Drift Thelu Veliga Retreat

My first time in Maldives and I’m happy I chose this hotel as it didn’t disappoint and exceeded my expectations ??? cozy and beautiful island with beautiful water villas and atmosphere. Dinner buffet was amazing and ppl are friendly. Maria at reception is a true professional, spa was amazing. Snorkeling was absolutely incredible even though I’m not a big fan of diving .. but after seeing the beauty of underwater world , couldn’t stop swimming ??

Intimate resort with stunning accommodation, great snorkeling, and an onsite dive center. Food is good and service is excellent.

Best Vacation of my life. Normal life seems so sad, that's how much I felt taken care of here. Everyone from the front staff, restaurant, bar, dive centre, everyone made our stay special. My wife and I will be back.

That I cannot live here forever.

The water bungalows were beautiful. Tiny island with crystal clear water, decent house reef.

Main issue was lack of vegetarian dinner options. On 3 occasions there were zero main course vegetarian options (on other days 2-3 options). On curry night I had plain rice and bread. Disappointing and only takes a little more thought. All inclusive - but only allowed 1 soft drink and 1 beer in your villa each day! Weird as there are only 3 sunbeds on the island for use if you’re not in your villa. So a walk to the bar on a hot day. So strange! And just gets irritating!

Perfect service, good food, clean and quiet island

We treated my dad for his 80th birthday, so we were two couples. It was a great location and the staff couldn’t do enough for us. It was small island, which made it more intimate and friendly.

Beautiful marvelous water villa, own access to the water and riffs, paradise beach, a lot of Colorful fishes, very tasty food, beautiful sand, bath with ocean view, very romantic resort. It was best vacation in my life.

Fantastic location with a nice house reef for snorkeling. Very nice dives with the on -site dive school. Good variety of food in the restaurant. Low key vibe, simplicity in style. Nice staff. No pool (a bonus for us). Quiet. Privacy.

High prices for drinks (wine but also water). Made it a bit difficult to enjoy a drink at the bar. Spa prices so high that we did not go. Coffee at breakfast not so great and limited number of nespresso capsules in room. Sometimes difficult to coordinate with cleaning staff (clean twice a day for quite a long time). All minor issues. On the whole loved our stay and would visit again.

peaceful, quite, suitable for single travel, beach and snorkelling , sunset bathroom

Limited water activities, and need wait for enough ppl

Wow, wow, wow—what an absolutely incredible experience! We stayed for four nights but honestly wished we had at least four more. If you're planning a trip, do yourself a favor and book a water bungalow—it's a next-level experience. You won’t want (or need) to leave your villa!The service was exceptional, with every staff member going above and beyond to make our stay special. A huge thank you to Emdad, our wonderful waiter, and Maria, the amazing manager—both made us feel so welcome. We booked the half-board option, which included breakfast and dinner, and it was more than enough, with delicious buffet-style meals offering a wide variety of choices.One of the highlights of our trip was the house reef, which is absolutely teeming with life. We swam alongside reef sharks, turtles, eagle rays, and countless vibrant fish—it felt like snorkeling through a massive, living aquarium. The corals were surprisingly healthy, and the crystal-clear water made every moment underwater magical. I didn’t even feel the need to go diving because snorkeling alone was so fulfilling. Plus, they provide complimentary snorkeling gear, which was a fantastic bonus!Our water villa was spotlessly clean, beautifully decorated, and designed for pure relaxation. The resort offers twice-daily housekeeping, fresh towels each time, and thoughtful touches that make you feel completely at ease.Even the journey to the resort was an adventure—taking the seaplane was such a cool experience and added to the excitement of arriving in paradise.Overall, this was one of the most relaxing, luxurious, and unforgettable stays we've ever had. We only wish we could have stayed longer! If you're considering this place—just book it. You won’t regret it!

That we didn't have any extra days here...

I’ve been to the Maldives dozens of times and have seen all kinds of accommodations, from guesthouses to luxury 5-star resorts. I must say that this property perfectly embodies what a Maldivian vacation should offer:•A small island with few rooms (it has 10 beach villas and 20 water villas)•Elegant décor in a simple Maldivian style•An excellent restaurant with a buffet, an express corner, and a wide selection of dishes•A good range of water activities•A good quality/price ratio, even though it is in the high-end category. • Kind and professional staff.

***BEWARE BY RESERVING ON BOOKING.COM******WHEN SELECTING “ALL INCLUSIVE” MAKE SURE ON THE CONFIRMATION EMAIL AND THE ATTACHED PDF THAT YOU HAVE STATED “ALL INCLUSIVE” INSTEAD OF”FULL BOARD”***It is VERY misleading when receiving the confirmation email and DAYS LATER the PDF, because in the “important information” section is written that “this is an all-inclusive structure”, and we took for granted it was all ok until after the first dinner the day we arrived, we ordered some drinks and were requested to pay for it.The customer service representative mrs Maria Castillo made a great job trying to accomodate our issue, avoiding us to be charged also for still water (8$ par liter bottle!!!!).We’ve been told it is a booking.com issue, and when we tried to find a solution with the customer service of booking.com, they simply washed their hands out of the matter sending us pre-generated messages.This issue we spent 270$ on drinks for the week we stayed, which was not a fortune, neverthless… this impacted a bit on our holiday.

The location was perfect, the views from the room, restaurant or bar were very nice and maldivian representative.The facilities were good, everything at its place.The staff was great and welcoming. Great thanks to Maria, Monir, Alauddin, Aravind, and Jaher.

The water villa roofs need some maintenance, and the shore near the restaurant becomes slightly eroded, nevertheless these haven't affected our stay or state of mind.

Everything was great! Loved the house reef so much. Staff was exceptionally polite and kind. Manager Maria was so amazing and helpful. Water villa is very pretty, spacious. Don’t miss out on house reef guided snorkel, guide is top notch !

I loved every bit

Good location with nice employers and landscape. Very good service and housing condition. Food is also okay,

The time spent at the water villa was very good, rooms clean, food fairly good considering that you are in the middle of the ocean.Beach clean, good beach beds

I was shocked after spending 700 pounds a night that on a half board or full board they don't even include still water! Apparently for a drink package per day per person is 225 dollars, not worth it! Is a disgrace, especially because you can't really drink tap water! For a bottle of water they ask 4 dollars, regardless if in the restaurant or not. Soft drinks, cans, up to 7 to 10 dollars! Almost the bottles of wines are cheaper.The gym is not a gym, is a little tiny room with a running machine and 6 weights!On the island there is not any other way to get drinks or anything else, so when you arrive in Male, buy from there what you need and then go to the island, a bottle of water there is only 1 dollar!

Drift Thelu Veliga is a perfect place for those who want to combine enjoying nature with maximally kind and high standard hospitality while enjoying the benefits of a really small retreat. The small resort can only accommodate up to 60 people therefore you can often feel yourself almost on a desert island. Make sure you take your snorkeling equipment with you (or pick up one provided by the hotel) as the surrounding reefs have an abundance of fish. As close as 20 meters from your water villa you will find fish of all size, color and shape, reef sharks, rays... hours of fun guaranteed.Food at the restaurant was not overly varied but was delicious and provided enough choice for all tastes. The cooked-to-order items just added to the meals.Our water villa (actually an ocean villa at the far end of the row) was well equipped. It had amazing view to the Indian Ocean that was not blocked by other villas - a big benefit of staying in the farthest one.All the staff members were kind, polite and always willing to make our stay the best possible. In particular, the romantic dinner at the beach was definitely the highlight of our stay. The arrangement/decoration, the service and the food were all exceptional. Thank you, Drift!

Noisy AC in the room.Thatched roofs of some water villas need refurbishment.Communication problems, some staff members did not understand English at all - which is unusual at a resort welcoming guests from all over the world.

The island was very peaceful and the accommodation was beautiful. All areas on the island and accommodation were spotless. All the staff were exceptional and could not have been more helpful.

All inclusive beverage menu is quite limiting - low quality spirits available.

Water villas are very nice and are cleaned twice a day; the cuisine is very good with a lot of variety every day; the reef is nice and we saw also mantas and small shark close to the beach; the staff is great; relax is assured.

This was our the most perfect vacation in every way- authentic hospitality, amazing food, beach, quietness, cleanness and over all staff. Special, special, special thanks to Maria from the first moment to the end, thanks to Monir for the food that he served to us, thanks to Ala-Uddin for his attention to details, and thanks to Zakir for his mango martini cocktails. Thanks to all......My husband and I we have no patient to return soon.

The island is tiny but just so perfect! Incredibly relaxing and truly beautiful with the most exceptional team of people working tirelessly to make sure everyone has the most wonderful stay.The food is delicious and there is so much of it! Freshly made omelettes, grilled tuna steaks, the tastiest salads and a buffet filled with so many delights! Sunsets and fabulous cocktails!Snorkelling with Eagle rays, reef sharks and soo many beautiful fish the minute you step in the sea.But it’s the people that truly make it so special.