Vakkaru Maldives review: a beautiful island with exceptional staff

Context

We recently returned from a lovely 13 night stay at Vakkaru. For context, this was our 6th Maldives holiday and our 7th Maldivian island. The last two islands we visited were Ayada and Outrigger Konotta for comparisons sake so that anyone reading this knows what we are working with….

Transfer

TRANSFERS: the transfer situation on the way to the resort was not great whereas on the way back it was excellent (seaplane left at 4:45pm for an 8pm departure from MLE…. I am sure anyone who knows how annoying transfers are in the Maldives is gasping right now).

On the way to Vakkaru, however, we had the longest waiting time we’ve ever had for a seaplane or domestic flight. We landed in MLE at 6:50am and did not leave for Vakkaru until 11:30 (I get covid and the pandemic and everything… but this was flat out ridiculous). We landed at 1:10 pm Vakkaru time (1 hour ahead of Malé), so more than half the day wasted.

This was not the best start to our holiday especially because Maldivian (seaplane operator )/Vakkaru were not entirely transparent on what was happening. Our seaplane kept getting delayed with little explanation and our departure slipped from 9 to 9:30 to 10 to 10:30 etc … you get the idea. A disappointing start but the resort ended up comp’ing lunch for us on the day of arrival which was a nice gesture.

As a side note, the seaplane lounge is lovely and very comfortable but does not offer any food. I don't know if this was because of covid or not, but no hot food available.

Location

LOCATION: this was my first time visiting Baa atoll (our holidays as of late have been primarily focused in Gaafu Dhaalu given the better value-for-money and better reefs). I was really worried about coming to baa since I had heard such negative anecdotes about the high concentration of resorts on the eastern edge of the atoll. This is sadly a very true statement, and I was quite literally shocked when we went to hanifaru bay and saw the sheer quantity of resorts located meters from each other (Dusit, Royal, Soneva Fushi, Kihaa, Dreamland, Westin, the list goes on…..). Google maps unfortunately lies and these resorts are located way closer together than the map makes it seem.

However, I am happy to report that Vakkaru’s location is wonderful since it is located on an untouched edge of the western side of baa atoll. Views are totally unobstructed from all sides of the island and villas (minus, ironically, from the presidential residence which faces an inhabited local island far in the distance) with really no islands in sight during the day and very few lights in the evening. I would go as far as saying as it is definitely the best located resort in baa atoll and most likely one of the better located resorts reachable by seaplane. High marks all around.

Food

FOOD: overall, we found the food to be excellent at all venues, and easily the best food that we have had in all of the Maldives resorts we’ve been to. It is really nice that Vakkaru offers dine around half board rather than limiting everyone to the buffet restaurant, as it really elevates the overall dining experience.

Our favorites restaurants were onu, vakku, and lagoon bar with isoletta lagging a bit behind. We found the menus to be varied and never really had to (unwillingly) repeat a dish if we didn't want to - with that being said, I definitely got the steak at vakku multiple times because it really was delicious.

The sushi at lagoon bar really was second to none. We were told the rice is specifically imported from dubai and it was really incredible. We did not have one bad sushi roll in our 14 days there. Its also very reasonably priced at around 16-20 bucks a roll ++.

We were also lucky enough to be able to experience the premium restaurant, Vakku, multiple times since it was not chargeable due to Amaany being closed most days. The steaks are delicious and so are all the appetizers, however it is extremely pricey. Not sure the $60pp half board credit (which is what is usually in place during non covid times) will get you anything more than an appetizer unfortunately.

Venues and facilities

VENUES & FACILITIES: the venues were all lovely and inviting and stylish with the exception of isoletta, which quite frankly is probably our least favorite venue of any premium resort we have been to. I'm not sure what it is about the isoletta compound, but it just not inviting. The cabana bar is incredibly dark and feels lonely. The pool does not have any views of the ocean. The tiles are also very dark and not inviting for swimming. The setting just seems overall very artificial/fake and tbh we did not like to have dinner nor lunch by a chlorinated pool when the other venues (onu, lagoon and vakku) blended in so well with the natural facets of the island. This is why we only had 1 meal at isoletta our entire stay. A real pity because the menu was quite nice.

IMO, to rectify this, Vakkaru really should invest in a bar area with full service food and drinks by vakku beach. Yes they have sun loungers set up right now on vakku beach, but it is not enough in my opinion. Vakku beach is quite literally one of the most strikingly beautiful and pristine beaches I've ever seen in my entire life, yet it is being under-used. Management is in the process of setting up a champagne bar in the evening, which is a start, but I see much more opportunity and potential for this beach than just a champagne bar.

Onu, vakku, and lagoon bar on the other hand are lovely and very much in touch with nature. Vakku during sunset hour is a sight to be seen and I did not expect to love the onu setting as much as I did. Its really a special place.

Rooms

ROOMS: rooms at Vakkaru are overall quite stunning. The retreats are incredibly well appointed and spacious whereas the regular villas (Water Villas, Over Water Pool Villas, Beach Spa and Beach Pool) are comfortable and refined. We were able to tour all rooms so I can say this with confidence.

However, I'm not going to go as far as saying that the villas here are good value for money, because the truth of the matter is that unless you get a good deal they really aren’t. You can get far more bang for your buck in other places since WVs here don't even have pools and are routinely priced at above 1,000 a night. Ayada’s villas, for example, are 90% the same as the Vakkaru villas but all have private pools and are priced at 60% of what Vakkaru rooms are generally priced at. However, the general vibe, views (!!) and atmosphere of the rooms is great and I can see why this resort is popular.

I will also caveat this statement by saying that that we probably had the most stunning room on the island for our preferences (we care a lot about views) so I'm sure that my opinion would have been different had we not been allocated villa 245. However, with that being said, we were more than satisfied.

The only room categories I would actively avoid are the over water pool villas. It is quite clear that these villas were probably not very popular to begin with due to the fact that they not at all private, so they added pools in order to entice more customers to book them (and it worked, since they were mostly full during our stay). However, save yourself money and book either an overwater retreat or a regular water villa and as for (245, 243, 241, or 237) as those are heaps heaps better if your wish is to be on the water.

Reef

REEF: we are very aware of the 2016 bleaching event and have snorkeled many reefs in the Maldives since 2016 but to put it very bluntly… the house reef is definitely Vakkaru’s weakest link. Yes, there is a reef (multiple reefs in fact), and it does extend 360 degrees, however the good parts of the reef are few and far in between

We are avid snorkelers and have very high expectations so please take this review of the reef with a grain of salt (we snorkel up to 4-6 hours a day if the reef is good). We value coral and the overall structure of the reef a lot, so maybe that is why I was a bit more disappointed than the average person, but the only part of the reef that excited me was between the spa and the service jetty… and given that I am a strong swimmer I could do that in a short 10/15 minutes… it got boring quickly:)

The northern reef between the artificial sand bank and the spa is also good however it is a far swim from literally all rooms. we were unlucky with the current on most days (despite the good weather) and it was a tiring, long swim.

The blue hole (despite whatever hype is generated around it) has a lot of fish but my overall consensus was that it was incredibly disappointing… not a single live coral in sight. Its not worth your time to snorkel the blue hole if you're an experienced snorkeler.

Overall the snorkeling was satisfactory without being exceptional. It would not be the defining factor for a return visit to Vakkaru.

Island beauty

ISLAND BEAUTY (BEACHES, LAGOON, ETC): this is definitely the islands unique selling point. The beaches are by far the most beautiful beaches I've seen in the Maldives (and quite frankly anywhere). The colors of the lagoon by WV #245 are really a sight to be seen. The island overall is strikingly beautiful and over our 14 day holiday, I took more than 1500 pictures.. You guys do the math. I think that in 2020, with all these rubbish fake island being built, you will be hard pressed to find a more beautiful, less eroded island with as stunning of a stunning lagoon.

The island also has an artificial sandbank which is reachable by either kayak or swimming and is quite beautiful despite the ugly sand bags present which are a bit of an eye sore. It stretches out quite a bit and it is really pleasant to walk all the way out if the weather is nice and the sea is calm.

Staff and service

STAFF & SERVICE: easily the best and most attentive staff we’ve had in the Maldives. Big shoutout to SK, Mellad and Otabek at Lagoon Bar (dream team, really), Muzna, Ivan, Nuzu (our room boy), Yvonne our butler, Shaan our waiter and Inne for making our stay 100x more memorable than it otherwise would have been.

Final verdict

Overall, we had a lovely holiday at Vakkaru - it has become our new favorite resort. Vakkaru is probably the first island that we would like to repeat of the 7 or so that we have visited, so I think that alone speaks volumes.

However, we probably would not come back here for 13N just because we really value snorkeling so would most likely need to pair it with another island that has a stronger reef.

Hopefully we will be back soon!