Nearly 28 years since our last long hall flight, a honeymoon in Kenya, we were at last celebrating our covid delayed 25th wedding anniversary. Our Etihad flight from Heathrow to Malé via Abu Dhabi had taken 16 hours so we were glad to quickly find the Summer Island desk and soon be ushered to the resort’s speedboat where we were handed a bottle of water and cool flannel.
There were very dark clouds on the horizon and the pilot was clearly racing over the rolling waves. We felt safe enough, we think, but a sea plane might be the safer option for anyone who doubts their sea legs.
The weather looked ominous to say the least, particularly when every forecast we had looked at for the preceding week had predicted rain and storms for the duration of our 10 day trip. With hindsight our advice is to completely ignore such forecasts as every day was baking and blue with just a few minutes of daytime rain throughout our trip.
A quick walk along the jetty and we were in the island’s sandy reception drinking a non alcoholic peach belinini. We had emailed ahead requesting that our Premium Beach Villa was on the sunset side and received a non-committal but optimistic reply, so were disappointed to be told none were available (except, it transpired, for the other couple on our flight who obviously had a stronger call than our 25th 😉).
As you have probably picked up from other reviews, the east/sunrise side of the island (jetty and reception) is the cooler, breezy side compared to west/sunset side (pool, bars and restaurants). The difference between the two sides was extraordinary during our stay with the sunrise side always breezy, sometimes windy and usually very choppy, whilst the sunset side was always calm and rippling. The heat literally hits you as you step between the trees separating each side. However, after 10 days I genuinely couldn’t say which side I prefer as both are beautiful and the problem was easily remedied by spending the morning sun on our sun loungers in the east then taking our beach towels to the west when the shade covered our side in the early afternoon. This way we got the best of both worlds, something we probably wouldn’t have done if we had been granted our room choice.
Premium Beach Villas are beautiful, air-conditioned and plenty big enough with a large comfortable bed, fridge, Nespresso machine and kettle. The large bathroom has a shower plus jacuzzi bath and is open to the sky meaning it is always fresh and comfortable. The private area outside, protected by just enough trees and bushes to avoid spoiling the view, is effectively on the beach and has table and chairs, a lounger and sunbeds that are yours alone. The villa was cleaned perfectly daily, in our case by a friendly, incredibly hardworking gent who visited twice each day, the second occasion to refresh beach towels, top up water etc and to tidy outside facilities.
As we are not big drinkers we opted for Half Board safe in the knowledge that we would drink as much as we fancied and still make a considerably saving on the All Inclusive option. The strategy was to enjoy the ample breakfasts and to snack at lunchtime, either from the expensive bar menu or from a variety of sweet or salty snacks that we brought with us. As it happens we only ate in the bar once, our departure day. The room’s fridge includes two large bottles of water, with extra provided on demand each evening and three bottles was generally enough for us each day. We packed three mini bottles of concentrated squash to make the water more interesting and only went to the pay bar a couple of times throughout. Our food and drink budget was 600 dollars and we lived well within this whilst never holding back, and tipping, I hope, at the level the wonderful staff deserve.
Along with water villa guests, premium beach guests are allocated to the Hiya Restaurant for each meal. Hiya and the neighbouring Avi cocktail bar overhang the stunning clear blue sea and we honestly haven’t eaten in a more genial setting. On day one we were met by Luftshaan, who remained our waiter for the whole holiday and was first class in learning our preferences so that he could pre-empt our needs.
On our first visit to Hiya Luftshaan introduced the restaurants head chef Mohit who understood one of us was vegetarian and asked about any needs before explaining what could and couldn’t be eaten, including gelatine for example. He made it clear he was always available to clarify if we had any queries throughout our stay. At Hiya, starters and desserts are buffet style but mains are a la carte, options including several meat and fish choices and one vegetarian option. Each meal was high quality and the only complaint is that vegetarian options are quite limited, invariably curry or pasta based, and could at least do with days being mixed a bit to avoid runs of one or the other. Strict vegetarians should beware rennet in cheese. Except water, drinks are chargeable outside of all inclusive. Breakfasts are excellent with a decent range of hot and cold options including an egg station.
After each evening meal at Hiya we ambled next door to Avi to continue the shark watch over cocktails. Outside of all inclusive you are looking at between 12 and 18 US dollars for a cocktail, not cheap by any standards, but you can expect decent versions of all the classics and more, packed full of premium spirit. There’s only occasional live music at Avi, most of the entertainment being focused on Nevi Bar, 5 mins walk down the beach. A special shout out goes to the two lads who run the Avi bar, very good at what they do and at making their guests feel at home on first name terms.
Activities at the resort such as dining and diving are incredibly expensive, sometimes eye watering so, and none included within the all inclusive. We didn’t use the Sp or free gym or buy anything at the gift shop. The resort do provide two complimentary daily snorkelling boat trips to local reefs where you can see turtles, rays and sharks but we did not make use of these. We kept ourselves to the rocks and corals forming the sea breaks on the east side where you will see thousands of beautiful fish. Snorkels and underwater cameras are a must, ideally fins too as these are mandatory on the resort trips.
For us one of the highlights of the holiday was spotting the large adult sharks and sting rays from the restaurant and bar terraces. We saw numerous black tips plus a nurse shark and several very large sting rays. These are all harmless to humans and skittish so you are unlikely to get the chance to get very close, although we were lucky enough to have a six foot-ish black tip pass close by on one occasion whilst snorkelling beach side of the sea break. You will see baby sharks a few feet off the shore. Other common wildlife includes large fruit bats, a couple of resident herons and numerous lizards and crabs. Didn’t see a mosquito!
It is fair to say that this is a special place where you are forced to relax, in the company of attentive and highly personable staff who take a pride in their island. We certainly hope we’ll have an opportunity to return.
