Pro's - We stayed for 2 weeks early November in one of the water bungalows, the bungalows are absolutely stunning, with stunning views which I will truly miss. Equipped with everything you could need & re-stocked daily, plenty of toiletries of good quality, no need to take your own.
The food was fantastic, plenty of choice from the expected curries to salads, pasta station along with a wide variety of alternatives, all served buffet style. Our waiters were very friendly welcoming and attentive, they kept the drinks flowing, we had the same waiters throughout out stay, big thanks to Muja, Ivrabhim & Hadmhoodm (apologies if the spelling is incorrect) Take time to say hello to Chef Chau, she is very friendly and funny always eager to please and make special meals if you request or have special dietary needs (thanks for the chicken & chips and cheese platters ;-) Chef Harris, also very lovely and friendly, will help with anything you need.
The beach/pool staff were great, friendly and efficient at making sure you have towels for the beds on the beach & by the pool, plenty of towels to change if you need to, no need to pack your own.
Cons - Check in seemed to take forever, most people have been on a very long journey to get there, the reception staff should be mindful to let the guest settle in as soon as possible rather than try and plug their excursions on arrival.
The wine is cheap out of a box, it's palatable but not what you would expect from a resort like this, very poor, you can upgrade to premium all inclusive however this only then entitles you to Hardy's wine out of a bottle, not worth the extra £900 price tag for 2 weeks in my opinion, or you can purchase a bottle or cheap Hardy's for $45-60, so if you like your wine think again.
There are 3 Bars but only 2 open, one of which is not all inclusive, The Hama Rhythmic bar which is situated in the middle of the water bungalows was closed for refurb (no sign of any work being done) This was a real shame if you're in the water bungalows as super convenient if you want to drink there or sit on your deck and watch the sea life.
The Marlin A La Carte restaurant was also closed to be refurbed (again no evidence of work going on, you could still use the restaurant for evening cocktails though (for an extra fee!!!) seems strange you can have cocktails but not dinner! It would have been nice to have been informed that not all the facilities were open as expected/advertised especially as you are paying a lot of money for this resort.
Water Sports were extremely over priced, hence not many people used them, apparently run by an out source company was the reason but this was the hotels choice to do that. Tip - Take your own Snorkels & Masks rather than rent.
I met Mihra twice, the first time I trotted off to join in Aqua Zumba at the stated time on the poster left in our room only to find no-one around, when I went to the Gym to ask he was very apologetic & said no-one had signed up for it, I had no idea you had to do so, no-one informed us that the activities planned out for you had to also be pre booked. I did get one session in before we left which was fun but cut short by rain which couldn't be helped.
The evening entertainment was very poor, either crooners or a DJ with a laptop there were 3 days in a row where the DJ did not turn up at all & guests were left to entertain themselves, when mentioned to reception we were told the DJ missed the boat on all 3 occasions?! funny when guests were still arriving and departing the island, the member of staff we spoke to at reception about this then ignored us for the rest of our stay (not very professional)
We went on an excursion to one of the local islands, the trip was 1/2 an hour late leaving, the tour guide initially seemed very informative however some of the facts turned out to be questionable, some of the guests in the party wanted to see the shark feeding which they had found out happened at dusk & asked the guide if we could watch it, the guide told us it had been banned in the Maldives and no longer happened, the guests asked one of the other crew members who confirmed it still happened and was due to start at 18:30, when questioned, the tour guide brushed over it and said we would need leave by 18:00 even though the trip was late, if he had honoured the 1/2 hour missed at the start the guests could have enjoyed the experience which was free. The guide also told us that while the island hosted tourists the island did not serve alcohol, due to locals living on the island as a mark of respect to their religion - 2 of the members in the party went to the local shop for refreshments and came out with 2 beers!! (this was the same male member of staff who ignored us when questioned about the entertainment)
Check out - We had been pre warned that check out can take up to an hour & pressure was put on guest to leave reviews before they could depart which we witnessed on a few occasions. So with an early morning departure so we settled our bill for any extra's the night before to ensure we didn't have to be at reception too early in the morning. We were told our sea plane departure was at 08:30 am & to be in reception at 08:15 which seemed perfect only to get a call at 7:40 to say our plane was leaving at 08:00 instead, so we rushed around finalising our packing which made it stressful and dashed down to reception only to find no seaplane, when we asked where it was we were told they were waiting for a call back! In stead of leaving us in our air conditioned rooms we were all now waiting around in the heat. The plane didn't actually land until the expected time & took off a good 20 minutes later than the original departure time, it was so full having stopped at another resort first they could barely get us all on with our luggage, not a pleasant experience.
Having spoken to the management, they admitted the resort had issues & that the it is not up to 5* quality, therefore it should not be sold as such with such a hefty price tag!
