Maldives, the WOW destination
The main difference between the two islands is their location and accessibility. Jumeirah Vittaveli is located close to Male and it takes 20 minutes by speed boat to be there, while Shangri La's Villingili Resort is located south of Male and you need 1 hour by internal flight and 10 minutes by speed boat to reach the resort. There is a seaplane option which is generally more expensive that can be schedule for you on arrival if during daylight or the Maldivian Airlines scheduled flight which have fixed timings. We landed early in the morning at 6.30am, we were welcomed by an employee from Shangri La and escorted to a lounge in the airport where we were able to have breakfast while we waited for the 11am flight. He took care of our luggage and did the check in for the flight, so we only had to go to board 10 minutes before departure. So, overall we reached the resort around 1pm, about 12 hours after leaving Dubai. While the arrival process has been very well handled and we were well taken care of, the time to reach the resort took away a bit from my overall experience.
Once on the island, the welcoming is always amazing; we were greeted with a small flower bouquet and a coconut juice and escorted directly to the villa for check in. I stayed in a pool villa. The villa was very spacious, with a nice swimming pool overlooking the sea, outside shower area and a huge bath, a big terrace with a day bed and lounge chairs. It had everything one could need of. It was located on the side of the island which did not allow swimming due to the currents and had lots of vegetation around it. The island is very big compared to the Jumeirah one and it had a golf course on it, as well as a green jungle. It was nice to be able to go around the island on a bicycle and see different types of birds, as well as some quite big hanging bats, which could be a bit scary though if seen at night.
The beach area is quite small but there was a big swimming pool close by as well so you could easily lay around the pool and go for a swim in the sea as well. Lots of water sports available and some of them free of charge (non-motorised).
We did two excursions: snorkelling and dolphin watching which were really great. The guides were amazing, knew exactly where to go to get the best out of the trip. We saw amazing corals, fishes and huge turtles and of course lots of dolphins.
The food was as well very good, we tried their breakfast buffet a few times, the food around the pool area, drinks at the M Lounge by the beach and dinner at Dr. Ali’s and Fashala. Everything was delicious, staff really nice and helpful and service of a very high standard.
They have a spa as well on the island which is a peace of heaven. It is surrounded by lots of vegetation and water and includes treatment villas with private gardens as well as yoga studio that overlooks the sea. Absolutely breath taking.
Other types of villas available on the island are the ones with direct access to the beach and the over water villas. Most of them accommodate up to 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children but they did have a few as well for bigger families, with a separate bedroom.
I have seen 2 kids areas, one for younger kids and one for older, with different activities to do by age and they organize daily trips around the island to discover different parts and learn something new. The morning of the departure, we had to leave very early so they organized a small breakfast for us at the departure lounge, while we were waiting for the boat. The trip back was very smooth also, with the staff assisting us all the way to the checking counter at the airport for the trip back to Dubai.
Overall, it was a very pleasant experience which I would happily repeat. It is an expensive experience though, as Maldives is a costly destination. But highly recommended for both couples and families.