It was always going to be difficult leaving Kandolhu (you need to make sure you've read about this amazing Maldives hotel), but at least we knew we were about to embark on another taste of paradise. For our third and final stop in the Maldives, we stayed at Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa. Just so you're up to date, first we stayed at Velassaru Maldives, then we headed to Kandolhu (both are fabulous in different ways, I'm going to write a Maldives round up post really soon featuring them all with pros and cons). Our third hotel, Hideaway was easily the furthest out from Male airport. It needed a further domestic flight to get there from Male and then a speed boat on top of that. We pretty much had the journey from hell to get there, so I was pretty relieved once we finally did arrive.
We arrived to the loveliest of staff and as we missed a full day (our transfers were done wrong so we ended up only arriving at 5pm that evening, the transfers are done by external transfers not Hideaway so it isn't their fault). Nonetheless, I was in a pretty terrible mood (how can you be in a bad mood in the Maldives?!) because of the nightmare journey we'd had getting there but we headed straight to dinner which made me bright eyed and happy. We dined at the beautiful restaurant on the beach, it was heavenly. We arrived in pitch black so I was really excited to get my bearings the next day.
We met the chef who had won numerous awards in the Maldives and the food he cooked was exceptional. We didn't get the chance to look at a menu and instead he whipped some specialities up for us. He was so nice, I absolutely love talking to staff at hotels and getting to know them and their stories.
The biggest blogger issue in the Maldives is the lack of light at dinner so it's pretty much impossible to get good food shots, I literally had to hover a candle over the meal but you get the gist and can hopefully see how beautiful and delicious the food was. It was the setting that really blew me away but obviously it was so dark so I couldn't photograph it. Imagine dining on the edge of the beach with the gentle sounds of the waves infront of you. It was beautiful.
Hideaway is very different to any of the other resorts. It was huge. I've never seen so many villas and so much space on an island. I was told it's one of the largest islands in the Maldives and at first was worried but actually, we barely saw anyone else the whole time we were there even though the resort was pretty much fully occupied. It's so big that actually, it means you have a lot of space. I wouldn't say it looks as aesthetically pleasing as the other resorts, it doesn't have that boutique, luxurious feel to it but is great if you're wanting lots of fresh air, space and room to do exercise.
At Hideaway everyone gets a suite which is obviously a bonus. The room was huge, beautiful and really airy. The bedroom area wasn't very modern but the bathroom area completely blew me away, it was truly stunning with the most gorgeous bath and glass toilet and shower so it felt like you were showering in the Indian ocean. The pool area was beautiful and so private. The great thing about Hideaway is it really is a private resort, apparently most people just stay in their rooms the whole time. You also get a butler with your room, our butler honestly made the stay at Hideaway special. Without him, we'd have probably been a little bit lost but he organised dinner for us every night and reserved us the best tables. He picked us up and took us for snorkelling equipment as well as showing us the best spots to snorkel in. In true me style, I got to know him and ended up finding out about his family too. We really adored him!
My favourite thing about Hideaway Resort is the bikes you get. As it's a huge resort, you either need a buggy or a bike to get around. I was totally okay with this and hopped straight on my bike. When I went to New York for the first time I fell off my bike in Central Park and almost broke my knee so I was a little worried I may face plant into the ocean here! After over-indulging at the last resorts and doing minimal exercise, it was so nice to spend our days cycling around. I really felt like I was doing some exercise and it made me feel less guilty for missing spinning for 4 weeks!
Dress /
When cycling around the resort, it's clear that they tried to keep as much of nature intact as possible, with minimal preening of the trees etc. I really liked the hidden island feel, we'd get lost cycling around all the different areas.
Breakfast at Hideaway Beach was absolutely incredible, with everything you could possibly imagine. With it being such a large resort, they cater for absolutely everyone. The chefs were so friendly and couldn't do enough for you. They'd grab a fresh watermelon, papaya or any fruit you can imagine and pop it into a juicer infront of you.
We spent our days playing tennis, gymming, cycling and relaxing. It's a great resort if you are wanting more of an active holiday as they have loads of activities here. It's crazy that they can fit a football pitch and tennis court within the resort.
My favourite part of the day was relaxing on our gorgeous chair, book in one hand. 
My favourite part of the night? Cycling as fast as we could to reach the tip of the island before sunset, so we could watch it from the edge of the beach out of this beautiful chair.
I wore my Heidi Klein bikini, you may remember it from my swimwear lookbook. It's from one of my favourite sites ever, Simply Beach.
In the evening, I wore this gorgeous two-piece.
Two-piece, online here.
The big, spacious bathroom made my pampering really easy. I got the chance to use so many of my favourite products. I seriously cannot recommend Clarins and their sun range enough, I didn't even know it existed until this trip! Obviously I took so much Hawaiian Tropic with me too as that's always going to be a favourite. I don't go anywhere without my top Kiehl's products either! I also fell in love with Neals Yard Spray On After Sun and Neom's Daily Boost Oil for glowing hair, body and skin! If you've read my blog post about fixing damaged hair you'll know I take hair care really seriously and that's why my suitcase is always rammed full of essentials. I had a colour and a cut before my trip at Sassoon Salon Leeds (they are the best salon ever) so wanted to protect it whilst I was away! I coated my hair with Aveda and Redken for the majority of the trip!
On our final night, I embraced the natural windswept hair look and wore my favourite new maxi dress.
We nibbled on steak, calamari and more at the most beautiful restaurant reserved by our butler. We weren't all inclusive at Hideaway meaning we did miss out on quite a lot of good food. We didn't eat lunch which meant we really had to fill up on our breakfast. They do offer a half board option though which means you can try the restaurants, I'd highly recommend trying to restaurants as the food we did eat was of a really high standard. I'm a huge foodie so for me, it's one of the most important things about a trip! Good food and the food we did have was exceptional.
We kissed goodbye (reluctantly) to our final Maldives stop and have already decided we are 100% going back to the Maldives. Hideaway was very different to our other Maldives experiences but that's exactly what we wanted from our trip, really different experiences from each resort. Just because this isn't a small, luxury boutique hotel it doesn't mean it isn't amazing in its own way. Our butler really did make it particularly personal and special as did our incredible bathroom. Dinner was exceptional, every night and the settings and interior of the restaurants were really luxurious. I loved cycling around and getting lots of fresh air too.
You can see loads more on my video below of my time at Hideaway, pretty please could you subscribe to my YouTube here! It would mean the world to me!
Have you ever been to the Maldives? Do you like the look of this?
Lots of love, Em x
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