Adrian Norman

Review of Shangri- La Villingili, Maldiv...

Whilst our stay was spoiled by a couple of days of...

Whilst our stay was spoiled by a couple of days of rain and consistent windy conditions we could, however, still see the quality of the resort. The room (tree villa) was amazing, the speciality restaurants (Dr Ali and Fashala) were stunning, the staff were friendly and helpful, the management was visible and approachable. As a Shangdi-La resort you can be proud - it's a great place. However, for us it was not the typical "no shoes" Maldivian experience we were looking for. The main paths were hard and stoney so you couldn't go barefoot and, presumably because everyone relied on buggies to get around, there was no feeling of togetherness: the room is great but it's over here, the restaurant is great but its over there, the beach is great but it's over there, the golf course is great but it's way over there. All individually good but just don't come together as a coherent unit. In conclusion, Villingili Resort is like a great hotel, just with it's constituent parts separated by paths and jungle! But for travellers like us looking for the typical no shoes experience it's missing a tick in the most important box......