Club Rannalhi Resort

5 readers found this review helpful

Totally shocked the first morning to wake up and discover it really is as beautiful as it looks in the pictures. Stayed in a beautiful water bungalow with own private deck and ladders directly down into the sea. Loved the glass bottom floor lit up at night - really special. Accommodation was great.
There are only 8 water bungalows (16 apartments) and whilst the other accommodation- the rooms seemed nice also - the water bungalows were something special and worth the extra expense.
My boyfriend completed the PADI certification here after a very good introductory deal where you got to try diving free of charge to see how comfortable you felt and then continue step by step. Instructors great, extremely friendly, very patient and experienced. Flexible meeting the time schedule we had. Aside from the diving, if that doesn't suit you as it didn't me - there is amazing snorkelling to be done. Finding Nemo in real life. Captivating.
The island itself is relatively small and you can snorkel all around in a few days but then have time to return to favourite spots in a week. To familiarise yourself with diving or snorkelling as it was a great starter for us - and there were other more experienced divers there so presumably it caters for all. The resort organizes all manner of dive and snorkel trips (if enough people sign up). Sailing classes were available that we did not take advantage of but did have reasonably priced massages. Day trips were also available to nearby islands.
The dining was okay - always some good food but perhaps not enough variety. Very heavily influenced by Italians - both the food and the staff and entertainment. We estimated over 75% of the clientele were Italians and all the evening entertainment was in Italian and morning aerobics classes. Didn't bother us in the slightest but perhaps if you enjoy the evening entertainment you would feel there wasn't enough catered for you if not an Italian speaker.
Staff were good and made some special effort when we needed to organise a special birthday evening treat - which consisted of a separate private table set up on the beach with a special menu. But otherwise there are some expensive hidden costs - laundry and drinks in the room for instance were extortionate. Try and avoid that if you can - at least the laundry although for drinks its a sellers market.
Aside from that though - and I think you expect some of that in the Maldives - the place was truly relaxing and breathtakingly scenic and beautiful. Will remember it as a special week and would recommend the resort itself taking into consideration the above, and the Maldives in general.