendhi restaurant, we were always greeted by smiling faces at every station, from the fresh fruit and vegetables to the hot meal preparation. It is because of these dedicated people and their commitment that our stay was so special. We highly recommend this resort to everyone! Mr.Josef Pelisek Mrs.Jitka Peliskova Rehorova Read less

I chose this hotel after careful consideration and reading many reviews. We booked 2 x water bungalows with Virgin Holidays who were fantastic to deal with. It was by no means a cheap holiday but as the Maldives was on our bucket list we splurged. I emailed the hotel prior to arrival who responded but weren't the most helpful. Especially as it was my mums birthday on the day we arrived but trying to organise a special dinner etc was pretty much impossible. They did respond to some general questions but the response could have been better. We arrived after a red eye flight, a 90 minute wait for a speedboat and a 20 minute boat ride to a presentation. This just felt like a lot of information to have to take in when you have been up most of the night. There also felt like so many bits of info they needed and we just wanted to get to our room. We must have been checking in for over an hour. The dining situation was more complex than needed. Our main restaurant was Dalchini however as water bungalow guests you could dine at Koimala. You were told to book in advance even for lunch when they had plenty of tables. Over complicated in my opinion however we much preferred Koimala so we ended up eating there most days. Now to the positives this island, the staff and the rooms are beautiful. It was like a dream come true to stay in a water bungalow. They were so peaceful and quiet. Only one evening when they had a party on the beach you could hear the music but aside from that it was blissfully quiet, just the sound of the ocean waves. Personally we didn't go down the steps into the ocean much at all, the currents were strong but we really enjoyed watching all the incredible sea life from our large balcony especially at night when the water is lit up. The rooms were spacious, very clean and nicely decorated. The bathroom was large and beautiful with ocean views. The bath was delightful, the rainfall shower looked great but it wasn't that amazing but it was good enough. Having the pipe for after using the toilet is great, its a shame not all hotels have this but fortunately being a muslim a country this is standard. The rooms had kettles which was useful. The wifi was good no issues at all. The air conditioning wasn't great in my room they did attempt to fix it twice but the issue seem to return. Sadly as I couldn't always keep the room as cool as I like it it did affect my sleep a bit but they were made aware to fix it for the next guest. I did not want to change rooms as our bungalows were next to each other which was ideal, kindly the hotel had accommodated the request for the rooms to be as close to each other as possible. However i had mentioned it was my mums birthday on arrival however instead of decorating the room for when we arrived they knocked on to ask my mum if they could do it, she was busy so said not to bother but they kind of missed the point here. The next day I asked them to do it whilst we were out and they did and it was beautiful just a day late. It was hard to organise a special table for my mums birthday but they did bring out some cake and all sang happy birthday which was nice. I just felt they could have made more of an effort. Let me say though how truly friendly the hotel staff are. Always friendly, smiling and happy to help. The staff are a credit to this hotel. A special mention to Lahiru, Lashan, Bhagya, Suliman and Niyaz. They were amazing, they made our stay so special and nothing was too much trouble. Lashan your smile and humour each day made our holiday all the more memorable. Please pass my thanks on to them and the rest of your staff as what they do day to day makes such a difference to the guests. They made our stay even more wonderful and we can never thank them enough for all they did. The staff at this resort are so friendly, they really do make this hotel stand out from the rest. The beach is beautiful and peaceful. No loud music which was great. We did have to get up early to get sun loungers on the beach but we managed it with not to much trouble. The pool was nice too but we are beach and sea people. The sea was amazing, so calm and lots of sea life to see. This island was just out of this world. We had the holiday of a lifetime here. We booked an excursion to male for the day which was interesting to see the busy capital and a break from beach life. You get a private guide and it was a walking tour of the city. You can book all tours easily enough at reception. There is no sauna/steam at the hotel but the have a spa. Treatments were really expensive so we didn't go as we were so relaxed being in the Maldives anyway. The evenings entertainment was good. Mostly live music but one night they had Balinese dancing which was the best. There is only buffet here included for all inclusive which is a shame as a la carte one evening would have been nice but we enjoyed most of our meals at Koimala as it was semi outdoors, spacious and nicely decorated. The food was very good and the staff were always pleasant at mealtimes. Not all drinks were included ie sparkling wine which does seem a bit silly but no big deal for us. All in all we loved our stay at this hotel and we are so glad we chose to stay here and very glad we chose water bungalows. I have recommended this hotel and will continue to do so. I would happily stay here again and thank you to everyone at the hotel who ensured we had the holiday of a lifetime. Their smiles, hospitality and kindness will be a memory we will treasure for years to come. 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We had a fabulous return visit to Cinnamon Dhonveli in January. Ren helped us prior to arrival by confirming the agent we wanted to book with was a good provider and was happy and helpful during our stay. It was earlier than we usually travel but weather was fantastic. We do like to see the surfers so if we do another return visit we will make it a bit later in the year. The food has always been amazing in our view but we really felt it was even better this year so all credit to the chefs and helpers. Everything was wonderful with more than enough variety. My wife used the spa several times and was very happy with the service there. Our cleaner this year was Abul and he was brilliant. He greeted us the first morning and said any problems with anything to speak to him straight away and he would sort it out which he did! From clearing a broken glass to sorting out our drinks preference he was superb – as well as the normal cleaning of our OWS. Sattar was only there for a short time during our stay but was doing a fantastic job as always – we wish him a speedy recovery from illness. Service at all 3 bars was top notch and it was lovely to see old friends again. The list grows each year but our oldest friends are Saharda and Malinda. We will be very sorry to see Malinda leave and wish him all the best in new ventures. Saharda and Suraj did a wonderful job at Rhendi bar and Khair, Saha and Keshala looked after us in the restaurant with tighter waistbands when we got back to the rain in England. Everything freshly prepared with smiles, conversation and taste! We had several waiters in the restauarnt and they were an excellent team. The surf bar was well run by Dileepa, Faruk and a lovely man who joins them with amazing service yet his name escapes me – so sorry. We hope to see you all again. We really enjoyed seeing the organic garden which we have seen grow from nothing. The food we tasted there was beautifully prepared and we also enjoyed the fire show on the beach – a very nice addition. The whole resort was clean and tidy as always and we hope to be lucky enough to be able to return next year. Read less