We have just returned from a 15 night stay (11th December to 26th Dec 2022) at this marvellous hotel and had an absolutely fantastic time. We have stayed in several RIUs within the Caribbean (our last stay was in the RIU palace Negril, Jamaica) over the years so are familiar with the RIU brand.
This was our first time in the Maldives and we booked the holiday through Emirates Holidays and it took over 30 hours get here (flight to Dubai, flight from Dubai to Male, then another 30 min flight from Male to another island, then a small bus journey to the harbour and then onto a boat that took about 15 mins), but once we got here it was well worth it.
We selected the Palace on the proviso of the 2 additional restaurants (staying on the Palace island entailed access to 4 restaurants Japanese, Krystal, Steak house and Italian) and that it seemed to offer more tranquillity then the Atoll side (those on the Atoll side could not access the Palace side).
When we arrived in reception we were greeted with a refreshing towel, drink and an introduction to the resort. We were then escorted via buggy to our room (we stopped in one of junior suites with balcony) which we found was very commodious, had plenty of storage, mirrors and plug sockets (sockets are the same as England so there was no need to bring any adapters). The shower pressure was excellent and never lost the temperature (we had heard other guests mention that their shower temperature was constantly turning cold) and the air-con was spot on. As per the previous Caribbean RIUs we have stopped in an iron, ironing board, safe, kettle, umbrella and optics (rum, whiskey, vodka and gin) were provided as standard. The fridge was restocked daily with 3 large waters, 2 tonic waters, 2 diet cokes, 2 full fat cokes, 2 sprite and 4 Estrella Galicia beers. We weren’t in the room long enough to watch the TV but there were a few English speaking channels (Sky news and comedy channel) available. Our room attendant – Ken kept the room spotless. We just want to say another thanks to him for surprisingly arranging a bottle of Cava and providing the entertaining towel art for my wife’s 40th birthday (which she celebrated during our stay). We had decorated the room ourselves with balloons and bunting etc. on the day we arrived and then the following day after returning from the beach the fizz etc. had been supplied so that was a real nice touch – thanks again Ken.
During our stay we made friends with another couple who were staying in one of the water villas. They invited us in to view their room and found it very small compared to our suite, they also had two beds pushed together to make it the same size as our king-size bed. The outside decking area looked appealing however there was only a wooden panel that separated their area from the next door guest (so you could hear their music/talking which didn’t seem very private) and the access to the sea wasn’t utilised as there was stingrays and small sharks prevalent which they didn’t want to encounter. Furthermore the sun only hit their decking area for a short while so they ended up using the beach as per those guests who weren’t in the water villas.
We are beach lovers so our days were spent just catching the rays and chasing the sun on the beautiful white beach. The wi-fi is excellent so were able to listen to our favourite radio stations on our phones down there. The beach and sea are both perfect and remind us of the beaches and sea in the Bahamas. It’s nice to know there isn’t any beach hawkers so you can just chill without getting disturbed. There was no issue getting a sunbed on the beach (pool area seemed to fill up quick but that area was heavily in the shade) and the beach towels are provided on the table just to the side of the bar (no towel card needed) and are replenished thoroughly throughout the day. There is a hammock that is built into the shoreline with the ‘I love RIU Palace Maldives’ sign on it that makes a good Kodak moment (there are two swings with ‘RIU Maldives' sign built into the shoreline on the Atoll side as well as a palm leaf heart).
We are very itinerant travellers who have been all over the world and have never once fancied doing any snorkelling, so we thought we would give it bash during our stay. We purchased a few cheap snorkelling sets before we came away and my goodness we were pleased we did. The aquatic life we experienced was amazing. One of the other guests we got talking to recommended the snorkelling on the Atoll side; they said Villa 22 is the best area. So one morning we got up about 6am to do it, we didn’t see anything different to that on the Palace side apart from the massive deep drop in the shoreline.
We were pleased the 24 hour sports bar was on the Atoll side as it gave us the incentive to get up and jog over to start our daily session (its 5 o clock somewhere). It took us about 5 mins to jog the bridge distance between the two islands (on a night time it took us about 13 mins for a casual stroll). We saw several stingrays and little sharks during our jogs between the two islands. On our first morning we stuck our heads into the gym and found it quick small with the equipment tightly close together. We stuck to running a few lengths of the bridge. The sports bar has a decent coffee machine too; the drinks brands differ slightly from the Palace side (Bombay Sapphire is provided on the Palace side). The Beer is the same on both sides which is Carlsberg. There are two decent pool tables in the bar with a book shelf that has plenty of books and board games. On a night the fridges are stocked up with burgers and hotdogs and there is a microwave provided to heat them up.
We downloaded the RIU app before arrival and you will need this to make the restaurant reservations, you will also need a QR scanner app to download the menus for the restaurants. If you have any bother with restaurant reservations you just need to pop into reception and speak to one of the concierge team who will be happy to assist. It was a nice touch for the reception team to book us a table in Krystal for my wife’s 40th (which was on our 2nd day of our stay), we had dropped them an email a few weeks or so before we left just to see if they could arrange the restaurant reservation prior to arrival, they said they would look into it for us. They also arranged a cake for her in Krystal and sang happy birthday which was also a nice surprise – thanks again.
We only visited the Japanese restaurant once and the rest of the time we visited the steak, Krystal and Italians multiple times. The food at all the restaurants was absolutely suburb. We dined three times in the buffet during our stay and on each occasion there was a different theme with something for everyone’s palate. The breakfast buffet was also spot on and we liked the fact that you could help yourself to the fizz and make yourself several mimosas.
The sun started to set about 5ish so we would move to the bar for a few sunset drinks whilst listening to DJ Lakvinda’s chill out tracks. Bar snacks are available between 11 and 12 and 15.30 to 17.30, again you will need the QR scanner to download the menu where things like chicken nuggets, fish bites, chips and sandwiches can be ordered. Bingo is played at 15.30 every day at the bar and is a good laugh. We won the bingo twice and have 2 nice RIU caps as keepsakes. For the nights we dined on the Atoll side we would visit the sports bar and the disco/concert room. There was always a good turn on and the band were excellent.
We also spent Christmas here and experienced all the hard work and preparation that the staff/team put in to making the day perfect. The team members spent a few months before hand (on their days off) making all the Christmas Eve decorations by hand and they were all fantastic, even the little decorations placed on the Christmas eve gala tables were all hand made. The Christmas Eve Gala was wonderful. The team worked extra long shifts that day to get everything set up. There were 2 dinner sittings for the gala which were held in the Buffet area. The tables were wonderfully dressed and the food on offer was delicious (turkey and all the trimmings).
The main bar/pool bar on the Palace side is ran extremely efficiently where you never ever have to wait for a drink. Even whilst sunbathing the team members would come over so we didn’t have to move and could put our drinks orders in. There are more branded drinks on the Palace side too.
All the team/staff members we encountered (on both islands) work so hard, they are based here 11 months of the year and we can’t believe they work away from their loved ones and families for this length of time. Despite this they are always smiling and provide a top notch service. Both islands are excellently maintained from the grounds to the toilets. The disinfectant they use smells fab.
On our last day we were sent the travel times for our returning journey to Male.
We had an absolutely fabulous holiday at the RIU Palace Maldives which was made even more perfect by all the team members whose hard work is massively appreciated, you will forever be in our hearts. We therefore gives thanks to them all especially – Charmara (pool bar at the Palace), Rumesh, Arminda, Fernando, Sachin, Pasi, Win, Sande, Manchee, Poonan, Sanju, Imma, Samee, Torre, Nipuna, Chamara (clean team at the Palace), Ken (our room attendant), Luis, Marshall, Lenir, Nilan, Nanhour (clean team on Atoll side), Ahlam, Prashan (24 hour bar), Maleesha (Atoll side) and all the senior management we encountered were all friendly and welcoming.
