Dusit Thani Maldives: Best for First-Time Visitors

For our 25th wedding anniversary, as part of a round-the-world 25-day trip covering three continents, my husband and I spent five nights at Dusit Thani Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

I’d dedicated hours to poring over websites and online reviews to choose the perfect all-inclusive resort for our first trip to the Maldives. This dreamy tropical archipelago has hundreds of resorts – many on their own private islands — so decision-making was quite difficult.

The Maldives is such a pricey and remote (for Americans) destination, I didn’t want to pick the wrong one and regret spending a lot of hard-earned cash and a lot of time (20+ hours) on an airplane for a mediocre stay. 

Thankfully, I made a great choice!

We fell in love with this laid-back but upscale 100-room resort in the Maldives. Here’s why:

Spacious, Luxurious Accommodations

We booked the least expensive room category, a beach villa. Trust me, even this “lowest tier” lodging is spectacular — and huge. The villa is 1,300 square feet and includes  a king-size bed, a built-in cozy sitting area, patio with more lounging and sitting, plus a private sandy beach area surrounded by foliage. 

Perhaps the most unusual feature of the beach villa is the bathroom area that’s solely outdoors — no air-conditioning out there at all. The toilet and shower are in closed, private spaces with doors under a palapa, but it’s still open-air at the top. Similarly, two sinks with mirrors are under the palapa but definitely outdoors.

I didn’t realize this when I booked the room, otherwise that may have given me pause. In the tropics, I appreciate air-conditioning when getting ready to go out for the evening. But, in the end, I just decided to lean into the humidity, big beach hair and all!

The best part of the bathroom set-up was an additional outdoor shower surrounded by plants. It’s very private — no one from neighboring villas can see it. My husband and I solely used the al fresco shower — even while it was sprinkling rain, in the heat of the day, and after dark. We loved it! There was also an outdoor freestanding bathtub that we didn’t use. 

Other lodging at Dust Thani Maldives includes quintessential overwater bungalows this island paradise is known for. Some overwater bungalows have private pools. (Some beach villas have private pools, too.)

Out-of-this-world Snorkeling

Key to our happiness at Dusit Thani Maldives was its phenomenal “house reef.” That’s a term I hadn’t heard of before researching Maldives resorts. It refers to the underwater coral surrounding the resort island, where guests can easily walk out from the beach or down jetty steps to explore the underwater world.

Indeed, the house reef here was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before — and we’ve snorkeled in a variety of tropical locations around the world. The marine life was so varied and vast. We spent every morning, and sometimes the afternoons, spotting schools of colorful fish that blew our minds.

Attentive Butler Service

All guests at Dusit Thani Maldives are assigned a butler, who greets you on arrival, introduces you around the resort in a golf cart, and outlines his or her services, namely making dinner, activity, and spa reservations — or anything else you might need.

Our butler Yasir was available via WhatsApp all day long and into the evening, happy to help us get extra beach towels, ginger ale for an upset stomach, an ice pack when I slipped on jetty steps and banged up my knee, and a new bike (see below!) when my pedals started making a grinding noise.

We felt so pampered having someone looking out for us. Our butler worked so hard to ensure we had a flawless vacation (save for the gurgly tummy and bruised knee).

Plentiful, Delicious Food and Drink

Guests can choose to have some or all meals included in the room rate. Nightly room prices can include breakfast, half board (breakfast and dinner), three meals a day, or three meals a day with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (“all-inclusive”). We went for the all-inclusive option because we didn’t want to worry about checking menu prices all the time. Frankly, we wanted to sample as much food as we could, while thoroughly indulging in expansive cocktail and wine lists. 

Breakfasts were taken at The Market with its massive buffet offerings — not only dishes that appeal to American palates, such as eggs, omelets, and sausage, but also a noodle bar, curries and rice, delicious breads, yogurts, fruit, and pastries. It was easy to fill up for a day of ocean swimming here. In the evenings, The Market offered themed buffet nights.

Other restaurants for lunch and dinner included poolside Sea Grill, offering soups, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, and meat and seafood entrees. We loved Benjarong, the Thai restaurant. The chef here is from Thailand, and all menu items are authentic Thai dishes. The servers here — also Thai — were especially gracious and friendly, and the food was outstanding. 

I’d say the only thing missing from the restaurant offerings is a casual grab-and-go dining venue. I’m accustomed to casual pool grills at Mexico beach resorts, where you can easily order a sandwich or nachos to enjoy in a lounge chair. At Dusit Thani Maldives, lunch and dinner are solely sit-down affairs with table service.

All-inclusive guests on a full meal plan enjoy an array of drinks that are kept stocked in the villa’s minibar: sodas, beer, juices, and sparkling water.

Complimentary Bikes for Getting Around the Island

I knew bikes were available for guests to cycle around the island — to and from the restaurants, dive center, spa, and other facilities. What I didn’t realize until we arrived was that every villa has appropriately sized bikes assigned to each guest. We had two adult beach cruisers waiting for us on arrival, while families had use of kids’ bikes and even itty bitty ones with training wheels.

I also thought we’d walk to different venues, but the island is large enough that we appreciated having bikes to use. We cycled everywhere — and absolutely loved it! I’m not a regular cyclist at home, but I quickly remembered how carefree and playful it feels to ride casually on dirt roads with the wind in my hair. It was easy to find our way around the island with just a few intertwining sandy trails and plenty of signage marking key points.

Seaplane Transfers to the Island Resort

The journey to Dusit Thani Maldives is as wonderful as the resort stay itself. Seaplane transfers from the international airport in Male (where we arrived from Singapore) are seamless. We were told beforehand where to report to the resort’s booth at the airport (there are dozens for the number of resorts that also arrange transfers for guests), and quickly checked in for our flight.

Before our flight left from the seaplane terminal, we were able to relax in a lounge — and have a snack and drink — solely for Dusit Thani Maldives guests.

The seaplane itself — operated by Trans Maldivian Airways — seats 15 passengers, and pilots fly barefoot! Taking off from the water was thrilling, as were the views from the air. I couldn’t believe such shades of blue existed in nature. 

We landed on the water at Dusit Thani Maldives and motored over to the arrival jetty, where we were greeted with ice cold towels, a refreshing drink, and lots of smiles and welcomes from staff. It set a great tone for what was to come during our five-night visit to this extraordinary place.

Finding Deals at Dusit Thani Maldives

My husband and I knew our Maldives vacation would be expensive, but we always look to get the best value when we book accommodations, no matter where we travel. Visiting the Maldives in the off-season, the middle of North American summer, allowed us to get a break on lodging rates. (Prices are typically much higher in peak season, December to April.) 

We also booked our reservation more than six months in advance; joined Dusit Gold, the brand’s loyalty program (for an additional 10 percent off rates); and compared packages for the best deal. You can also compare prices at Booking.com.

We ended up booking an “All-Inclusive Escape to Romance” package (4-night minimum) that included not only all food and drink, but also round-trip seaplane transfers (a $1,100 value), a private beach dinner, 60-minute massages for each of us, an entertaining Thai cooking class, a group sunset cruise, use of a glass-bottom kayak, and a professional photography session.

That all-inclusive package cost us about $1,150 per night in the beach villa. To me, well worth the cost for the memories we made on this once-in-a-lifetime milestone anniversary vacation. 

Hotel review and photos (except the final one above) by Colorado-based travel writer Kara Williams.