There are two main restaurants on Vilmendhoo island that are included with the price of the room, Funama Restaurant for guests staying in the garden and non-jacuzzi beach villas, and Ahima Restaurant for those staying in the jacuzzi water villas and jacuzzi beach villas. They’re both buffet-style, with the latter being the one we ate at, so I can’t speak to the quality or selection of food in Funama. One thing I failed to mention is that both categories of jacuzzi rooms are adults-only, so by extension, Ahima is as well. The only time we really saw kids all week was when we ventured over towards the center of the island where Funama restaurant and guest services are, and while this isn’t a knock on kids in general, it made for an incredibly relaxing week to be on the quiet side of the island. We ventured over to Bonthi bar, next to Funama, one night for a presentation on the history of the Maldives, and after a few minutes of a couple of rowdy kids in front of us climbing on the chairs, we were ready to go back to our side.
Back to the restaurant, the buffet was pretty good. Each night they change it up and have a different theme, such as Italian night, American night, etc. We did get one repeat I think, since we were there more than seven days, but it was all pretty good in my opinion, and I’m a pretty picky eater. Service in there was pretty good as well, but our server was really quiet and hard to hear all week, just very subdued. I honestly think that’s my only complaint about the resort, and it’s a pretty small one considering his service was excellent.
The first night you’re there, they seat you in what is the same table you’ll be at for your whole stay should you choose to eat inside. They do have tables outside around the restaurant, and you can opt to eat out there for any meal. Inside, the restaurant has a sand floor, so feel free to go barefoot should you want to keep the relaxing beach vibe going!
Vilamendhoo also has a nice open air bar next to Funama named Sunset bar. We hit the place up a few times for drinks, pretty relaxing place to hang out and kill time. The strawberry cupcake in the pictures below is from Sunset’s menu, and for those with the all-inclusive plus package, it’s included, and it was just as delicious as it looks!
Sunset Bar also serves as the indoor seating for one of their specialty restaurants, Hot Rocks. They do try to set you up right outside on Sunset Beach, but the night we ate there it started raining right after we sat down outside, so we moved to the backup location, inside Sunset Bar. I have to say, Hot Rocks was delightful! We did it a few nights in to our stay, and I don’t regret it one bit. Service was once again outstanding, and the food delicious. They bring your chosen meat out on a hot volcanic stone, and you cook it to your liking. Be careful, they cook fast on that stone! I think the Wagyu beef rib eye I got took 4 minutes to cook properly. If you’re looking to eat somewhere other than the buffet and want to try something different, give Hot Rocks a shot! This is also a multi-shot post, scroll to the second picture to see my ribeye on the stone!
They also have a specialty restaurant at the other end of the island that also serves as another bar, Asian Wok Restaurant/Bar, but we never made it out there to look inside. Not sure how that one got away from us as we kept meaning to, but it’s not something I can’t speak to unfortunately. This is about as close as I got to it on land:
Outside of the restaurants and bars, the rest of the island includes things like sports facilities with a tennis court, putting green, a soccer field where they’ll play guests vs staff soccer (and I think I saw Cricket going on too), a gym, volleyball and badminton courts. Over by the Bonthi bar on the family side there’s also a small gift shop where you can pick up things to remember your trip. Bayley picked up a carved wine bottle holder, while I picked up a “Do Not Disturb” coconut like the ones they give you to put outside your room when you want to be left alone. I figure it’ll come in handy at work 🙂
Over by Funama restaurant you’ll also find the Euro-Divers facility, where you’ll rent snorkeling gear and sign up for scuba or snorkeling tours. I’ll talk more about this in my next post.
You know what? I almost forgot one of the most picturesque places on the island, Sunset Pool! If you’ve seen a picture from this island, it’s probalby included this in the shot. Sitting next to Sunset bar and Ahima restaurant, this infinity pool is perfectly situated to give you amazing views you won’t soon forget. Don’t believe me?
Yea, I could stay there all day 🙂
That brings me to the end of my post covering Vilamendhoo’s resort facilities. If I missed anything (like the children’s pool) it’s because we never made it over there to check it out. Honestly, this is one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been, and we’d go back to the island in a heartbeat. Great rooms, great service, and a quiet paradise to lose yourself in. What more could you ask for?
Next up I’ll cover the resorts activities, including snorkeling, excursion options, and more! For now, here are a few more pictures from the island!
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