- Maldives Holidays
- Maldives Islands
- Pullman Maldives All Inclusive Resort
The Pullman Maldives Maamutaa is a resort located in the southern Maldives, nestled amidst a beautiful forest and natural lake. The resort can be reached by a 55-minute domestic flight from the Male International Airport, followed by a 15-minute boat ride. The resort features two aqua villas with underwater bedrooms, offering guests a unique and unforgettable experience.
Guests can choose from six restaurants and bars. The resort offers guests a wide range of activities and experiences to choose from, including motorized and non-motorized water sports*, diving courses at their PADI 5-star diving center*, and daily excursions*. Other activities include nature walks, tennis, running track, beach volleyball, or beach cruiser bicycle rental*.
Guests looking for some relaxation can visit the Pullman Spa or participate in sunrise/sunset yoga, or aerial yoga. More active guests can experience the fitness center.
All villas in the resort come with an indoor and outdoor showers, a generously stocked mini-bar that is replenished twice daily, a 42-inch HD TV with international channels, a Nespresso machine, and USB chargers.
Overall, the Pullman Maldives Maamutaa is a fantastic destination for guests looking for a luxurious and unique experience in the Maldives, with plenty of activities and amenities to keep them entertained throughout their stay.
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
Thank you to all the Pullman Maamuta Resort workers for your warm welcome and especially to Hassan who transform our journey in a magic experience in Maldives thanks to his support.
We had the most amazing holiday to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.
We chose Pullman for the snorkeling- so that’s where my very long review starts. We are well aware it’s not one of the often mentioned options in the Maldives. I had read that the coral at Pullman was less affected by bleaching events than the house reefs at other resorts, and we were not disappointed. The house reef was stunning- vibrant, colourful, and full of life. There were millions of colourful fish, and plenty of bigger marine life- the turtles in particular are plentiful and come right up to you. We spent at least 4 hours in the water each day. I will say that if you aren’t a confident swimmer this maybe isn’t the resort for you- we snorkeled the drop-off on the sunset side (right from our villa- swim to drop off then along the reef in a southerly direction). The current through the shallows can be quite strong at times. Avoid going out an hour before and an hour after high tide- there is a flag system in place to help advise, and a life guard who will tell you not to go if it’s too dangerous. The recommended snorkel is actually from the beach between Melange down to the Romeo and Juliet dining pavilions at panorama beach- this is equally stunning (particularly coral wise). Whilst safer from a current perspective, it is quite a long way to swim so I probably still wouldn’t recommend for kids or less confident swimmers. It was around 250 meters out to the reef from our villa and around 400 meters from the beach. For less confident swimmers, our villa actually had great snorkeling right underneath and around the jetty with some colourful resident fish and visiting turtles, sharks, and rays.
In regard to the resort itself- right from the start, Pullman blew us away. We opted to stay in Male the night before (highly recommended if your flight will arrive in Male past about 10:30am to ensure arrival at the resort by check-in time). Pullman organised timing with our hotel to ensure we would be there on time ready for our flight. The domestic lounge waiting for our flight was comfortable with refreshments offered. Then it was time to go- they made it truly seamless. The domestic flight was the most beautiful I’ve ever been on due to the scenery out the window.
Once we arrived we had a short and enjoyable boat trip to the resort, and a very warm welcome from all of the staff waving and a much-appreciated fresh drink before our buggy tour of the island with our host, Chance. He explained where all the restaurants and amenities we would need were on the island. The island is STUNNING. It is quite literally a rainforest with buildings dotted around, opening onto stunning beach with white sand and turquoise water.
He then took us to our room, an overwater villa on the sunset side (608). I had requested this in advance and was very appreciative that the resort was able to fulfil the request. To say the villa was stunning is an understatement. The water was flat and crystal clear, we saw fish, rays, turtles, and sharks all within the first hour of being there. When we arrived we had been asked if we wanted lunch on arrival day or departure day (it’s one or the other)- I would recommend departure day as upon entering our villa we were given cookies, delicious raw balls, and of course the included mini bar so were not hungry- if we were, canapés were offered at Saffron from 4pm anyway. The mini bar was generous and is replenished daily. The bed also said ‘happy birthday’ as they had noticed my husband’s birthday was later in the month - I hadn’t mentioned it to them. Chance asked us which day we would like to celebrate it and they made us a cake- even going as far as to make it gluten free as per my dietary requirements. When we mentioned it was our anniversary, Chance also organised for us to be brought a bottle of sparkling wine on the day and our bed said ‘happy anniversary’ to celebrate. Thank you to Chance for your thoughtful and helpful service throughout our stay.
Dining around the island was exceptional- as we enjoy a la carte dining we mostly ate at Souq Oven, Sol Rising, and Phat Chameleon. That said, Melange was the best buffet I’ve seen and was also very enjoyable- it is a must visit on Fridays for seafood night.
Sol Rising for breakfast was outstanding due to the 3 course ‘active breakfast’ offerings and highly recommended if you like to eat healthy / have alternative dietary requirements like me. All dining options were great with catering to gluten free, and the food was delicious each meal- we could not have asked for better. The restaurants all offer 3 courses plus bread as included with the all inclusive- it was more than enough food for us! All of the staff displayed exceptional service, with a special mention to Zin at Sol Rising/Souq Oven. By the second day she had remembered who we were, what we liked, and went out of her way to make our meals enjoyable. Cocktails at all venues were delicious, with an extensive list to be enjoyed.
Our package included either sunset fishing or a sunset cruise, we opted for fishing. The excursion was highly entertaining, and the resort even cooks and serves your fish if you catch one (it is not guaranteed) for either lunch or dinner the next day at Melange. We luckily did catch a fish and thoroughly enjoyed it for lunch the next day grilled in lemon butter- thanks to the Melange chef for cooking and the fishing staff for preparing- what a novelty fishing without any of the work!
We also took advantage of the other included activities, including stretch class, beach boot camp, paddle boarding, the golf simulator, and the photo shoot. These were all high quality and very fun. Shout out to Bonny for our great classes- my muscles were sore after boot camp! The photo shoot was great-it includes one free photo and you can buy more if desired. They are lovely photos, we chose 5. Package also included $20 laundry credit, which I used to wash my clothes for the way home- very handy, and clothes were well looked after (my dress was delicate).
We enjoyed the buggy rides around the island when it was too hot to walk (which was often during the day). They were timely upon request, I can see that maybe if you came during peak periods they might get busy and it would be a bit slower.
Check out was as seamless as everything else- as we didn’t eat lunch on arrival day, the resort extended our all inclusive until 2:30pm free of charge (checkout is 12pm, there is additional charges if you want the room beyond this time - $100 per hour). As we were leaving the resort at 3:30pm, this was perfect- after lunch we went for a swim. I recommend choosing a late flight (ours was 11pm) as otherwise you will end up leaving the resort early in the morning. The 2 hour wait at the domestic airport, whilst unavoidable, was the low point of the experience- it is rather boring without amenities, take a book with you. It does end up being a long day- boat ride, 2 hours at domestic airport, the domestic flight (just over an hour), then the required time at international airport (resort will allow the suggested 3 hours), then the flight home. If long travel days bother you, you could add a night in Male on the way home as well.
Although we travelled in Monsoon season, we only had a couple of rainy patches at the very end- it was calm and very hot for the majority of our holiday. The resort is close to the equator and the UV is insane- we are Western Australian and were shocked to get as burnt as we did despite applying sunscreen. If you are like me and intend to spend hours in the water I suggest bringing protective swimwear, as sunscreen alone didn’t cut it.
All in all this was a spectacular resort and I would go back in a heartbeat. Thank you to Pullman and all of the staff for such a lovely experience!
We have just returned from a wonderful holiday at the Pullman Maldives.
Accommodation We stayed in a two-bedroom ocean pool villa which was ideal for our family of four and the best villa we have stayed in, in the Maldives. Our villa was located on the sunrise side near to Sol Rising, and the position was perfect for accessing all of the facilities on the island. The villa was serviced twice a day and the mini bar was also replenished each day. There was a variety of snacks in the mini bar including Toblerone, Pringles, sweets and salted almonds, along with wine, spirits, soft drinks and cans of lager.
Transport Around the Island We were entitled to free bikes for the duration of our stay due to the type of accommodation we were staying in/length of stay and we made full use of these. Cycling was an easy way to get around the island with plenty of bike racks at each restaurant or points of interest. There was also a buggy service around the island although, as it was the low season, they didn’t run as frequently. You could, however, always ask the restaurants to order you one or, if in your room, dial reception to arrange for one to pick you up from your room. The island is, however, not too big so you could also easily walk between places.
Activities Snorkelling: Guests can obtain a mask, snorkel and fins from the Dive Centre for the duration of their stay, which we did. There are various points around the island where you can snorkel. One of the best places to snorkel is off of Panorama beach, or in front of the buffet restaurant (Melange). It is about a 15 minute swim out to the excellent house reef where you can see turtles, sting rays and sharks. If you are not comfortable swimming out to the house reef, the Dive Centre also offers paid exercusions for snorkelling.
Diving: The Dive Centre at the resort is excellent and the staff are a credit to it. Our daughter enjoyed two weeks of amazing diving, ticking off everything she wanted to see, including turtles, manta ray, sting rays, dolphins and many species of shark. A big shout out to Kayla for making her holiday so special.
Spa: The spa at the resport is lovely and the staff were very welcoming and friendly. Through our holiday package we received a $200 credit for the spa, which we utilised. .The spa prices are, however, quite expensive.
Table Tennis / Pool: There is a table tennis table located at the activity cente (Skillz) which we used a few times and a pool table in the Saffron Bar which we played on most nights.
Restaurants / Bars The hotel has three restaurants (including the buffet), all of which provided good food choices and the food was of a high standard, although a tad spicy on occasion. Head Chef, Gede, arranged special vegan meals for our son which was also much appreciated. Personally, we prefered to eat in one of the two a la carte restaurants (Souq Oven and Phat Chameleon) for evening meals, however, this meant that it did get a little repetative and it would have been great if there was an additional restaurant.
When we booked our holiday the Phat Chameleon restaurant was a dedicated vegetarian/vegan restaurant. This is, however, no longer the case, although it does have a couple of vegetarian/vegan options. This was a little disappointing as one of the reasons for choosing the Pullman was because it seemed to cater well for vegans. The chef did, however, always accommodate any request, so this was not an issue.
For breakfast, in addition to the main buffet, you also had the option of going to Sol Rising for an a la carte breakfast. It is marketed as an 'active / healthy' breakfast, and has a wide range of options. We utilised this option most mornings and the food was very good. A big thank you to the staff in Sol Rising / Souq Oven who were always welcoming and attentive.
We celebrated our daughter’s birthday whilst away and booked the Aqua Villa for a special birthday meal, liaising with the Food & Beverage Manager, Susantha, who was instrumental in ensuring that everyone was catered for and made it a memorable occasion for all with a carefully curated vegan menu put together by Head Chef Gede. Our daughter also received several birthday cakes throughout the day. A special mention to Arun in the Saffron Bar who oversaw a cocktail making session and arranged a cake.
We spent most nights in the Saffron bar playing pool, while listening to the resident DJ and being served fantastic cocktails by Arun (ask for off menu cocktail’s, he is an amazing mixologist).
We also on occasion went to the bar at the Hub, where there is live music most evenings. Towards the end of the evening we found that the bar would start closing up quite ahead of closing time which would make you feel slightly awkward to stay there until actual closing time.
Transport to / from the Hotel
Every step of the way from Male airport, to Kooddoo airport, and then to the hotel was overseen by a representative from the Pullman hotel, making it stress free. On checkout your concierge contacts you via WhatsApp the day before with the details of the domestic flight and speed boat pickup along with arrangements to collect you and your luggage from the villa. The speedboat captain and crew were exceptional and we were given an impromptu dolphin cruise on the way to Kooddoo airport, with two pods of dolphins spotted and time given to take photos and videos.
Overall, we had a wonderfully relaxing holiday. The whole team at the Pullman went the extra mile to make our holiday one of the best we have had in the Maldives and we would love to return.
We have just come back from a week’s holiday at the Pullman Maldives.
Great quality of food and drink, large variety at both the buffet and a la carte restaurants. No limit on how many times you can eat at the a la carte restaurants.
Seamless transfers from the airport to the resort and back.
We stayed in a beautiful over the water pool villa, always spotless, really good housekeeping.
Staff was excellent, Hassan, our island host took great care of us and recommended unforgettable experiences. We loved the aqua villa with the underwater bedroom and the two-hour jet ski trip, saw so many dolphins really up close!
We really enjoyed having our own bikes for the week. Bonny and Nicolas at bike rental and sports classes were also great!
Great value for money, we would definitely go back.
Diving with Padi was Amazing, Thanks for the professional instructor Mathis DENEVAULT. See you under the ocean 🤿
