Araamu Hotels Maldives at Dhiffushi

We stayed in the bigger family suite. Was really happy. Some minor niggles aside the facilities were good for our family of four to have a good trip. Highly recommend their restaurant food. Good option for dhiffushi.

The hotel has complete facilities and is relatively quiet. The front desk service is good, and lost items can be recovered. The only downside is that the shower water in the room wasn't hot—it was just warm. Overall, it's very good value for money.

Liked: The staff was very pleasant and helpful to accommodate any normal personal needs we had, especially my man Sharif. Everyone is super nice and polite. Breakfast and dinner we had as part of our stay was various, choosing between between 6-8 meals with the influence of Indian, Sri Lankan and Indonesian food and taste (lots of curry and a bit spicy). There was a lot of fruit, obviously (pineapple, mango, papaya, passion fruit, watermelons, melons, apples, oranges). The western beach at the Dhiffushi Inn was excellent as well as its beach cafe (with its staff). The eastern island point, at the Kettle beach cafe is great for seeing manta rays after 8pm. Cute little souvenir shops which are cheaper than at the airport.

Disliked: One big complaint is that when a group of 20 Chinese people arrived, the meals were adapted/customized for them. The other downside was the bad weather we had for a few days, but hey, its monsoon season:)

with excellent staff

Liked: -

Disliked: I chose Araamu Hotels because I had visited Dhiffushi several times before and had always enjoyed the food and overall experience at their restaurant. Unfortunately, after what happened during this stay, I am extremely disappointed and concerned about the hotel’s handling of guest privacy. On the second day of our stay, I was in the room with my husband when a housekeeping staff member knocked on our door twice. Our slippers were clearly outside the room, and music was playing from inside, both of which should have indicated that the room was occupied. I got up and started getting dressed so that I could answer the door. Before I even had the chance to do so, the housekeeping staff member UNLOCKED OUR LOCKED DOOR WITH HIS KEY AND WALKED INTO THE ROOM WHILE I WAS GETTING DRESSED. I was absolutely horrified. My husband immediately confronted him, and his explanation was simply that he “didn’t know anyone was inside.” I find this explanation completely unacceptable. If a hotel room is locked, a staff member knocks and receives no response, that does NOT automatically give them the right to unlock the door and walk in moments later. Guests could be sleeping, showering, changing clothes, or simply unable to answer the door immediately. We reported the incident to the staff member handling our reservation, but all we received were repeated apologies and the same explanation that the housekeeping staff “didn’t know” anyone was inside. That explanation does not address the seriousness of what happened or the complete invasion of privacy we experienced. To make matters worse, we could not even properly use the “Do Not Disturb” sign provided by the hotel because placing it on the door handle interfered with our ability to lock the door. Guests should NEVER have to choose between displaying a Do Not Disturb sign and securely locking their hotel room. I have stayed at many hotels and have never experienced anything this disturbing.

Araamu Hotels Maldives at Dhiffushi is located a bit closer to the jetty — the red building is easy to spot. The rooms and corridors are made of rustic wood, vintage with an East Asian flair. I really liked the bottled glass water in the room; you get thirsty easily here, and the sustainable water made drinking feel very free ❤️ I also loved that the restaurant lets you order à la carte 🍴 The chef’s punctuality about food timing gave us a very positive impression 😃 For example, when we said we’d be out for twenty minutes and come back for our meal, he told us a panini would be ready in fifteen minutes and wouldn’t taste good if left too long. I asked for two extra boiled eggs 🥚; he calculated that it would be too troublesome and expensive, so when we bought two from the shop ourselves he was happy to help boil them for us 🙊⭐️ Araamu arranged an excellent water sports team for us and helped book the speedboat back to the airport — only $30 per person one way each time. All of this made our Dhiffushi trip end perfectly. Thank you 🎈🤓

Liked: Breakfast was unlimited and had a great variety. Fresh fruit and juice. I cannot fault it.

Disliked: Nothing I did not like

Liked: All