Biyadoo Island Resort Reviews

This was a 2 for 1 ";bargain";. We were glad we hadn't paid brochure price.

The 1st Choice flight was very comfortable. Big leather seats, individual tv's and plenty of leg room. Arrival at Male was well organised and we were soon boarding a small speed boat with 12 other passengers and 3 crew. As we bounced out of the harbour, we began our journey through Hell. The sea was hosting a high wind storm and within 30 minutes the waves were crashing 12 to 15 ft high above and over us. We were soaked, the water in the boat was increasing, luggage was floating banging into passengers. The pilot was struggling to keep us upright, and several times the boat was thrown over sideways with more water being deposited inside the boat. Black smoke came from the engine. With shaking hands and legs we tried to fasten life-jackets. Clinging to each other we waited for the second the boat turned completely, knowing we would have little chance of survival. Miraculously, a journey which should have taken 45 mins, ended after over 2 hours. We all climbed onto the jetty at Biyadhoo, shaking and in shock, as were the crew. We had survived a journey which never should have never begun until the storm had calmed. All the contents of our cases were wet. Our rooms resembled a Chinese laundry as we tried to dry things off, but gladly, we were alive to do it.

The island is small and beautiful. 20 mins walk and you will have done the full circle. There are loads of tall swaying coconut palms and plenty of other jungle foliage to admire. White fine sand and blue water up to the reef, complete the tropical island scene. Amazing fish are around the coral and the deep shelf of the reef. The different patterns and colours are tremendous. Don't forget to take your snorkel gear and underwater camera. We don't dive but marvelled at the variety and closeness of the sea life. We swam with sharks and even saw turtles and eagle rays.

The food is mostly curried, hot and spicy, with a lot of oil and is somewhat repetitive. Take plenty of Rennies. Also pack hydrocortisone cream, and antihistamine tablets. Even the extra strength, jungle lotions with deet didn't stop us from being eaten by the midges.Tiger Balm, bought in the island's only shop, did relieve some of the itching. Oh, and watch out for the rats, I saw 6. Large fruit bats, a heron, colourful lizards and enormous spiders and cockroaches complete the wildlife list. The site is tired and some renovation is taking place. We had to move rooms to accommodate our room being decorated which was annoying, though we did gain a sea view when we moved to block 2.

I spent the whole 2 weeks having nightmares of the journey and dreaded the return transfer. Thankfully, the weather was kind and although a bit choppy in places, we arrived back at the airport very relieved.

This was a special holiday to celebrate my 60th birthday. The booking and travelling were all fine. Emirates is a first class airline to travel with.

On arrival we were greeted with a coconut cocktail and hot towels as a refresher. The hotel is the only thing on the island, split into separate accommodation buildings scattered amongst the foliage, a bar, shop and restaurant. The shop sell mainly cheap souvenirs so if you were short of any basic toiletries etc you would have just had to manage without.

After two days of completely cold food at each meal, we complained, they appeared astonished that anyone should complain, but they did rectify the situation overnight and from then on the food was OK, with a very good choice.


The accommodaton was rather sad looking. The room could have done with a facelift. The surround of the ash basin was badly stained, the fridge was a bit rusty and both the freeze and air conditioning unit in the room were noisy. We had to turn the air con off at night, but could still hear the unit working in the rooms either side of us.

As we were on the ground floor we had a patio door at the rear of the building which led to a small patio with two chairs and a table. At the side of each room there was a plinth with the air condiitoning motor on the top. This was a couple of feet away from the chairs. The air con unit was completely covered in black mould. So when we sat on our patio having a drink in the evening that was what we had to look at. Hardly the view I was expecting. When you stepped away from the back of the building the upper walls were also mouldy. I did not complain while I was there because I did not see what they could do about it while the rooms were occupied and as it was only a week's duraton decided just to get on with it and make the most of the wonderful beach, water and weather.

I took photos of the hotel which I sent with a letter to Hayes and Jarvis on my return. Their response was that as I had not made a fuss about it when I was there, it was just tough luck. Hardly the response I expected. They offered me £100 off the next HandJ holiday I book. As I won't be booking any more holidays with them, I returned it to them.

We did not have contact with our rep during the first part of the holiday. We were due to fly home at 2.30am on the MOnday morning and were scheduled to leave the island at 10.30pm on Sunday night. The Rep sent us a fax first thing on Saturday morning to say that as our flight would probably be late leaving Male, he suggested that we leave the island at 4.30pm and he would provide us with a hotel room in Make at the cost (to us) of $115. No-one has been able to come up with a sensible explanation as to why, if the flight was going to leave Male late, that we would want to pay for the privilege of sitting in a hotel for an additonal six hours. The staff at the hotel were quite clear that we had transport arranged to leave arund 10.00pm which is what we did.

All these things may seem of minor importance to some people, but they did take the shine off what was supposed to be a special holiday. The Maldives have been a dream holiday location in my mind for years, so needless to say I was disappointed with what we finally got for our money. It was certainly the most expensive week's holiday I have ever had.

I agree wholly with what the last 2 contributors have added.

The journey from Male by speedboat was 40 mins and can only be described as a 40 min rollercoaster ride - we loved it. The resorts 3* rating was justified overal due mainly to the general newness of the accomodation. That said, food, cleanliness, service and location was 10/10. Buffet style southern Indian food, spicy. But my 13 yo daughter and sister-in-law found plenty to eat that wasn't, different salads, pizza, mash-potato !! non-spicy meats and fish etc. I can see how some may find it repetitive after 2 weeks but we wouldn't.

No need for beach towels. 2 per room are provided each day. Our rooms were constantly attended to by a cleaner from dawn to dusk. Aircon and showers fine. NN sunbeds which was our main gripe and the deck chairs were very limited.

Sign for everyting and pay at the day before you leave. Internet access in reception $5 30mins.

We went for relaxing and diving. The diving was well organised and although may not challenge seasoned divers, was great for me and my daughter to get qualified. Instruction was excellent and waters and sea-life remarkable. There was different entertainment each night which I thought a bonus and not expecting.

The resort was made up of mainly Italians, French, German and Japanese. Just 3 English couples, a party of 4 and us during our stay. Suits me fine. Didn't bother with any excursions - maybe would've if we were there 2 weeks.

We visited Biyadoo in November 2005, we had orignally booked for Mexico but cancelled because of the hurricanes. At the time of booking there wasn't much choice in the way of the Maldives mso we settled on this resort. The flight out was cramped but we had expected that, the boat transfer was a bit too fast and rocky for my liking, but overall we coudn't compalin too much.

The accommodation / restaurant / amenities looked in dire need of refurbishment we had been told by guests that it was due to be totally refurbished but because of the Tsnami this got put on hold, because the money was to be used elsewhere. Although the accommodation was gloomy it was spotlessly clean, in fact twice a day. The staff were very helpful and friendly, in fact nothing was too much trouble. The bar area was a bit sad, with plastic patio chairs, but the attentive staff made up for that. The restaurant roof was leaking one day, but it was being fixed just as quickly. The food was very good, no bad tummy. Breakfast was'nt much too write home about. There was an excellent choice of salads and breads each lunch time and evening.

The house reef was accessible for a swimmer but as a non-swimmer I had a problem, but however I was able to snorkle on the beautiful lagoon and see a wide variety of marine life. Entertainment was just non-existent but saying that we prefer peace and quiet and talking to new friends etc., I felt as though I was stranded on a desert Island which is what the Maldives should be about, unlike Kurdeu (June 06) which was to busy etc., read my review.

The accommodation was very close to the beach but I must forward that there were two sides to the island a good and a not so good, we weree lucky to have been put on the good side, but visitors on the other side just weren't so lucky.

All in all a very very relaxing holiday, yes the accommodation could have been better, maybe there could have been more amenities but we enjoyed it and really did not want to come home, unlike our last trip. I understand that the refurbishments will possibly out price most of us, but if not we would certainly go back, in fact I don't know why we didn't go back in June.

Can I just give you a tip, if you are thinking of travelling to the Maldives, we have had the best weather in October/November/December and the worse in June/July, our summer is their monsoon season some tour operators do not make this clear to us, we believe January is the best month, we won't be going to the Maldives in May/June/July/August/September.

Overall a brilliant holiday, great weather, great staff, great, what more can I say.

We booked Biyadoo last minute and planned to be diving most of our week.

We found this island to be as stunningly beautiful as the staff are warm and welcoming. The Indian Ocean is gorgeously warm and full of life and our dive trips were fabulous - sharks, turtles, Japanese Cargo shipwreck, napoleons, tuna, batfish, parrot fish, octopus and more! We really recommend the night dive - both on the house reef and on Villi Varu reef. At night you can lay on the beach and look at the stars or go down to the jetty and watch the baby black tipped reef sharks and stingray. When we weren't diving, we were snorkelling and we saw almost as much as diving! Take a rash vest for snorkelling to prevent sunburn (so close to the equator, the sun is extremely strong).

You only need take cash for tipping at the end of your holiday (best to take US dollars) and the file on the reception table has a handy section on suggestions for tipping (you sign for all your other drinks). We tried to tip our waiter, Latheef, with GBP as we'd been told that Maldives accepts that but he kindly explained that he couldn't change it. We were rather embarrassed and keen to ask him what currency he preferred - he said USD or Euro but to wait until the end of the week. On our last night he laid our table with beautiful fresh flowers and leaves from the island - he, and everyone, were so thoughtful. The bar staff provided sunburn victims (not us - we are factor 50/wetsuit types!) with ice packed towells and were asking after anyone who had been feeling poorly due to sunstroke - really thoughtful and genuine.

The service in this resort is 5*+ our room was cleaned TWICE a day and always the evening service included a fabulous pattern out of the sheets. It takes 15 mins to walk around the island in the lovely fine white sand and between 40 mins to 1hour 15 mins to snorkel around it (stopping to look at all the fish!). We didn't have time to sunbathe because of all the diving and swimming but after sunset we would meet up with other guests in the bar and the staff would entertain us with bar tricks - ask Alan to take part in the Drinking Game (it's only water because the staff are Muslim) - he's a real giggle! They make great cocktails and the food is wonderful. We ate so well and had no room for the amazing looking puddings!

We loved Biyadoo and we could afford it because it hasn't been refurbished into a crazy new 5star resort which would be out of our league (Villi Varu is currently closed for that same reason). If you want a the typical 'Brits abroad - sunburned lobster red, getting drunk and leery, looking for a different egg and chips cafe everynight and wanting to go clubbing til dawn' holiday then DON'T COME TO BIYADOO SO THAT IT STAYS SPECIAL FOR US!:)