Amilla Fushi Maldives is a Lovely Island with Something for Everyone!

The sunsets from our deck were stunning. I was really impressed with breakfast. It was incredible. The large infinity pool is so beautiful and the palms surrounding it give it a nice ambiance.

I walked around the island and it was huge. Half the island has been left in its natural state, other than the bike paths and staff quarters.

Rooms

The modern, smartly decorated rooms are very spacious! The white decor is beautiful against the turquoise water. There is a long window wall with sliding doors, which I loved. We were in Reef Room 126, the best of the bunch of Reef Rooms as it is a corner room at the end of the jetty and has wide unobstructed stunning views spreading across the horizon. The sunsets are gorgeous. The decks are also huge, with several seating areas, including a comfortable sofa two could lay down on.

The pool is wonderful and we enjoyed it after our swims/snorkels. There are two large TVs in the villa and a surround sound you can blue-tooth.

I toured the treetop villas and beach villas and was very impressed. The treetop house (it is that big!) was really amazing tucked in the jungle it even has a large pool and seemed like a great choice for families. I kept expecting to see a monkey swing by! They also have large vacation “ homes” on the beach. This island has it all!

Staff

Narelle, the GM, is super friendly and focuses on making Amilla an inclusive resort, including those with physical disabilities. Her philosophy is really fresh and innovative and she is doing a great job! She is very approachable and interesting to talk to.

All the staff were five stars. Yasuda at breakfast stood out as one of the kindest and most helpful. Also Saman the pastry chef, Jupiter our butler, Lawhu our room boy, Murray, Indran and the list goes on. I am sorry to leave out any of the wonderful staff!

Food

We loved the Japanese restaurant out on the jetty called Koi. The food was excellent and the sashimi /sushi exquisitely prepared! We ate there several times. Also enjoyed the market night buffets. Most restaurants are located next to the large infinity pool, which is so relaxing at night with the mood lighting. Both still and sparkling water are complimentary at meals, unlike some of the other resorts who charge for it. This was a refreshing change! One of the market nights was Mediterranean and it was impressive! We enjoyed the grilled meats and seafood. They even had oysters on the half shell from Holland. The deserts were so delicious and so artistically prepared I would say the deserts are on par with Mirihi, which was some of the most incredible Michelin star like food we’ve had in the Maldives.

The reef

We swam/snorkeled around the island's drop-off daily. It is an underwater wonderland! There are large schools of fish, some reef sharks, a fair amount of turtles, rays, eels, especially around the end of the undeveloped part of the island. There were so many colorful fish in the warm clear blue water, we felt surrounded as if in an aquarium, and we swam and floated with the current around it. The corals are recovering nicely from the 2016 bleaching seen around the world.

One day we were followed by a titan fish that added some excitement. We must have accidentally swam over its nest area. Some curious bat fish then followed around us. We saw Eagle rays, a sting ray, moray eel, lion fish, turtles, a few friendly reef sharks including white and black tip and nurse sharks and a mind blowing amount of schools of every fish we have seen around the reef. The massive schools were mostly on the undeveloped end of the island. Not many people snorkel. When we first got to the room, a pod of dolphins swam by to greet us!

The staff discourages people from being at the undeveloped end of the island, but the current is not unmanageable and the amount of fish soup and variety off that point made it worth every effort. It ranks up there as some of the best snorkeling days we’ve had in the Maldives…We were really awestruck. It takes us around two hours to circumvent the island. There is a lifeguard that dutifully follows us around from the shore, and we definitely kept him busy!

Activities

It is a larger island and has bikes, so we loved riding those around, especially at night for dinner. It is absolutely magical! There is even a bike path called “the road less traveled” that goes along the beach. The paddle boards and kayaks are free. The infinity pool is one of the largest we have seen so far.

There are 2 “state of the art” gyms and they are near the spa area. One is cardio and one is weights. The resort has a unique private glamping glass bubble right on the beach that can be used by couples for an extra charge for a night .

Even in the infrequent rain, we found things to do. From our room, we have wide open views so we don't mind just hanging out. They have a complimentary wet and dry sauna and steam area as well as we play ping pong, a good rainy day activity, the tropical downpours do not usually last long and typically the sky clears.

We went out on a “ sunset fishing “ trip and my husband caught a giant trevally. They offer a list of anniversary benefits at Amilla, including a romantic dinner on the beach and a choice of sunset fishing or a dolphin watching cruise.

There is a kombucha making class and a complimentary private yoga session in the long list of activities.

My husband took a “ back of the house” tour and he said the laundry facilities are very impressive. These huge machines that two people feed wet sheets through and they come out dry and press. There are 320 or so staff for 250 guests at 100 % occupancy. That’s the Maldives for you! At your service!” The Maldives, especially the five star resorts always appear uncrowded and we hardly see anyone except at meals.

We loved everything about this gorgeous property and highly recommend it for a memorable and romantic stay in the Maldives!

This trip report is part of our ongoing series on travel to Maldives. In need of further inspiration? Check out Arlette Diederiks' guide, Island luxury at LUX South Ari Atoll in the Maldives.