Kandooma Maldives, formerly Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma, an all-inclusive island of 146 villas 45 minutes by speedboat from Malé, in South Malé Atoll
Kandooma suits families, surfers and divers: the Kandooma Right surf break is a stone’s throw from the island, and the kids’ club takes children aged 4 to 12. A stay without building work may suit another time, as refurbishment runs until 30 November 2026.
Official siteWould you go?
Keep it among your hotels and see it on the budget globe, month by month.
With children I would ask for the Family Beach Pool Villa: 96 m² for up to 6 adults, with direct beach access, sea views and a private pool.
The shared speedboat is charged on top: the resort’s site, read on 14 October 2026, asks $80 per adult from age 13 and $40 per child aged 4 to 12, round trip, free under 4.
Booking the All-Inclusive Stay offer direct, for at least 4 nights, adds a bottle of sparkling wine, a beach dinner set-up with a meal from the à la carte menu, and flexible cancellation up to 3 days before arrival.
Kandooma has Kandooma Fushi to itself, an island in South Malé Atoll 35 km from Velana airport. For 17 years it was IHG’s Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives; since 1 October 2026 it has been run by HPL Hotels & Resorts, part of Hotel Properties Limited, which owns it, with a new name, an all-inclusive plan and 146 villas where there were 154, as Hotelier Maldives reports.
People choose it for 3 things it has always had: the surf at Kandooma Right, a PADI 5-star dive centre with 28 dive sites around it, and a kids’ club for ages 4 to 12, open from 8am to 8pm. In the latest 500 Google reviews with text, written between November 2025 and October 2026, 95% of the guests who mention the staff praise them.
Everything else is in motion. The official booking page warns of works and daytime noise until 30 November 2026, the Beach Club has yet to open, and in September 2026 some of the villas were still waiting to be refurbished. On the bill, it helps to know that outside the all-inclusive plan wine, activities and laundry are charged separately, with a 10% service charge and government tax; guests on the plan recommend it to anyone booking.
Lumina Guide 2027
Kandooma, formerly a Holiday Inn, is an island 45 minutes by speedboat from Malé with the surf of Kandooma Right, a PADI 5-star dive centre and a kids’ club for ages 4 to 12, all-inclusive since 1 October 2026.
How we choose the hotelsWhat we found reading the hotel’s own pages, one thing at a time.
An island of its own 45 minutes by boat, no seaplane; across the lagoon lies the inhabited island of Guraidhoo.
Surf, diving, children and concerts: a lively island, halfway through a change of operator.
12 villa types from 48 to 215 m², private pools only in the family villas; some villas are being refurbished.
All-inclusive at Kandooma Café, Bokkuraa and the bars, with supplements on speciality menus.
COMO Shambhala’s spa with 7 rooms, a steam room and a jacuzzi; 30 minutes of treatment every 4 nights.
On Google Hotels from $472 to $654 a night for 2, read on 7 October 2026, for 4-night stays.
A badge is an experience travellers look for, that is really here and that few hotels in the guide have.
Here: the kids’ club takes children from 4 to 12, and there is a splash pool with slides for them too.
143 of the 155 guests who write about the children are pleased. 8 hotels of 335 hold it.
Every hotel with this badgeHere: at Kandooma Café, a buffet facing the pool and the ocean, from 6.30am to 10.30am, with live stations for eggs, dosas and pancakes.
46 of the 47 guests who write about breakfast are pleased. 15 hotels of 335 hold it.
Every hotel with this badgeHere: $472 to $654 a night for 2 on Google Hotels, for 4-night stays between October 2026 and January 2027, read on 7 October 2026.
21 of the 33 guests who write about the price are happy with it. 19 hotels of 335 hold it.
Every hotel with this badgeWhat do Kandooma’s guests say? They write it in their reviews, even those who only came for a drink or dinner: we read every one and tell the 5 things that matter, from the location to the bill.
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. The beach and the clear water come up most, along with the surf at Kandooma Right, the snorkelling and the sunsets.
8 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Guests remember clean villas, comfortable beds and outdoor bathrooms; some villas are being refurbished until 30 November 2026.
Nearly every guest who mentions it is happy with it. Guests name waiters, receptionists and instructors one by one, and write about the kids’ club and the dive centre.
Nearly every guest who mentions it is happy with it. Guests describe a rich, varied buffet with plenty of choice, and attentive staff in the restaurant.
6 in 10 guests who mention the price find it fair. They are above all the guests on the all-inclusive rate, who find it good value and recommend it to anyone booking.
| What | Score out of 10 | Guests who mention it | Happy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | 8.5 | 106 | 88% |
| Room | 7.6 | 102 | 81% |
| Staff and service | 9.1 | 482 | 95% |
| Breakfast | 8.3 | 47 | 98% |
| Price | – | 33 | 64% |
The scores come from 500 Google reviews with text, left from 13 November 2025 to 2 October 2026. The other hotels are the ones weighed for a stay in South Malé Atoll: for each we read its latest 500 Google reviews with text, or all of them where there are fewer, as of 7 October 2026. The score is the average of what they say, from 0 if they speak of it very badly to 10 if they speak of it very well. Where only a few mention something, the score stays close to the guide’s average: a handful of voices does not make a reputation.
The hotels we weigh it against in South Malé Atoll:
Price: for two on the night of 10 November 2026, from $472 (seen on Google Hotels on 7 October 2026).
A wave off the beach, the reef at Kandooma Thila, the kids’ club and a spa in the garden.
The right-hander breaking off the island is one of the best known in the Maldives; by boat you reach Tucky Joes, Riptides and Quarters, and Kitchens is the wave for beginners. Surfing here means booking a package with Perfect Wave, the resort’s partner: the resort takes no direct surf bookings.
The PADI 5-star centre dives Kandooma Thila, Guraidhoo Corner and the Kandooma Caves, among grey reef sharks, eagle rays and turtles. Under Dive Free, certified divers staying at least 4 nights get one guided dive a day, with equipment, air or nitrox and the boat included.
Ages 4 to 12, 8am to 8pm: a library, arts and crafts, a gaming zone and a splash pool with slides and a shallow wading pool. Children under 13 stay and eat free with their parents, and PADI Bubblemaker starts at 8.
Kandooma Café, the buffet, looks over the pool and the ocean: breakfast 6.30 to 10.30am, lunch noon to 2.30pm, dinner 6 to 9pm. Next door, Bokkuraa Pool Deck serves pizzas, burgers and ice cream from 11am to 11pm; in the evenings there is a Maldivian barbecue on the beach and a seafood and grill night.
7 treatment rooms, couples’ villas, a jacuzzi and a steam room in a garden, open 9am to 9pm. Each adult has a 30-minute massage included every 4 nights; anything more is paid for, such as the signature massage at $110 for 60 minutes.
Until 30 November 2026 the resort is refurbishing reception, some restaurants and part of the villas, and the official booking page warns of daytime noise.
The all-inclusive plan is sold for 4 nights or more, and the official site publishes no other rate. On 7 October 2026 online agencies were still selling stays with breakfast only.
The shared speedboat costs $80 per adult and $40 per child aged 4 to 12, return, according to the official FAQ; Booking.com’s listing, written before the change of operator, says $160 and $80.
Children may stay in the water villas only if a parent signs a waiver. On that side, guests write on Google, the seabed is stony, and from the opposite shore you look at the inhabited island of Guraidhoo, with a large hotel and a building site.
Outside the all-inclusive plan you pay a 10% service charge and government tax, and Green Tax is $12 per person per night from age 2.
Wi-Fi is free across the island; between February 2025 and May 2026, 3 Google reviews describe it as slow or unstable.
By speedboat from Velana airport in Malé, in 40 to 45 minutes, with no seaplane
| Speedboat | Shared, 40 to 45 minutes from Velana airport, timed to international flights, according to the official FAQ |
|---|---|
| Fare | $80 per adult from age 13 and $40 per child aged 4 to 12, free under 4, return, per the FAQ; Booking.com says $160 and $80 |
| On arrival | Send flight details 24 to 48 hours ahead; the resort’s staff wait at the arrivals exit or at counter D-01 |
| Distance | 35 km south of the airport, according to the resort’s release of 1 October 2026; Kandooma Thila is 5 km away |
From the official FAQ and release, read on 7 October 2026, and from Booking.com, read the same day, whose listing still carries its Holiday Inn text. IHG’s page, read on 3 October 2026, adds that there is no berth for guests arriving on a private boat.
Kandooma Maldives · South Malé Atoll
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Breakfast at Kandooma Café runs from 6.30am to 10.30am, overlooking the ocean and the pool.
The surf centre opens at 8am and the dive centre too; Kandooma Right breaks a stone’s throw from the island.
Lunch at Kandooma Café runs from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.
In the surf season the Surf Shack Bar opens from 4pm to 6pm, with front-row views of the Kandooma Right break.
Dinner at Kandooma Café runs from 6.30pm to 9pm.
The platforms’ scores, read between 3 and 7 October 2026, and what guests say about the surf, the reef and the villas.
On 6 October 2026 Google showed 4.7/5 from 2,929 ratings, 83% of them 5 stars. The figures by theme come from the latest 500 reviews with text, written between November 2025 and October 2026: they describe the resort before its change of name and during the works. They are accounts of stays we have not checked.
6 stays described on Google between February and September 2026.
GoogleIn September 2026 a couple found their villa category being refurbished and were upgraded, with a butler. For ocean views they recommend the Beach Houses near the surf break: from the other side of the island you look at the inhabited island, a large hotel and a building site.
GoogleIn September 2026 a couple who came for a concert describe a buffet cut back by the works, food poisoning and a villa in poor shape, which they later learnt was due to be gutted and rebuilt.
GoogleIn July 2026 a guest snorkelled the house reef and found it full of varied, beautiful fish; they praise a spotless villa, a big comfortable bed and the outdoor bathroom.
GoogleIn July 2026 a guest who came for the Music in Paradise festival is emphatic: book the all-inclusive. Paying as you go, in US dollars, the choice on the island is limited and there is nowhere to cook for yourself.
GoogleIn June 2026 a guest found the Beach Villa a little disappointing, since the only real beach is the central one, and the water villa as advertised, provided you pick the right side. Life jackets and snorkels are lent free.
GoogleIn February 2026 a couple without the all-inclusive plan found everything very expensive, £20 for a glass of wine, slow service at the bar and the same buffet every day, and left with a £1,250 bill for meals, drinks, an excursion and laundry.
The questions people ask before booking Kandooma, answered from sources read between 3 and 7 October 2026.
It is the same resort under a new name. For 17 years the island of Kandooma Fushi, in South Malé Atoll, was IHG’s Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives; since 1 October 2026 it has been Kandooma Maldives, run by HPL Hotels & Resorts, part of Hotel Properties Limited, which owns it, as the resort’s release of that day puts it. It is now all-inclusive, with 146 villas where there were 154.
Google Hotels classes it as a 4-star hotel. Guests holding IHG points bookings saw them cancelled and the points returned, Head for Points wrote on 23 June 2026, and on 7 October 2026 IHG’s booking engine answered that the property is no longer active.
The official site lists 12 types. In the garden and on the beach: the Garden Villa and the Beach Villa at 48 m², for 2 adults and 2 children, and the one-bedroom Beach Houses on 2 floors, 35 m² per floor. Over the water, the 85 m² Water Villas, facing the island or the sea, and a 2-bedroom villa of 170 m².
For families and groups there are the new 96 m² Family Beach Pool Villa, the 142 m² 2-bedroom Beach Houses with pools and the 215 m² 3-bedroom pool villas, for up to 9 adults. The site does not give the number of each; the release of 1 October 2026 mentions 8 Family Beach Pool Villas and 2 three-bedroom villas.
On Kandooma Fushi in South Malé Atoll, 35 km south of Velana airport, according to the official release. Only the resort is on the island; a lagoon separates it from Guraidhoo, an inhabited island, and Maafushi is 4 km away, according to Google.
Quiet only up to a point: there are concerts and children and, until 30 November 2026, building work with daytime noise in some areas. Guests in March and September 2026 mention a building site and a large hotel on the next island, in view from the side beach.
By shared speedboat from Velana airport, 40 to 45 minutes, with no seaplane: according to the official FAQ it costs $80 per adult from age 13 and $40 per child aged 4 to 12, return, free under 4. Boats are timed to international flights, and flight details are due 24 to 48 hours ahead.
Booking.com’s listing, written before the change of operator, still gives $160 per adult and $80 per child, taxes included. On arrival the resort’s staff wait at the arrivals exit; if you miss them, go to counter D-01.
No: it is an island reached only by boat, with no roads. IHG’s page, on 3 October 2026, said parking is neither available nor needed, and that there are no berths for guests arriving on a private boat. Google Hotels still lists «Parking» among the amenities.
From the main beach, in front of the pool, and from the water villas, which have direct lagoon access according to the official site. The side open to the ocean is where the surf breaks, and a guest in January 2026 writes that swimming is not allowed there.
The beach for swimming is the central one, and the Beach Villas do not all have sand in front of them, a guest wrote in June 2026; beneath the water villas the seabed is stony.
Yes, a small one: a family in March 2026 found patches of reef off the main beach, easy even with children, with pufferfish and, about 10 metres out, a lionfish, and a guest in July 2026 describes it as full of fish. The official site includes daily guided snorkelling by boat on the nearby reefs.
Masks, fins and life jackets are lent free, guests wrote in 2026. The site also lists shark snorkelling and Turtle Point snorkelling, without marking them as included.
One main infinity pool, beside Bokkuraa Pool Deck and the beach, with loungers; IHG’s page gave its hours as 6am to 6pm. Kandoo Kids Club has a splash pool with slides and a shallow wading pool, and the Beach Club, announced as opening soon, will have a rooftop jacuzzi.
Private pools come with the family villas: the Family Beach Pool Villas, the 2-bedroom Beach Houses, where they were added in the refurbishment, and the 3-bedroom villas. The Water Villa listings name none.
No source read mentions heating or a water temperature. The last published hours, on IHG’s page of 3 October 2026, run from 6am to 6pm; the new site gives none.
According to the official site: Kandooma Café, the buffet, with breakfast 6.30 to 10.30am, lunch noon to 2.30pm and dinner 6 to 9pm; Bokkuraa Pool Deck, for pizzas and burgers, 11am to 11pm; BAR-aveli on the beach, 11am to 6pm; the seasonal Surf Shack Bar, 4 to 6pm. The 2-storey Beach Club is announced as coming soon.
Theme nights are a Maldivian barbecue on the beach and a seafood and grill evening; there are private beach dinners and in-villa dining from 6.30am to 11pm. The release of 1 October 2026 says instead that Kandooma Café now runs round the clock. Vegetarian and halal dishes are available, and there is no dress code.
Since 1 October 2026 the resort sells all-inclusive, for at least 4 nights. According to the official page it covers breakfast, lunch and dinner at the designated restaurants, snacks, unlimited drinks from the all-inclusive menu, daily guided snorkelling, Wi-Fi, one sunset cruise and one sunrise fishing trip per person, a 30-minute spa treatment per adult and Dive Free for certified divers.
The experiences reset every 4 consecutive nights, and stays of 5 nights add one more; speciality restaurants and some dishes may carry a supplement. Booking direct brings a bottle of sparkling wine, a beach dinner set-up and free cancellation up to 3 days before arrival. On 7 October 2026 the agencies on Google Hotels were still selling villas with breakfast only.
Kandooma Spa, run by COMO Shambhala, sits in a garden: according to the official site it has 7 treatment rooms, couples’ villas and a steam room, open daily from 9am to 9pm. The site gives no floor area.
The spa menu adds a jacuzzi and changing rooms, free on the day of a treatment; it mentions no sauna. There are also sunset yoga, yoga on paddleboards and sound-healing sessions.
The all-inclusive plan gives each adult a 30-minute massage every 4 nights, back, neck and shoulders or feet; other treatments are paid for, plus a 10% service charge and government tax. Without a treatment that day, the steam room costs $30 for 30 minutes, according to the menu.
Outside guests cannot come: the official FAQ says only registered guests are allowed on the island and day visits are not permitted. The spa takes guests from age 16, or younger with an adult.
9am to 9pm every day, according to the official site and the menu. Book at spa reception or from the villa phone, ideally ahead; the menu asks you to arrive 15 minutes early and charges 50% for cancellations under 4 hours’ notice, and in full for no-shows.
From the menu, prices plus a 10% service charge and government tax: the COMO Shambhala Massage at $110 for 60 minutes and $140 for 90, Thai or Indonesian massage at $100 for 60 minutes, hot stone massage at $175 for 90, the Surfer’s Massage at $80 for 45 minutes and foot acupressure at $50 for 30 minutes.
There are prenatal massages after the first trimester from $125, Sundãri facials, manicures and pedicures from $40, and children’s massages from $55.
Children are its core audience. Kandoo Kids Club takes ages 4 to 12 from 8am to 8pm, with its splash pool and slides; children under 13 stay and eat free with their parents, up to 2 per room at meals, and a cot for babies up to 2 is free. PADI Bubblemaker starts at 8, and children’s surf lessons run with Perfect Wave.
The official FAQ offers babysitting for children aged 4 and under, and admits no children to the water villas without a signed waiver. Green Tax still applies from age 2, at $12 a night.
According to the official site: the buffet restaurant, the pool deck, the beach bars, the spa, the dive centre, the surf centre, the kids’ club and the water-sports centre, with free hire of non-motorised kit such as kayaks, and jet skis, parasailing and banana boats. There are beach volleyball, beach tennis, billiards and table tennis, and a Maldivian cooking class; IHG’s page also listed the gym, open 5am to 10pm.
The resort is Green Globe certified, and in some weeks of 2027, between April and June, it hosts concerts on the beach. Pets are not allowed, according to IHG and Booking.com.
On the official site, on 7 October 2026: the opening offer takes a further 10% off the all-inclusive rate, for 4 nights or more, for bookings by 31 December 2026 and stays until 31 October 2027, with some weeks excluded; Stay Longer & Save reaches 20% from 5 nights, booked at least 7 days ahead.
Kids Stay & Eat Free and Dive Free are already part of the all-inclusive plan.
Yes: the official Romance page offers island weddings, proposals, anniversaries and honeymoons, with private beach dinners. It publishes no packages, prices or capacities; IHG’s page, before the change, described a wedding team handling anything from a ceremony for 2 to a party with guests.
Yes: the official FAQ announces a gala dinner on 24 December and a New Year’s Eve dinner on the 31st, with no menu or price. Booking.com’s listing, written before the change of operator, made them compulsory, at $250 per adult on Christmas Eve and $350 on New Year’s Eve, plus tax; whether the all-inclusive plan covers them is not stated.
No: no official page mentions golf. The island offers surfing, diving, snorkelling, fishing, sunset cruises, beach tennis and beach volleyball, according to the official site.
All year: neither the change of operator nor the works closed the resort, which stays open through the refurbishment until 30 November 2026, according to Hotelier Maldives and the booking page.
According to the official FAQ the dry season runs from November to April and the wet season from May to October, with brief showers; surfers follow the swell season, and the Surf Shack Bar opens only then.
On Google Hotels, read on 7 October 2026 for 2 adults and 4-night stays, the lowest nightly price with fees was $522 from 20 October 2026, $472 from 10 November, $654 from 8 December and $553 from 12 January 2027.
These were online agencies’ prices: Stayforlong at $472 with breakfast and $553 in January, Islandii at $522 and $654, Expedia and its group’s sites at $588 in October for a Beach House Garden View with breakfast, and eDreams at $716 in December and January. The official engine, which sells the all-inclusive plan from 4 nights, could not be read that day; La Revue des Hôtels found $584 a night for 2 in a Garden Villa there on 5 October, before tax. Booking.com was taking no reservations, Agoda showed it sold out and IHG no longer sells the resort.
On top come the speedboat, $80 per adult return, and Green Tax at $12 per person per night.
On 6 October 2026 Google showed 4.7/5 from 2,929 ratings; on 3 October Tripadvisor gave 4.7/5 from 3,318, with a Travellers’ Choice award, and on 7 October Booking.com 8.7/10 from 333, with staff at 9.4 and value for money at 8.3. Expedia gave 9/10 from 273 and Agoda 8.8 from 604.
In the latest 500 Google reviews with text, 95% of those who mention the staff are happy, 98% for breakfast and 88% for the location. Guests on the all-inclusive plan find it good value; those paying as they go mention the prices of wine, activities and laundry, with a 10% service charge and taxes at the foot of the bill. Nearly all the reviews describe the Holiday Inn before the refurbishment.
Spa services and extras carry a 10% service charge and government tax, according to the spa menu; La Revue des Hôtels gives 10% service charge and 17% T-GST on the room. Green Tax is $12 per person per night from age 2, according to the official children’s page.
The speedboat, motorised activities, which the all-inclusive plan does not list, and dives beyond the first of the day are paid separately. Booking.com asks for a $100 damage deposit on arrival, refunded after departure.
Check-in from 2pm and check-out by noon, according to the official FAQ; early check-in and late check-out depend on availability and may be charged. IHG and Expedia required the guest checking in to be 18, Booking.com set no minimum age.
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This guide is written with Lumina, the marketing system for hotels.
