I just got back from a 5-night stay at the Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi Island and I can honestly say, this was the most incredible vacation I have ever taken. The entire experience from beginning to end, including the seaplane transfers, and amenities provided, was absolutely incredible and I don’t know if I will ever be able to afford such a trip again in my life. The resort was amazing and I had a fantastic time here but if I’m being critical, the Fairmont Maldives wasn’t perfect and there is definitely some room for improvement.
In this first post, I will review the overwater villas at the Fairmont Maldives resort and cover all the logistics of staying on a private island in the Maldives. It’s not as easy as “just showing up” and there needs to be some preparation on your part. There are some quirks to vacationing in the Maldives and I’ll try to cover all of them here. And in the next post, I will cover the resort grounds, amenities, and dining options and talk a little bit about the weather and when the best time to visit is.
Maldives Health Declaration
Covid tests and vaccines are no longer needed but all visitors to the Maldives are required to submit an electronic health declaration prior to their arrival in Male. The airlines do not check for this prior to your departure but you must have this completed before you can enter through Maldivian immigration. I completed this prior to my arrival but I did see several people have to step out of the immigration line to complete this on their cellphones prior to being let back in. It does ask for a lot of information and a digital picture of your passport so it’s much easier to do on a computer. At the end, it will give you a QR code as proof of completion. You don’t need to show this to anyone but just keep a copy or picture of it in case there are any issues.
You can complete the health declaration by clicking here.
And on the back end, you also need to complete an exit declaration upon leaving the Maldives. This will be done at the airport after checking in with your airline but before security. There will be signs posted by the escalator with a QR code to the declaration link. This was very stupid and a lot of people, myself included, missed this so keep your eyes peeled.
Fairmont Maldives Booking
You are not gonna believe this but I booked this trip in cash. I have zero status with Fairmont/Accor and I didn’t even think of transferring my Capital One points to Accor to redeem a stay.
After you book your stay, you will receive an email from the Fairmont Maldives’ Concierge Office confirming the details of your stay and they will provide you with information on the seaplane transfer. The seaplane does cost extra and you will need to take a seaplane to get to the resort as it’s on a private island. There are no exceptions.
The roundtrip seaplane transfers cost $650/person and are only offered between the hours of 9:00 AM and 3:30 PM. If your flight to Male does not arrive in the early morning hours, I would recommend booking an overnight stay in Male and then arranging for the seaplane transfer the next morning. That’s what I did and I can tell you there were several advantages to this. First, checked bags can be delayed or mishandled and if they don’t arrive in time, they won’t make it on the seaplane transfer with you. And secondly, you will be tired and jetlagged after your long-haul flights. You shouldn’t waste a day being tired and jetlagged in paradise. It’s best to stay in Male for a day to get acclimated to the time zone and give it some time just in case there are any delays with your bags.
On my flight from Doha, my flight arrived late and it took my bag over an hour to come out of the carousel. I thought my bag was delayed/lost and I was already at the counter filling out a lost baggage report when it finally came out on the carousel out of nowhere. I have no idea what happened to it but if I were trying to catch an immediate seaplane transfer, that would have been very stressful.
And on the return side, if your international departure from Male is in the morning or early afternoon, it’s best to book a night in Male just in case there are any delays with the seaplane transfer, which happens all the time. I’ll talk more about the seaplane delays in the next section.
Male Airport Arrival and Seaplane Transfer
If you are going directly to the resort, there should be a Fairmont representative waiting for you as you exit customs. They will collect you and your bags and escort you to the seaplane terminal for your next flight. If you don’t see them after your arrival, you can ask any of the other guys holding signs (they all know each other) and they can help you find the Fairmont representative.
However, if you are staying at a local hotel prior to your seaplane transfer, the Fairmont will ask for this information ahead of time and they will coordinate with them. They will call your hotel the night prior, tell them what time your seaplane transfer is scheduled for, and arrange an airport shuttle for you. That’s what they did for me.
When I got to the airport the next day, a Fairmont representative met me at the departure terminal and got me checked in with Trans-Maldivian Airways. I should warn you that they were very strict with baggage limits so pay attention to the weight restrictions provided by the hotel. If your bags are too heavy, they may have to be delivered on a later flight. On this trip, I was only allowed one checked bag up to 40 lbs and one personal item up to 10 lbs.
After check-in, the representative drove me to the seaplane terminal, about 10 minutes away, and escorted me to the Business Lounge to wait for my flight.
The Business Lounge used by the Fairmont was spacious and had great views of the seaplane “gates” and “taxiway.” There was plenty of seating and bathrooms were located inside the lounge as well. However, the food and drink options provided were very mediocre. When I was there, there was only a small selection of sandwiches, pastries, and some other cold dishes.
Now, here’s the thing about seaplane transfers to the private islands. It’s not like there are regularly scheduled flights to the various islands. They only fly to the islands when there are guests checking in/departing. So what they do is group people flying to the same general area at the same time. They coordinate all this the day before so there is no telling when your flight will be ahead of time. And lastly, the seaplanes are prone to weather delays as Maldivian weather is very unpredictable. On my flight, we were paired up with several other people going to the JW Marriott and our plane was initially delayed for two hours and then later reduced to just one hour.
At boarding time, the employees will gather everyone from the lounge and bring them to a waiting room for a safety presentation video. They will then take you out to the seaplane.
The Trans-Maldivian seaplanes are all one class and are configured in a 1-2 layout. You can expect to have amazing window seat views but do not expect any service on-board. This flight took us about 50 minutes to get to the JW Marriott and then another 10 minutes to get to the Fairmont Maldives. The Fairmont Maldives is the only resort on the Sirru Fen Fushi Island so you won’t have to worry about any non-hotel guests or peddlers trying to sell you knickknacks on the beach.
Fairmont Maldives Arrival/Villa Host
Upon our arrival, we were greeted with a proper island reception, complete with employees singing and dancing, and a fresh coconut. It was like our very own episode of White Lotus.
My Villa Host then found me and introduced himself. He welcomed me to the island and escorted me to a buggy, where I was driven directly to my villa. It should be noted that there is no “front desk” area to check in and everything will be done with your Villa host in your villa. Your Villa Host is your one person for everything you need. If you need to make restaurant or activity reservations, he can arrange all that for you. If you need housekeeping items or if there’s something wrong with your room, he can take care of that for you too. I really appreciated this as there was only one point of contact who I had to deal with for the whole trip. He literally took care of everything for me and he was never more than a message away. WiFi was provided throughout the island and I communicated with him via WhatsApp
Fairmont Maldives Overwater Villas
At the Fairmont Maldives, there are two types of overwater villas: Sunset Overwater Villas and Sunrise Overwater Villas. As the names imply, one faces the sunset and the other faces the sunrise. The villas facing the sunset are obviously more ideal but will also cost you extra. All the overwater villas are located on the very northern tip of the island, away from everyone else. There’s also a house reef surrounding the area so you will have direct access to amazing sealife just steps away from your deck.
On this trip, I booked a Sunrise Overwater Villa for five nights. The villa was spacious and beautiful. The room was furnished with a king-size bed, dual closet spaces (his and hers as they say), and a small sitting area with a loveseat, table, and beanbag. The large windows let in plenty of sunlight and provided great ocean views. A ceiling fan and two separate air conditioners (one for the bedroom and one for the bathroom) were provided to keep the villa cool. However, the AC unit in the bathroom wasn’t working properly and couldn’t be fixed during my visit.
There was a TV and minibar area with alcoholic drinks and snacks for purchase. Large bottles of purified water and coffee/tea were provided complimentary and were replenished daily. Room amenities included bathrobes, indoor and outdoor slippers, and a beach bag for you to use. An iron/ironing board, in-room safe, and mosquito-repellent diffuser were also provided.
It’s not the end of the world but I wished there was a desk, dining table, or some sort of dedicated workspace. I know you’re in paradise and you shouldn’t be working but some of us still have to work while on vacation and a desk or table to work on my laptop would have been appreciated. Instead, I had to sit on the beanbag and work on the coffee table, which wasn’t ideal.
The attached bathroom had dual sinks, a small vanity area, and enclosed toilet and walk-in shower rooms. There was also a large soaking tub by the windows with beautiful views of the outside. If you want to pamper yourself, you can opt for the rose petal, champagne bubble bath (for a charge).
I don’t know when this resort was built but I feel like it hasn’t been properly maintained. In addition to the AC not working in the bathroom, the shower also had temperature issues. It would frequently fluctuate from warm to scalding hot and there was nothing I could do to regulate the temperature.
Bath and body products including dental hygiene and shave kits were also provided for your use.
And the best part of my overwater villa was obviously, the outdoor deck. Each overwater villa had a large private deck with dual lounge chairs, a sun umbrella, private infinity pool, sitting area, hammock, and a covered cabana. There was even a stairway leading directly into the ocean so you can snorkel in front of your deck. If you’re asking yourself, “I wonder if the upgrade to an overwater villa is worth it,” then the answer is absolutely yes. I spent all day out here and it was so cool to just snorkel right in front of your villa. And yes, sharks, stingrays, and manta rays can be found in this area.
I will say that the outdoor deck was very private but it’s not completely private so use discretion while out there. The people snorkeling or jet skiing, and anyone walking down the stairs of the neighboring villa, can still see you and even though the deck is fairly covered from your neighbors, they can still see into your deck area through the slats. You have been warned.
Stay tuned for the second part of this review where I discuss the resort grounds, amenities and dining options. I’ll also talk about the weather and when the best time to visit is.
What are your thoughts so far? Have you stayed at the Fairmont Maldives or another resort in the Maldives? How does the Fairmont compare? Please let us know in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
The other posts in this series include:
- American Express Centurion Lounge LAX
- Qatar Airways A350-1000 Economy Class, Los Angeles to Doha
- Al Maha Lounge Doha, a Priority Pass Lounge
- Sleep N’ Fly Sleep Lounge Doha, a Priority Pass Lounge
- Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER Economy Class, Doha to Male
- Fairmont Maldives Overwater Villa
- Fairmont Maldives Grounds, Amenities and Dining
- Leeli Lounge Male
- Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER Business Class, Male to Doha
- Qatar Airways Arrivals Lounge Doha
- Qatar Airways A350-1000 Business Class, Doha to Los Angeles
