Anantara Dhigu: Family Friendly Escape in the Maldives

Anantara Dhigu: Family Friendly Escape in the Maldives 

Only a boat ride away from Male Airport, Anantara Dhigu offers a tropical getaway at great convenience for families and couples alike.

What You Need To Know About Maldives :

Unlike many other places on the planet and one of the things that makes the Maldives extraordinary unique is that each hotel is located on a private island of itself. In order to understand this concept, we need to realize that this island country is composed of a chain of 26 coral atolls each of which is made up of hundreds of different islands all dispersed through roughly 90,000 square kilometers making it one of the world’s most dispersed countries! These hundreds of islands are miniature islands, most of which are inhabited and left untouched. For this reason, each island can only “host” one hotel and also one of the reasons why most hotels have water bungalows. This is why planning a trip to the Maldives is extremely different than planning a trip to most other tropical destinations, and why it’s crucial for you to do lots of research to choose the right hotel since you will be spending all of your time there.  This means you will sleep, eat and do all of your actives in the hotel. In the Maldives, you can not simply leave the island and go somewhere for lunch or explore a different beach (Unless you are staying in the capital, Male ). This means that essentially the hotel that you choose to stay in will define your whole Maldives experience.

Location & How to Get To Anantara Dhigu:

At Anantara Dhigu, it’s as much about the journey as it is about the destination. Your getaway starts the moment you start your 20 min journey to Anantara Dhigu in a gorgeous boat equipped with WiFi and the comfiest reclinable seats before you are welcomed to this paradise. Once you arrive at the airport the staff will escort you the Anantara Hotels lounge, which is right on the arrivals terminal, from where you will head to the hotel’s island. Since the hotel is so close to the airport, airport transfers are extremely convenient and hassle-free since you do not need to take a seaplane. This is especially convenient for international flights as seaplanes do not fly past 4 pm.

The Villa:

We were welcomed into an overwater bungalow right on the crystal clear waters of the Maldives. The villa itself is spacious, with a great closet area, very spacious master bathroom, and the best of all, the outdoor area. With a good size Infinity pool overlooking all the shades of blue, the overwater bungalow at Anantara Dhigu has the picture perfect bungalow that the Maldives is all about. All you will want to do is lounge by your own little slice of paradise. Its hard to choose where you want to spend the day, so you’ll just have to take turns between the beach and the pool.

Oh did I forget to mention the freestanding bathtub? Best way to end the day and definitely the best place to watch the sunset.

The jetty for the overwater bungalows is not too far away from the main area so you can easily walk or you can always call and ask for a buggy (golf cart).

Pool, Beach & Amenities:

One of my favorite things about Anantara Dhigu is the water- so crystal, so clear just exactly what you envision a tropical paradise. The beaches are spacious, making them one of my favorite amenities in the property. You must be thinking, oh but its the Maldives isn’t that a common attribute to all the properties? Yes and no, since each hotel is in an island of itself, the actual grounds of the hotel varies. Some have more corals or the beaches are not so wide. The beach in Anantara Dhigu was definitely one of my favorites. A bonus is that due to the location of the island, you will see lots of stingrays that come close to the shore – some hang around by the beach! You can grab your snorkeling gear without having to swim more than a few meters away from the shore. Speaking of gear, all equipment such as kayaks, snorkels, surfboards, paddle boards are complementary.

The main pool is a gorgeous infinity pool, wide enough to provide privacy for the guests, so everyone can admire the gorgeous beach view. Right next to it you have a lot of the facilities such as the restaurants and the reception.

Close by you also have the gym and the kids club. What I love about the kids club is that it is designed to maximize the outdoor play area for the kids. The indoor space is quite small since the main focus is the play area outside. They provide different actives daily where the kids can participate such as pizza making at an extra cost, though I believe it would be best to include this complementary with your stay.

While you are already in paradise, having a spa treatment is a must. Make sure to book your treatment in the open air spa cabana which is incredibly dreamy and exactly what you envision an island massage to be like.

Dining:

Serving a range of international cuisine from Thai to Japanese and Italian across 8 restaurants, there is lots to indulge in on the island. And if that’s not enough, you can always take a boat to its sister neighbor property Anantara Veli where you can dine there as well. I would highly recommend doing so because you get to experience two resorts in one! During our stay, we had plenty of vegan options available and even if there weren’t, the staff was so accommodating and helpful to such extent that the chef at the pool restaurant made us Indian food for lunch every day even though it was not on the menu or available on that specific restaurant.