Fushifaru is a small boutique resort located in the beautiful Lhaviyani Atoll, surrounded by beautiful blue water and one of the longest sandbars in the Maldives. 49 villas sit amongst towering trees and sandy shores. We had a great time at this tiny island resort so read on to find out everything you need to know before you book!

Location: 5/5

Fushifaru is located in a marine-rich area known for it’s manta season (September-March). It’s about a 35-minute seaplane flight from Malé and you pass beautiful resorts and islands along the way. The island is small, lush and circled by beautiful white sand beach. The hotel chose its location due to the manta point and the long, gorgeous sandbar that sits just across the lagoon and it truly is picturesque.

Within eyesight are a few islands off in the distance and sunset views are excellent all year. The sunrise side of the island has the calmer lagoon, while sunset has more movement in the water as well as wind (which can be a great thing for bugs and for the heat).

Lobby & Check in experience: 4.5/5

Lobby & check in begins when you arrive in Malé at the airport. Outside the customs area, you will locate the hotel representative with a sign for Fushifaru. They will take you to the Trans-Maldivian check in counter and then send you to the TMA lounge in the seaplane terminal. Typically, the wait for your seaplane is between 1.5-3 hours depending on weather, other flight schedules etc. The lounge is shared between all TMA flights so it can get quite crowded but they do have showers, snacks, coffee and soft drinks. When it’s time to board your flight, you will be taken to the seaplane to board your flight and be off to paradise.

Upon landing at the resort, you are greeted by members of staff and management with drums and music as well as cold towels and it’s a fantastic welcome to the island. Shortly after arrival, you are brought to the lobby to check in and walked to your villa.

Rooms: 4/5

Fushifaru offers beach and overwater villas on property starting from a standard sunrise beach villa up to the premium overwater pool villas and duplex villas. We were checked into a sunset beach pool villa, villa 208. The beach villas are all the same size and differ only in the location and the pool versus no pool. The beach pool villa is 1,300 square feet including the exterior space. When you walk into the villa, there is a minibar on the right hand side that includes 2 coffee pods daily as well as unlimited water. There are chargeable items like two splits of wine as well as some snacks and soft drinks.

The king bed faces the patio and view beyond and there are two nightstands. There is a small lounger built into the nook as well as a desk/storage space on the other side of the room. The bathroom is entirely outside and features an “interior” shower as well as the fully exposed outdoor shower as well as two vanities and a nice soaking tub. There is no fan in the bathroom so keep in mind that showering and spending time in the bathroom during sunset is likely when you will see the most mosquitos.

The beach pool villa patios include a lounge bed, small dinette as well as the plunge pool with a tanning ledge. The sunset facing villas include two chaise lounges on the tanning ledge, while the sunrise villas do not.

We did have the chance to look at both the duplex villas as well the jacuzzi overwater and premium overwater pool villas.

The duplex villas are good for families and are essentially two beach villas put together with a small tv room in the middle. One side features a pool while the other side does not.

The jacuzzi overwater rooms are nice with lighter colored walls and accents. The bathroom is entirely inside and to the right hand side of the villa with access to the patio featuring a jacuzzi bathtub and lounge space. There is access down to the water directly.

The best rooms on property are the Premium Overwater Pool Villas. These feature spacious bedrooms with canopy beds, a large bathroom to the right hand side and a beautiful patio with suspended hammock over the water and pool with a glass front.

Overall, the rooms are nice. Our personal opinion is that the premium pool overwater rooms are by far the most elegantly appointed and offer the most value in terms of price. There are only 4 of them so it’s important to book these in advance, particularly in high season.

Service: 4/5

Fushifaru is a very laid back, small island and the service reflects that. In general, people are friendly and helpful and seem very happy to be working at the resort. Housekeeping comes twice a day and do a great job keeping the villas sand free and clean. They also add personal touches like sand art on the patio and one night, they even drew us a romantic bath. If you are a traveler that appreciates a very familial vibe with the staff, this is a great resort for you. Restaurant staff are helpful and sweet and always remember your coffee order in the morning. We had a great time getting to know the staff members we saw throughout the day.

You are assigned a member of the front desk team on arrival who is available via Whatsapp any time to help make appointments or answer questions. Our assigned agent was lovely and very quick to respond.

While the service is not refined or white glove, it offers a small-island feel and it’s very clear to see why guests return year after year.

Dining: 4/5

Fushifaru has three outlets on property: the main restaurant included in meal plans, the bar and Raakani, the a la carte restaurant.

Korakali is the all day dining restaurant that is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Korakali is the food outlet included in all meal plans. They feature a buffet for all meals as well as a fairly extensive a la carte menu that offers a mix of eastern and western dishes. The food in general is simple, yet very fresh and tasty. You can sit with your toes in the sand inside, outside or if you prefer a more stable flooring, they do also have seating off the sand. It’s a beautiful outdoor restaurant on the sunrise side of the island.

Raakani is the a la carte restaurant that offers an a la carte menu or a set menu on the meal plans and is now included in the dine-around. They offer indoor and outdoor seating and it’s a beautiful restaurant, especially if you can sit outside during sunset.

Fanihandi Bar is the main bar on property and serves drinks as well as an a la carte menu throughout the day. It’s also the pool bar as it sits directly behind the pool. All nightly activities happen at this bar, including karaoke and the Friday Maldivian night show.

There is a cute little bar cart located near the water villas that serves drinks (included in all inclusive) and snacks (not included). We did not try this out as we were not on an all-inclusive plan but I can see this being a nice spot in the evenings with a cool breeze.

They do offer in room dining as well as specialty dining options at a number of different price points. We were able to partake in the floating breakfast which was cleverly served on a miniature Dhoni, which was so fun to be able to enjoy.

They also have a variety of options for romantic dinners, starting at a romantic setup at the buffet restaurant for $100, all the way up to a $500 sandbar dinner setup. We really love how they have different options for every price point which makes a romantic dinner setup much more accessible to any guest. The setup at the buffet restaurant is out on the pier and is a great option for travelers looking for an inexpensive way to celebrate.

Overall, while they do not have an extensive number of restaurants, we did find they had good variety across the two main outlets. The food is simple, but good and I did not find myself getting bored with the mix of available dishes from both eastern and western cuisines.

Facilities: 4/5

Fushifaru is a small island with a lot of natural beauty and a variety of facilities for guests to access. The spa is one of the highlights of the island, with exceptional pricing ($80 for a massage), beautiful standalone treatment villas and a pool, steam and sauna for post-treatment relaxation.

The gym is also small but extremely efficient, located near the main pool area with a view of the arrival jetty. They have a few treadmills, cardio equipment, free weights and weight machines. During our stay, we never saw another guest in the fitness studio.

The main pool is the central point of the property with a bar, large infinity pool and nice seating around the pool. The sun sets right in front of the pool, making it a perfect place for sundowners. On Fridays, the resort has a Maldivian Culture Day and there are history/culture lessons throughout the day as well as a dance show in the evening in the main bar area. We absolutely loved this experience and appreciate the hotel’s focus on Maldivian Culture and sharing that with guests.

The resort does have a dive and activities center that is run by Best Dives. One of the reasons we rate the facilities 4 stars is due to the very big discrepancy in price between most of the property (like their $5 glasses of wine and $80 massages) and the activities. Best Dives is well known for being the most expensive dive company in the Maldives, and you can see this in one of our previous reviews at Heritance. Fushifaru is located in such a spectacular area for diving and water activities but their pricing just simply doesn’t align with the price of the rooms. If you plan to dive at Fushifaru, be prepared to budget $250 for a dive trip (often the cost of one night on property in a beach villa). We hope in the future they consider subsidizing the price of activities or working with a different company to better align the pricing of activities with the room rates and price of other items on site.

The sandbar is one of the most incredible features of the resort. Guests can book a private excursion to the sandbar and spend anywhere from one hour onwards on the sandbar all by themselves. We had the chance to go for 1 hour and it was not nearly enough so we recommend at least 2 hours to fully enjoy the experience. It’s one of the longest sandbars currently in the Maldives and is truly the definition of what the quintessential Maldives experience is.

Finally, they do have a great resort shop where you can even rent wedding dresses for photo shoots without needing to take your own with you.

Fushifaru has a lot to offer guests if you are looking for a very relaxing, low key experience on a beautiful island. The facilities are simple but effective and, outside of the diving, the prices are generally very good for a Maldives resort.

Style: 3.5/5

Fushifaru is simple and rustic in a lot of ways and really lets nature take over the property. There are towering banyan trees and big leafy plants the shade the walkways around the small island. It’s very naturally beautiful and the buildings are all very low to the ground and small. While the style is not anything remarkable or high end, it’s generally a very comfortable property with ample seating and relaxation areas. The beach villas with pools on the sunset side all have lovely palapas that light up in the evening so guests can relax outside and listen to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. The difference between the overwater villas and beach villas is stark and we hope they do lean into those lighter tones and white-washed wood tones in future updates to the property as that is a great direction for the resort to be moving in from a style perspective. Where the style lacked in sophistication, it made up for in being a place where you truly did not have to worry about wearing shoes or dressing up for no reason. It’s a laid back, familial vibe that felt extremely homey.

Overall: 4.14/5

Overall, we had a wonderful time at Fushifaru. To be honest, if the price of diving wasn’t so high, we would be booking 2 weeks there just to relax and enjoy a stunning island on our next trip to the Maldives. If you’re looking for a laid back property that isn’t boastful or stuck up, this is a great choice. While the all inclusive plan is a good choice, the price of drinks was not high with house wine coming in at $5 a glass and cocktails starting at $10. We can absolutely understand why guests come back year over year. If you are looking to book, I would personally consider an overwater villa either with or without a pool for the best experience. If you are looking at Fushifaru for your next trip, be sure to reach out to us for exclusive rates and perks :).