ROBINSON Club Maldives is located in Gaaf Alif Atoll in the southern part of the Maldives, about 60 km north of the equator. The 107,000 sqm club area can only be reached by domestic flight from Male and by speedboat. Once you have made this long journey, a deserted island called Funamadua awaits you – just 450 by 240 meters in size, located in the middle of paradise and surrounded by turquoise blue water and white sandy beach. Robinson (Crusoe) would certainly have felt comfortable here 😉
Table of contents
The company ROBINSON
The company ROBINSON has certainly already heard one or the other. Since its foundation in 1970, ROBINSON has been available for club holidays in the premium segment in combination with an extensive range of sports, wellness and fitness, entertainment and excellent cuisine, mostly in the all-inclusive package. But the topic of sustainability is also part of the company: for example, up to 100 of the energy from solar plants and biomass plants is generated in more than 65 of the club facilities. At ROBINSON Club Maldives, sustainability is also on the agenda – for example in the context of drinking water treatment.
There are currently a total of 24 club facilities in 13 countries worldwide (Egypt, Germany, Greece, Italy, Maldives, Morocco, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey). Five of them are currently adults-only facilities (from 18 years of age) – including the club in the Maldives where we were.
The location of ROBINSON Club Maldives
The island of ROBINSON Club Maldives is really located in the middle of the atoll, far away from other islands and other resorts. The nice thing is that due to the protected location within the atoll, no upstream breakwaters are needed, as we knew it from our stay on Veligandu Island. The entire island is surrounded by a small white sandy beach and a shallow lagoon. On the outside of the house reef, which drops steeply relatively quickly, you can ideal snorkelor or diving, which we will describe in one of our next posts.
The Robinson Club in the Maldives
Welcome to Funamadua Island
Upon arrival by speedboat, we were warmly welcomed by some ROBINs (as all ROBINSON staff call themselves) with a welcome drink. During our whole holiday we have always experienced very friendly, insanely attentive and cordial ROBINs – the team on the island is really great. The slogan “
We love what we do
” that all employees wear on their shirts is probably not by chance 🙂
The most important information followed the welcome right first: The ROBINSON Club Maldives has its own time zone – the clocks are presented for an hour, so that it is brighter in the evening. We thought that was really nice, because that way you have something of the day longer. The guests were welcomed by Heinz, the club director of the Maldives Club. Heinz also mentioned that 320 employees from 17 nations work on the island. When the club is fully booked, 244 guests live here. The employee-guest ratio is therefore already relatively stark. Since you never see all the employees, it is somehow hard to imagine that the club is a real medium-sized company, with human resources, accounting, etc.
A week of Maldives: What were we looking forward to?
– No shoes to wear
– Consistently warm temperatures
– Fall asleep with the wave noises in your ear
– Jump into the cool water from the terrace
– Discover the underwater world of the Maldives
– To lie under palm trees and relax
– Do not have to cook or go shopping
– Culinary pampering
– And much more…
Our Overwater Bungalow
After we had strengthened ourselves with fresh fruit and sandwiches, Seth, the Guest Relation Manager, guided us through the complex and showed us our villa.
For the next seven nights we were in housed in an Overwater Bungalow – the number 1116 belonged to us 🙂 In total, there are 45 water bungalows – including a presidential suite (240 sqm), 24 water bungalows built when the club opened in 2009 and 20 new water bungalows with private pool from 2015.
The way across the lagoon to the water bungalows
The Overwater Bungalow, where we stayed, was accessible via a separate jetty from the main jetty and stood alone on stilts above the offshore lagoon – fantastic sea views included! On about 70 sqm there is a combined living room and bedroom with a seating area and a glass window built into the floor, through which one could observe the underwater world. There was also a dressing area with a large wardrobe, a small cupboard and a refrigerator. The bathroom is very generously furnished, even with a bathtub. The only disadvantage is that there is no air conditioning in the bathroom – so it can get really warm.
On the very spacious terrace there are two loungers, a table with two chairs and a daybed where you can relax really nicely. And the very best: via a staircase you have direct access to the ocean from the terrace. So you can jump right into the water with your snorkeling equipment – perfect! The great thing about the large terrace is that you have your privacy here. The water bungalows are all far apart and are so staggered that no one can look at the terrace. Only a few snorkelers can be seen swimming by from time to time. Otherwise, however, you are completely untrue, which is really great. Our bungalow 1116 was also built in a north-west direction, so that in the evening you can always enjoy a great sunset from your own terrace 🙂
The service is very important at the ROBINSON Club. Rooms are cleaned twice a day and all staff are very attentive. For example, we asked if we could get two individual duvets instead of a large duvet, and it really didn’t take long for the two blankets to lay on our bed. An iron is not available in the room, but after a short request for room service we had very quickly a separate ironing board in the villa. Also the decoration was always very lovingly designed, e.g. on arrival with a “Welcome to Robinson” on the bed or a nice surprise for the birthday.
Even if the island is lonely in the middle of the ocean, you have really good WiFi reception here – and for free. Sometimes the speed is a bit slower, for example, when you’re in the restaurant in the evening or when it’s raining, but for the island to be far away from any major civilization, that’s a huge advantage to stay connected to the outside world via the Internet.
We liked our Overwater Bungalow very muchbecause it is really very generously built and you have an incredible amount of space!
Overwater Bungalows with private pool
In addition to our water bungalow from 2009, there are also 20 new water bungalowsthat were completed in 2015. These are accessible via a separate jetty. As part of a “Room Orientation Tour” you have the opportunity to take a look at the other villas – we liked to use this at the water villa with its own pool, because we were quite curious how they look from the inside. Although the villa is smaller than our Overwater Bungalow, it is more modernly furnished and has its own swimming pool on the terrace. That’s a real luxury. Unfortunately, the presidential villa was occupied all week, otherwise we could have taken a look here.
Comparing the two different Overwater bungalows of the categories BUM2 and BUM3 of the ROBINSON Club Maldives, both have their advantages – depending on what is more important: the 24 bungalows of type BUM2 (as we had it) are a bit older, but much larger, have a huge terrace and are a little further apart. The newer water bungalows of type BUM3, on the other hand, are all a little more modern, there is a small outdoor shower on the terrace and the bungalows all have their own private pool as a big plus! For this they also cost a little more, are a little smaller overall and lie closer together. Ultimately, the personal taste decides here – both categories are definitely 🙂
On ROBINSON Island, besides the water bungalows, there are also other room categories, which are cheaper than the water bungalows: beach bungalows (sea view, i.e. first row of beach), beach bungalows (sea side, i.e. view of the sea limited by vegetation), garden bungalows (garden view) and economy bungalows.
A beautiful sunset behind the Overwater Bungalows
Panoramic view of the Oberwater bungalows
Panoramic view from the jetty to the water bungalows
All travelogues from ROBINSON Club Maldives
The ROBINSON Club Maldives is located in the Gaaf-Alif-Atoll in the southern part of the Maldives about 60 km north of the equator. The 107,000 sqm club grounds can only be reached by domestic flight from Male and by speedboat. Once you have made this long journey, a lonely island called Funamadua is waiting for you - just 450 by 240 meters, located in the middle of paradise and surrounded by turquoise blue water and a white sandy beach.
Robinson Club Maldives: Flight, Arrival & TransferRobinson Club Maldives:
Robinson Club Maldives: The All Inclusive Offer
Robinson Club Maldives: Relaxing on the island of Funamadua
Robinson Club Maldives: Our wedding on the beach
Robinson Club Maldives: Snorkeling on the house reef
Robinson Club Maldives: Deep & Breeze Diving