Meedhupparu Island Resort Reviews

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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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.

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 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!!!

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!!