Latest Reviews for Raa Atoll

Exellent Honeymoon, would return tomorrow, Great resort, lovely beach and the snorkelling is brilliant. The food was plentiful and there was so much choice we never ran out of things to try.

We visited in Aug 08, we had an excellent bungalow (250) straight onto the beach, near the south jetty. Yes the planes landed, but we enjoyed watching them land and take off, they didn't wake us up in the morning and the last one landed about 7 at night. The food was absolutely excellent so much choice, and lots of it. I can't believe some people moan at the grill bar finishing AI at 6.30 the main bar is only 5 mins walk away. We got drinks and sat on the beach with them. It is very hot in the main bar on a night, so if this bothers you take a hand fan, but moaners please remember you have picked the maldives because it is sunny and hot. The snorkelling is exellent if you go off the north jetty in the morning you will see turtles and on odd occasions the rays as well as fish galore, also excellent off the south jetty. We had a superb time and would return tomorrow, Make up your own mind, I'm sure some people would find something to moan about on a 5* hotel with a butler. A word of warning the sunbed are hard take a cheap lilo with you to place on top. The rooms are kept clean twice a day by the room boys, as the sand gets everywhere, Yes there are geko's, lizards,spiders as you have an open outdoor shower and it is a hot country, if you ring reception they will come an remove the large spiders for you, the geko's are cute and run off if you go near them. The resort is now going half board, so beware if you go expect a large drinks bill.

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The Island itself is lovely, clear sea, white sands, the sea is lovely and warm, albeit it can be choppy. We went to the Maldives for our honeymoon and husband's 40th Birthday, Cosmos failed to notify the hotel of special requests which was very upsetting. We didn't want this to ruin our time away,so plodded on with our honeymoon. The sea plane to the resort is amazing, make sure you have your camera handy. The rooms are adequate, they are cleaned daily (however, I was not happy with the bedsheets being changed just once in the week). Bath towels and beach towels are changed daily.

The bathroom has a shower inside but there is also an outside shower facility. Our bathroom door leading outside had a small barrel bolt lock; one night the cleaners left their keys inside our room, we took them to reception on the way to dinner. When we returned back to our room, the bathroom door had been forced open and the lock was bent/broken. Nothing was stolen from our room but it was very unnerving. We reported this to the hotel the following day and they changed the lock.

The Air conditioning unit broke on one night, this was reported and fixed the following day.

There is a sea defence wall,Cosmos failed to tell us this when we booked our holiday, so be warned,if a holiday company states "limited sea views" one would normally expect the odd bush or tree but not a sea defence wall.

The food is okay, there is plenty of choice, however, again we have a complaint about the restaurant. We booked a romantic meal for my husbands 40th Birthday on the beach, we wanted a special memorable meal under the stars. Unfortunately the first night (his Birthday night) it rained, therefore, it was moved to the Fine Dinning Restaurant. The food was lovely, however,the two cheapest wines were nothing special and cost $28; they were out of stock, therefore, we purchased a bottle of Chateau Neuf Du Pape which cost $68 and was nothing special, I have tasted better Chateau Neuf Du Pape in the UK at a cost of £10 from a local supermarket. Nothing was done by the restaurant staff to make my husbands Birthday special, most other people had their table decorated. Therefore, we booked another romantic meal on the beach,hoping the weather would permit,the second time was ruined because the management told us the waiter failed to book it. I was humilated and upset. The waiter later told us he had booked it and left the island.

Would I go back to this Island? No..

The hotel was very clean and quite modern. The rooms were suitable,however, we didn't have a safe in our room which was promised by Cosmos. The rooms are cleaned daily, however, our bedsheets were only changed once per week, we only realised this towards the end of our holiday, I happened to spill a tiny bit of tea on my sheet and the stain was there for a whole week. On two occassions they forgot to provide us with water. Think twice before you purchase any items from the mini bar!!

Be advised that althought this is a tropical Island, cocktails are not included in "all inclusive". We also struggled to get a sunbed on many days. The pool is nice and clean and had a lovely view over the sea. The marine life is lovely, at the North Pier they feed the fish each night, there are stingrays and turtles. Don't be surprised if you see baby sharks swimming close by, they are very shy and keep themselves to themselves and avoid human contact. It gets extremely hot, make sure you take plenty of sun cream because to purchase it out there is very expensive. We burnt with factor 30, I am a sun worshiper and never believed anyone who told me it was too hot, but it was. Perhaps buy a beer and sit in the shade directly under the north pier in the water! Lovely.

The water bungalows are supposed to be lovely, however,they only offer bed and breakfast. We were told the bungalows were $500 a night bed and breakfast (you lose all inclusive), the cheese and biscuits were $64 alone so we gave it a miss!!

Tip the staff where necessary, we tipped far too much. They take it for granted. Whilst we accept their wages are not great, we tipped at least a total of $200 over a two week period, we were silly. Treat the staff who really look after you. We had problems with the restaurant staff (mainly management)see below. The waiter supposedly forgot to book our second romantic meal and because we mentioned we were upset about this,there was an atmosphere for the rest of our stay. Never before in my life have I felt so humiliated and upset. We tipped daily to try and be treated normally but this didn't work. When we complained, we complained politely without any fuss. We did not deserve to be treated so appallingly with other waiters staring at us each night. I cringe at the thought. I don't want people to read this and think I'm exagerating, I'm telling you the gods honest truth. I've never complained in a restaurant before.

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The resort is absolutely wonderful, absolute heaven. However, our dream holiday turned into a nightmare. Having spent close to £2500 for our two week honeymoon last year, we had a fantastic first week. The food was good, rooms of good size and the views unbelievable etc etc.

One week into the holiday my wife of one week was "alledgedly" (I say that for legal reasons) sexually assaulted by a security guard. the first night of the holiday the same guard had help us get a young lad back to his room (as he was so drunk) and the guard walked us back to our apartment. I gavehim $5 for being so helpful. The week after walking back one night, the same guard suddenly appeared from knowhere and followed us home, despite my attempts to tell him to leave us as we were ok - I thought he was looking for another tip.

As we arrived at our room I had to run in as I had tummy trouble, it was then that I heard my wife scream and run in. The guard, who was fat and 50+ had forced himself on her outside our room and stuck his tongue down her throat.

My wife was distraught. After speaking to the head of security that night it was agreed to speak to the hotel manager the following day.

Without boring you with the details - the hotel manager tried to cover everything up, saying it was down to cultural differences and that it was his word against my wife's!!

At the end of the day - they didn't take any action against the guard apart from move him to a sister resort for the rest of our stay. I expect he is still working on the resort.

The reason for me posting this - after being threatened by the hotel manager not to do so, is to highlight the fact hat there may be someone working for the hotel who is a definite danger to the public. If he can attack my wife when I am literaly 10 yards away inside the room, what would he do to a 15 year old girl walking back on her own??

Also the way the hotel manager treated my wife was a disgrace. The hotel would accept no responsibility and offered nothing as a gesture of goodwill.

A lovely place, but beware and if you have cause to complain - good luck!!

When we arrived the sight was spectacular,with the sun gleeming down on the turquoise water of the ocean which lapped up to a white sandy beach. The seaplane was a great experience giving the opportunity to see some of the other atols as we flew over, the only way to describe it was to imagine a dark blue piece of blotting paper and blobs of white and turquoise ink dropped onto it, this making the atols an amazing sight. Our bungalow on the beach had everything we needed and our room boy made it special, as we were on honeymoon we returned back to our room to find our bed had been dressed in petals and leaves with a message left for us. The staff everwhere were friendly and willing to oblige. This was on an AI basis but did not match up to our expectations, as The beach Grill bar was only AI until 18.30 for drinks and they did not offer food on this basis.The main bar which had no fans and was very humid most nights, did not provide much entertainment which was a disappointment to alot of people. Food: Fine dining restaurant was excellent but very expensive, the main restaurant was ok for breakfast, but for lunch and dinner it was the same food everyday and we were sick of it by the end of the two weeks. Be warned there is a 10% service charge on everything eg trips, shops,watersports hire, etc. Building work has now commenced for sea defences which we know that this is much needed in order to save the island, but spoils the sea view from the bungalows on the beach.

This resort is now going half board at the end of this year, we will go back to the Maldives but not to this resort.

When we arrived the sight was spectacular,with the sun gleeming down on the turquoise water of the ocean which lapped up to a white sandy beach. The seaplane was a great experience giving the opportunity to see some of the other atols as we flew over, the only way to describe it was to imagine a dark blue piece of blotting paper and blobs of white and turquoise ink dropped onto it, this making the atols an amazing sight. Our bungalow on the beach had everything we needed and our room boy made it special, as we were on honeymoon we returned back to our room to find our bed had been dressed in petals and leaves with a message left for us. The staff everwhere were friendly and willing to oblige. This was on an AI basis but did not match up to our expectations, as The beach Grill bar was only AI until 18.30 for drinks and they did not offer food on this basis.The main bar which had no fans and was very humid most nights, did not provide much entertainment which was a disappointment to alot of people. Food: Fine dining restaurant was excellent but very expensive, the main restaurant was ok for breakfast, but for lunch and dinner it was the same food everyday and we were sick of it by the end of the two weeks. Be warned there is a 10% service charge on everything eg trips, shops,watersports hire, etc. Building work has now commenced for sea defences which we know that this is much needed in order to save the island, but spoils the sea view from the bungalows on the beach.

This resort is now going half board at the end of this year, we will go back to the Maldives but not to this resort.

This was our third visit to the Island and we stayed for 3 weeks!

Booking the holiday - Thomson only offered a 2 week holiday in their brochure but were happy to give us a price for 3 weeks. As we had traveled with Thomson on the previous visits we opted to stay with them as the service was very good.

Flight - Thomsonfly are probably the best charter airline we have flown with long-haul. We managed to get upgraded seats on both journeys which is definitely worth the money with more leg-room, bigger tv screens and good food! The flight to Male was fine!

Transfer - Make sure you fill in your landing card on the plane before you enter the airport upon arrival. It will save a little time although it doesn't take long to get through passport control to collect your luggage. When you have your luggage you will be transferred to the seaplane terminal which is an open building so make sure you pack some shorts etc to change into as it can get a bit warm whilst you are waiting for the seaplane. There is a bar to buy drinks and snacks! You may have to wait a while for your seaplane but it can also be very quick. We were on our seaplane within 20 minutes of arriving at the terminal. Make sure you have your camera at the ready, the views from the plane are fantastic!

The Island - is about 40 acres so you are not far from anything. Unfortunately you can't walk around the edge of the island due to the sand moving with the sea currents. Some areas of the island have concrete walls in front of the bungalows to stop the sand being washed away too much so you won't always get a good view but if you are on the west side of the island it is great! Sand is very soft and you won't need anything on your feet for the entire time you are there.

Accommodation - Rooms are very spacious with a dressing area, an outside shower and a decking area with chairs and table. The bathroom is undercover but has no door to the outside shower so it does get warm. The outside shower is fantastic at any time of the day although there is an inside shower if you don't fancy it! Rooms are kept clean and the room boys do work very hard. We gave them a tip each day of a few dollars. They are usually happy with US dollars or Sterling.

Food & restaurant - So much to choose from. Curry is on the menu every day and at all times and can be quite hot! They work on a three week menu so we didn't eat the same thing twice in three weeks. The chefs are very happy to chat with you and explain what the food is if you are unsure. The desserts are out of this world. Everything is made on the island even the ice-cream! You can seriously put on a lot of weight if you are not careful.... Under the AI rules you can have glasses of wine with your meal but if you want a bottle you pay extra. Wine is also extra at the bar so ask for a glass when you leave dinner and take it with you! The lobster meal is worth the extra money whether it is on the beach or the platform. You get so much food so pace yourselves. We opted for this one evening for my birthday and they decorated the table with coloured rice spelling 'Happy Birthday' and lots of flowers from the island. We have never suffered with any tummy upsets and I think they will still show you around the kitchens if you ask. They are spotless! The main restaurant can get quite warm as it is open sided. Try to get a table in one of the wings and you'll be fine. The waiters love improving their English and are very happy to teach you a few Maldivian words.

Entertainment - Not much of it and what there is can be a bit iffy! The best entertainment is to walk down the pier next to reception at about 9.15pm and be ready for the fish feeding. We saw all types of fish, rays, turtles, sea snakes etc....

There are not many bugs on the island. If it does rain they will go round the island with spray to kill anything lurking in the standing water. I usually tend to get bitten by mosquitoes but have never been bitten in the Maldives. Snorkeling is a must and you can hire the mask and snorkel when you get there if you don't have your own. There is a small book library near the main bar so if you do run out of books try that.

It is a holiday we enjoy very much and three weeks is just about right. Plenty of time to recharge the batteries and completely rest. We tried two weeks first time and didn't want to leave so the second time we stayed for three weeks.

If you get chance and the budget will stretch ask to stay in the water villas. It can be a bit of a pain as you have to check out of the room you are in and then check back in again when you come back to your bungalow but it is worth it! We stayed for three nights and Annan was our butler. He was fantastic as was the experience.

Not much else to say except have a great time if you are thinking of visiting. The staff are fantastic and will go out of their way to make sure you have a good holiday. We would recommend this island to anyone!

Meedhupparu

We had been warned about the coastal erosion so were prepared or the worst. This was our second visit so were able to judge over a couple of years. There has been considerable erosion to the west and southeast and groynes have been built parallel with the beach. This was far from the previous idyllic beach of the past but the management have taken the pragmatic view that there is no alternative. They are filling behind the groynes with sand and are to provide easy access to the sea. There are many areas remaining of easy access and good snorkelling is to be had at any point. The reef is only a short swim from the shore or you can use either jetty to drop on the end of the reef. The bungalows are placed in horseshoe shaped formations around the island and we would be happy with any bungalow in any location. There are plusses and minuses for any location. The south tends to be less windy but the snorkelling is better on the north. The west obviously has the better sunsets but is the furthest from the restaurant (and disco).

Rooms

The rooms are spacious, the bathrooms have a shower and two washhand basins and another shower outside. They were kept clean by the hardworking and sociable room boys. The resort is currently being refurbished and the one sample completed room looked very upmarket.

Food

The restaurant was a delight. The choice and quality of the food was excellent and prepared and served with amazing efficiency. There were several theme nights and on one occasion a chefs night with much banging of utensils and flaming torches. There was an opportunity to experience fine dining. Special meals were served on the beach ‘for that special occasion’. We were content with the restaurant food but the beach served food did indeed look special. The ‘all inclusive’ drinks were ok. The beer and wine were acceptable but the spirits were not that good. Imported spirits and cocktails were available and were inexpensive.

Entertainment

There was little in the way of organised entertainment, which suited us. The bar was the entertainment centre in the evenings. There was a live band once a week, which was quite good otherwise the crab racing and the karaoke were amusing, but the Bruce Springstean video and the local drum band ensured early nights.

Diving

The dive team and boat crews were excellent. The diving was safe and well supervised. The limit was 30 metre and 60 minutes. There were plenty of good sites between half and one hour away. All varied to some degree and offered good reef walls and swim throughs. Many varieties can be seen (lionfish, stonefish, manta, turtles etc) and the dive instructors are always on the lookout for the unusual. The dive team are now a part of the hotel complex (it was independent previously). There were more restrictions on the team. Previously we enjoyed a coffee or a beer with the team in the bar adjacent to the dive centre. This is no longer permitted.

Transport

The seaplanes were a marvellous experience. They were noisy but flew at low altitude over the many islands and thilas. The take off and landing on water was quite an experience. The planes either taxied to the jetty or used a pontoon. If the latter the cases and passengers were ferried to the jetty. We used First Choice. The standard cabin seats were ample and perfectly comfortable for the journey. We have used the Premier service a few times and did so again this time but it is a waste of money. There is a little more legroom and a slightly larger seatback screen but thatÂ’s about it. Some of the other benefits can be bought as extras in the standard cabin. The service in Premier was not as good as it was last time we used it.

The flight time and transfers were good but on the return we were inexplicably flown at an early hour (7.15 am) to Male where we had to wait for 5 hours. You are not permitted to enter the main airport until a couple of hours or so before your flight but we would recommend the executive lounge as soon as you can if you have a couple of hours to kill. Free (non alcoholic) drinks, snacks and the Internet were provided in a spacious air conditioned lounge with leather sofas and chairs for £8.00.

Overall

We would certainly return to Meedhupparu. It is well managed and provided us with everything we expected. We would use First Choice again but would not pay the extra cost for the Premier service.

Me and my newly wed wife set off to this resort the day after our wedding Hoping and Ecpecting the honeymoon of our dreams. The outward flight from manchester on monarch was delayed by 2 hours with no explination, when we eventually got on board the booklet holder on the seat in front of me was damaged and was digging into my leg (nothing could be done about this). After the 12 hour flight we arrived in Male, nice and easy getting through arrivals and onward to the seaplane terminal (3 hours wait for sea plane). The sea plane journey was fantastic and you certainly need your camera on board, we sat right at front and were practically flying it! We arrived at the Meedhupparu Island and it looked amazing and we were welcomed with a cold drink and cool towel. After checking in we were shown to our room, this is when the dissapointment set in! Our room had 2 single beds pushed together and no complimentry fruit and wine on arrival which was expectecd for honeymmoners! After complaining about this the manager was quite rude and asked us to produce our marrige certificate (which we did not take with us), we eventally recieved the fruit and wine but had to request a room chance to sort out the bed situation (eventually moved after 5 days). Apart from this the Island itself is Fantastic, snorkeling is a must as the fish are amazing, a visit to the jetty on an evening for the fish feeding is a must (sting rays and monoray eels to be seen). The food is of a good standard but does get a bit repetative and chicken sausages are not to good for breakfast. The waiting staff are brilliant and are always happy to help. This holiday was good apart from the initial complaint )which was Thomas Cooks Fault when booking), our advice to anyone travelling here is to book with another travel agents and not (Thomas Cook).

THE FLIGHT - We were flown to Male by Monarch and you've read it all about no leg room etc etc... well it wasn't actually that bad the leg room the same as any other plane. The seats were a little narrower than others however - lets face it if you are on a plane for 10.5 hrs you will be bored and starting to get uncomfortable. Most of the way there we all slept so it went fairly quickly.

THE SEAPLANE - Absolutely fantastic - we only had to wait just over an hour for our transfer. The seaplane is one of those experiences to commit to memory for ever - it really is breath taking. The views are so breath taking, it made me feel quite emotional.

THE ROOMS - Clean, spacious and lots of storage space which is unusual for any apartment!! The room boys work really hard and clean the room 3 times a day and make different patterns with the sheets each night. They do not earn much money and rely on the tips you give them for this service.

THE RESTAURANT - Good food with variety. Pasta and curry every night and lots of salad. The soups are delicious and the omlettes at breakfast are good too. I did suffer from ";Delhi Belly"; 3 times so did alot of other people.... I don't think there is anything wrong with the food its just one of those things, maybe the seasoning - but be warned make sure you take some remedy as there is none available on the whole island. My husband had to beg borrow and steal some from complete strangers (they soon became our good friends !!!!)

THE ENTERTAINMENT - Well I'll say no more its bad really bad. The crab racing is good and really entertaining but be careful on betting on one as they bid in beers and each beer is $4 which can soon add up and all you win is a crate of beer!!! The Karaoke is good fun but only if you are with a group of people who will have a go as the DJ does not really know how to get people motivated!! The disco starts most evenings at 11pm - the same DJ and he likes to play his own music which is not to everyone's tastes. If you ask him for specific music he will play it but only when prompted. They run a beach party BBQ every Friday night which is a laugh - but as a tip only pay for the drinks as the food is the same as in the restaurant - the cocktails at the beach party are pretty strong and you don't need many !!!! The games are ok but geared towards couples so not advisable if you have teenage siblings like us !!!

THE BUGS - No Mosquitoes - they spray the trees all the time to kill them!! There are however some nasty ants that like the taste of human flesh so you still need insect repellent and they also like to share your bed!!!

The fish are amazing and all you've already read on this site. The night fishing is a really good laugh. The men that run it are not good at explaining what to do. You have to cast your line until it hits the sea bed and then pull it up slowly.

BEST OF ALL - We met some fantastic people it was one of the most socialable holidays ever - I believe they will all be life long friends - so thanks to Tony, Lorraine and the girls, Andy, Mandy and Emma and Elaine, Simon and the boys not to mention Kerry, Carl, Laura, Daniel and baby Niamh for making this a fantastic holiday!!!

MEEDHUPPARU/Raa Atoll- MALDIVES.
Portland-May 2007. Jan and John-51, 44.

Booked August 2006 and paid half of the amount some friends of ours paid for same holiday for their honeymoon in 2006.

FLIGHT- From Manchester with Monarch which we weren't looking forward to as we had read some reports about the leg room, we are average sizes and we were fine. Any flight of over 10 hours is not going to be pleasant. Staff were fine, meals, what you would expect and you were provided with a pillow and blanket and 2 very recent films were shown. If you can, try and buy bottles of water in duty-free for the flight, they are double the price on the plane!

MALE- The airport wasn't too pleasant. On passport control we waited in very long queues. The humidity and heat were astounding, so if you can change clothes on the flight before you land into something cooler it would be better. The staff on passport control took your filled in entry cards (make sure you fill them in correctly whilst on the flight) and you are entered into a system which takes a while, and they were in no rush, although they were friendly enough. You then collect your luggage to then go and find your rep and bus to take you to your sea plane. You are told then whether your bags are going on the plane with you or by speed boat. It depends on how many are going to your island and whether they can fit your cases on with you. If your cases are going with you a truck takes them to the terminal and you collect them again to put on the sea plane, if they are not you will not see them again until your destination, and if you are like us it could be 5 hours later so make sure you have hand luggage with everything in you may need. Do not buy alcohol before you go through security at Male. They check your entire luggage and will confiscate it. It is NOT allowed! Then it's all very well organized and a bus takes you to the sea plane terminal. We waited an hour for our sea plane, our sea plane transfer was 45 minutes. Other people waited 3 hours that were going to our island. Don't worry if other people are going before you..it is all pre-booked with your incoming flights so you just have to wait for your turn. The terminal is pleasant enough with a bar and rather nice fans overhead which was welcomed as it was becoming unbearable humid and warm (12 midday!). The sea plane was brilliant but noisy! An experience not to be missed. The aerial photos you can get are great. You fly at around 5000ft over some of the most fantastic views of the islands. The colours are amazing!

THE ISLAND- When you land, as we did at your island the views are just as spectacular.We landed at the south side of the island.there were jetties on either side of the island in Meedhupparu. You are then escorted to reception where you get a fruit drink and a cold flannel which you need by then! We were then taken for a late lunch; the restaurant had been kept open for us. We then went to reception where you are allocated your room; you need to have filled in another card for registration again best done before you have finished your lunch etc. We were given No.127- a very good bungalow, as was 125 and 126. Not far from reception, just yards to the beach with a lovely view, private and on the south of the island. In our opinion, the better side for sunset, snorkeling and no land erosion. Some of the accommodation was next to sand bags and right on the sea where they are trying to stop the island shrinking!! On the south side the jetty is used to feed the fish at 9.30 in the evening.again not to be missed. We saw rays, reef sharks, and jack fish, fabulous! During the day we also swam with turtles and rays as well as reef sharks!! The reef is fantastic so make sure you take good fitted snorkeling equipment and something for your feet as you will spend hours in the water! Some people who braved it and went further under, saw eels..big ones!!!! If you like fishing there are trips day and night which are reasonable. No rods though only fishing done by hand lines so don't be tempted to take any fishing gear. Some people caught fish (Wahoo and red marlin) and the chef (a very nice man) cooked them for a little extra charge for their evening meal!

RECEPTION- This consisted of 4 small shops and the reception desk with a central garden. There is a small air conditioned TV room and the internet-which is very, very slow! There is an Ayurveda Centre, beauty salon and 2 other restaurants set around the main area too. The Fine Dining restaurant apparently wasn't up to much so we were told, and the other was for people on a health package for special diets. I did try the centre for a consultation-very good, but no treatments. People who said they had, said they were good.

WEATHER- This was hot and humid. We got the last good weeks before monsoon time. September/October is a good time to go from what we were told. But we were grateful for some cloud somedays, it was so hot. People disappeared around 1200hrs to 1500hrs as the sun was so strong.a good time to get your midday meal. We took 6 bottles of sun cream ranging from factor 30 down to a 4 for me...but we both wanted to use the 30 all the time! We ended up getting through the lot!

RESTAURANT- This is very warm, no air-conditioning. We were sat beneath a large fan, so it wasn't too bad. You are allocated a table for the whole of your stay and a waiter too. You may get a table with another English couple or one on your own. We made a lovely friendship with the couple from Glasgow on ours. If your not happy with yours you can ask to be moved. Food was fine, lots of choice, including curries at every meal. Some of the vegetable ones are very spicy so watch your tummies! The nights were themed but the food didn't vary too much. One night the chef's barbecued food outside which some people missed as they didn't realize you had to go out to get your meat etc. If your not sure what anything is ask the head chef, I had some black fungi!......which apparently was a delicacy and very good for you(mushrooms really). You can have wine with your meal which is included in the 'all inclusive' but not at the bars!

BAR- This was our biggest gripe..it was very hot.no fans.and the staff rude. If you tipped them they were attentive every time, but we always wait 'til the end of the holiday to tip accordingly.needless to say the bar staff received nothing. It took a while to get them to understand we just wanted cans of beer to pour ourselves and not from remnants they had behind the bar. As they do not drink because of their religion we put it down to the fact they didn't appreciate how the British can be over their pint!! We went to the 'Grill Bar' early on before dinner some nights to see the sunset on the north of the island, this finishes serving all inclusive drinks at 6.30pm and then you pay. Everything you do pay for is signed for and paid for at the end of your stay. Ours was fine. No discrepancies. The grill bar is only a few minutes walk away ,as you can walk around the whole island in 30-40 minutes, but the sunset is much better on the south side just on the beach near our bungalow. Got some lovely shots! The entertainment was O.K. with the usual karaoke and locals doing there bit along with crab racing! When we did go to the bar we tried to sit around the 'Infinity Pool' where it is quieter and cooler. You can see the fruit bats flying over the trees early on around dusk.

BUNGALOWS- These were nice and kept clean twice a day. The room boys are lovely. They make your bed up into different designs each day and if you're lucky, flowers on your bed! 2 bottles of water are left every day, 2 clean beach towels, bathroom towels, and a mini fridge/bar which is quite expensive if you use it, tea and coffee making facilities and 'Fogos' in the wall. We took our own, but they do change them everyday and the sockets are like home-unusual! The air conditioning is great and there is also a roof fan. The most unusual thing was the outside shower in the bathroom. Great, but the bathrooms were like saunas as they were open and had no air con. Although they are private and no-one can see in! We only had one large spider in our room on the first day, which I only saw, and a couple of geckos, which are lovely! Around the bungalows the wildlife/birds can get quite noisy, even at night, it took us a while to get used to it, we tended to put the ceiling fan on so you couldn't hear! Watch the large black birds-they will pinch stuff off your patio, we saw one take a lighter and cigarettes and then take one out and pick it up-AMUSING!

WATER VILLAS- We did upgrade the last two nights. What a treat! They were fab! Well worth the extra $350 per night. Included in that is breakfast and your evening meal. The evening meal in the restaurant was the best I have ever had! What can I say- the service-24 hour butler-food and villas were amazing. Another world. You get a free bottle of champagne ($120 in the brochure) and crudités, fruit and chocolates as well as escorted to your evening meal in the wonderful air-conditioned restaurant. We had the monsoon kick in on these days so we were glad we had upgraded to make the most of the villas. We even sent our butler (Vino-a comedian) to go and collect some friends in his buggy-Pete 'n' Val -to visit us and have drinks in our villa to see what they were missing! For only $5 each you can have any of the food on the menus in your room-fantastic, if you like to eat with a view overlooking the sea and dolphins in the distance-YES we did see them.TWICE!! If you can stretch to it, I would definitely up-grade for at least a couple of nights, although we did have to make a nuisance of ourselves to get the villa, asking everyday and waiting an hour on the last day to find out if we had got it. We had 817, which was great as we got an excellent view of the sunset and the south side jetty and beach. Our friends even took pictures of us from 'their side', of us enjoying our Jacuzzi on the balcony and having breakfast!!! On checking out on the last day the biggest bonus was 'Vino' did it all for us. He sorted out all finalization of bills, luggage collection, even a short ride to the sea-plane, and we were on first, not having to check out of the room early and hang around for our flight. We were having breakfast 15 minutes before he collected us! A great end to a lovely holiday.

All in all, we did think we would be bored on a 2 week stay, just as a couple, and no children, but the snorkeling and other trips you could do ( Fishing etc) were so good the time flew and we had the best time.

We would definitely go back to this island if it was the only one, but as there are so many to choose from, we are going to give another island a go next year. This was one of the larger islands. We would like to try some water bungalows on a smaller resort.
The prices are still very good, a couple we met did manage to get theirs with First Choice 'premium seats' for the same we paid, but they did go through 'Eclipse' which is apparently the same company as First Choice.

This Holiday was everything it says on the packet clear blue sea, white sand, paradise.
We upgraded our seats to premium and although it was very good (the best bit was we were allowed to get off the plane 1st so there was no queueing and our bags were off 1st) i dont think we got alot more for our money so not sure we'd do it again. Some reviews say that your luggage comes seperate, ours didnt it came on the seaplane with us.
Right where do we start?

Room - very good one night there were flowers on the bed and a heart shape made out of the sheets which was nice but no1 else i spoke to got this. Room was right on the beach but a few weren't (i would have been gutted if it wasn't). Room cleaned twice a day towels changed everyday including a beach towel each. Tea and coffee facilities including the tea and coffee in the room topped up twice a day only creamer though and quite a few people were getting milk from the snack bar filling a pop bottle and taking it back to the room and poutting it in the fridge. As mentioned a few times the plug sockets are the same as at home but are nowhere near the mirrors, some1 had put to take an extention cable (which i did, a short 1) you neded a full size 1 as its across the other side of the room although, ladies, hairdryer is in the bathroom but if taking straightners you're wating your time the humidity just frizzes it straight back up). We had no spiders or cockroaches but there were geckos in the room (i left the light on the first night but after a few days they dont bother you at all). Out door shower is great after a hot day on the beach!

Food - fantastic, only made breakfast the last day loads of choice - bacon,saus etc- cheese, and hams - yogurt and fruit- omlette made fresh to order.
Curry at every meal (including breakfast)
good choice of meats,pasta and rice at every meal (chips only 3 times in 2 weeks which we were pleased about cus think all foreigners think english only eat chips), at lunch time fruit and ice cream at night time oh my god loads of puddings (my downfall lol) fantastic.

Drinks - Wine, cocktails and fruit juice not included but only found out last few days that in the restaurant wine is free you only pay in the bar.

Trips - only went night fishing, cost £15 for both of us - a bit of wire with a hook on i caught a fish first and it made my night it was well worth the money fantastic photo opportunity for the sunset (there a sunset trip but who needs it). There were lovers island £75 where you went on a island on your own but didnt bother with that.

Water bungalows - we had a look round these and they were great like a different world to where we were to upgrade it cost another £175 a day but you are treat like royalty - your own butler (not sure whether we would have asked him to run the jacuzzi (on the balcony looking out to sea)or to exchange the pillows for 1 of 4 choices etc) but it looked great.

Entertainment - crab racing, karaoke, singers and maldivian night it was ok at least there was something happening and it was better than we expected.

Pool - very nice always got a sunbed the beach is right next to the pool too with sunbeds on it so that helped.

Crows - drive you mad squarking cus they want you to feed them

Bats - fruit backs (we think) really nice flying over in the day ( 1 is in reception) well i did like them until 1 scored bullseye on my head (green slime down my back) but still not many peoples can say theyve been crapped on by a bat lol.

Gym - looked nice (lol)

Beauty treatments - a few things over priced but go to the hairdressers for manicures etc rather than the other place as it is alot cheaper.

Weather - 30-35 degrres, rained (hammered it down) two days, just after i said oh my god cant it rain ( i am the sun queen but even too hot for me sat in the shade and still got really brown))it ws still 33c though

Any down sides? - I think wine should be included and kids should be banned (sort of joking) paradise island cant understand why people take their kids too hot and nothing to do for them.

Would we go again- well id highly recommend it (go in a couple not much to do and if you can talk like me you need more company). The first week hardly anyone talked to us and then i decided to plonk myself down and talk to them instead after first week met two lovely couples (1 of who lives quits close to us and we're going to keep in touch)and the rest of the holiday went really quickly. We wouldnt go again but only because there are too many other places in the world to see but ive always wanted to go to the maldives and i wasnt dissappointed. I do feel very