A reader was asking me about the Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru that I stayed at in the Maldives recently so I thought I'd do a more detailed post on the resort. (You can see my earlier post here.)
We arrived quite late at night by a Singapore Airlines flight. The resort is a short 25-minute boat ride from the airport.
We were received at the jetty by a hotel staff and served the most delightful ice lemongrass tea in the reception area.
We stayed in the Deluxe Beachfront Villa, which comes with its own outdoor jet pool, outdoor and indoor showers and sun deck.
The jet pool is simply divine. At the highest setting, the jets are so strong, you feel like you are getting a vigorous massage all over.
The interior is spacious with a rustic simplicity. There is no TV in the room (though there is one in the hotel bar) and internet reception was quite poor in our room.
We originally just wanted the Beachfront Villa but as they didn't have one available for our travel date, we upgraded to the Deluxe Beachfront. The Ocean View Villas (below) are set further inland compared to the Beachfront Villas.
The crystal clear sea was quite shallow around the island, so we could swim quite far out without any danger.
The beach and sea bed is covered with lots of broken corals though, so you have to step gingerly around them.
The meals were a mix of buffets and a la carte style. We had a full board package so we basically only had to pay for drinks.
More private dining settings on the beach can also be easily arranged.
The food was pretty good in general with a wide variety of Western and Asian cuisines. The service was impeccable and warm.
I was trying to eat healthy on this trip so I had lots of fresh fruits and salads.
Still, we always had lots of desserts, especially the ice creams and sorbets!
Our three days at Banyan Tree was the most tranquil vacation we've ever had. The other guests were all adults (mainly Caucasian couples with a couple of Japanese and Koreans) and there were no noisy children around thankfully. We are not into snorkeling or diving so we mainly just lazed by the beach or went for swims, played some table tennis and chilled in the bar reading the iPad.
Would we go again? Hell, yes! In a heartbeat :-)
We arrived quite late at night by a Singapore Airlines flight. The resort is a short 25-minute boat ride from the airport.
We were received at the jetty by a hotel staff and served the most delightful ice lemongrass tea in the reception area.
We stayed in the Deluxe Beachfront Villa, which comes with its own outdoor jet pool, outdoor and indoor showers and sun deck.
The jet pool is simply divine. At the highest setting, the jets are so strong, you feel like you are getting a vigorous massage all over.
The interior is spacious with a rustic simplicity. There is no TV in the room (though there is one in the hotel bar) and internet reception was quite poor in our room.
We originally just wanted the Beachfront Villa but as they didn't have one available for our travel date, we upgraded to the Deluxe Beachfront. The Ocean View Villas (below) are set further inland compared to the Beachfront Villas.
The crystal clear sea was quite shallow around the island, so we could swim quite far out without any danger.
The beach and sea bed is covered with lots of broken corals though, so you have to step gingerly around them.
The meals were a mix of buffets and a la carte style. We had a full board package so we basically only had to pay for drinks.
More private dining settings on the beach can also be easily arranged.
The food was pretty good in general with a wide variety of Western and Asian cuisines. The service was impeccable and warm.
I was trying to eat healthy on this trip so I had lots of fresh fruits and salads.
Still, we always had lots of desserts, especially the ice creams and sorbets!
Our three days at Banyan Tree was the most tranquil vacation we've ever had. The other guests were all adults (mainly Caucasian couples with a couple of Japanese and Koreans) and there were no noisy children around thankfully. We are not into snorkeling or diving so we mainly just lazed by the beach or went for swims, played some table tennis and chilled in the bar reading the iPad.
Would we go again? Hell, yes! In a heartbeat :-)
12 comments:
Wonderful pictures, and I'm glad you had a great time! I would love to go there one day.
Omg!! I want to be there!! Now!! ;D
Thank you Iris for sharing with us your holiday!
Goosh, now that I am a mother of 2, I wish I can have a little bit of private time with my hubby. ;) Just short while will be great! Will show your pics to hubby and convince him to bring me there when my kids are older.
Besides loving your reviews on products and enjoying your eotds, you do give great write-ups on travels as well! I've enjoyed this one very much. Thank you.
Thanks Iris! Wow to have a blog post in response to my question - I am so honoured! :D
The pics and detailed description of your trip at BTV are exactly what I needed! I also told Hubby that Maldives would not be around by the time we saved up enough for our retirement LOL. Thanks!
Thanks very much for sharing your pictures.
It will inspire me to earn more so that I can enjoy such luxury! In the meanwhile, I will just dream away...
What a lovely read. Thank you for sharing your special trip with us. :)
To me it's like a 2nd honeymoon! So relaxing and romantic :-))
Thanks Iris for sharing!
I generally don't like Beach holiday, but your photos may change my mind!
Looks like you and DH had a lovely holiday!
How long did you guys go for? Also when it's all inclusive and you only need to pay for drinks, is it just for alcoholic drinks only or you'd need to pay for non alcoholic also?
hi,
You have to pay for all drinks, like coffee/tea/soft drinks and bottled water. A Coke was US$5... ouch! We were there for 3 nights.
Looks like a wonderful vacation spot. I'm not a fan of the beach but I'm swayed by these pictures. Thank you sharing them.
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