Well I'm writing this review a day after returning to the UK and I am already looking at flights to return! We had such a lovely relaxing time. I have tried to write a more comprehensive review and cover off some of the info I was looking for when I booked.
ARRIVAL
At the airport we found the Adaaran desk quickly, they had all our information and asked us to wait by the cafeteria for 10 mins before coming to collect us and take us on board. A swift 40 minute journey and we were arriving into Rannalhi. The island looked great, the sandy head of the island looks incredible.
We were welcomed by flag bearing staff who led us to reception for check in. We were served a lovely watermelon drink while we completed forms and got a brief tour around the main part of the island and some welcome information.
As we had arrived at Rannalhi around 9.30am we had some time to kill before we had access to rooms. We were told that we could have our room at 2pm but they suggested we speak to reception at 1pm and see if the room was ready early.
After walking around the island, we swam, had a drink in the bar and had lunch before heading to reception just after 1pm, we were told we would have our room 30 mins later, despite waiting in reception the room was only allocated at 2pm. Basically, just go have some fun and enjoy the island and come back at 2pm to avoid any disappointment - it is tough though sometimes, we had been travelling for over a day and just needed a lay down!
Only things missing on arrival really was a bottle of water for the boat and cold towel on arrival at the resort. Sometimes it’s nice for a bit of a refresher and a small cost for what is a nice touch.
ROOMS
When we finally got our room (bang on 2pm) the baggage guys dropped in our cases. We were in room 130 on the opposite side of the island past the water villas. I preferred this side, it felt quieter and there was a little bit more space between the rooms and the beach/sea.
We had a ground floor apartment, one main room with a huge bed and adjoining bathroom, there was also a small veranda (not fenced off for any privacy so spending time on there felt a little strange). Whilst I didn’t see inside the second floor rooms, they did have a balcony which looked nice.
The rooms were fairly dated but had AC and a hairdryer, did not have an iron however we managed without though I believe you can obtain one from reception/housekeeping.
Massive shower, everything clean and tidy as you would expect. The bathroom did suffer from a slight drain odour from time to time but fine once water running through it.
Our housekeeping was taken care of by Basam, an absolute superstar! Really friendly and took care of everything even stocking us up with creamer for the coffee. He also decorated our bed before we left, some pretty impressive skills!
RESTAURANT
Guests are allocated a waiter and a table, these do not change throughout the week unless you request different (and if they can accommodate). Our waiter was Waail, he seemed pretty new but really grew throughout the week developing confidence and becoming more forthcoming. Always welcomed with a smile. Also a mention for Nishan, again really friendly and couldn’t do enough for you.
The food for each of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner was really good. A great selection and even if there wasn’t a dish you fancied, there would be a dish you could pull together from what was available. We didn’t struggle in the week anyway. Generally a selection of a minimum of 3 Indian style cuisines, a couple of fresh grilled meats, pasta, then of ten platters of meat/fish in sauces accompanied by salads, rice, potatoes etc.
BARS
There are two main bars on the island, the main bar which is the resort centre housing the entertainment and the smaller Nico’s Bar at the Water Villa side of the island. Both had a great selection of drinks on AI, juice, teas and coffees available (and snacks at snack time). Cocktails were alright, the juices aren’t fresh fruit juice and are from a concentrate so not quite as high end.
The bars are supposed to be no-smoking areas, we did find on most occasions that this was largely ignored and not enforced which, as non-smokers this was disappointing.
BEACH/RESORT
By and large the resort was well maintained, clean and tidy. The only real issue I had was that some guests would take glasses/plates with them from bars/lunch then leave them around. Not only is this a bit of an eyesore, I did come across broken glass on a couple of occasions which is disappointing because it really is a no-shoe type of island.
There were plenty of sunbeds available, we rarely used the pads for them as they were comfy enough as they were with just the beach towel.
We snorkelled every day, some days covering almost the entire island, so much to see. We saw a huge ray on our first day and sharks for the rest of the stay - truly amazing.
SPA
We had a complimentary head, neck and shoulder massage by Mia on our arrival which was excellent, gave us a taste of what was to come. We went on to have two couples massages during our stay, we opted for the Balinese massage, a really lovely experience. Sutini, Septi and Isna really did work wonders and Dinda looked after us when purchasing some items from the spa as gifts.
EXCURSIONS
There were plenty of trips on offer, although some of them have min/max participation so you might not always get to do what you want to. I had hoped to do the evening sunset fishing however there was little demand for this. We opted for the morning fishing (530am start!) and ended up catching a couple of Bluefin Jacks that were huge, they even cooked them for us in the restaurant in the evening. I’d imagine catching on that excursion is hit and miss, not all participants caught fish.
CONCLUSION
On the whole, we had a really nice time and would certainly go back. It could probably do with a refresh but for me is worthy of its 3* rating. I feel like the staff respect your privacy, if you address conversation with them then they will happily engage but otherwise they leave you to enjoy your holiday, It may also be limited English language contributing to this, certainly not rude as I had previously read.
