The Sun Siyam Iru Fushi – FAMILY PARADISE IN THE MALDIVES!

 

The Maldives has been, like many others, a dream of mine since I was a little girl. From when I was around 13 years old I had pictures of the islands cut out from travel brochures and stuck all over my walls with a promise to myself that one day I would get there! Well I finally did – and being able to share this lifelong dream with my kids was the icing on the cake. We were lucky enough to stay as guests at the amazing Sun Siyam Iru Fushi for five nights to review the property and promote the family friendly aspect of the resort and the Maldives as a destination. Here is our 100 % honest review 🙂

GETTING TO THE RESORT

The Sunsiyam is located around 40 minutes by seaplane from Male Airport in the Noonu Atoll. We flew Airasia into Male from Kuala Lumpur, stayed a night at a hotel right near the airport (as we arrived late at night) then caught the seaplane the following morning. There are 3 hotels in the Sunsiyam brand in the Maldives with the Iru Fushi being the most family friendly.

From the minute we landed at Male airport to the time we again departed, the staff were AMAZING. A representative from the hotel greeted us once we landed in Male and confirmed our seaplane transfer time for the morning, then stayed with us until our hotel transfer arrived.

After we checked in at the The Seaplane terminal at the Male airport the next morning we were taken to the Sun Siyam Iru Fushi seaplane lounge which was fantastic – a generous buffet of food, coffee machines and refreshments which were all complimentary.

The seaplane transfers aren’t overly cheap…flights will set you back around $500 PP return but the other option is to fly on a domestic Airline to a small runway  in the ocean then transfer by boat off from there. For me however the seaplane added to the whole experience – flying over all the beautiful islands and seeing all the atolls which I had dreamt of for so long was absolutely incredible. The Transmaldivian plane held around 15 people and the pilots (who wear barefeet!) were fantastic .Being an open cockpit the kids loved being able to see the pilots flying the plane and all the buttons and levers involved.

Once we landed at The Sun Siyam we were greeted by a line of staff welcoming us to the resort with large smiles which I am sure mirrored the one all our faces. We all couldn’t get over how blue the water was – we had never seen anything like it. It looked exactly like the paradise it was renowned for and we were all sooooo excited. A quick ride on a buggy took us off to our villa where our holiday began! Oh and a big thank you to Elena who whisked our very busting four year old off the seaplane straight to the toilet 🙂

THE ROOMS

We stayed in a Deluxe Family Beach Villa with private pool and it was absolutely stunning!!
The thatched bungalow style villa was comprised of a 2 different areas – the main bungalow had our bedroom, TV, wardrobes, and a sliding door leading to the kids room. There was three single beds and a TV, perfect for the kids to have their own space. The kids area lead outside to the pool via French doors so those with little ones just need to be mindful to keep the door locked if they aren’t able to swim.

The second bungalow held a large outdoor bathroom complete with an amazing spa bath, enclosed shower, toilet, two vanities, another outdoor shower to rinse off and a beautiful swing.

The outdoor area on the villas is the real drawcard – a large daybed overlooks the amazing private pool which is great to cool down after dinner or wash off the salt after an afternoon snorkelling! Then past the pool is another daybed this time taking in the amazing views of the Ocean and water villas. Our favourite part of our villa was being able to walk metres from our room to the water and snorkelling the house reef which is just metres from the shore. It was always so calm and again, the warmest water we have swam in (and no pesky sealice like everywhere in Asia!).

I had worried that the whole experience of the Maldives comes from being in an overwater bungalow, I guess because thats what generally comes to mind when you think of the Maldives . But after staying in a beach villa I would most certainly book the same again and would recommend the same to families. I think they are much better suited for young kids ( I would have constantly worried about my four year old falling in from a water villa) and most kids you find love playing in the sand!

FOR THE KIDS  

The Sunsiyam has put so much thought into making this resort enjoyable for both parents and the children with so much on offer to keep the kids entertained. Most people don’t think of the Maldives as a family holiday destination which is why we focused so much on showing you just how much our kids loved it!

KOMAS KIDS CLUB

Ok this kids club is my absolute favourite – the ladies here were AMAZING and so great with the kids. The day we checked out they had made Max an origami penguin and gave both the boys a gift bag with a soft toy and huge goodbye cuddles.  The club has a shallow shaded pool which the kids can swim in at designated times, a climbing structure, colouring tables, mini air hockey table, outdoor playground and they are also currently renovating which looked like another pool area. The main area is open air (but obviously covered) so can get very hot which is why they also have separate airconditoned themed rooms like pretend play areas with movies, toddler rooms and of course a baby sleep area. My boys asked to go the Kids club daily for a couple of hours after lunch, normally when they had seen enough sun and had enough swimming and wanted some downtime! They even did a banana boat excursion through the lagoon with the Kids Club which Jay has vowed to never do again (a terrifying ten minutes for him haha!). Activities like this generally cost around $15USD but was defnitley worth it. The kids club also offers water and a kids menu complimentary to all children in the facility.

The kids club is from ages 3-12 years (under three must be accompanied by a parent or babysitter) and is open from 8.30am – 6pm. For those wanting a kid free dinner there is the option of a babysitter which I think was around $15US per hour per child.

RECREATION AREA

The recreation area was a big hit with my older two with air hockey, fooz ball and video games and just outside there was a giant chess board, ping pong and shuffle board! They would often wander here and play while we enjoyed a drink at happy hour at the family pool which is nearby.

UNLIMITED ICE CREAM

Another huge hit with these three kids, and I imagine every other child on the island….free unlimited ice cream from 11am! After spending hours snorkelling and kayaking in the morning the kids loved grabbing an ice cream to cool them down. 

PLAYROOM IN THE MAIN RESTAURANT

Why cant every resort think of this?! There is nothing worse than sitting down to dinner with bored, tired kids who just want to leave – which is why this resort gets another huge thumbs up from us. Iru, the main restaurant on the island which hosts the buffet dinners and breakfast has a HUGE playroom which was a godsend for my three. They scoffed their dinners so quickly so they could go and play, and inside there are slides, climbing equipment and beanbags to chill out and watch a movie! They quite often met up with kids they had met in the kids club too, some that didn’t speak any English so watching them all play and converse with a language barrier was super cute. Alysse had her google translate app going at one stage to chat to a French girl which I thought was lovely. The kids even have their own dedicated kids buffet just outside the playroom which they found a huge novelty and made them feel a little bit special.

SWIMMING POOLS

There is one pool at the Family Restaurant called Fluid – The perfect place  to cool off while enjoying a delicious lunch ! Although it has very deep sections there is also a kids pool which is great for the younger kids. This is also where you will enjoy Happy Hour from 5pm (2 for 1 drinks!). There is also the Adults Only infinity pool at the Reflections Bar.

FOR THE ADULTS

The Sunsiyam isnt only for families – there are plenty of things for mum and dad to enjoy while the kids are entertained in the kids club or for honeymooners!

ADULTS ONLY POOL AND BAR

There is a dedicated NO GO Zone for kids where adults can go to relax and chill without kids screaming and doing bombies in the pool. Obviously we didn’t take advantage of this area but we went and took a look and it looked beautiful and peaceful with a great pool overlooking the ocean and bar area.

SPA

For those who feel like indulging in a massage treatment there is a beautiful Spa which I am told is fantastic. Again I never found time to get a treatment so can’t give a review firsthand but the place looked amazing with very reasonable prices and has won many awards over the past few years!

WATER SPORTS & ACTIVITIES ON THE ISLAND

Most of the activities on the island obviously centre around water sports and this was definitely our favourite part of our trip. Most of our days were spent snorkelling and kayaking around the lagoon and house reefs and jumping from the jetty into the crystal blue waters.

Snorkelling equipment is free to hire for the whole trip which I thought was fantastic – we lugged 4 sets of snorkels from home in our cases which we really didn’t need, but we figured there would be a cost involved like many other resorts. Just sign them out from the Dive Centre and they are yours for the whole trip!

For the kids there is a new man made reef called Nemo Bay which is just infront of the dive centre. There is a rope which you can hold onto to pull you out and its a great spot for the kids to snorkel. So many little Nemos!

Kayaks and Stand up Paddle Board hire are also free for 1 hour per day per person. There is also activities like hoverboard jets and jet skis but these are a bit pricier.

Their are snorkelling and diving excursions you can book at the dive centre, or at 11am on most days you can do a ten minute scuba trial to see how you enjoy it. Alysse didn’t get out diving on this trip because she had a bit of a head cold and I didn’t want her to waste money by not being able to clear her ears properly or being in pain. Just gives us an excuse to come back right? 🙂 We were lucky enough to be treated to a Snorkelling Safari tour at some outer islands which was just amazing. You can read the full review of our trip HERE.

DINING AND BARS

For those that love enjoying a wide range of cuisines this island is perfect. There are many different dining options, all with different menus and dining experiences.

Our favourite and the place we dined at most often was Iru – not only because of the playroom (of course that is a bonus) but we love buffet dinners and especially when they have a different theme cuisine each night! The Maldivian night was my favourite as it was the first time I had experienced traditional Maldivian food and it was absolutely delicious. If your kids can be a little fussy they also have the kids buffet which has things like nuggets, chips, spaghetti etc.

The breakfast at Iru is absolutely amazing – everything you can possibly think of is on offer, even Champagne! Freshly squeezed juices, curries, eggs to order – you name it they had it.

On our last night we treated ourselves to dinner at Trio restaurant which sits over top of the water. Trio is mainly Italian food and has such a beautiful ambience, perfect for a romantic dinner for those honeymooners! There are so many fish swimming around  which kept the kids amused and the food was amazing. I highly recommend dinner here one night, just make sure you book early to get a good time slot.
The great thing about the kids menus at these speciality restaurants (remember kids eat free too!) is that they also get three courses to choose from with a starter, main and dessert.

For drinks I would recommend heading to the Family Pool for Happy Hour at 5pm – 6pm. Daily. The kids would have a swim while we had a few cocktails / beers at a 2 for 1 price, making them much more affordable. I was paying around $16USD for the two cocktails and beers around $9USD for two.

The Waters Edge Bar down on the beach is a great spot to have a drink and enjoy the sunset also, and they quite often they have a managers night where you can chat to the staff which is fantastic!

SHOPPING

There are a few small shops on the island, a clothing store offering resort wear and bikinis etc, a beautiful jewellery store (which I didn’t enter purely because I would want everything!) and for those needing supplies the gift store sells a few different essentials. Things like panadol ($1 per blister pack), suncream, razors, shampoo and conditioner and other toiletry items are all available should you run out of anything. Being in an isolated location however I strongly recommend you bring all your essential medications with you from home.

There is also a doctor available on the island which is always a comfort when travelling with a child with life threatening food allergies!

HOW DID WE ENJOY OUR WEEK IN PARADISE?

As a family, we are all happiest when we are together on an island where we can spend our days kayaking, snorkelling and swimming. It’s our happy place and I love seeing the kids thrive in the outdoors so this really was our best family holiday. The island is so relaxed ( I think our favourite part was the sand – we never wore shoes!!) and the staff really went out of their way to make our stay enjoyable. Has my dream come true? Did it live up to my expectations? YOU BETCHA! It exceeded my expectations in every single way and we feel so blessed to have finally been able to tick it off that bucketlist. We cannot wait to return, and when we do it will without a doubt be back to The Sunsiyam Iru Fushi Resort – the place my kids now call Paradise. And man it really is. Thank you so much for having us, we are forever grateful.

Disclaimer: We were hosted here as guests and our review is 100% true.