We decided to check out the last property in the country after visiting the other two. Between the two main resorts, the private island, and the yacht, Four Seasons has quite a presence.
Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru is a great place to stay. The resort has a private seaplane, villas were recently renovated, the food and beverage outlets were excellent, and the service was friendly. If you are a Four Seasons loyalist, you will love this resort.
The competition in the luxury hotel market in the Maldives is very strong. This is an awesome hotel, but it isn't quite like the level of Cheval Blanc.
There are 103 accommodations at the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru. It is popular with snorkelers and divers because it is located in the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
The Four Seasons opened in 2006 and was renovated in 2015. The water villas have been renovated, while the beach villas are being renovated. Four restaurants, two shared pools, a spa, a gym, and a tennis court can be found at The Four Seasons.
Below is a map that shows the layout of the resort.
The nightly rate for a base room at the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru was $2,500 for our dates in April. Rates are all over the place at luxury resorts because of the Pandemic. The off season is cheaper and there are some promotions that can lower the rate. The pricing is in line with what other top properties are charging.
The best way to book a Four Seasons hotel is through a travel advisor. You pay the same rate when booking through Preferred Partner, but you will receive additional perks.
Four Seasons offers a variety of promotions, including advance purchase rates, free night offers, and more. Booking through programs like Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts is not as good as booking through the Four Seasons Preferred partner. Why?
You can get all of these perks if you book through an eligible travel advisor. Ford and his team don't charge booking fees for Four Seasons properties.
Ford got a travel agent rate for us. All opinions are mine.
The capital city of Male and Velana International Airport can be reached via a 30 minute seaplane ride.
You can either fly with Trans Maldivian on a standard Twin Otter, which will stop at other resorts, or you can fly with a different plane, which will stop at other resorts. Four Seasons has its own Twin Otter, which is still operated by Trans Maldivian Airways. It is more comfortable because it has only eight seats.
The current seaplane pricing is subject to change.
It makes sense to pay more for the Four Seasons plane when you consider that it carries less people. Many rates at the Four Seasons include transfers, which is a better value. That's something to be on the lookout for, and it's also something your travel advisor could help crunch the numbers on.
We arrived at Male Airport after taking the yacht transfer. The staff from the Four Seasons took us to the main terminal lounge. One of the lounges at the airport is for boat transfers, the other is for seaplane transfers.
The check-in process was taken care of while we were escorted to the former lounge. The lounge has air conditioning, drinks, and snacks, and is on the small side.
We were driven to the lounge a few minutes before we left the resort. The Four Seasons seaplane lounge has a lot of natural light. Drinks, snacks, and a shower were available in the lounge.
We only had a short time in the lounge before the flight.
The Four Seasons has an even nicer seaplane than the Cheval Blanc one. For one, what's not to like about the plane's livery? Four Seasons calls this a flyingtriggerfish.
The plane has just eight seats and is spread across four rows. It is amazing how comfortable this is.
The cockpit displays on the plane were updated beyond what I've seen before.
The flight to the resort took just 30 minutes, and we were given cold towels and bottled water by the employee in the cabin, who was responsible for luggage and helping with the arrivals and departure process.
There are dozens of overwater villas on a zig-zag dock, and the rest of the resort is on one main island.
At most resorts, seaplanes are directly at the hotel, but that is not the case here. The Four Seasons has a separate dock for planes and boats, so you can take a boat to the resort.
We were escorted to the open-air lobby via a long path after we arrived on the island.
At the other resorts we stayed at, we were appointed a single butler or concierge for the entire stay, and they processed check-in at our villa, but the arrivals experience was different.
The Four Seasons doesn't have a personal butler or concierge, but it does have an excellent app for communicating with the front desk.
Fresh coconut water and cold towels were offered to us when we were invited to sit in the open-air space of the lobby, which had a formal reception desk.
Iced tea, coffee, and hot tea can be found in the lobby.
There is a game area on the second floor of the lobby.
We were taken to our villa within 10 minutes.
We were assigned a sunrise water villa with pool, which is the entry level overwater villa, and then there are both sunrise and sunset family villas, which are larger. You can access the overwater villas by taking the main path through the resort and then taking the long jetty.
villa 313 is halfway down the jetty.
Two bicycles were waiting outside the villa. They had our initials on the front as well as the room number on the back.
Standard villas at the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru have 962 square feet of interior space, so they are a good size. There is no door to separate the living room from the bedroom in a junior suite.
There was a couch and a chair in the living room. There was a TV in the center of the room.
The minibar had a variety of drinks and snacks for purchase, as well as complimentary coffee and tea.
There was a fruit plate, some sweet and salty snacks, and a bottle of a wine in the welcome amenity.
The Four Seasons king bed is so comfortable that it's at the foot of the bed in the bedroom.
There was another TV in the center of the room.
There were three sets of doors that could be opened next to the bed.
Beyond the bathroom was a large closet area.
The bathroom had double sinks, a walk-in shower, a soaking tub, and a toilet.
The toilet area had a glass floor so that you could see the ocean from there.
There was an outdoor shower on the side of the villa.
The air conditioning in the room worked well and the room had free wi-fi.
The outdoor space of the villa was larger than the indoor space. There was a huge pool that extended out over the ocean.
Since most of the seating was covered, you can enjoy this space during the day. The outdoor space had a swinging couch and a chair, and a dining table with two chairs and a bench.
The loft area at the top of the spiral staircase is a great place to hang out with a view of the outdoors.
There was a cool net with lots of pillows.
There were cushions in the shade and a couple of sun beds in the outdoor space.
There were stairs going directly into the ocean, the water around the villa was shallow, and there was a seawall that made it very calm.
The sunset views were still pretty amazing even though we were staying on the other side.
The room was refreshed twice per day and the attention to detail was amazing. The Four Seasons properties put cleaning cloths next to computer screens and sunglasses, but this resort has the prettiest ones I have ever seen.
You can book a private island resort in theMaldives, but what are the amenities? While guests tend to spend a lot of time in their own villas, the resort still has a lot to offer.
There are three shared pools at the Four Seasons. The main pool is around 50 meters in size and was the first Olympic-sized pool in the country. I don't think I've ever seen anyone use the swim-up bar at the pool.
There is a saltwater pool next to the main pool.
The resort also has a pool on the beach, and I will talk more about it when I talk about dining.
Many properties in the archipelago lack a large beach. The water was clear, the sand was soft, and it was great to walk on the beach.
The water is so shallow that you can walk past a sandbar without going into the water.
The resort has a wide range of water sports.
There is a gym at the Four Seasons. It has a variety of equipment, and we enjoyed using it at the middle of the day when it was cooler.
There is a grass tennis court at the resort. We were going to play the last morning, but it was rained out.
The Four Seasons has a spa that is open from 10AM to 9PM. The treatment menu can be found here. We only stayed at the resort for three nights, but it is an impressive spa complex, with three acres.
The spa also does everything from yoga therapy to alignment rituals, as well as massage and facial options. The spa has treatments on land and water.
Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru has four main food and beverage outlets. I will talk about bars with each venue.
Below I will cover each outlet in more detail, and briefly summarize the dining options.
There is a 10% service charge added to all on-property purchases, and there is no further option to tip. I appreciate that there is no service charge and a request for a tip.
I think this was my favorite restaurant at any of the properties we stayed at in theMaldives, and it was my favorite venue at the Four Seasons. The Beach Club is a fun place where you can eat and drink all day.
The beach club has a main open-air dining room where you can eat and drink during the day.
There are a lot of different seating options beyond that.
Guests can either have a buffet at Cafe Landaa or an a la carte breakfast at the Blu Beach Club. There is a breakfast menu at the club.
There were a variety of drinks.
We were given a bread basket with some goodies.
We ate here two mornings, and we tried several options, including the fruit plate, the homemade granola with berries and yogurt, and the Maldivian breakfast. The food was great.
One afternoon, we had lunch here. Depending on what you want, you can either order off the traditional Italian menu or the beach menu.
I ordered a pizza margherita at the beach club because I am a sucker for good pizza. It was great.
We had breakfast at Cafe Landaa one morning. The restaurant is covered in open air.
Breakfast here consists of an endless buffet with everything from fresh fruit, to pastries, to yogurt and cereals, to cold cuts and cheese. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
The breakfast was great, but I still prefer the view of the beach at Blu Beach House.
Cafe Landaa serves all kinds of Asian dishes throughout the day, and then in the evening there are themed nights. There was an Indian buffet on the night we ate there. We love Indian food so it worked for us. At night, this entire space transforms into a beautiful place with the number of torches used to light up the outdoors.
The dinner buffet was amazing.
Live entertainment added to the fun.
The Middle Eastern restaurant at the resort is called Al Barakat. There is a restaurant near the jetty.
There is a bar near the entrance of the restaurant.
There are plenty of indoor and outdoor seating in the restaurant.
We started our meal with a couple of drinks in the bar area, which were delicious, and were served with some snacks.
We were presented with a set menu at our table. They were happy to substitute prawns for lamb chops because we are not huge fans of them.
The meal started with some vegetables.
We were offered a variety of cold mezze.
We were offered a selection of hot mezze.
Next up were the mains, which included shish tawouk, kofta, grilled halloumi, and prawns.
We were offered a wild cherry yogurt gelato and some tea.
What a great meal!
The resort's beachfront restaurant is called Fuego Grill, and it has at most a dozen or so tables.
The restaurant has a daily selection of fresh seafood.
The dinner menu at Fuego Grill can be found below.
At the beginning of the meal we were offered a variety of bread, as well as olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette.
Ford ordered the salad while I ordered the tuna crudo sampler.
Ford had the reef fish filet, while I had the Fuego Grill plate.
Seabar is a bar located next to Fuego Grill. This is a great place to watch the sunset.
The best part? It's cool to be able to see all the sharks up close at night.
What was the service like at the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru?
The service at the Four Seasons was good, but it didn't feel like it was well organized like at Cheval Blanc.
Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru is an excellent hotel. It has an incredibly comfortable private seaplane, great villas that were recently renovated, good food and beverage outlets, and the service you would expect from a Four Seasons.
I can't imagine going to Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru and not being happy. One of the most competitive hotel markets in the world is the Maldives, while Four Seasons has a lot of competition.
How does this compare to the other properties I stayed at? If money is no object, I think the Cheval Blanc is a step up from the Four Seasons and the other hotels.
What did you think about your stay at a Four Seasons property?
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