Tops
ARRIVAL - so so nice. When you step out of the seaplane (a must experience) you get warmly greeted. Check in is very smooth, you get your own personal water bottle (to reduce plastic), then a quick golf cart tour of the island. Even with departure it is great, once you arrive in Malé someone from Cinnamon is waiting for you to show the way.
WATER VILLA - wow! Our bed was beautifully decorated on day 3 because of our honeymoon and we also got a complimentary delicious shiraz and fruits. Very spacious villa, big comfy bed, good working ac, big bathroom with isolated toilet and shower. The bathroom feels partly outside because of the open screens which was really nice. And the deck with amazing views! There are 2 very comfy sunbeds, a nice hammock and a cozy couch. From the deck there are metal stairs to descend into the ocean. The metal stairs get really hot, but you can cool it with a water sprinkler next to it. The water depth is between knee level to hip level. Snorkling from the villa was much nicer than expected, we saw a turtle, sting ray, black tip reef shark, parrot fish, etc. Corals are mostly dead though. And the sea bottom is sharp because of coral shards.
RESORT - very very friendly and helpful staff, perfect wifi everywhere (!), there is complimentary snorkling trips 2x a day to a nearby reef (10 minutes)
FOOD/DRINKS - sooo delicious!! There is a lot of variation, so we were definitely not bored after 6 days. Sometimes the mocktails where a bit too sweet.
CLEANING - Room cleaning 2x a day, minibar gets refilled 1x a day. Beers and softdrinks in the minibar included in the all inclusive package. From the main bar a lot is included: cocktails, mocktails, soft drinks, beers, wines.
SPA - a must if you visit! Very expensive though. Very relaxing and good quality, they even let you choose a massage oil. I recommend the mandara massage (with 2 therapists)
ENTERTAINMENT - every day there is a fun different activity. Like crab racing, karaoke night, movie on the beach, etc.
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Tips
COMMUNICATION - before arrival was extremely slow and difficult. I had to e-mail 3 (!) times in a span of 2 weeks before getting an answer to a simple question after making a reservation. When I refused to pay the invoice without an answer suddenly I received an answer with an apology within hours.
DIVE SHOP - I was doubting if I wanted to dive, so I went by the dive shop. The diving shop staff (sadly he didn’t have a name tag, but he was a middle aged bald man) was so grumpy and rude (let the door fall behind him so it smacked me), that he made my choice very easy to not dive.
WATER VILLA - 2 out of 5 nights we couldn’t sleep well because of weather conditions (wind and rain), it probably could have been avoided with better sound isolation of the roof. The water villa have a tented roof that lets light in, but also sounds.. So if you’re a light sleeper you wake up at 06:00 because of the light. It would have been nice if there is a glass ceiling isolating the upper part of the room because of the sound, but maybe also with an option to make the glass dark so that you can choose what you prefer. Or just close it up, you can always open the huge curtains/deck doors if you like light/sounds. The last half of our stay we only had hot water for a couple of minutes when showering. When calling the reception a mechanic arrived within 5 minutes. However, the problem wasn’t solved.
BENEFITS - When you book the room through the Cinnamon website you get 2 complimentary benefits (you can choose from romantic beach 4 course dinner, couple massage 45 minutes, or from 2 excursions). It states so clearly on the website and a confirming email later on. However, once you arrive on the island it’s like it doesn’t exist. Even when checking in nobody mentions it, even though we had already emailed our preferences. So, you yourselves have to proactively arrange these benefits. It would have been nice if our preferences would have been mentioned when checking in and arranged. In general we felt as if what we had communicated before arrival wasn’t communicated at all to the reception staff. E.g. flight number for departure, other preferences.
BUFFET TIMES - We would have appreciated if breakfast was until 10:00 (instead of 09:30) and dinner would have started at 19:00 (instead of 19:30)
EXCURSIONS - very few and expensive. I really wanted to do a luxurious castaway experience, but the resort doesn’t offer any sandbank activies.
