Kurumba Maldives

This was our 3rd visit to Kurumba as a family. We last visited pre Covid in 2019. It is our 7th trip to the Maldives and we always look forward to visiting the islands . We chose Kurumba for our stay this time as we have always been highly impressed with the service , attention to detail, the food and the dine around all inclusive option. The island is less than a 10 minute boat ride from Male airport which makes it very convenient for families with young children. As we were only staying 5 nights this visit it made sense to stay closer to the airport. It was a shame we had to wait 40 minutes to take a boat to the island after meeting with the staff at the airport . There was a lot of unnecessary waiting around. Our arrival on the island was underwhelming. We had to wait 30 minutes to check in and get our room key. No one greeted us off the boat. No one informed us about our package or provided information about restaurant bookings, excursion bookings etc. The room was nice albeit a little dated. I know that many of the rooms are being updated over time. We stayed in a Beachfront deluxe bungalow. It was in a very good location. We did notice a lot of the little touches we had enjoyed on our previous visit missing. No robes in the room, no bottle of wine in the room on arrival, no beach bag for use during our stay. The hotel used to offer free in Villa dining for kids as the restaurants don’t open til 7pm for dinner, however this service has been discontinued . The pool was very nice as per previous visits. No lifeguard on duty. Small number of sun beds but the pool was generally quiet. Pool service starts at 10.30am. One thing we noticed this visit was that no ice buckets were provided with water next to the pool. The restaurants were fine. The cafe was good for food but service was very slow. They seemed understaffed and were having to go between the restaurant and the Kandu bar which meant there was often no one in the restaurant during dinner . The staff at the kandu bar were pleasant. We recognised many of the staff members from previous visits. Though I must comment that the staff didn’t appear to be as cheerful this visit. We were very disappointed to find out on our first morning that the Dine Around All Inclusive package was not the same as previous visits and was quite lacking. We had clarified with the reservation staff member over the phone prior to booking what the package included but when we arrived we were told that many of the benefits had been discontinued such was breakfast at the Thila restaurant, a complimentary photo shoot , complimentary use of the kayaks etc. plus many food and drink items on the menus. There was a surplus for many items this time that didn’t exist previously. When I brought this to the attention of the front desk staff they did apologise for the misinformation and reinstate the breakfast at Thila however it would put me off booking again as the buffet options for breakfast and dinner are not great. The Thila restaurant is lovely and the food is good quality. The service is much better in this restaurant compared to others. It is difficult to get bookings however for the Al la carte restaurants. It all needs to be done in advance of your stay and even then there is a lot of confusion and misinformation. The Japanese restaurant Hamakase is enjoyable. The food is nice and the staff were very friendly . The kids club was a disappointment. The activities were boring and the staff were not particularly interested in the kids. The schedule was often changed last minute and the kids always seemed to be just watching tv. Definitely something to bear in mind for those travelling with small children. The dolphin tour was fabulous. We were lucky to see several dolphins. The staff were good fun and made sure everyone enjoyed. I would recommend this excursion . There was one unfortunate incident whereby a staff member was quite unprofessional. We were waiting for the dolphin tour to begin. We arrived on time and were told to wait for the boats. There was no seating in the reception area so we walked outside to wait on the jetty.we were enjoying looking at the fish when we were approached by a member of staff to remove ourselves from the jetty. When we asked why she became quite over the top telling us “the big boss” was coming and we couldn’t be on the jetty at the same time as him. Sure enough someone arrived on a boat with an entourage of staff and we were reminded again by this staff member that he didn’t want people on the jetty while he was on it . Presumably this was the owner / manager of the resort. It was quite insulting to be told as a paying guest that the “big boss “ was too good to to be in our company. Certainly did not leave us with a good impression of the hotel and how they value their guests. Far from being welcoming the staff mostly made us feel quite unwelcome at times and this is certainly not the norm for the Maldives . We have always received a very warm reception at every resort we have stayed at and we have always been sad to leave. I believe Kurumba has lost its magic touch and we will stay elsewhere on our next visit.

Just a short comfortable boat ride from Male Airport to the idyllic island resort of Kurumba. Excellent accommodation, fastidiously maintained, beautifully appointed set within glorious grounds of colourful trees, plants and shrubs. The beach bars are strategically placed around the lagoon and the main bar overlooks the interesting waterway back to Male. The restaurants are all superb. There are highly authentically themed eateries as well as first class grills and a wonderful buffet. The staff are highly service oriented as well as friendly and determined to make your stay a memorable one.

Total disappointment. The hotel and service are not up to the 5 star category. 1. very noisy from planes and annual engines from 05 am. 2. In the bar and restaurants the cost of drinks is very high. Vodka is diluted with water. One drink costs 17 USD. 3. The quality of food in the a la carte restaurants is not good but bad. It takes a long time to place an order. 4. There is a very small selection of food. No variety at all. In 2016, 2017, 2018 it was much better. 5. The cabins are old and not refurbished. 6. most important. Ask for a final cheque two days before departure. I will explain why. They give a lot of cheques without your signature to pay. They are cheating. Be careful. I was refunded US$ 512. 7. The staff is friendly.