Vilu Reef Reviews

Travel Date: September 06

Submitted in September 2006 by: Mark Guest

Operator: Thomson

When we arrived on the Island we thought it was Paradise and it was our two week honeymoon. After several days of rain we soon became very disslusoned. Not just with the weather but with the resort. We thought our water bungalow was very nice although th...

Travel Date: September 06

Submitted in September 2006 by: Mark Guest

Operator: Thomson

When we arrived on the Island we thought it was Paradise and it was our two week honeymoon. After several days of rain we soon became very disslusoned. Not just with the weather but with the resort. We thought our water bungalow was very nice although the bathroom was dated and not replaced after the Tsunami so not in character with the rest of the bungalow. We didn't feel that our honeymoon was good value for money.

In the brochure they advertise Sky TV but when you get there you find out you only have 8 channels. The food was ok for several days but then the menu became very repetative. They didn't cater for English tastes and the service was self service and for the money we paid we expected waiter service. The drinks were all inclusive although if you wanted a brand name you had to pay. We didn't see the rep for the whole two weeks of our stay or even at the end of the holiday at the airport. The Island only had one restaurant and two bars and this became monotonous as one of the bars closed at 5pm.

Our dream honeymoon was poor value for money and we don't feel we saw the best side of the Maldives and with this in mind we would never return to this destination again. Our advice would be to go to another resort in the Maldives.

Travel Date: September 06

Submitted in June 2006 by: Sadie - Edinburgh

Operator: Thomson

I am wanting to book our honeymoon in the Maldives around Autumn 2006. Can anyone recommend an island with the least amount of mosquitoes (am allergic!)?

Thank you,
Sadie

Travel Date: March 06

Submitted in March 2006 by: Lynne Heseltine - Essex

Operator: Thomas Cook

We have been to the Maldives before and wanted to try another Resort. This one was good. The flight out with Britannia was uncomfortable and if you can afford the upgrades, then go for it. The seat configuration was 2-4-2. There was plently of leg room ...

Travel Date: March 06

Submitted in March 2006 by: Lynne Heseltine - Essex

Operator: Thomas Cook

We have been to the Maldives before and wanted to try another Resort. This one was good. The flight out with Britannia was uncomfortable and if you can afford the upgrades, then go for it. The seat configuration was 2-4-2. There was plently of leg room on all seats but the middle four was very narrow and made for a very uncomfortable flight.

The welcome at Vilu Reef was lovely and the hot towels and coconut drink was most welcome.

We stayed in a Beach Villa. We were right on the beach on the sea view side of the island. Due to the Tsunami, a barrier had been built around this side of the island with coral reef to slow the sea down. It was evident that they had been slightly affected by the disaster and I was told that there water bungalows and one or two bungalows on the island had been affected but it did not really show other than with the new barrier that had been built. The bungalows were spotless and cleaned twice a day. Linen and towels were changed once a day. Sun beds on the beach have your room number on the back so no scrambling for sun beds in the morning and the beach bungalows also have additional sun beds on their decking. A word of caution, the garden bungalows are BEHIND the beach bungalows and have no space to sunbathe so you have to take your beds to the beach. You don't have to do it each day, once there they will stay there but a lot of the shade is allocated to the beach bungalows and it can be difficult to find shade if you want it. However most people managed fine.

There are some strong currents on the sea side of the island and lifeguards are stationed there every day. Snorkelling is between certain points on that side of the island. We were on the sea side and did not find this a problem at all in the morning as the current was almost non existent, but by the afternoon it had picked up and was a bit hair raising at times. You will need flippers to swim beyond the reef and they recommend that you wear them when swimming on this side of the island. The plus side about the sea side of the island is that every day the pod of dolphins swims in one direction in the morning and then back home late afternoon giving us a wonderful display of playfullness and jumping and up on their tails. We were also lucky enough to see a giant turtle come ashore and lay her eggs and then go back to the sea. This happened twice, once a few days before we arrived and once whilst we were there. It is apparantly a first for the island. It was fantastic.

The snorkelling was good and plenty of fish to see. There were sand rays, sting rays, dolphins, turtles and moray eels and also lobster. The fish are quite bold and can tap on your mask and nibble at your toes, but just made me laugh not scary at all. Take your own gear if you can as it is expensive to hire. We were originally told the equipment was part of our package but were told before we left that it was no longer included. Some people weren't and had to fork out about £120 when they got there for the gear (it was refunded by the tour company). You could buy it in the gift shop but it was expensive.

The staff are wonderful very polite and very helpful in all areas. We went all inclusive and the only thing we paid for was the coctails. We went night fishing and also visited another island. Night fishing was good, visiting the other island was okay but a very hot day and as all inland and visiting different areas it was an uncomfortable day. However, the shopping on this island was cheaper than at the resort so we did all our gift shopping there.

The entertainment at night was okay. Crab racing was fun, disco was great fun, the live Vilu Reef band was good and the Maldivian music night was bearable. The rest of the week was peace and quiet and that is what we went for.

We had a fantastic holiday and would definitely go again.

Travel Date: February 06

Submitted in April 2006 by: Rob Sylvia McKee

Operator: Kuoni

Had the most wonderful holiday ever in the Maldives - this was our fourth time and by far the best island.
The Beach Villa was excellent, and kept spotlessly clean, the food was very good although a little repetitive, the bar staff and customer relations...

Travel Date: February 06

Submitted in April 2006 by: Rob Sylvia McKee

Operator: Kuoni

Had the most wonderful holiday ever in the Maldives - this was our fourth time and by far the best island.
The Beach Villa was excellent, and kept spotlessly clean, the food was very good although a little repetitive, the bar staff and customer relations team were fabulous in fact I can not think of anything negative to say about the Island, or the staff - we were sorry to leave after such a great holiday -
We flew with Air Emirates (for the second time) but we noticed their standards seem to have dropped somewhat from our first flight with them.

Hope to go back to the maldives again soon

Travel Date: January 05

Submitted in May 2005 by: Kim and Adrian Shelton-Brown (33/34)

Operator: Thomas Cook

This location was paradise on earth, as you arrive the location itself takes your breath away.
Facilities and staff were the best we have ever exprienced.We intended to spend Christmas 2005 and New year 2005 but as you are all aware the Tsunami put a sto...

Travel Date: January 05

Submitted in May 2005 by: Kim and Adrian Shelton-Brown (33/34)

Operator: Thomas Cook

This location was paradise on earth, as you arrive the location itself takes your breath away.
Facilities and staff were the best we have ever exprienced.We intended to spend Christmas 2005 and New year 2005 but as you are all aware the Tsunami put a stop to the holiday, but I must make a mention of the staff and treatment we received during this terrible disaster, ALL of the staff could not do enough for us and we owe them alot.

We have recently booked to go again this year as we wish to finish our holiday on what is undoubtably the best location for a paradise holiday available. We are counting the days to our return