The quintessential over the water bungalow in the Maldives was once was just our dream, finally came true at Cinnamon Dhonveli in the Maldives! A bucket list worthy stay to say the least! We spent 3 nights at Cinnamon Dhonveli in a gorgeous over the water bungalow. We loved the Dhonveli Resort, not only for their over the water bungalows but several other reasons. Here are our top reasons to visit Dhonveli and the Maldives!
Reasons Why Loved Cinnamon Dhonveli
Surfing at Cinnamon Dhonveli
One of the main attractions at Cinnamon Dhonveli is that they have their own private surf break named Pasta Point. Only the guests at Cinnamon Dhonveli can surf at Pasta Point and Cinnamon enforces a strict sustainable surfing policy and limits it to 30 surfers on the island at any given time. Even though Adam and I aren’t surfers we loved going to the surfer’s bar that was right in front of the break and watch the surfers. Every night at happy hour we’d be there watching the sunset with the surfers catching some waves, made for some epic photos.
If you want to surf at Cinnamon Dhonveli they also have a surf school and rentals just in case you don’t travel with your own board. What better place to learn to surf than in the Maldives.
The Food at Cinnamon Resorts
We’ve been to many all-inclusive resorts before but none of them compare to the food we had at Cinnamon Resorts in the Maldives. Every day there was something different and featured several food stations. We both loved the nights the guy was making fresh garlic naan and Hannah visited the salad guy where you literally pick your ingredients and he makes you a made to order a salad. We cannot forget the fact that they had ice cream out at lunch & dinner with a great topping selection including our favorite cashews! We also stayed at Ellaidhoo Maldives another Cinnamon property where the meals were very similar and just as good.
Like most resorts in the Maldives, you must purchase a meal package. We had the all-inclusive package which entitled us to 3 meals a day and unlimited alcoholic drinks (Cheers!). If you aren’t a big drinker you could easily get by with the half board option (lunch & dinner).
The beach at Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives
Not only is there surfing at Cinnamon Dhonveli but on the other side of the island, there is a gorgeous white sand beach. The beach is super calm and great for snorkeling right from the shore. You can even rent a kayak and spend a day out on the water. We preferred to sit in the beach chairs on the ocean’s edge.
The Location
It is super easy to get to Cinnamon Dhonveli from Male. Everyone that comes to the Maldives flies into Male and right from the airport you can hop on a speedboat that will have you at Cinnamon Dhonveli in under 30 minutes. The boats leave all throughout the day so you don’t have to coordinate times, we were coming from another island via seaplane and the boat left as soon as we were on it. We didn’t have to sit around waiting for other passengers.
Over the water bungalows at Cinnamon Dhonveli
We loved-love-loved over the water bungalow, the perfect place for a Maldives honeymoon. You can literally step right into the ocean from your water bungalow. Every day we’d wake up early and jump in the ocean for an early morning swim, and then we’d enjoy the rest of the day on our balcony lounging. Don’t forget to pack a GoPro dome for fun underwater pictures like the one above. One of our favorite things about the over the water bungalow is the glass window in the middle of the floor, you literally can see the swim fishing by from inside your room. Besides the room being gorgeous we were shocked that our room had a private Wifi router
Seasonal Prices at Dhonveli Resort
For some reason, we both figured the Maldives would be crazy expensive but we were wrong. There are great deals to be had and even bigger deals if you travel off-peak season. It will rain more than the winter peak months, but it won’t rain your entire vacation. If you are willing to take a gamble with the weather the Maldives are much more affordable than you would ever imagine. We visited in June and rooms were under $300 for an overwater bungalow with all-inclusive for two adults, which is super cheap Maldives prices. You won’t find many deals like this.
The Maldives is calling… Don’t forget to pin me for later!
