Hey there fellow Fodors users,
My future husband and I are looking to spend our honeymoon in the Maldives. I will try to be a blunt as possible about what we are looking for:

1) Water bungalow
2)beautiful clear water and snorkeling
3) ALL INCLUSIVE
4) preferably, an upscale resort
5) total of 8-9 nights for approx 8 to 10k

What hotels/resorts can you recommend?

If realizing all of these requests is not possible, please let me know. I don't really want to go out of our budget and want to make sure we can afford the Maldives before we go.

Any feed back at all will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch and happy holidays,
O.

what month

Is the $8-$10 K just for the hotel or including airfare to the Maldives?

$8 - 10K for 8 - 10 nights, or $1k per night, will get you some pretty good accommodation in the Maldives. Personally I would go "nuts" being on one resort there for 8 or 10 nights but then again you are on your honeymoon. Perhaps you might consider 2 resorts, 4 - 5 nights each, for a bit of change. The thing you should consider is that one resort = 1 tiny island with 2 - 3 restaurants per resort and you can get bored quickly.

I've only stayed at a few resorts and most of them had overwater bungalows. My favourites are Gili Lankanfushi (or the ex Soneva Gili) and Huvafen Fushi

http://www.gili-lankanfushi.com
http://huvafenfushi.peraquum.com/slu...n/default.aspx

This is one I've had my eyes on:

http://www.sixsenses.com/sixsenseslaamu/

We stayed at this resort several years ago. Awesome. Very very highly recommended.

http://www.lilybeachmaldives.com/

Thank you everyone for you comments, its really helpful. I know we are limiting ourselves with the all inclusive, but we feel it is the best bet of staying in budget.


@rhkkmk - we would be going in August, towards the end. Is this a good month to go?

I was there in August once and it was rainny with spells of sunshine. Outside the lagoon the water was choppy making swimming or snorkeling difficult. Stayed in two resorts on that trip and less than 50% occupancies. Still had a good time but we went with friends and talk nd drinks when it was too wet outside.

We are also headed to Maldives but in February. We are looking for a place to stay but less expensive than our honeymooners (best of luck to both of you in your new life!) I have been looking on line, but there are of course so many islands and prices. What is a reasonable price/island to consider. Due to the weather patterns we understand we should stay on the West side of the island.
Any input would be appreciated!