Szabina K
Before my actual review, I felt there are a few things to emphasise (looking at some reviews from travelers who seem to be are not from this planet...), therefore kindly bare in mind the following facts when you go to the Maldives in general - regardless of the resort you are staying at:||In general, I found the Maldivians helpful, friendly and giving (simply because of the pureness of their hearts), but since being a holiday destination, the country is heavily relying on revenue from tourists, whilst local islands (without tourists) struggle to survive. ||It goes without saying that the number one priority on the Maldives in general is to preserve natural beauty and eco-system, plus there are some limitations too, hence those who do Not feel that "mother nature" is their thing, perhaps it is best if they choose another destination to keep the Maldives safe from them... :)||Before (!) you commence your journey at your local airport to the Maldives, do NOT forget to fill in a quick traveler declaration form on the IMUGA portal, as the Maldivian border security expects to see that before you arrive. When you get to the border control officer, he/she already should have your QR code from the system, if you did your part correctly. (You only need to show the QR code at check-ins before departure by the way.)||Do not forget to do the same before you leave your resort/travel back to your home country if you have not already done so, as the form has to be filled in for both directions, hence you will have two QR codes.||Bare in mind that the free WiFi at Male airport does not work with the internet, and whilst we are at the topic, it does not really work on long haul flights either - not even on business class, nor if you pay for it - due to signal-issues and various international restrictions when you fly above certain countries.||Moving onto my trip:||It is probably worth mentioning a few words about arrival to Male airport:||It is a very, very, very busy and small airport... Therefore, once you got out of your plane, which could be somewhere between 10 and 40 minutes - depending on bus shuttle availability -, you will have to go through a security screening with your hand luggage. (FYI - there could be three (!) security screening upon departure, so make sure you will arrive at Male airport at least 3 hours before your international flight's departure.)||Then you have the passport control... That could be anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour in general. So then you can collect your luggage from the conveying belts...||They do intend to put multiple flights' luggages onto the same conveying belt at the same time, so getting your luggage, might be another 30-40 minutes if not more...||All resorts you are booked in with, would send a representative to the airport.||In my case, the seaplane transfer to the resort was booked around 75 minutes after international arrival, however since I was still waiting for my luggage to show up, I had to miss that plane, so I asked permission from the airport security to let me find my representative and update them about the situation, so it would not all go amiss.||Luckily, I was able to get onto another seaplane an hour after getting out of Male airport.||So, my review starts with Amaya's representative: he was very helpful and quickly got me to the check in desk for TMA (Trans Maldivian Airways), where they took my luggage off of me, weighed my hand luggage as well and gave me my boarding pass.||Then there was a bus transfer to the seaplane terminals (separate from Male airport) where all seaplanes departure. It was all quick and prompt and once we got to the terminal I just had to wait for boarding at the gate. The luggages are transferred by TMA at the same time, and they loaded them onto the relevant planes.||The representative had to attend to other guests after showed me to the gate, but it all went really smooth.||We had multiple stops - I believe mine was the third one to arrive at Amaya Kuda Rah resort, so it took about an hour to reach the resort, but it was an amazing experience to look at the Maldives from above and take some nice air-pics. :-)||Little warning: these planes are extremely noisy, so get some earplugs, if you cannot bare it. There are the maximum of 15 small seats available with seat belts, and you are asked to change seat based on current loading at any given time.||Upon arrival at the resort, we got a very warm welcome from the staff with drum and tambourine. As I observed it, other resorts would give you similarly warm welcome too. :-)||Amaya Kuda Rah resort is located on a very tiny island as its name also refers to it as I found out: "Kuda Rah" - little island. It is a perfect getaway to find some real tranquility, peace and quiet in an exotic setting, walk with bare feet 24/7 on the island if you wish and just absorb this heavenly atmosphere.||The staff accommodation is located in the middle of the island conquered with the beach and water villas. ||The ocean water is around 30 Celsius degrees 24/7 and thanks to the stone-reef around the island, it creates a lovely and calm lagune, which provides a perfect opportunity to swim and snorkel without a great deal of currents and planktons to battle with at any given time. :-)||A little warning: you will get baby sharks there regularly, amongst other tropical fishes, but they are perfectly harmless. :-) Do Not touch them though.... The habitant ones mainly tiger and whale sharks in the south of the Maldives - so as I have been told. ||I most enjoyed swimming in the lagune at 6.30AM each morning around the island (when the sun is rising) and the water villa I was renting for the stay provided with the perfect privacy and comfort. It had its simplicity, yet it was stylish, comfortable and furbished to a great standard, very well worth its price. It also had a perfect layout and had absolutely everything you might have needed (even my favourite bidet and jacuzzi-featured bath tub). Its one and only shortfall was a very tiny plunge pool because it was small and shallow, however it would still uplift your experience when chilling out to relax.||The staff overall was very friendly, but there were shortfalls here and there that I think requires improvement.||SPECIAL THANK YOU to the housekeeping staff, which tirelessly came every morning and evening to clean and tidy up my room and looked after me really well.||Food standard was very good and the buffet offered plenty of choice for both, local and continental cuisines.||Good atmosphere was ensured by plenty of disco music (mainly from 80s and 90s) most of the day, and some evening karaoke was also taking place whilst guests were spoiled for choice for cocktails and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks - if you are a drinker.||The resort provides bicycles at various locations across the resort - although they could use a little maintenance/replacement - but it was a really great fun to cycle around the pathways, which takes around 3 minutes. :-)||Considering the small size of the island, the resort provides a decent size of swimming pool next to the bar, a small gym, a spa and a gift shop where you can even buy some household essentials.||They have a diving center too, where you can sign up for various water sport activities.||The resort staff also arrange daily programs, i.e. yoga, water aerobic, disco, etc. These are usually advertised on a black board at the bar entrance, however some activities, i.e. island hoping that you need to register for, not necessary very well visible, but you find the sign-up sheets behind reception.||Reception is pretty much available 24/7 with staff rotating.||You will see gardeners cleaning the island and tirelessly keep raking all day long.||There are some lovely birds and fruit bats too, keeping you amused.||If you do go to island hoping to the nearby Dhighura island then kindly lower your expectations, as there is no tourist resort there (locals only), but it has some really spectacular, lovely beaches and some local shops, albeit half of the island is uninhabitant.||Just as everywhere in the Maldives, outside of the resorts on locals' islands, the only acceptable payment method is cash, and local Maldivian bank cards - no international ones.||Should you require any cash, you can always arrange this at the reception at Amaya Kuda Rah, but you will be required to pay a non-refundable 5% fee for the withdrawal.||Island hoping requires a minimum of 4 people at this resort and they charge $50 per person. Usually the trip is done by a banana boat, which takes around 20-25 minutes, and you get to spend about an hour on the local island.||Naturally you can arrange private trips with motor boats too, but you need to discuss price separately on that.||I must admit, I did not try their Spa, but was looking at the prices, and they range between around $150-$500 depending on the length of the treatment, the number of individuals (couple or solo), etc.||Bare in mind that all prices you see displayed anywhere at any resorts on the Maldives, usually are excluding the GST (16%) and service charges (10%). Hence, if you i.e. look at a menu and it says the item is $50, then the final price will be $50x0.16x0.10 = $63.80 - Non negotiable! Think of the environment...||I hope you enjoy what this island has got to offer as much as I did for a well deserved, perfect holiday. :-)
