The Standard Huruvalhi, Maldives

The Standard, best known for quirky boutique city hotels, was an unexpected entrant to the Maldives when they took over and rebranded Huruvalhi island in the Raa Atoll. On the other hand, their brand motto is to ‘expect the unexpected’, so perhaps we should have seen them coming. Neither the brand name, nor the upside down logo shouts ‘luxury resort’ but let’s put that to one side while we consider what the mid-priced island has to offer.

Huruvalhi itself is lovely. Thanks to a particular combination of reef, wide lagoon and local currents, an excellent beach encircles the pretty and lush island and it’s one of the few resorts that does not require any form of artificial beach defences such as groynes or wave breakers. The reef nears the beach in a couple of places, allowing easy access to the drop-off especially from the Overwater Ocean Villas, and in other areas the shallow lagoon is expansive, suiting both snorkellers and swimmers.

The inherited rooms, all with pools, are very large for a resort of this level, particularly the bathrooms, and they are clearly aimed at a younger crowd. The Standard’s iconic pink inflatable ring dominating one wall (and surrounded by white snorkelling gear), ambient lighting that can be adjusted to any colour, and glitter balls in the bathroom all hint towards a sense of fun. As well as the Overwater and Beach pool villas there are a number of well-designed two-bedroom villas that are ideal for families of any ages.

The central hub features Kula main restaurant, Todis bar and Joos Café, and is functional rather than stylish. We found Kula a standard buffet with something of a canteen feel, but at the other end of the scale is Maldivian over water restaurant Guduguda, which is exceptional, offering delicious local delicacies. Also very good is the Asian dining on offer at Beru Bar in the evening, and the BBQ Shak is a nice feet-in-the-sand beach grill. Likewise, the main Todis bar lacks a bit of ambience, except for the evening on-the-beach setting with light entertainment such as live DJ and Maldivian Boduberu dancing, whereas the over-water Beru Bar (think huge glitter ball and after dinner karaoke) and the bar in Guduguda are both excellent, which is where you’d find us. In these venues, we found the level of service to be very good when compared to other outlets.

There’s a full range of facilities, that start with a smart airport lounge at the seaplane terminal. A good quality over water spa has a nice chill-out deck to the rear, there’s a tennis court and games in the Todis bar, a small gym and kids’ club, boutique, photo studio and on-site medical clinic. Water sports feature motorized and non-motorized kit and an inflatable ‘play park’ in the lagoon, as well as snorkelling & diving.

The Standard Huruvalhi offers large, comfortable villas, plenty to do, some very nice dining options, all in a fun vibe that is ideal for young couples or families. Above all, it’s very reasonably priced and so offers great value for money, particularly on the dine-around All Inclusive plan.