Remember my previous post about how I went through a dilemma of choosing between two Maldives resorts? I was pretty confident about choosing Adaaran Prestige Vadoo for our Honeymoon trip based on their online reviews, and they have indeed greatly surpassed our expectations. Their customer service standards were top notch right from the beginning with their efficient and quick responses via email.
Warning: This review would be a really long and detailed one, but I assure you it’s gonna be worth reading if you’re really considering Adaaran Prestige Vadoo for your Maldives holidays!
ARRIVAL AND CHECK-IN
Adaaran Prestige Vadoo is really near the Malé International Airport, and this minimises any extra costs and travelling time.
Upon our arrival at Maldives International Airport, we had to look for the Adaaran Prestige Vadoo transfer booth to wait for our speedboat transfer. Remember to email the resort to make arrangements in advance at USD130/ pax. As we arrived at the resort, we were warmly greeted by a few staffs with a garland and welcome drink. It’s a really nice feeling to be treated like VIPs!
Instead of heading to the reception counter to do our check-in personally, we were ushered to the bar where they settled everything for us swiftly. They were really nice to make dinner arrangements at the Farivalhu Restaurant even though it was almost 9pm! I was honestly so glad that I chose Adaaran in the end mainly due to the dining options.
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| Our All-inclusive band |
Before our dinner, we were brought to our villa for a short tour. The walking distance can be quite far (if you consider yourself a lazy person). Glad that they have the buggy service so that I did not have to drag myself out under the hot sun.
Throughout the stay, a butler will also be assigned to our room and he will be the one to take care of our welfare and assist us in any tours/ activity bookings. Manu was our butler and his service was really fantastic. In fact, all the other staff were also really good in their services, and all of them gave out a really genuine and friendly vibe.
VILLAS
Adaaran Prestige Vadoo only has over water villas, and they are categorised into 3 different types:
1) Sunrise Water Villa – Rooms facing the east with a view of the sunrise (beach view)
2) Sunset Water Villa – Rooms facing the west with a view of the sunset (ocean view)
3) Honeymoon Villa – Separate from the rest of the villas with a shorter walking distance
We chose the Sunset Water Villa and I highly recommend this as you can enjoy more privacy and a gorgeous view of the sunset.
ROOMS
I already knew how the rooms looked like, but I was still pleasantly surprised. In fact, the room looks better in real life, none of the videos and photos online can justify the standards of their villa. Furnished with wood and bamboo with warm palette tones, the Adaaran villas exude a cosy vibe. Complimentary Honeymoon decor and amenities were also provided. Even though it’s a slight pain to remove the flowers and leaves after that, it was still a lovely moment.
Expect a really spacious room and a large bathroom that even has an outdoor Jacuzzi!
Personally, I really dislike bathrooms that are really cramped and small, but this was the complete opposite! They even provide two basin areas so you won’t have to fight with your partner over the space. How thoughtful!
The see-through glass panel on the floor allows you to catch a glimpse of fishes and if you’re lucky enough, you might be able to spot a manta ray or reef shark too!
Unfortunately, we can’t really appreciate the rain shower.. While it seems luxurious to have one in your bathroom, its really not as practical as you think. And the water power isn’t strong enough as well, so it can be quite a hassle to shower. Other than that, the facilities were all great! Hygiene was on point too. Manu told us that they usually clean the room twice a day!
There is also a TV in front of the Jacuzzi! #enjoylife
THE VIEW
Staying at an over water villa at Maldives has always been my childhood dream, and this is an absolute dream come true! It’s such an awesome feeling to be able to wake up to such a stunning view. There is also a short stairway that directly leads to the shallow ocean floor where you can enjoy snorkelling at your convenience. For the all-inclusive plan, rental of snorkelling equipment is also complimentary.
I initially wanted to bring giant inflatable float to Maldives, but it was too bulky and troublesome. So I settled for the mini drink floats instead! Still quite instagrammable!
One of the best moments of this Maldives trip was being able to enjoy breakfast with a view, and the service is completely complimentary! You can still choose to enjoy your breakfast at the restaurant, but we still enjoy the privacy time as we’re mostly only half awake in the early morning.
DINING
Being on an all-inclusive gold plan is highly recommended, because you won’t have to spend time calculating how much to spend during your trip. There are no convenient stores in the island and without the inclusive plan, you’ll have to spend on ala-carte dishes which could easily amount to a similar price. It is especially value for money if you drink alcohol.
I love how we were given different menus every single day and we could pick from our favourite selections. Yay to surprises! And in my opinion, 4-course meals like these have a more atas feel than eat-all-you-can buffets. It’s up to your preferences though!
The portion was definitely filling enough, and we feel like we’re eating non-stop for the entire day! I was initially worried that the variety would be repetitive but to our surprise, we were spoilt for choice, and some of the dishes were actually rather unique. It’s a hit and miss for some dishes, but the overall food quality is decent and enjoyable.
Here’s an example of the menu, and this changes every other day throughout our stay.
Unfortunately, the food at Japanese restaurant fell short in terms of its taste. Aside from the Sashimi which was quite fresh, the rest of the dishes were overwhelmed with salt. It was a rather disappointing meal especially when there were such high expectations due to the exclusivity.
Service was nonetheless still fantastic. Our butler Manu even acceded to my special request of preparing a surprise birthday cake for R during our dinner on his actual birthday. I was expecting only a cake slice, but they actually prepared a whole cake for just the both of us. Effort 100/100.
SPA
Their spa menu actually caught my attention as they have a mix of facial + spa services. While the prices were on the high side (I think this is the same across most luxurious Maldives resorts), there was a honeymoon package for us. We only visited the spa once and it was truly enjoyable. It was my first time having facial and full body massage in the same treatment. The facial is more of a relaxing one, so don’t expect to get extractions here!
TOURS AND ACTIVITIES
As we have already spent a bomb on the accommodation, we were a little reluctant to splurge too much on the tours and activities in Maldives. Moreover, the prices were overpriced as compared to other countries due to the exclusivity. But it’s Maldives after all.
You shouldn’t miss Scuba Diving, it was a wonderful first experience for us. Read more here: https://m0nice.com/2019/09/my-first-scuba-diving-experience-in-maldives.html
The Sandbank trip is also recommended if you are not comfortable with scuba diving. We were brought to a small empty island for a picnic lunch and snorkelling trip. While the food was less than appetizing, especially when we had to eat under the scorching sun (there was a beach umbrella, but the weather was seriously too hot), the snorkelling trip was nonetheless a worthy adventure.
We were brought to the edge of the coral reef where you will be situated right in between the colourful reef and the deep part of the ocean. It was a drastic change in depth, and can be slightly intimidating. But we had our life jackets on so that wasn’t really an issue. The view was just breathtaking, and it reminded me of Nemo swimming out into the open ocean and getting caught by humans.
The Sunset fishing trip was also quite interesting! But instead of using fishing rods, we just threw the fishing line into the water and manually pull the line with a pair of gloves. I managed to caught a fish by myself! After the trip ended, they sent it to the kitchen to prepare dinner for us too!
Poor hubby was seasick and Manu was so kind to make special arrangements for us to dine at our villa. It was really an exceptional experience! I have to say it was really quite dark outdoors and I was relying on my phone torch, but if you’re up for this romantic ambience, you’re gonna enjoy it very much!
Adaaran Prestige Vadoo is no doubt a 5-star luxurious resort in Maldives at a relatively affordable price. Unlike the more prestigious and atas international resorts, Adaaran Vadoo provides a more cosy and warm ambience. I had no regrets cracking my brains and analysing every single detail prior to booking our accommodation, otherwise I would miss such a great Honeymoon experience.
Overall, we spent about SGD 6k for a 5D4N trip, including flight, accommodation and activities. While it’s surely not a budget trip, it is definitely very reasonable especially since we’re on an all-inclusive plan.
