Cocoon Maldives

We have just returned from an 11-night stay.

We specifically chose this resort because of the water villa with the slide for our 12-year-old daughter, and that has certainly lived up to expectations. She has absolutely loved it, and the snorkelling around the island has been one of the highlights of our holiday. We’ve seen an incredible variety of marine life, including beautiful tropical fish, giant trevally (jackfish), manta rays and even reef sharks. The house reef is truly spectacular.

One thing that is worth noting if you’re considering booking a water villa with a slide is that the deck offers virtually no shade at all. If you enjoy relaxing outside but prefer to sit under some cover during the hottest parts of the day, be aware that you will be in full sun for most of the day.

Our butler, Munny, deserves special recognition. He has been incredibly attentive, friendly and accommodating throughout our stay and has genuinely done everything he can to make our holiday as comfortable as possible. He is a real credit to the resort.

There are also several other members of staff who have made a lasting impression. The team in Octopus Restaurant are always welcoming, attentive and work incredibly hard. The two chefs at the live breakfast station are exceptional - they remembered our breakfast order after just a couple of days and now begin preparing it as soon as we arrive each morning, which is a lovely personal touch.

A special mention must also go to Amila, who looked after us at breakfast every morning and also hosted our private Teppanyaki dining experience. He was incredibly friendly, professional and genuinely went above and beyond to provide outstanding service. His warmth and attention to detail made both experiences memorable, and he is a real asset to the resort.

The gym is well equipped and ideal for maintaining a workout routine while away, and the yoga deck is absolutely stunning. The yoga instructor is fantastic and delivers excellent sessions.

The spa was another real highlight of our stay. The therapists were exemplary and accommodated all three of us at very short notice. We each had an incredibly relaxing massage and enjoyed it so much that we’ve already booked additional treatments before we leave.

We also highly recommend Manta Restaurant. Although it isn’t included within the all-inclusive package and comes at an additional cost, the food is exceptional and well worth experiencing if your budget allows.

Unfortunately, there have been a number of aspects that have prevented this from feeling like the luxury five-star experience we were expecting.

The villas are beginning to look tired, with peeling laminate flooring in places, and despite requesting that our floors be mopped, this never appeared to happen. Within a few steps of walking barefoot around the villa, the soles of our feet would turn black from the dirt. Cleanliness in this area definitely needs improvement.

Construction work around the water villas has also been disappointing. The noise regularly wakes us in the mornings, and during the day it makes sitting out on the deck far less relaxing than you would hope for in the Maldives.

One of the biggest disappointments has been the loud music played every evening until late. When you book a Maldives holiday, you expect peace and tranquillity, not to hear music from your room seven nights a week.

The food in Octopus offers plenty of variety, but many dishes don’t really complement one another, making it feel quite random at times. The dessert selection is particularly repetitive, usually consisting of just three or four desserts duplicated across the display.

Breakfast is generally good, but there were some surprising omissions. Orange juice wasn’t available every morning, and crêpes weren’t served daily - both of which we would consider standard menu items at any star-rated hotel, particularly one marketed as a five-star luxury resort.

The smoothies and yoghurts are available in a variety of flavours, but they are often left sitting warm rather than being properly chilled, which makes them much less enjoyable.

Another surprise was that when I asked for a mocktail in one of the restaurants, I was told they didn’t offer them. Given the number of families and non-drinkers visiting luxury resorts, this felt like a missed opportunity.

One evening my daughter wanted to enjoy the jacuzzi bath in our villa, but the water came out yellow. By that stage we’d already raised several concerns during our stay, so rather than complain again, we simply decided not to use it.

The towels throughout the resort are also extremely rough and stiff rather than soft and fluffy. As someone with eczema and sensitive skin, I found them quite uncomfortable to use.

We’ve stayed in many five-star resorts around the world, and it’s often the smaller touches that create a luxury experience. We were surprised that there were no welcome treats in the villa at any point during our stay - no fruit platter, chocolates or small gift, which we’ve come to expect from resorts of this calibre. Similarly, the only drinking water provided is the resort’s bottled water. I appreciate many people don’t notice a difference, but I personally do, and I would happily pay to have access to premium bottled mineral water, either in the restaurants or the villa. We had asked within the octopus restaurant if we could have bottled water instead of the house Water and we told it wasn’t an option. It was only when we complained and raised this to management that we then started to receive bottled Evian mineral water at meals.

Overall, this resort has some wonderful qualities. The marine life is breathtaking, the water villas with slides are fantastic for families, Munny and many of the staff provide exceptional service, Amila delivered some of the best hospitality we’ve experienced, the spa is outstanding, and Manta Restaurant is excellent and also the Teppanyaki is a must try experience.

However, the resort currently falls short of what we personally expect from a luxury five-star Maldives experience. With improvements to maintenance, cleanliness, noise management, food consistency and some of the finer luxury touches, it could be truly exceptional. If you are looking for some shade during the day at your villa there is none available. The villas are situated in full sun all day with no parasols or sunshades. Apparently the resort is currently trialling a system but only one villa had this and we were not given anything as an interim fix .

We had an amazing holiday at Cocoon Maldives. The resort is beautiful, the accommodation was comfortable, and the staff made us feel very welcome from the first day. A special thanks to Munni for his care throughout our stay. He was very friendly and helpdul. Our stay was truly memorable, and we would be very happy to visit again. Highly recommended!