Drift Thelu Veliga Retreat

What an absolute jewel of an island! From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed by a professional and incredibly friendly team who made us feel right at home. The warmth and hospitality of everyone here truly made our experience special. The dive centre deserves a special mention – it’s exceptionally well-run and staffed by a remarkable team of divers, all led by the fantastic Dude! Every dive was an adventure, and their knowledge, safety, and passion for the ocean made each outing unforgettable. This is more than just a beautiful location – it’s a place full of heart and soul, made magical by the people who call it home. We’ve are already planning our return for next year.

I spent 9 days at this resort just before Christmas. The island is very small but also very beautiful, truly a paradise– white sand, Palm trees, clear water. It is really quiet- perfect for relaxing, a barefoot island. I stayed in a Beach bungalow which was perfect as you get 2 Sundbeds and a parasol right outside of the bungalow. Even the occasional rain did not spoil my holidays, as you could still sit outside your Bungalow on the daybed. The accommodation was small but clean, with 2 Seats and a Bench inside, a big closet, safe, hairdryer. There was a Nespresso machine and tabs were replaced, but not the milk. 2 small bottles (less than 500ml each) are provided every day. The sink is in the room, shower and toilet are outside. I was worried at first about spiders getting in but there were none. What is a bit of a hassle is that the lighting in the room around the sink is really bad. The yellow lights around the mirror give your face a yellowish-green look and it was better with them turned off. You should invest in better lamps around the mirror or at least provide a vanity mirror with lights. I had half board, so I had breakfast and dinner included. Breakfast had many choices but I would have liked more variety with the fruit. Dinner was really good. There was a different cuisine every day, which is repeated weekly. There was also a cook which prepared some dishes fresh for you. I really loved the variety, especially the salads. Also the dessert was not the usual bland buffet cakes but always special dishes representing the cuisine off the night. There is also a nice bar where you can watch the sunset an have some nice cocktails – I loved the Mango Martini. Service was really good and staff really friendly. What was really nice was that I got a nice breakfast the morning I was leaving, even at 5.30 am! The island was beautifully decorated with lights for Christmas. I had a nice, relaxing massage in the spa. What was very disappointing during my visit was, that none of the tours I signed up for were happening – Manta experience, Whale Shark and Coral Garden snorkelling. Apparently the weather was not good enough/too much wind. The one day where it was ok to go, there were not enough people signed up. There were 3 with me but the minimum for each tour were 6 people. This should be revised. At a small resort like this, 6 people are 10% of guests . The minimum should really be adjusted to 3 guests, especially if the weather cancels out many excursions. Unfortunately like this I got to see hardly any fish. At my previous visit to the Maldives at another small resort, also in December, there were Reef sharks swimming by the breakfast bungalow, stingrays and many fish. At Drift there was nothing. You can see one or two fish by the corals next to the boat jetty and there are some corals scattered around further out. However, due to the current being quite strong and me not being a good swimmer I did not dare go out by myself. What was

We just came back from a week at Drift to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. The island is amazing- a proper tropical paradise- and the water bungalow was very comfortable: excellent bathroom, shower, bath, lots of space, comfy bed and seating and fantastic balcony with steps straight into the warm ocean. The staff we also very friendly and attentive, looking after us well. However, a number of small issues ended up causing us to feel a bit unsatisfied. - the thatched roofs on some of the water bungalows were being renovated which was fun to watch: however they started at 8am which meant we were woken up by hammering. Then by 10am no-one was working. It would certainly have been better for the guests if they simply started later - we mentioned it was our 25th anniversary, and saw a number of other couples get a celebratory private dinner, but were not offered anything like that - we were told there would be a fishing excursion but this never materialised due to bad weather- these things happen, but there was no attempt to offer some sort of alternative - we were told our all inclusive package allowed us 2 soft drinks from the mini-bar each day but were then billed $50 at the end of the week for the fruit juices we had drunk. The small print stated that fruit juices were not included, so fair enough I guess, but it felt deliberatively confusing and petty So nothing major, and we still had a very relaxing and enjoyable stay- but given the amount of money we spent, I was hoping for a better.