Shangri-La's Villingili Resort & Spa

“Paradise on Earth..!!”

I'm writing this review after an year of my visit. However I still remember every detail of one of my best holidays. We arrived at Gan island following our holiday in Sri Lanka. We were received by staff at airport and after a 20 minute speed boat ride we were at resort. After the welcome we wer... more

I'm writing this review after an year of my visit. However I still remember every detail of one of my best holidays. We arrived at Gan island following our holiday in Sri Lanka. We were received by staff at airport and after a 20 minute speed boat ride we were at resort. After the welcome we were introduced to our resort host Issey. He escorted us to our over the water villa. First look and the villa was huge and beautiful. Issey briefly explained about the amenities and other facilities we could avail of. We could see blue water right till the horizon from the villa. The water around the villa was so clear that we could see colorful fishes right from above. Our island host Issey arranged a tour of the entire resort and took around the place in a buggy. We could visit the golf course which is one of the highlights of the resort. We were shown the restaurants, spa, pool, water sports centre the Villinglli hill during our tour. There are three restaurants in the resort. The breakfast and lunch is at Javvu. The breakfast was sumptuous. There was lot of variety to choose from. It was a perfect start to the day. The service was good. Though the orders took bit longer we honestly didn't mind as we had no reason to hurry during holiday. We were on all-inclusive plan. We wished there were few more options available for lunch and dinner at Javvu. However we loved all the dishes we tried. The Maldivian fish curry with rice was our favorite. There was ocean food night on a saturday. It was one of the best experiences. We got to relish various sea food dishes. For dinner at Fashala and Dr. Ali's reservations had to be made. We couldn't visit Fashala but we did visit Dr. Ali's for our last dinner. The outdoor sitting was beautiful and we could hear the waves hitting the shore. The food was amazing enjoyed Indian and Arabian dishes. The swimming pool offered a great view. There are small cosy sitting places (forgot they were called) besides pool where we could relax between swims. The pool side bar was also great. There are motorised and non-motorised water sports available. We tried kayaking almost everyday. Apart from that we also tried snorkelling. The sea was bit rough due to weather and so we didn't go too far from our villa. One of life guard Sanjay particularly guided us quite well while snorkelling. The resort is a huge and walking on foot is quite tiring. However we were provided with bicycles which helped to make commute easier and also enjoyable. Apart from bicycles we could also request for buggy by calling reception. While returning from dinner our buggy operator always complied to our request to help us spot turtles which are usually seen near villas 121 to 125. Spotting the turtles was one of the most memorable experience. Overall it was just an amazing holiday. Wish I had planned a longer stay..!!

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“Truely amazing !!!!!”

Had always dreamed about going to the Maldives so for my 50th we did a 2 night stay in Singapore which was great and then to the Shangri-La for 6 nights in an over water villa !!! When we left Male we flew for 70 minutes flying over many Other islands just like you see in the brochures. We ar... more

Had always dreamed about going to the Maldives so for my 50th we did a 2 night stay in Singapore which was great and then to the Shangri-La for 6 nights in an over water villa !!! When we left Male we flew for 70 minutes flying over many Other islands just like you see in the brochures. We arrived at Gan airport and took a 20 minute trip to The island !! Well amazing it was better than the brochures. We were taken to our Over Water Villa which was huge and had this beautiful blue sea that looked unreal. There are many places to eat, the food is great so much choice and so much too eat. We were on an all inclusive package which was well worth it. The pool area was great and all the bar staff were outstanding, we met several other Australians to and Were together for the rest of our stay. We all went for A meal for my birthday and the staff presented me with a cake and candles was a fab night. This was at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic. Unfortunately all Australians were told to get home before we were stuck overseas, so we had to leave two days early. Very hard decision to make but could not afford to be stuck overseas. I have the most amazing memories, such a shame we had to cut it short, hopefully will return one day. Thanks to everyone of the amazing staff. Take care Kate

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“Absolute Luxury in an Idilic Location”

This is a beautiful resort. The setting looking across the lagoon is simply marvellous. There are plenty of facilities and things to do. There's even a nine hole golf course. We are scuba divers and had some of the best diving in years. The over water room was vast, stylish and very well ap... more

This is a beautiful resort. The setting looking across the lagoon is simply marvellous. There are plenty of facilities and things to do. There's even a nine hole golf course. We are scuba divers and had some of the best diving in years. The over water room was vast, stylish and very well appointed. Snorkelling from your room or in the designated area is fantastic. The meals, drinks and wine list are very good. The staff and service were exceptional. We would highly recommend this resort, however it is certainly in the luxury bracket. We stayed in March 2019.

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“Magnificent Response to the Covid-19 Situation”

We returned to this Villingili paradise for 12 nights in March 2020 after an absence of 2 years. Everything was as expected/remembered from our previous stay and the superlatives from my review of 2018 remain unchanged. BUT - the big difference this time round was the increasing menace of the Cov... more

We returned to this Villingili paradise for 12 nights in March 2020 after an absence of 2 years. Everything was as expected/remembered from our previous stay and the superlatives from my review of 2018 remain unchanged. BUT - the big difference this time round was the increasing menace of the Covid-19 outbreak in the wider world and we must commend all of the Shangri-La Villingili staff for their superb response to the situation. Despite the very low (and reducing during our stay) occupancy in the hotel and the reduction in local staffing levels because of Maldives Government restrictions , all of the Shangri-La staff worked exceptionally hard to provide us with the usual unforgettable experience. All of the services (dining outlets, water sports, spa, etc) functioned normally and to the usual 5-star level, right up to our check-out day when only a handful of guests remained. If any of the staff had personal worries/concerns over the coronavirus situation, they kept them well hidden from us and were their usual smiling, friendly and helpful selves. During our last 48 hours at the hotel, we had numerous last-minute flight changes because of various travel restrictions, and our villa host worked tirelessly to help us with local travel arrangements. Shangri-La Villingili was for us a shining example of the hospitality industry at its best under extremely adverse conditions and they deserve to thrive, once conditions return to normal at some future point. Well done (and a big THANK YOU) Shangri-La Maldives.

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