Meedhupparu Island Resort

Just returned from Meedhupparu where my wife and I spent two weeks for our 30th wedding anniversary. Had a wonderful time, it sure is a great place. The flight from Gatwick with Monarch was on time, the hostesses polite and I have had much smaller leg room with other tour operators. The seaplane journey from Male was a fantastic experience.
Our room was clean and spacious a large bathroom with inside and outside showers. A boy cleaned the room twice a day and the flora decorations were very impressive.
The food was excellent and varied. All the staff were very polite. The grounds are raked every day and any leaves that fell were swept up.
At the start of the second week I awoke one night with a terrific pain in my arm, my arm became swollen and it looked as if I had been bitten. A day later I decided to go to the doctor, unfortunately the doctor who is normally on the island was away. I was taken on a boat to an adjacent island to see another doctor accompanied by a member of the hotel staff who could not do enough to help. The surgery was clean, bright and the staff very friendly (NHS take note). I was diagnosed as having cellulitus caused by getting a scratch on the coral. I was given antibiotics and injections at a minimal cost. On the plus side I got a fee boat ride. I was bad for a day or so but it did not spoil my holiday and the staff kept checking to see if I was ok.
There is some sea defence work going on but we hardly noticed it and it is essential work.
If you want a quiet, relaxing chilled out holiday, this is the place to go.

Just come back from the island and I am missing it already. I don’t know how anybody can complain about the island it is absolute paradise.
People complain about the most pathetic things, you go on holiday to have a good time and meet new friends, not sit around moaning all day playing scrabble in the corner like certain people whom rate the hotel 3 out of ten.
The staff are absolutely amazing they do anything for you, especially the room boys who decorate your bed every night sometimes with petals which is so beautiful you don’t want to sleep in your bed!
The best thing for us was snorkelling, I would definitely advise to take snorkelling equipment as its unreal what you see, although you can rent it there for about $8 a day. Every time you get in the water you see different kind of fish and sea life.
They also feed the fish every night at 9.30, off the end of the pier; whilst we were there we saw a turtle, shark, and stingrays including bright tropical fish. If you do visit this island make sure you don’t miss this.
the only bad thing about our holiday was nothing to do with the island it was about our flight coming and going home, if you are flying with Monarch I would advise to change because you have no room at all, the plane was absolutely freezing and the televisions broke going over and broke coming back, so you sat there with no room and nothing to watch!
Overall I would give this island 9 out of ten and I would go back there anytime, take no notice of the bad reviews as the people who write them are just pathetic and take enjoyment out of it.

Just returned from the island having been there twice. They were building the water villas the last time we were there. I have to agree with the other guests about the water villas, about them and us. I wanted a French manicure and they took us over to the villas, whilst I was being done my husband went for a look round, he was approached almost straight away and told he could not go wandering round, his reply 'why bring us over here in the first place?'
The food is still not up to standard but you would not starve always something there for everyone. We were invited to the manager’s party for cocktails on both Saturday nights as we had been before. They went to a lot of trouble and put on lots of little nibbles, which was very kind of them.
Lastly I must mention the staff who work very very hard. Our room was cleaned twice a day, and was very clean. Never had any creepy crawlies, thank god! Also one waiter was superb his name was Habeeb he always had a laugh and a joke with us and gave a very good service. The last two days before we left they moved him down the other end, and in our opinion the service went to pot.
Having been to the Maldives four times now going to give it a miss for a few years, will go back some day because it is absolutely paradise and I am missing it already but will try a more up market one.

Firstly I had to wait 5 hours for my seaplane connection from Male. I was told this was the usual connection time, although no one else had to wait that long.
The Customer service is non existent, the 'Restaurant' is more like a barn for feeding the pigs, the Reception may as well not be there, as they can hardly speak English. The shops are a complete rip off, and you have to go and eat like you are in Prison, if you miss breakfast that's tough you have to starve until lunch time, the holiday makers here are the kind you would expect to find in Benidorm or Faliraki. All up for getting pissed on free 'booze' in the pool all day shouting obscenities across the decking to each other.
I came across a lot of couples on there honeymoon, DO NOT come here for your honeymoon, you will be very disappointed! Even as regular holiday for me I was very upset. As I have previously been to the Maldives, staying at Royal Island, I had great expectations of returning, knowing it was only a 4 star and Royal Island being a 5 star I did expect a slight difference but not whatI have experienced. I would personally call this hotel as a 2 star +.
Do not come here with high hopes of an upmarket exotic holiday, save and go to a five star, it is well worth it.

1 reader found this review helpful

After having been to many high-end hotels and resorts in the world, I did my research on Meedhupparu. After spending hours and hours comparing, reading reviews etc., we decided to go for it. There was my wife, another couple and myself.
Initially I was concerned about the very small number of poor reviews listed but thought about this logically - there will always be people who complain, regardless of where they are. Anyway, it paid off as the whole holiday was excellent. Everything was great and it ticked all of the boxes. I gave this a ten star rating because for the price and considering the island is in the middle of the ocean, miles from anywhere, it really is impressive.
THE FISH ARE SO AMAZING, THE WORD 'AMAZING' DOES NOT TOUCH IT. We swam with turtles, manta rays, sting rays and about, well, I don't know, hundreds and hundreds of other different species of fish. They are all just off the end of the jetty (not water sports end). We went in June and the water was like a bath, it was so warm.
There are boat trips (we went fishing. Didn't catch anything but who cares?! The atmosphere and scenery (sunset etc.) was outstanding), got involved in the volleyball tournaments, got involved in the nightlife (loads of fun capers. If you are not into that, the island is big enough to go to a quieter bar, and it wasn't wild anyway, just good fun, with a good mix of ages), obviously plenty of snorkelling and plenty of walking around the island looking at the wildlife. The bats are huge and the first creature we saw was a hummingbird, which was really, really magical. The hermit crabs are in abundance and if you look hard enough, you'll find them, which keeps you entertained for a good while - it entertained me, anyway.
Some people commented that the rooms were not four star. Well, it depends what you are comparing it to. They are clean and tidy and have air con. They look good and whilst they may not be of the water villa mega-high standard, remember you get what you pay for - and I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean that if you are used to super luxury of the high end four stars and the five stars, maybe this is not for you. But seriously, if you turn this place down because you are bothered about what the room looks like, well, that's just daft!. The beds were comfy and there is an inside and outdoor shower (I used the outdoor shower every time).
There were two people we came across who complained. One complained because she was bored. She must have been missing Coronation Street or something. And another complained because he was ill for most of the time. He was very overweight and seemed like a miserable bloke anyway. These are the type of people who probably write the poor reviews. Not worth listening to - we didn't. If you don't like being in the middle of nowhere and the thought of being on a small island without Coronation Street does not appeal, I'll give you some advice - don't book.
If you are booking Meedhupparu, get excited. Get very, very excited.

After reading all these comments we were wondering where on earth we were going.
But we had the most amazing time and can not see for any reason why all these people are complaining.
From the organising of how to get to the island right up to leaving, there was nothing we could give bad comment on.
We Started by the Seaplane which was an amazing thing to get the holiday going with. We arrived on the island to be welcomed by very friendly staff, who walked us through the island to the reception, (sounds like a trek, but it took less than 5 mins). We were allocated our rooms, and walked to them; our cases arrived within 10 mins of being in the room.
The room was very clean, tidy with every thing we needed. The only thing it didn't have was a plug by the mirror, (essential for us girlies). It got cleaned twice a day and the bed was made in brilliant shapes twice a day as well. The view from our room was of wildlife and through the untouched wildlife was a gorgeous beach, that when we visited it in the day we had the whole beach to ourselves, which was more than you could ask for, Blue Sea with wonderful coloured fish and coral, and really white sands.
We never made breakfast so I can't comment on the choice there, but Lunch and dinner gave a selection of meats, fish, curries and salads, with a variety of themed foods on different days, I.e. if you wanted it, on the Sunday a Sunday roast, still offering all the other selections as well.
The Service in the restaurant was fantastic with our designated waiter for the week, who was very prompt and always looked smart. if during the day you were still peckish there were snacks available to have on regular intervals.
The bar was open from 11.00 in the morning until 12.00 at night. Unlike most all inclusive the shorts were main brands not their own, i.e. Vodka was Smirnoff, etc.
The entertainment well it wasn't our cup of tea but they made an effort, and to be honest I don't think it was the type of holiday where you need a lot of entertaining you would only go to this place to relax.
We didn't see any representatives from the holiday companies which I though was concerning but they did up date you by fax'd letters through the door, and to be honest the staff were so helpful, there was no need to see holiday reps there.
I am aware that by luck we stayed on the better side of the island, where there were no sea walls being built. But upon walking round the island (which in total only took half an hour) even with the walls being built you didn't have to walk far to get away from that.
It was an idyllic island with amazing views and wildlife, very friendly staff, who couldn't do enough for you. I would recommend it to any one.

Don't go near this island.
It’s a 24/7 building site with concrete mixers going all night to produce concrete bags which are then dumped in the sea as a barrier to protect the island. I know it’s got to be done, but not while we are on holiday.
The standard of hygiene is appalling - glasses at the bars are washed in cold tap water by hand; the pool has no filter so body scum floats on the surface, cooked food is left out for hours etc etc.
Whilst we were there, lots of people got food poisoning, including 2 poor souls who had to be taken by boat to the hospital on a nearby island. Did anyone on the staff really care? No chance!!
Give it a miss.

We have just returned from a wonderful two weeks on the island. We were fortunate to have very good sunny weather although it is really the rainy season. Spent most of our day’s snorkelling on the reef, never seen so many beautiful varied species.
The room was excellent and our every need catered for by the efficiency of our room boy. The catering was superb with a very varied choice.
The only problem we encountered was the bar in the evening. Very limited comfortable seating and very loud!! Not condusive to relaxing with a cool drink following a hard day in the pool!!
Who on earth wants Karaoke on a beautiful tropical island? (Abundant tattoo's and Union Jack shorts!!!!)
All in all a great holiday but will not be returning until they sort out the bar situation!!

Have just returned from Meedhupparu. I agree with the more recent reviews - generally very positive. Paradise in fact, but remember that paradise can get boring after a few days - and maybe your friends are in the other place!
A great place to really chill out and do nothing - less suitable if you like to be more active -but I guess this applies to all the Maldives.
Have not been to other Maldives islands so cannot compare but like others I thought the staff amazingly friendly and helpful, beaches were good, still enjoyable on cloudy days.
Snorkelling was one highlight as was the seaplane journey.
We were on the south side of the island where the sand is being eroded - they were extending the wall towards our bungalow but there was no noise or anything involved with this. The sea planes were not a nuisance.
The pool was clean. No cockroaches. Bags arrived by 20:00 on arrival day. 3 hour delay on Monarch on return.
Excursions were cancelled due to weather on one day, wind another, and due to not enough interest on another which meant did not get breaks from the island.
Food was really good in the main. Did not get stomach upset, though I am prone to them. The 'us and them' of the water bungalows did not intrude, though I agree with the previous reviewer, I would not want to have been in them with the small patch of land available. Room was excellent and no beasties to contend with.

We have been back a week from the Meedhupparu Island. We had a really good time.
The hotel staff were really friendly. The food was good you could get a good variety of food from good old English favourites to Maldivian specialities, like curries and fish dishes they also did bbq nights which was nice.
The island was really nice and the beaches were gorgeous!! We loved the snorkelling and also loved the fact that there was no entertainment on a night apart from the crab racing on a Saturday which was really funny, so you don’t get pestered at all. We met some lovely friends there.
The drinks on the all inclusive were ok, like spirits, beer, soft drinks you did have to pay for cocktails though. We paid extra and had the lobster dinner one night which was very different to the food we got in the main restaurant, we had this in the grill bar, it was a 6 course meal and it was very nice.
We also did a few of the fishing trips, the best one was the night time fishing. The sea plane was one of the best bits of the holiday after the long flight we had to wait about 2 hours to get on it, but once we were on it made up for the long flight and wait, the sights out of the plane were amazing.
Our room was really good it was directly on the beach room 233 and about 3 foot from the sea, they are putting water breaks near to there but never bothered us at all, and they weren’t making any noise at all and were really funny to watch.
I would definitely recommend this holiday to anyone and would tell people not to take any notice of the bad reports posted on here before, I think some people really do just like to comment about anything.