The resort strives to preserve the island environment - avoiding plastic, reducing waste, making its own water and supplies. An incredible local community works to make that possible. The vegetation is just magnificent. You can walk around and truly feel the wild nature above.
The reef is the main reason we chose Nika and it exceeded our expectations. Nurse sharks, Black fins, turtles and all kinds of tropical fish populate the corals, you can snorkel around the island the be able to see them (also depending on the season).
The daily food choice is nice and healthy: lots of fresh fish, Asian ingredients, pasta and a strong Italian footprint.
Few bullet points:
*The original villas are incredible, but they take much of the landscape and the public beach surface is limited
*Some activities seem too expensive. If you really want guests to understand the ocean and its fragility, prices should be more competitive
*Entertainment is very limited. Maybe you want to consider updating the evening sessions. The last thing guests wants to see at bar is a ppt - we read presentations all the time in our office! Maybe you could set these at different times of the day, based on guest interest. Evenings should be more Maldivian, more music, more fun
*Sometimes prices show older tax. Lotus Spa also not transparent, with fees changing from a promo to the final price
*Beach staff not responsive at times. We waited 3 days to try a kayak; every morning we had to search sunbed cushions ourselves.
Overall we were quite satisfied with Nika Resort we rated it 4 out of 5. Most staff were friendly and the food was of high standard.
PROS - Value for money, smaller more intimate resort with not too many guests, very accommodating as I have various dietary restrictions. Rooms in good condition. Also stunning views and amazing reefs.
CONS - expensive food and tours.
We had one tour booked to rashdoo reef and it was extremely choppy. Instead of cancelling/rescheduling the tour they still went ahead. On the tour we were trying to swim with strong currents and we had 3 poor swimmers (out of 5) in the tour which was hard. Because it was so windy and choppy the water was very murky and there were not that many fish. The most annoying thing was the staff made it out to be amazing without admitting the less than ideal conditions.
Just another note the resort will charge you whenever they can (which is understandable) so just ask the staff if you are unsure. Examples are water with meals, tea and coffee from the bar. On our departure we also had to pay for our last buffet meal so if in doubt just ask.
The staff members that are assets are the wait staff, Victor and the chefs they were extremely accommodating. However some of the tour staff and reception area staff were sometimes abrupt.
Highly recommend this resort to anyone as we had an amazing experience. The villas are beautiful and the island is very scenic. We would go back if we had the opportunity.
Well done Nika Resort
Incredible, idyllic resort. The reef surrounding the island is stunning and has an abundance of wildlife - black tip reef sharks, turtles, eagle rays, sting rays and thousands of fish are just some of the things we saw. The private beach was amazing and for many of the days of our stay we had two resident black tip reef sharks swimming in our bay! Amazing! The staff are very friendly and helpful, the food is delightful and plentiful and the trips to other reefs are expensive but totally worth it! The accommodation is beautifully built and decorated too. We will be back one day for sure!