The Kandooma Maldives resort drops Holiday Inn after 17 years and goes all-inclusive

Since 1 October 2026, the former Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives has been called Kandooma Maldives and is now run by HPL Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of its owner. After 17 years under the IHG banner, the island in South Malé Atoll gets its original name back and switches to a relaxed, family-friendly all-inclusive formula called “Made for All”.

Holiday Inn branding ends after 17 years

IHG opened the island on 15 December 2009 as the first Holiday Inn Resort in the Maldives; its management contract ended on 30 September 2026. This is not a sale: Hotel Properties Limited, the Singapore group that also owns three Four Seasons and two Six Senses resorts in the archipelago, is now handing management over to its subsidiary HPL Hotels & Resorts. The 1 October announcement describes it as “less a reinvention” than a way for Kandooma to be fully itself.

From 154 to 146 villas to make room for families

The resort is trimming its inventory from 154 to 146 villas to create larger family categories. Eight 96 m² Family Beach Pool Villas, for up to six adults, open onto the beach with a small pool and a sleeping area for children; so far they have only been shown as computer renderings. The four two-bedroom Beach Houses gain a pool, and the two three-bedroom villas (215 m², one of them new) have their own. The Kids Stay & Eat Free programme remains. The resort’s photos predate the works.

Meals, snorkelling and massage in the package

The formula requires a minimum stay of four nights. It covers three meals a day in designated restaurants, drinks from the all-inclusive menu, snacks and a guided snorkelling trip on the reef every day. For a four-night stay, each guest also gets a sunset cruise, a traditional fishing trip at dawn and a 30-minute treatment (back, neck and shoulders, or feet).

Kandooma Right and 28 dive sites

The dive centre, a PADI 5 Star facility, serves some 28 nearby sites. With the Dive Free programme, certified divers staying at least four nights get one guided group dive a day, with equipment, boat and air or nitrox included; night dives, private guides and distant sites are still extra. The island also faces the Kandooma Right wave; surf stays are booked as packages through the exclusive partner Perfect Wave.

COMO spa since 2008, a Beach Club on the way

The spa is nothing new: COMO Shambhala has run it since June 2008, with seven treatment rooms, couples’ villas and a hammam. Kandooma Café, an open-air buffet, serves around the clock, alongside the Bokkuraa Pool Deck and the BAR-aveli Beach Bar. The two-level Beach Club is due to open in the coming weeks. According to the official booking engine, reception, some restaurants and some villas are undergoing works until 30 November 2026, with possible noise during the day.

What do four nights at Kandooma cost?

Checked on 5 October 2026 on the official website for four nights from 16 to 20 November, two adults on the all-inclusive formula: 584 dollars a night before taxes in a Garden Villa, 891 dollars in an Ocean View Water Villa. With the 10% service charge, 17% T-GST, the green tax and the mandatory transfer (80 dollars per adult), the stay comes to 3,262.44 dollars for two in a Garden Villa, roughly 816 dollars a night. The island is 40 to 45 minutes by speedboat from Velana airport, with no seaplane needed. For comparison, see our best hotels in the Maldives, our review of Meyyafushi, another all-inclusive in the archipelago, and what all-inclusive really covers.