Accommodation
SAVORING PARADISE AT KURAMATHI RESORT
As a larger foodie than I am, today Johnny is joining us to help talk about all the amazing food we experienced at Kuramathi.
Several days before our trip to the Maldives, I was speaking with a co-worker who had been there before. Although she found it beautiful and commended me for our choice of vacation spot, she warned that the food there was simply not good. She claimed that the only thing done “ok” were the pastas because it’s a food hard to screw it up. She also complained that there was a lack of variety in general with the buffet, so she never ate too much.
Even though she didn’t stay at the same resort as us, given that harsh review, all I could think was, it can’t be THAT bad, can it?
Fast forward to our first day in the Maldives, our first breakfast didn’t go well. I feared that our week in paradise might be ruined by the lack of good food, just as my co-worker had warned. However, it must have been a fluke that first day because it ended up turning out to be the best vacation of my life, and the food definitely played a part in it.
We spent just over four days at Kuramathi and the food there was always improving and impressing. If you’re a foodie, you’ll definitely want to consider staying at Kuramathi.
Every guest comes in on at least full board, which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, although All-Inclusive is also an option here. Each guest is assigned to one of the three main restaurants, Haruge, Malaafaiy, and Farivalhu– one for each section across the island, based on their room type and location.
We were allotted Malaafaiy, as it was the closest to our room. Since it was our designated restaurant for all our meals, we had a table reserved for us in the same place throughout our stay for our convenience, which was really nice!
MALAAFAIY
ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere and ambience at Malaafaiy was nice. The building, with its high ceilings and thatched straws, made it look very tropical and it had a nice view of the beach on the lagoon side. We were so taken in awe by the view that we often stayed longer than needed to just enjoy the scenery.
There weren’t many decorations, as there were no walls around the perimeter of the dinning area. But they did try to incorporate some within the buffet area, such as fruit carvings. Each day there were carved watermelons, papayas, and honeydews. I would imagine that must take a lot of time for it to be carved that intricately, but they were always beautiful and appreciated.
As I mentioned before, our table number was assigned to us.
Therefore we were always in contact with the same few waiters. Every meal they would ask us how our day was going, and even called us by name, which was really good and took our dining experience to a whole nother level. It felt more personalized and we were able to build a relationship with the chef and staff working there through our short stay.
BREAKFAST
Breakfast at Kuramathi gave us a good start each day. It was a continental affair with a wide array of pastries, cereals, fresh fruits and local staples, like curry with rice. They also served a wide variety of hot foods and had a chef to prepare eggs and omelets the way you like it, which became a favorite of mine.
Other favorites of mine included the daily fresh fruit smoothies at the smoothie station, as well as the potatoes. They had a different type of potato throughout the days and the “Duchess Potato” quickly became our favorite. It featured a baked outside with mashed potato-y inside; it was the first time I ever had potatoes like that and it was great to find something new that we really enjoyed.
Beth loved the donuts and French toast, as they’re items she misses from the States. She also really enjoyed sampling the various types of bacon, as they had pork, chicken and beef featured throughout the week.
LUNCH
Lunch was, in my opinion, the most standard meal of the day– perhaps it was because most people were out on their excursions in paradise or perhaps because people had eaten too much hearty food during breakfast. Whatever the reason, lunch just never overly impressed us during our stay.
That’s not to say that lunch was ever bad, it was just nothing too special. It was a lot of pastas and salad bar-type items.
Even though it may have been the most standard meal of the day, it still featured some gems, like the sandwich station. You can customize the sandwich of your dreams with the various meats and topping they have, and then watch as a worker builds it for you– because after all, you are on a dream vacation, why bother making your own sandwiches?
I frequented the sandwich station throughout the week; whereas, Beth enjoyed the cheese and cold cuts section, along with fresh salads. She thought their “Sweet Balsamic Vinaigrette” dressing was the best she’s ever had, and wished they also had that option out during dinner time.
DINNER
Dinner at the main restaurants was always something exciting and new. Each night, there was a different theme, from French to Mexican to Maldivian, and even Chinese.
Our first night there was, excitedly, Mexican night, a type of food not found often in Asia. There were taco stations, fresh enchiladas and even nachos with guacamole. For dessert there was a wide variety of Mexican pastries and cakes, including flan.
Our other nights consisted of delicious Italian and traditional Maldivian and Sri Lankan fare. Each dinner always had a carving station that served some meat or fish, in addition to all the other dishes, which we really enjoyed.
Whichever the theme, you can bet that it would have music to match and be lit by a candle to give it more of a romantic feel for the guests.
ALL-INCLUSIVE PACKAGE
Kuramathi is one of the handfuls of resorts to offer an “All-Inclusive” package with guests stay. There were two types of All-Inclusive; one “basic” and the other “select”.
In addition to the meals at the main restaurants, those with either All-Inclusive package could enjoy drinks in all of the restaurants and at any of the six bars throughout the island. There was a wide selection of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, available. With free reign over drinks, we took liberty to try everything that sounded good to us.
After each meal, we would promptly sit down at our neighboring bar to try something new. From the large version of our welcome drink, which will remind you of the amazing sunsets to the cool blue cocktail that mimics the clear waters right outside, almost every drink we tried was delicious. The selection of alcohol is similar to a bar you might find in cities, with a good selection of name brand basics, such as Jack Daniels, Smirnoff, and Bombay Sapphire.
People who have the all-inclusive packages could also enjoy afternoon high tea daily from 3PM to 5PM. Here you could sample various snacks, and desserts. Although this was a buffet-style tea and not presented in fancy individual tea sets, the food was great. The sandwiches, like the spicy tuna, was very good and made me not care that the dinner was in just a few hours.
There are also non-food related benefits to opting for All-Inclusive, including free water sport equipment and excursions.
Even though it costs quite a bit extra, I highly recommend upgrading to at least the Basic All-Inclusive package, which was what we enjoyed. If you like to drink, you’ll definitely want this upgrade. Alcohol wasn’t really expensive, but at $13 USD per drink, it wasn’t exactly cheap either.
Even if you aren’t a big drinker, you should still upgrade. Without Basic All-Inclusive, no drinks would come with any of your meals– and with being on a hot tropical island, you’ll want drinks. Just to have water with your meal would cost $4 USD, so this could add up very quickly. We found that in addition to drinks like teas, juices and alcohol, we were ordering a bottle of water at every meal just to fight dehydration.
A LA CARTE DINING
In case you’re feeling something different from the three main restaurants, Kuramathi also boasts a high number of A La Carte restaurants. You can choose the type of food that suits you from the seven restaurants located throughout the island, just be sure to make a reservation.
Dining at an A La Carte restaurant does cost extra, unless you’re with the Select All-Inclusive plan, then you’re free to experience any restaurant (which is really the main difference between the two All-Inclusive plans).
We fortunately got to indulge in Kuramathi’s newest restaurant Duniye, which is their gastronomic fusion restaurant– although the food there deserves its own post entirely.
With so much variety, from Thai food at Siam Garden to the freshest seafood cooked in front of you at The Reef, it would have been great if we’d had more time to stay and try a taste of all that Kuramathi restaurants have to offer.