Mirihi Island Resort Maldives – Paradise Found!

The Maldives evokes images of tropical emerald waters, white sandy beaches and luxury overwater bungalows. If there’s paradise on earth, then the Maldives has gotta be it. Mirihi Island Resort is no exception!

Unsure whether the Maldives is for you or how to choose which incredible Maldives island to fork out for? Read on!

Is the Maldives Worth the Money?

The Maldives had been on my bucket list for many years, ever since the very first time I saw a photo of an overwater bungalow. I could not believe my eyes that such luxe digs and tropical waters actually existed.

Yes it’s indulgent and yes it’s expensive, but yes it is also TOTALLY worth it if you have some spare change / save up for a special occasion / get an unexpected windfall. (And if you don’t think so, then try not to judge me for frittering away all my pennies on travel.)

Being a bucket list item and all, I visited the Maldives thinking it was a once-in-a-lifetime holiday … I was totally wrong. It was so stunning, blissful and rejuvenating that, unfortunately for my pocket, I left thinking it’s more like a regular-kinda-holiday-destination.

How Do You Choose the Best Maldives Resort?

There are literally hundreds of islands dotted across the Maldives, with over 100 island resorts. The photos for pretty much all of the resorts are glossy-brochure picture perfect, and most of them have 4 or 5 star reviews. So how do you choose the perfect Maldives island?

Factors to Consider in Choosing a Maldives Island and Resort

You can easily eliminate some Maldives resorts if you have price range (or pretty much all of them if you’re on a budget, ha ha!). Otherwise, the law of diminishing returns kicks in pretty quickly and you can research till the cows come home without narrowing the list down.

On the plus side, all the Maldives resorts look ah-mazing – you could probably throw a dart at an island map and all would be right in the world. As far as conundrums go, this one’s definitely up there with first world problems.

As with all trips, think about what’s important for you and narrow your options based on that. Aside from cost, key factors to consider are resort size, white sandy beach vs. rocky house reef, all-inclusive vs. full board vs. bed and breakfast, overwater bungalows vs. beach villas, seaplane vs. boat transfer, pools and activities. Phew! 

Why I Chose Mirihi Island Resort

I did a bit of research on and settled on booking Mirihi Island Resort. Why? My ‘must haves’ were an excellent Maldives house reef, delicious food, overwater bungalows, and barefoot luxury style. Mirihi Island Resort ticked all these boxes, and in particular looked like it had one of the best house reefs Maldives had to offer. Even better, Mirihi had two important bonuses.

Bonus One: Mirihi Island Resort has no swimming pools, no motorized watersports and no TVs. Translation: Less chance of kids and obnoxious loud tourists destroying the serenity.

Bonus Two: Mirihi Island Resort was surprisingly affordable (okay, affordable for the Maldives). We travelled in May and Mirihi Island Resort had a good shoulder season deal with 20% of rack rates and free half-board (breakfast and dinner), which came in at around $550 US per night excluding drinks, lunch, transfers and activities.

Mirihi Island Resort was perfect for me, but it might not be for you if you’re after the ultimate luxe Maldives experience with private pools, butlers and high-end luxury.

How Do You Get to Mirihi Island Resort?

We took a direct 4.5 hour flight from Singapore to Male, which is the Maldives international airport. From Male, it’s a scenic one hour seaplane flight to Mirihi Island Resort.

Mirihi Island Resort organized the seaplane transfer for us, and the trip went very smoothly, with resort representatives meeting us at both ends. They even scheduled the plane early in the morning so that we could make the most of our first day at Mirihi.

Our chariot awaits … ekkk!

Seaplanes have always been a bit of a ‘hell no!’ from me as they combine my key travel fears of planes, boats and the deep ocean all into one flying death machine. Yikes! I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the seaplane and I actually enjoyed it!

Take off was surprisingly smooth, the low flying altitude made me feel more comfortable (not sure that helps me when the plane crashes but, hey, fear is not rational my friend), and I was suitably distracted by the incredible views of islands dotted across turquoise waters below. If you really can’t cope with a seaplane, you can also get to some of the closer resorts by boat from Male.

Easy to get distracted with views like this … paradise awaits!

Mirihi Island and Weather

Mirihi Island itself is small and stunning, just like a postcard! The island has everything you hope for from the Maldives – crystal sand, swaying palm trees, and a calm ocean with all shades of blue and green imaginable.

In fact, the thing that surprised me the most was that the Maldives was just as beautiful in person as the photos and postcards, if not more beautiful. It actually looked photo-shopped – hard to believe I took all these pics on my trusty iPhone.

Arriving at Mirihi Island Resort. No shit, the water is actually this color.

We visited for five days during the shoulder season (May), and the weather was beautiful other than one day of rain, and even then we were still frolicking in the warm ocean water. One side of the island was always a little choppy and the opposite side always completely flat, with the sides changing throughout the day.

Laidback Luxury

Mirihi Island Resort has that ‘wow’ factor, that something special that’s hard to put your finger on. The island vibe is intimate laid back luxe, with only one resort on the island, a sand floor restaurant, a barefoot policy and understated but beautiful villas and dining areas.

Don’t get me wrong – Mirihi was the most incredible island I’ve ever stayed at, but I tend to feel a little uncomfortable with posh over-the-top digs and excessive service.

Spectacular sunrise from our overwater villa

Mirihi Island Resort resort had nice little personal touches everywhere and a unique feel which I think comes from being independently owned and not part of a hotel chain.

Despite being full capacity with over 70 people, Mirihi was very quiet and all the guests seemed pretty chilled.

The service was excellent, attentive but not over the top. The staff take time to talk to the guests and are always on hand for advice.

The Accommodation – Overwater Villas

Most of the Mirihi Island Resort villas are overwater bungalows, with a few beach villas. We had an overwater villa in the semi-circle with direct access to the house reef. The villa was lovely but not over the top. It was furnished with seaside chic decor (is that a thing?) in shades of greys and oranges.

Our row of villas!

The villa consisted of a main bedroom, bathroom with shower and double vanity and a balcony. The room had everything we needed and a couple of nice extras like a Bose player and Nespresso machine.

Not wanting to state the obvious, but I will anyway … the best thing about our villa was the outdoor balcony (deck to you Kiwis) with loungers and a small table and chairs to soak up the incredible views, watch the tropical fishies swim by and walk directly into the ocean. Bliss! 

How we spent at least 50% of each day – laxing on our balcony and snorkeling directly off it. Unbelievable!

Mirihi Island Resort Activities

There’s plenty of activities to keep you busy at Mirihi Island Resort, but the number one activity has to be snorkelling. The Mirihi Island Resort house reef is amazing, and is known to have some of the best snorkelling in the Maldives. We spent hours each day snorkeling and exploring the Mirihi house reef.

We spotted hundreds (n0 exaggeration!) of tropical fish of all colors under the sun, turtles, eagle rays and reef sharks. Plus all of this directly off our Mirhi overwater balcony or off the beach! Our daily routine was pretty much snorkel, breakfast, snorkel, relax, cocktail, snorkel, relax, cocktail, dinner. Hard life that.

Mirihi Island Resort has a number of day trips available. Mirihi is in the South Ari Atoll, which is the best place in the Maldives for whale sharks and manta rays. First up, we joined the whale shark excursion (bucket list item!) on the resort’s yacht. We were lucky enough to see a whale shark and two manta rays. The trip would have been great even without these sightings as the yacht and scenery are both stunning and the lunch was delicious.

Boaty McBoatface delivered the goods. Would you believe it, a whale shark even came right up to the jetty during our stay (unfortunately we missed it).

We also did the Mirihi house reef excursion where a boat took guests to a couple of nearby snorkeling points. While the aquatic life on the excursion was similar to snorkeling near our villa, we did see fish in even greater numbers and had excellent eagle ray and turtle sightings.

Mirihi Island Resort provides snorkeling equipment, kayaks and standup paddle boards free of charge which we used. I admit that I didn’t last long in the kayak. All I wanted to do was jump back in the water with all the pretty fish!

I almost expected to get bored being marooned on an island for 5 days (crazy right?!). But, funnily enough, we didn’t get bored at all due to the variety of marine life. I could actually have done with a couple more days at Mirihi.

The Mirihi Island Resort spa was also excellent, and the aloe vera wrap was sublime on my sunburnt skin. (Whoops, a few too many hours snorkeling.)

Mirihi Island Resort Food and Drink

I love good fresh healthy food and good vino, but am not a massive foody and don’t goof off on Michelin stars and all that jazz. (As an aside, I thought Michelin sold car tyres. What gives?) But the Mirihi Island Resort food was really that good, and ended up being a highlight.

The dinner buffet was literally the best buffet I’ve ever had (and I’m fussy!). Each night has a different food theme (another good reason to stay for 7 nights!). The chefs make a variety of fresh and delicious dishes and explain the selection to the guests. I’m a grazer, and the relatively small portion sizes meant that I could sample lots of different dishes each night.

There is also an a-la-carte restaurant available (at additional cost) but the buffet was so good that we didn’t try it.

My kinda restaurant, sand floor, no shoes, and showstopping views

We also skipped lunch most days, as the breakfast and dinner buffet were more than enough. (Plus activity levels were on the low side!)

The wine selection is extensive (including champagne by the glass and some half bottles, whoop whoop!) and reasonably priced given how isolated the island is. That is, expensive by Europe / US / NZ / Australia standards, but similar to Singapore pricing.

Food and Beverage Packages

Mirihi’s standard rate is for accommodation and breakfast only. Mirihi also offers half board packages (breakfast and dinner) and full board packages (breakfast, lunch and dinner).

We went for the half board option as Mirihi was offering a shoulder-season deal including free half board (plus you’re a bit of a captive audience with only one resort on the island, and a girl’s gotta eat!). For us, this was enough food as our days were preeeety lazy. If you’re a big eater or want a lunch snack every day, go for the full board package as full board is $120 extra per person per day, vs. $100 extra per person per day for half board.

The half and full board packages are for (incredible!) buffet meals at the main restaurant only. The packages do not include beverages and do not include the al a carte menu at the Muraka restaurant. Unfortunately, like many places in the Maldives, Mirihi does not offer all-inclusive packages or beverage packages.

Daily sundowner cocktails and sunset views at Muraka Bar

On god, this is a dangerous blog to write … now I’m just dreaming of going back to the Maldives. Wallet cannot cope. Must get back to work, pennies to earn.

Ready to book? Mirihi Island Resort is available on Booking.com using this link.

Looking for another beautiful Asian beach break? Try Palawan in the tropical Philippines – read all about El Nido, Port Barton and more here.

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