Reethi Beach Reviews

It was a toss up for us between Kuredu and Reethi Beach. Luckily the person I spoke to at Hayes and Jarvis had just come back from a visit of 9 of the islands. I asked him which was the best, and apart from those which cost about 4 grand a week, Reethi Beach was his favourite as it was far smaller and more intimate than Kuredu. So the decision was made.

I've just read a previous review for Reethi Beach from before the Tsunami. Although she sums up the Island perfectly I just wanted to add that my husband and I went in Nov 2005 for our honeymoon. This is obviously after the Tsunami damage had all been repaired and I wanted to record that Reethi Beach (if possible) has actually improved! We stayed in a Water Villa. We were advised by Hayes and Jarvis that on this particular island the Water Villas are actually on concrete stilts which makes them much more sturdy than the wooden ones. He was correct. On our last day there was a very heavy storm and I felt very safe and secure in the villa, no creaking or movement at all despite the winds!

The standard bungalows are inside the island so better for those who'd rather sit in the shade and read a book, or if you upgrade you can get a bungalow on the beach, which still get a lot of shade, but hey - you're on the beach, 2 steps into the sun! Or you can upgrade to the villas which I must admit I had reservations about. I'm not exactly a waterbaby, but it was surprisingly pleasant! The water surroungding you is only a few feet deep, so not at all scarey and you can look over your balcony or through the viewing hole and see loads of brightly coloured fish. We saw huge schools of Dolphins about 3 or 4 times while we were just sitting on our balcony!

The staff were all brilliant as well. I also had my 30th Birthday while we were away and they treated me like a princess with a cake and wine, a (honeymooners) candle lit meal on the beach etc.

A little tip: Hayes and Jarvis found us a direct flight. 10 hrs direct from Manchester, I think there is also a similar flight from one of the London Airports too. For me, I thought it was well worth it to maximise your time on the island.

I can't think of a bad word to say about Reethi Beach - If you are thinking about it - DO IT!! You will not regret it.

We booked the Reethi Beach for our honeymoon in September 2005. Like most people we didn't know which island to choose but the decision was made in the travel agents as it was the only place that had Water Villas availiable and i was adamant that I wanted a Water Villa for my honeymoon.

It was just sheer paradise from the villa to the fantastic snorkelling. After the Tsunami, the Reethi Beach was closed for a few months but after talking with the staff it seems it had been upgraded. I was a little worried that the water villas being semi-detached would mean you would hear/see the neighbours but you didn't have to worry at all.

The staff there cannot do enough for you they are so helpful and kept us entertained for the whole two weeks. Although the island is small, their is a great deal to do.

The snorkelling is the best you could ever hope for but a word of warning take your own snorkelling gear as the only shop on the island is very very expensive. Even the hiring of equipment is not cheap.

The food is excellent and plentiful. You do feel as if you are constantly eating. The main restaurant is included in the all inclusive package but be warned all the other restaurants you have to pay extra. The 24 hour coffee shop is also not included in the all inclusive package, but is worth a visit as the food is excellent.

Overall if you pick the Reethi Beach you have made an excellent choice. I would definately go back again.

We spent ages researching which island in the Maldives to visit, as this was going to be a once in a lifetime holiday and eventually ended up at Reethi Beach. I have to say it was the best decision I've made in a long time.
Because we wanted to stay in a water villa we couldn't get flights with Monarch and had to pay extra to fly with Emirates. Having read the many negative comments about Monarch flights, I'm glad we had to take the scheduled option. Emirates were excellent and you get the added bonus of a few hours stopover in Dubai (the duty-free is excellent).
The staff at Male airport were all very friendly (apart from the guards x-raying your luggage - to make sure you don't smuggle a bottle of gin in with you).

The seaplane transfer was wonderful, the views are out of this world. Photographs just don't do the beauty of the Maldives justice. Then you land at a pontoon and the dhoni (big-ish boat) transfers you to the island.

From the off, I was hooked. Just on the boat ride to the island we saw flying fish and dolphins. The staff meet you on the jetty and don't even attempt to carry your own luggage - you get told off (in a nice way).

The reception staff take you to the air conditioned reception area and give you a chilled towel and a cold drink. And your bags are taken to your room for you.

The water villas are at one end of the island and are the furthest from the main restaurant and main bar but as the island's not that big, it's not exactly a yomp.

Our room was lovely. It had a huge kingsize bed, the covers were folded back into a lovely design. The bathroom was huge with a bath and lovely powerful shower. The air con had a remote control device which kept my husband amused for days. We also had a TV, stereo and mini bar. There are double doors which open out onto a wooden veranda with very comfortable loungers.

The only thing that I wish I'd brought with me was a hairdryer. Although the rooms all have hairdryers, they're the ";stuck to the wall, hotel type"; ones. Useless.

Also take some flip flops or similar as the wooden walkways to the villas get really hot.

Apart from your flip flops for the walkways, you don't need any shoes. Honest. I am Imela Marcos reincarnated and brought several pairs of shoes. Waste of space.

Also you don't need bug cream either. If there is a mosquito within a mile I will get bitten badly but I didn't get a single bite in the fortnight. There are, apparently, yukky caterpillar things which live in the trees but the trees are sprayed every night and we never saw any.

Most guests eat in the main restaurant and you get allocated a table and waiter when you arrive. Our waiter was Shareef and he was a star.
There isn't really any dress code as such. Shorts and T-shirts are fine. At lunch, as long as you have a sarong or t-shirt over your swimwear that's fine too.
The food was really good and there's always lots of choice. I'm allergic to fish and was worried that I'd be living on rice and bread for 2 weeks but I needn't have worried.
We ate in the chinese restaurant one night (you get 25% discount if you're full board or all-inclusive) and it was lovely. The coffee-bar is on stilts over the lagoon but we didn't get to try it but other people said it was lovely.

The main bar had lovely comfy sofas with sandy floor and overlooked the lagoon.

You can send e-mails free from reception and there was a small shop selling sun cream, toiletries, postcards and souvenirs (expensive though).

The diving was amazing. This was the first time that I'd dived abroad and the marine life was stunning. On our first orientation dive we saw stingrays, guitar sharks, parrot fish and loads of Nemo!
The staff at the dive school were very friendly. All the dives were preceded with a briefing in different languages. They were very safety conscious without being bossy.
One thing to be aware of though. We booked a dive package with Hayes and Jarvis when we booked our holiday and the brochure clearly states that boat fees are included in the package we booked. They weren't though and we had to pay for them at the end of our holiday. The dive school gave us a receipt and covering letter though and we got our money back from Hayes and Jarvis.

On our last day we couldn't dive so went to the spa for a massage. Well worth the money.

We left Reethi at sun rise and the view was stunning. We were gutted to be leaving.

Finally the duty free at Male is much better than I thought it would be and you can barter as well. We bought a dive torch for less than half the UK price and a digital camera for just over half the UK price. Everything is in US dollars and at the moment the exchange rate is really good for UK visitors.

We also stopped off in Dubai for 3 nights on our return. It's well worth a visit. The shopping was superb.

All in all Reethi Beach was everything that I'd hoped for and much more on top. Our once in a lifetime holiday was so good that we booked again for 2005 as soon as we got home and started saving.

Unfortunately due to the tsunami, the water villas were damaged and the island is closed until April 2005 while they repair them. No-one was hurt on Reethi during the tsunami, which was a blessing. But our holiday has been re-allocated to Kuredu. Fingers crossed for as good a holiday as last year.

Try Reethi Beach, you won't be disappointed. It was heaven.

We went to Kurudu resort in January 2001 and had a great time. We had the opportunity to go on holiday and were tempted to go to Kurudu again but I believe there are so many islands out there to explore that we should try a new one. It was a difficult choice as I am sure they are all nice and there are really good deals out there.

Fortunately we settled for Reethi Beach due to a great deal though Hayes and Jarvis and the good house reef. My husband scuba dives and this time did not dive as much due to the snorkelling being so good. The hire of the scuba gear is expensive. I would recommend you bring your own snorkelling gear if you can as it is expensive to hire. For those like me, I was delighted to find out that I could hire an optical mask which meant I didn't need glasses or contact lenses. Some of the things we saw only meters from the shore while snorkelling were lion fish, turtle, numerous stings and eagle rays, trigger, puffer, eels, box fish and many many more beautiful coral fish. There were some smaller harmless sharks as the larger ones tend to hang out in colder waters. My husband went diving once and at 100 meters under the temperature was 29 degrees.

We went all inclusive and so glad we did as the individual costs for food and drinks are fairly expensive. There was no way we could fault the all inclusive main restaurant food though; the service, quality, variety and quantity was 5 star. If you did choose not to go all inclusive then you wouldn't be disappointed either. There are 3 other restaurants and the feedback from other quests that dined there were excellent.

We never wore our shoes except when we got on the plane to return home and#61516;

We stayed in a Beach Villa which had 24 hours air conditioning as it is so humid and it had an open air bathroom. We were very happy with our villa which faced the sea as all the villa's do and wouldn't have wanted to have a Water bungalow at an additional cost.

The 1 half day excursion, which was included in the package we got from Hayes and Jarvis was average. It visited 2 islands, one being the capital of the Baa Atoll and the other just a smaller island on the way back. I'm glad I did it but wouldn't do it again as it was very hot and the boat ride to the islands were long and choppy. Thinking back I shouldn't have gone on that excursion.

All the rooms have an International plug and a hairdryer. The beds are really large.

Like on Kurudu Island the staff can not do enough for you. Nothing is too much trouble, They swept the paths for you every morning and do your bedroom twice a day. They left little cards in your room to tell you what the weather was going to be the next day, always maximum 31 and minimum 29.

We flew with Monach last time and never again. We flew with First choice which was really good. We were told by the HandJ agent that all the economy seats were sold and had to pay for premium - additional £200.00 each! We hoped that it would be worth it especially with the seats as my husband is an ex rugby player - wrong. The seats in preium might be slightly longer but not wider. For the sake of £400 I will fly economy next time. We have heard fr8 reviews on Emirates so will try them next time.

Not sure if you could get to Reethi Beach by boat from Male but I would only go by seaplane now that we have tried both options (boat to kurudu and now seaplane). The seaplane is a fantastic expensive and you get to see the islands and atolls from a totally different view.

There are only gecko's and bats on the island and the occasional mosquito.

As AI guests we got 30% off any treatments at the Coconut Spa they have on the island. We each had a full body massage which included an Indian head massage and feet reflexology. It was well worth it!

At Reethi Beach you could be as active as you liked with wind sailing, parasailing, taking excursions, canoeing, scuba diving, swimming, playing snooker, table tennis, snorkelling, going to the spa, going to the gym or playing tennis or you could just sit by the pool and relax.

There were a lot of drinks that were not included in the AI list which you have to read through and sign before you check in but to be honest there was enough of a selection to satisfy out taste buds.

At Kurudu every one was AI so they gave you a colourful plastic arm bracelet to wear so you could just walk up to a bar and order what you wanted. At Reethi you have to sign every time. I asked about this and they said it was to keep stock. It was slightly annoying that you could order drinks from the Sunset beach bar but it wasn't AI. We found a way around this by asking the bar staff to give us beers which we placed in our mini bar fridge in our rooms until we needed them to go to the beach bar to watch the sunset.

Maldives is really a fantastic holiday destination and for under £1000.00pp all inclusive you couldn't get a better deal. We were looked after from the moment we landed to the end. We can't wait for our next Maldives holiday!