Dhawa Ihuru

It was an amazing stay for our family. All personell was very friendly, nice and kind. Restaurant personell was always smiling, nice to everyone. Special thanks to a bar crew, Rohit, Don, Prdeep! Villas are always clean and smell good. All around great hotel, great trip, super vacations.

Honey moon 22-27 July 2025 Beautiful resort, we felt right at home. Breathtaking sea view. Excellent food and beautifully cooked pasta. Continental specialties. Professionalism and attention to guests. Courtesy, humility, politeness, and helpfulness like never before. Thanks to all the staff at the dining room, bar, and reception. Thanks to Aini, Giulia, Hannah, Ziyaad, Adam, Mihaadh, Eni, Widia, Maaniu, Husham, Don, Afraah, Pradeep, and Rohit for making our honeymoon a success, as well as the guy who offered us coconuts in the garden and all the staff! A heartfelt thank you from the newlyweds Franco and Lina

Love it. The island just have everything you need. We have a villa by the beach with sunset view, the food was also amazing with BBQ buffet while we stay. We also visited the sister island with a quick boat ride. The staff was super friendly, Ailath was super helpful made our trip such wonderful experience! We would to love to come back.

We didn’t stay at the hotel itself (we stayed on a neighboring island), but we visited for snorkeling and dinner. Snorkeling was excellent! It’s close to the shore, with plenty of fish species — even squid. You can swim around the island in about 40–60 minutes, depending on the current. The full loop is around 1 km. There’s a lovely lagoon near the bar, perfect for a relaxing swim. We only came for dinner once, and compared to the neighboring island where we dined regularly, the food quality here was noticeably lower. However, everything was fresh and the selection was sufficient — you won’t go hungry. I recommend coming here for dinner during buffet nights on the neighboring island (Tues, Thurs, Sun, I believe) to really notice the difference. Interestingly, both islands shared the same head chef at the time of our visit (David). The accommodation looks simple and modest — small bungalows, nothing fancy. You can't walk around the entire island along the shore, and the view is somewhat spoiled by netting placed every 5–10 meters. The staff is amazing. The island also has a spa and a kids’ club. The island is just a 20-minute boat ride from the airport, and naturally, you can see Malé in the distance.

This beautiful boutique island surrounded by its own lagoon is only a 25 minute speedboat ride from Male International airport, so not long after a long haul flight until you set foot in paradise!|Upon arrival you are greeted at the jetty and led to the 'barception' (the reception is located in the bar!) and offered cold flannels and a cold drink. Check-in is seamless before you are shown to your villa.|Villas are sea facing, some have rain showers, some jacuzzis, all have outside bathrooms with a shower which we love.|The room itself is tastefully decorated with a super king size bed, aircon, daybed, table and chairs, flatscreen TV (with your welcome message), suitcase storage area, safe, drawers, wardrobe (a bit on the small side but adequate) and mini bar. The mini bar contains soft drinks, beer and wine. There are also branded spirits, snacks and chocolate included in the AI package and replenished daily. The beach can be accessed directly from your villa. There is a deck area with table and chairs, parasol, swing bed, lounge bed and two loungers. So you can choose somewhere different to relax every day! The villas are serviced twice daily to a very high standard. There were a couple of minor issues when we arrived but these were rectified quickly. The staff make it their business to ensure that you have everything you need from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave, nothing is too much trouble.|There is one bar and one restaurant, more than enough! The bar offers the usual beer and wine plus a reasonable selection of cocktails included in the AI package. The restaurant is a mixture of buffet and table service on set menu nights. Don’t be put off by this, there is plenty of choice. All food is cooked to a high standard and well presented.|The island itself is small (no water villas here) and very well kept. The sand paths and beaches are cleaned daily so the island is always pristine. You can walk around on the beach at low tide, it gets a bit trickier at high tide but not a problem if you don’t mind getting a bit wet!|Ihuru is a snorkelers paradise. The house reef here is excellent with easy access around the island, all clearly marked. Great for novice and expert snorkelers alike. There is also a PADI dive centre (we don’t dive so cannot comment on this) plus a water sports area where you can get snorkelling equipment free of charge. Above the dive centre and water sports area is a gym (we didn’t use this either so cannot comment).|The spa is located internally on the island, meet and greet is relaxed and attentive before you are escorted to your private garden treatment room. I definitely recommend visiting the spa during your stay.|Ihuru is in close proximity to its sister island Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru. Speedboat shuttles operate daily every two hours. There you can frequent a Thai or Japanese restaurant (shaped like a stingray with far reaching views of the ocean and an infinity pool), swim or snorkel, visit the marine lab or just stroll along the wide beach enjoying the view. It was nice to be able to do this, as you get a good view of Dhawa Ihuru!|Light pollution at night was a bit of a negative for us: Male and its ever growing surroundings can easily been seen from the island. There are new resort islands appearing all around the Maldives which affects the currents, we found the sea to be quite rough at times, something we are not used to in the Maldives. We have been coming here for many years so remember what it used to be like. That’s progress for you but doesn’t detract from the beauty of Ihuru itself. If you’re a Maldives newbie you wouldn’t even think about it.|In closing I’d like to give a shout out to some of the staff. Aushan our room boy was lovely, he decorated the bed beautifully and even gave me a soft toy to take home. Barman Don mixed a wicked cocktail. Adam our waiter was experienced, polite and attentive. He always appeared at just the right time to bring food or clear the table and was always happy to stay and chat for a while. Eni, the maitre'd was also friendly and attentive.|So if you’re looking for a little piece of paradise, quiet and unpretentious you might want to add Dhawa Ihuru to your shortlist. We were so glad we did, we thoroughly enjoyed our time here.

Our stay at Dhawa Ihuru exceeded all expectations. We chose this destination based on its reputation as an excellent spot for snorkelling, and it truly lived up to the hype. The reef exits were clearly marked, and the abundance of colourful coral fish was mesmerising. Each snorkelling session brought encounters with new species, and we were thrilled to swim alongside blacktip sharks and a hawksbill turtle. Adding to the charm, the resident grey heron was always nearby, occasionally acting as an extra reef exit signpost. We also spotted the national bird, the white-breasted waterhen, and a black-naped tern, which added to the magical experience. The hospitality at Dhawa Ihuru was equally impressive. All the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, and their attentiveness made our stay even more memorable. For instance, the General Manager greeted us warmly every time we crossed paths, always inquiring about our experience at the resort. At the front desk, Elena and Hannah went above and beyond to provide flexible and insightful advice. Thanks to Elena’s help, we were able to join an unscheduled dolphin cruise, which turned out to be an unforgettable experience with the super energetic spinner dolphins. In the restaurant, Eni ensured our dining experience was seamless, while Nish at the bar offered exceptional service. And, of course, the food was outstanding—abundant, delicious, and full of variety. Every meal was a delight, adding another layer of enjoyment to our stay. Dhawa Ihuru comes highly recommended and we can’t wait to return!

This was our 8th visit to the Maldives but the first to Dhawa.||We were welcomed on the island personally by the manager and after a refreshing drink, taken to our room.||The room was large, clean and a lovely "Happy Birthday" welcome on the bed with leaves and flowers plus a really tasty cake 🎂 ||The island is small and perfectly formed! You can walk all the way round in less than 10 minutes.||Some evenings were buffet restaurant and some were set menus to choose a 4 course meal from.||The alcoholic drinks were amazing. No slushy fake cocktails like you get at some islands and there was plenty of choice.||Rooms were cleaned twice a day and the towels provided were of a good quality.||All the staff were friendly and helpful and made you feel very welcome.||If im being VERY picky, I would say that although the jacuzzi worked well, there were plastic bits broken and no light. ||The food was of a high quality most nights but a couple of meals were lacking in choice I felt. ||There is a free speedboat to and from the neighbouring Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru island every 2hrs or so. We went across to have a look around but honestly much preferred Dhawa.||We had already booked up for next year to come back to Dhawa and are really looking forward to returning.||Thank you to all the wonderful staff that make a visit to Dhawa truly amazing.

We were there in mid-June and had a wonderful vacation. The staff were very attentive and incredibly warm. We never felt like strangers. They were very caring to make sure we had a great time. It’s a place like paradise.