Is Constance Moofushi Maldives’ best All-Inclusive?
1. Intro of Constance Moofushi
All-Inclusive resorts aren’t normally at the top of our list of places to visit. After reading some positive reviews of Constance Moofushi, we decided to give it a try. The result? We were not disappointed. Constance Moofushi is a barefoot resort in the South Ari Atoll. It’s just a 45-minute seaplane transfer away from the Maldivian capital Malé. While it’s not the most luxurious resort we’ve been to, it’s definitely one of the resorts where we had the most fun!
2. Transfer
After transferring from Anantara Dhigu, another resort in the Maldives, we were immediately greeted by a Constance representative at the speedboat dock. We were escorted to their lounge, where we received something to drink and nibble. After filling out some papers with our preferences (which we could have perfectly done via email beforehand) we waited in the lounge for our seaplane to arrive. The lounge was nice and spacious with lots of natural daylight. It was beautifully decorated and even had those foot/calves massage devices which we tried just for fun. I quite liked the feeling. Laura on the other hand, not so much :-). The seaplane ride itself is the same as for every Maldivian resort: cramped and noisy but absolutely breathtaking!!
3. Check-in
On arrival, we were greeted by a whole team and were brought to the ‘lobby’. There we received a welcome drink and they took away our shoes. A pair of branded Constance flip flops were given in return. Keep in mind that the lobby isn’t your standard hotel lobby, as the floor is covered in sand. In fact most of the hotel is sand and most of the guests just walk around barefoot or on flip flops, which we really liked. The check-in process was fast and actually already took place at the airport lounge. As a result this was more a moment to sit down and have a refreshing drink and a cold towel after a hot seaplane transfer.
4. Design
We really liked the design of the whole place. Don’t expect beautiful and expensive materials as you won’t find them anywhere. Instead you get a lovely rustic design with lots of wood, straw and bamboo. It perfectly fits the island-vibe you get here. Many villas in other luxury Maldivian resorts look like just another hotel suite in Paris or New York. However here the design constantly reminds you that you’re in The Maldives. And we really liked that.
5. Rooms
There are only 3 types of rooms at the resort: beach villas, water villas and senior water villas. We were given a water villa which was rather on the small side with its 66 square meters. It’s by no means a small room and you have plenty of space if it’s just the two of you. However for Maldivian standards, where most luxury resort villas start at 100 square meters, everything felt a little cramped. There are no private pools to be found at Constance Moofushi, but our room had a large deck and easy access to the lagoon. We didn’t really mind the lack of private pool, as it made us go in the ocean more, and in the end, isn’t that the reason why you go to The Maldives?
The A/C worked really well, the bed was very comfortable and the water pressure in the showers (both indoor and outdoors) was absolutely perfect! Some will complain there’s no bathtub, but with the calm lagoon at your doorstep, who needs a bath? We really liked the minibar being refilled daily with soft and alcoholic drinks and snacks like crisps, peanuts and chocolate. All in all it’s a decent room where everything works and for most people, that’s more than enough.
6. Common areas
As mentioned earlier in this review, you spend 90% of the time with your toes in the sand here and that’s such a great feeling to have! The beaches are quite large, so you never feel like it’s crowded and all the common areas are kept really clean. We didn’t spend much time by the main pool, but it looked like a nice place to hang out. Everything is within a 10 minute walking distance but the island never felt too small.
7. Spa / Wellness
We didn’t have a spa treatment and didn’t explore the wellness, so we can’t judge on the quality. One morning we did have a sunrise yoga class with an instructor from the Wellness team which was nice for beginners like us. It’s a great way to start the day! We had a very mediocre spa treatment at their sister property Constance Halaveli, so lets hope the spa at Moofushi is a step or two up!
8. Food & Beverage
This is the part we were most scared of. We have done multiple All-Inclusive resorts before and f&b has been mediocre to shockingly bad in all cases. Thankfully that wasn’t the case here.
We had most of our breakfasts and lunches at the Manta restaurant buffet and there was always a very large selection of cold and hot foods. Everything looked and tasted fresh. We had one dinner at Alizée, which is an à la carte restaurant on the beach by the water and we absolutely loved it. The Totem bar is great place that’s almost constantly open and serves delicious cocktails and a small snack menu. We had a burger and a sandwich there once as a midday snack and it was decent.
The main highlight of this All-Inclusive resort is definitely the wine list. More than 120 different bottles of wine are included in the package and there’s a small army of sommeliers to help you choose the perfect one. You could spend 2 weeks at the resort and order a different wine for every single course throughout the day, and you still wouldn’t have tasted all the included wines, isn’t that amazing?!
9. Service
While you won’t get a private butler who drives you around and will pack and unpack your suitcase, you will get a lot of smiling faces and a team that will make your stay as comfortable as possible without being too present. We had the feeling that the staff actually enjoyed working here and they just created a good all around vibe. Sometimes, they will really go all out! One evening, we decided to experience the cinema on the beach (see the picture on top of this page), and when we arrived a bottle of champagne was already waiting for us, as well as the same wine we had for dinner that evening, bottled water, popcorn and other snacks. Every 30 minutes or so, a staff member came to check up on us to see if we were ok and had everything we needed!
10. Value for money
While not cheap, we think it’s great value for money. In high-season you’ll pay a bit over $1.000 per night, but keeping in mind that it’s all-inclusive, and that food and drink prices in the Maldives are VERY high, we believe this is a great choice for some people who like a certain peace of mind. We hear from a lot of people that they weren’t able to fully enjoy their Maldives holiday because they were constantly thinking about the high f&b prices and even had to skip meals because of that. If you recognise yourself in this, Constance Moofushi might just be what you’re looking for!
11. Summary of Constance Moofushi
For this price range in The Maldives, we think it’s hard to beat this hotel (which you can book here). The Maldives will always be expensive, and we noticed that once you go under the $1000/night the quality of food and service drops dramatically. You’ll still find the beautiful blue waters, but that’s about it. At Constance Moofushi you can stay for less than that outside of peak season and still have great food, good wines and a perfectly respectable service. If you stay long enough you’ll even manage to have the seaplane transfer included for less than that amount, which in our opinion is a must if you come to the Maldives.
The Maldives will always be an expensive destination, but there are some amazing opportunities to be found! It’s one of the best places to redeem points! We wrote a great post about which hotel in the Maldives to book on points and it’s a must-read!
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