The Standard Huruvalhi Maldives

A big fan of the Standard group since the glorious Downtown L.A. days. But this was one of the worst stays anywhere. We waited at the airport counter but there was no rep for over 20 min. Then at the Seaplane lounge, the staff couldn't take her eyes off her mobile phone, no greetings, nothing. We had a long wait there, but there was no wi-fi (something went wrong), one of the bathrooms was disgustingly filthy and no one did something about it. At the resort, despite being a low-occupancy period, we had to wait again. Our bathroom amenities were soaking wet, probably by the previous occupants. We asked for them to be replaced twice, nothing happened. At departure, we were told to check-out at 7:45 for 8:45 departure. By 10pm we were still waiting, not a single staff cared enough to come to tell us about the delay. Not even via WhatsApp, considering they were so keen to WhatsApp us during our stay about all the activities at the resort. Worse, was the check-out staff who was on the phone when I arrived at the desk, no eye contact again, no gesture to politely suggest for me to wait. After he hung up the phone, he continued working on his screen and totally ignored me. I had to ask to be checked out which seemed like such burden for him. Little was said, except "would you like to be charged in Pounds or Dollars". Not even "how was your stay?" or "thanks for staying with us". This was not my first time in the Maldives, I was there as recently as last year. But the Standard Maldives has shown that Maldives have now become such a commercial, tourist spot and due to its exceptional natural beauty, people will continue to come so they can't be bother with customer services anymore! Having said that, we must give a shout out to a few members of staff who went out of their ways to cheer us up, took their times to get to know us and chatting with us. Two wonderful mixologists Lama and Rashan (amazing cocktails from two delightful, charming human beings), as well as DJ Adrian Reid who cheered us up enormously with his playlist as well as his encouragement for us to join him for a karaoke on our final night. Chef Rajesh at BBQ Shak cooked us amazing dinner and came to say hello to us as well as goodbye. Thank you all 4 of you very much! You were really wonderful and made us forget about the overall terrible service there. Read less

Positive: beautiful and small island, villas (beach) very nice (although they need some minor refurbishments) and spacious, the reef and the sea and the fish. Good food, broad choice Negative: Guest target group inhomogenous (little kids, families, honeymooners, couples) which results in unhappy guests, staff not very responsive (it seems that the management is not too good), some guests do not know how to behave, staff does not react appropriately. The Main Restaurant looks like a canteen, not enough tables to sit outside on the veranda. Succus: ok, but not really recommended! Read less

My husband and I stayed at The Standard for 5 nights and it was wonderful. The natural beauty of the islands make easy work, but the hotel is well thought out and well resourced and it's staff were attentive and super nice, but not over-bearing. Being able to go snorkeling from our room balcony was a highlight, also the Maldivian restaurant had such good food. We also enjoyed happy hour at the bar/restaurant, where the manager, Bavan, was extremely hospitable, treating us to speciality cocktails and was a good competitor for my husband on the pool table Read less

My wife and I have recently returned from a ten night stay at The Standard as part of our honeymoon. We have had the most wonderful stay and are really suffering from the holiday blues. From the moment we landed in paradise to the second that we left, the staff could not have been more friendly and helpful. Our host we always on hand should we need them, such as to answer questions or to make bookings at the restaurant. Let's start with the room. We stayed in an overwater villa on the ocean side. It was spacious, modern and clean with a large bathroom area. The main feature of the bathroom is the large bath (with glitter ball above) and shower. There was a large decking area outside for sunbathing and stairs for easy access onto the reef should you want to snorkel. Each room is equipped with snorkelling gear or you can borrow it from the dive centre. One thing to be aware of with the room, we had two or three weather warnings for wind and as they are exposed to the elements it can be rather noisy and made sleeping difficult on occasion. Food and drink- the buffet was available three times a day and always had a fresh and varied choice. Obviously good amounts of fresh fish due to the locality. GudaGuda is the traditional Maldivian restaurant located out over the water. We dined here twice and absolutely loved it. There is a varied choice and everything is perfectly cooked to order. We were on the all-inclusive package and found more than enough on the money without having to pay extra. BBQ shak is another fantastic dining option. We dined here three times and tried lots of different things from the menu and was not disappointed with anything. My highlight was the wagyu cheek, which was included in the all-inclusive package. During the day, we made use of Todi's bar, which had an excellent lunchtime offering. From pasta and pizza to traditional Maldivian curry, it was all cooked to order and we ate in chilling by the pool. As I mentioned we were on the all-inclusive package and I cannot recommend this enough. Food and drink is not cheap and we we were impressed by the variety of drinks options that are on offer as part of the all-inclusive offer-you will not be stuck for something to drink. Activities- there are plenty of boat trips and water sports to take part in, if you so wish. Be aware boat trips may be cancelled at short notice due to the changeable weather. As part of the all inclusive package you get an hour of paddleboarding or sea kayaking a day and this is included in your price. We did not pay for any other water sports but there was a great deal on offer. We went snorkelling on numerous occasions and the sea life is beautiful. We saw reef sharks, rays, dolphins as well as plenty of wonderfully coloured fish. Summary- This is a beautiful resort. It was our first time in the Maldives and therefore have nothing to compare to, however, I would return to this resort in a heartbeat. There was plenty on offer, it was clean and the food and drink offerings were superb. One word of warning-the weather in the Maldives is changeable during the summer months. We arrived on a Wednesday and had glorious weather until the Sunday. Monday it rained all day. From that point onwards it rained mostly at night and was extremely windy. We had weather warnings for wind and this meant that our sea plane was delayed taking off. We made it to Male international airport with one minute to spare. Whilst the weather is not a reflection on the hotel, just consider when you are booking-although we were told that it is quite changeable throughout the year. What is a fair reflection of the hotel is that they sorted our sea plane transfer to land at a different island's dock as the conditions were too choppy. Read less