Medhufushi Island Resort

We went to medhufushi on our honeymoon in August 2007. As many people do, we looked on this website for advice as to wehere to stay. We actually booked our honeymoon relatively late- only about 6 weeks before the trip and although incredibly excited we were also a little apprehensive. When trying to pick a hotel, we tried to weigh up what was the best deal for our money. With our budget we could have stayed in a "more exclusive or better known hotel" but we would have had to stay in a beach villa or hotel room. We personally felt that we wanted to stay in "the hut on stilts" and felt that Medhufushi gave us the best value for money as well as the necessary water villa! Flying from Scotland, we booked our holiday with trailfinders and emirates. Flew from glasgow to dubai (direct) with emirates and stayed at a lovely hotel, the one and only royal mirage. we then flew on with emirates to male but had to go via colombo unfortunately due to flight availability. We cant really fault emirates at all. Thought they were a fabulous airline, with good customer service. We say this even with the fact that we got delayed on the way back from male to dubai and missed our connecting flight to glasgow, requiring us to be redirected to heathrow and then flying onto glasgow. Although of course we were fed up with the long trip home, emirates customer service was good. the only word of warning i would give as a result of our protracted trip home would be to say there is nothing at male airport, seriously nothing! there is an airport hotel, but DO NOT eat there! I got food poisoning after eating a rubbish hamburger! Also at male airport be aware of young guys for no apparent reason trying to push your trolley and take your belongings from you. I am sure these guys are harmelss enough just looking for some sort of tip, but we found it quite disconcerting and it took quite a few responses of "we are ok" before they would leave us alone. Anyway back to medhufushi. Resort is fantastic. On arrival in male you are driven to the air taxi departure lounge and you then get your air taxi to the resort. plane ride lasts about 40 mins and during the flight you get a great view of all the atols. On arrival at the resort you are greeted by the manager and staff. Your bags are taken to your rooms and you are given a fresh cocktail and warm hand towel. The staff then introduce you to the resort/ facilities etc. we were staying on a half board basis, in the first water villa on the right hand side. Half board basis is definitely enough. breakfasts and dinners are both good, plenty of variety, fresh fruit etc. in saying that by the end of a week, the food can get a little tiresome, but overall food was good. for luch if were were hungry (not most days) there are plenty of lite snacks available at the bar or by the pool side. Drinks are expensive, but you do expect that from the maldives. However i have to say that our bill at the end was much less than we expected and to be fair the drinks could have been more expensive and we would have acepted that. bottle of wine (from quite a good list) costs about £20 and a beer about £4. the infinty pool is clean, modern and well designed. the bar is nice, lots of seating and free laptops when needed. Other guests varied from honeymooners, to older couples with only a couple of families. good mix of people! Without a doubt the water villa is the way to go. The bathrooms are lovely, with double shower and bath that looks out on to the sea. the rooms are a fair size, with minibar and lcd tv. nicely decorated with a modern contemporary style. The best part of the room is obviously the veranda looking out to sea. Sun loungers, table and chairs and a rocking chair are provided and there is still loads of room on deck. The steps into the sea are fantastic and were cleaned reqularly when we were there and not really slimy at all. I would say though that trying to get a water villa closer to the main island is better for two main reasons: 1. shorter distance to walk at night in pretty much complete darkness and 2. the currents are much worse towards the end of the villas preventing those guests from fully utilising their own steps into the sea. when we were there we were offered an upgrade to the honeymoon suite but elected not to take it. By all means the rooms are lovely but the big problem is they are isolated out in the sea only accessible by boat, an idea that did not really appeal to us. Although we thoroughly enjoyed the resort i do think it is a five star resort. A very good four star + but not five i'm afraid. small things like there is no real room service menu and some of the tv channels dont work, shouldnt happen in a 5 star resort. A must whilst there is to go to the spa and get a massage. I had never been to a spa, but my wife convinved us to get a joint treatment session and we elected for the "total indulgence" treatment. Even I could appreciate this and was definitely worth the money despite being wuite expensive. Overall medhufushi is a great resort, with loads more good points that i have not even mentioned. we had great weather (didint rain at all) despite being august. If going to the maldives, on a fairly good budget, but by no means extravagant, medhufushi is the place to go.

We have just returned from 9 nights on Medhufushi and it is definitely good value for money , but does not deserve a 5 star rating. The weather was 0k whilst we were there. Every day there was at least a couple of hours of sun although we did get thunder storms and a lot of clouds. We had a couple of problems ( we were abandoned at another island on arrival and left waiting on their jetty for nearly 1.5 hours before the dhoni from Medhufushi picked us up ) but the Manager Thomas handled our annoyance (?) superbly. We were offered a free upgrade to a Water Villa for our trouble but thought the beach Villa was far nicer so stayed put. The water Villa was smaller , no sun access for a large part of the day , inside bathroom and extremely dangerous steps into the ocean (covered in slime which I slipped on). To my mind they have not been designed to take advantage of their fabulous location over the water.The Beach villa had a delightful outside bathroom and a lovely large covered porch from where we could take our sunloungers onto the beach to catch the sun. The food was ok , but limited compared to the likes of Kanahura and after nine nights became less than exciting. There is an a la carte restaurant where we were given a $55 dollar per person allowance for each meal but as a non fish eater it was not very enticing at all.(Although the one meal we had there was jolly good) Drinks are reasonable compared to some other Maldive hotels (bottle of good NZ Sauvignon Blanc for $53 : kept me going for a couple of nights). A 330ml of Coca Cola was $5.50. We went on a short trip to Muli (15 minutes by dhow) and purchased 10 500ml bottles of Coke for $5.

We were in Medhufushi for 2 weeks in August. We are both divers and were booked here as our original accommodation was overbooked as we had booked last minute. So not really knowing what to expect, we were very pleasantly surprised. Island: -Food was out of this world as far as buffets were concerned, the Sri Lankan head chef knows how to make a curry (!), loads of variety from pasta to sushi and even the deserts were great, which normally isn't the case for tropical destinations (by this I mean cakes and tiramisu in shot glasses (mmmh)). -Accommodation: 5* Maldivian style. We were in a beach hut, 174, which was really close to the dive school but on the outward facing side which had the nicer, more secluded island feel to it. The outdoor shower was really cool and due to them spraying everyday, mosquitos weren't a real problem - 2 bites in 2 weeks! No mossi repelant. Water bungalows are ace but unless you have never done this before, no need to, these beach huts are top class. You can even borrow DVDs from reception if you want a quiet night in. - Ammenities: Infity pool very nice with hammocks between the palm trees. Spa is definately worth a visit or 2. Full body massage can be booked as a couple, nice touch, with views over the Indian Ocean! Happy hours at a very convenient 5:30 and 11pm (if you are still up), pool table and darts. Bit of evening entertainment but this is honeymooner country and rather sleepy. Diving: Dive school is a Werner Lau dive school and is very professionally run by a lovely German couple, Danni and her partner who was off testing the Liveaboard at the time. Hassan (instructor) and Ibi (Dive Master) also really nice. Diving was great. We have been to Kuredu previously where the overall vis was better, we mostly had 15-20 which is quite poor for the Maldives, but great by any other standard. This was due to the rainy season and plancton in the water. Some really nice inner atoll dives with the typical abundance of fish life, however it is for the outer atoll diving that you would come to the Meemu atoll (only one other resort shares this atoll so you are alone at your dive sites). 'Mantas & more' & 'Sharks Tongue' are 2 very close dive spots (20 minutes) and as the name says you are nearly guaranteed to see these wonderful creatures each and every dive, at a time when it isn't season for Mantas in the Maldives. Also had a whale shark, but we had decided that one day, can you believe it!!, to have a rest. Them's the breaks... Overall, it is the Maldives, so anywhere would be nice, Medhufushi is realistically a 4* resort that has it all, top quality accommodation, great food, very friendly staff and great diving. August probably not the best vis time to go, but if it is a bit of luxury that you want on your diving holiday, you will get it here. Will we be back? Probably not, as the world is too big, and the Maldives with 1100+ islands is too big as well. Maldives yes, but we think that the more northern atolls have better vis diving at this time of the year...That is just being super fussy now...

Just returned from a wonderful 9 nights on Medhufushi. Best things about this resort are: - the food! Massive variety in the buffets, incredible quality, most dishes changed every night we were there, special mention for the roasts, incredible salmon sushi, home made ice cream, freshly made salads - the friendly lad putting out towels at the pool, moving loungers, etc. - not many kids! (and those that were there were incredibly well-behaved) - complimentary laptops with internet access and a small library in the bar - volleyball with guests and the waiters / watersports guys every sunset - good standard (and great comedy) - very friendly staff - not having to carry cash (although it makes it very easy to spend money!) - beach villas - really beautiful, good air-conditioning, fun outdoor bathrooms, closer to the resort centre than the water villas - our wonderful cleaner who came twice a day, and sometimes decorated our bed with great flower displays. - the weather - apparently it rained one night (but we never heard it). Loads of sun, very warm, sometimes a bit cloudy, but usually clear for most of every day. Could be improved: - really expensive drinks - $5.50 for a small coke, $15.50 for a cocktail, $5.50 for a bottle of water (after 10% tip) - sometimes the service was a little bumbling. Eg, had to ask a few times for them to confirm our return transfers, some problems with their computer system which meant they couldn't give an itemised list of our expenses when we came to settle up (although not a problem, they had all the signed receipts). - Had a DVD library of some 30 DVDs, but all copies and really poor quality. How hard would it be to buy proper editions - especially for a 5 star resort ! - Reception for some satellite channels not great (but didn't bother us) Tips: - Go half board rather than full - 2 buffets a day is more than enough and a couple can eat sandwiches, pizza, etc for max $25 at lunch if you want it - Stick with Iru on the snorkelling trips - he will dive down and show you some amazing underwater wildlife - Even if you don't drink much you can get a bottle of wine in the restaurant and they'll keep it for the next evening ($35 for house white - very drinkable) - Avoid Sri Lankan airlines if you can - truly terrible seats, poor entertainment system, rude staff. Other guests said Emirates and Qatar much better - If you book with Destinology, check everything they do. Everyone we spoke to who booked with them had a tale of woe! They had us arrive at Male in the evening, said we would get a seaplane transfer - but when we arrived at Male there was no-one to meet us. Apparently they never operate seaplanes in the dark. Hence no-one to meet us at airport. Some expensive mobile calls later and a plea to a friendly looking official and we got put up in a hotel for the night and then transferred to Medhufushi the next morning. We're taking this up with Destinology now we've returned. - Do the full body massage for 2 in the spa. $100 each (inc tip) for 90 mins - absolutely amazing. Oh, and you're meant to keep your underwear on (Tom, take note - they were quite clear about this - got the distinct impression someone had misunderstood this instruction quite recently !!!) We'll definitely be back to the Maldives. It beats Hawaii just, but beats the Caribbean hands down (been to Barbados, Tobago in the past). Will probably try another resort just because there are so many to try (and will probably go all-inclusive so we can forget about money for a couple of weeks), but we had a truly wonderful time in Medhufushi we'll always remember. Highly recommended.

We had not visited the Maldives before and were not sure whether two weeks on a small island would be for us. We were pleasantly surprised. The resort was amazing and we would definately recommend it. Travelling We flew with Qatar airways via Doha, the flight was very good, though coming home seemed to take forever as we had a few hours stop over on an overnight flight. Duty free at Doha is very good though! The seaplane transfer company set the time for your pick up, even though our flight home was not until 8pm, they picked us up at the resort at 2pm. We took a trip to Male to kill a few hours but had booked these flights because we thought we would get an extra day in the resort, we may as well have taken a direct flight that left in the morning. The seaplane was a fantastic experience, the islands splattered across the ocean is a truly amazing sight. The Resort - rooms We had read some mixed reviews about this resort so our expectations were quite low. We arrived at the seaplane jetty and were met by Maggie, the front office manager and handed a fruit cocktail and cold towel, our cases where taken to our room and Maggie gave us some information and the keys to our room. We had booked a beach villa and were in room 199, this was quite a way down the beach on the same side of the Island as the restaurant. The room was nice , had a huge four poster bed, flat screen TV and DVD player. The bathroom was outside with two sinks and a shower with a thatched roof which looked great. Outside there was a wooden deck with a hammock seat and two sunbeds, this was shaded with lots of trees and plants. You could see the ocean through a small archway in the trees and when you walked through you were standing on a deserted beach, which was truly amazing. The sea was calm when the wind wasn't strong and we often saw baby sharks and stingrays come by. I read some reviews about no sumbeds on the beach and this is true - we pulled our sunbeds from the wooden deck on to the beach which is about 10 metres. We only did this once and everyday from then on the ground staff took our beds down to the beach at 8am in the morning and bought them back again in the evening, which was really nice. We had two days of rain as we where there in the rainy season, we decided to upgrade to a water villa for the last three days which was fantastic. The upgrade is quite expensive but is worth it for the experience, we snorkelled off of the deck, saw turtles, stingrays and baby sharks as well as other fish. The room itself was great with a very modern bathroom and huge glass shower. The bed was a little creaky but comfortable. Overall the accommodation was great and I am glad we experienced both beach and water villas. Facilities There really wasn't anything you couldn't do at this resort. On our first day Maggie took us on a tour of the Island and we met the watersports guy, the dive staff and the spa staff and they explained what was on offer and the prices and times available etc. The resort doesn't have a reef so they have boat trips at 10am and 2pm everyday. Iru took us out twice, I wasn't overkeen on snorkelling when it was windy and the sea was rough but Iru looked after us. (He loves a chat and a gossip magazine). The staff were all really nice, always said hello and there was no pressure to do anything. The pool area is in front of the restaurant, it is an infinity pool which looks geat when you are looking at it from the restaurant. The pool boy is there all day everyday and is very attentive and looks after you with towels and drinks etc. We also went out with Annie on the dolphin trip which was great - we saw quite a few dolphins that swam with the boat. We used the gym a few times, which was well equipped, the DVD library had alot of great stuff which was good for the rainy days. There is also a library area at the back of the main bar and you can use the internet there too. The beach is amazing, you can walk all the way around the Island in low tide but the far end is clearly marked as a staff area and the deliveries come in on boats at that end so it is obviously more of a working area. We had a massage in the double treatment room in the spa, which is on the other side of the Island to the bar, it has windows along the back wall and you can see the breakers in the distance - we saw the biggest stingray swim past when we where having our massage - it was incredible. Food and Drink The food was unbelievable! We upgraded to full board with our tour operator before we left but I think half-board is probably more food that you can eat each day. The meals where all buffet style, you could have an al la carte dinner for a supplement in the restaurant which is over with the main bar. The buffet was so good we only had dinner in the other restaurant once. Breakfast was everything you could eat for breakfast, cereals, fruit, fresh muffins, a waffle station, omlettes and bacon and sausages. The lunch and dinner buffet selection was vast, salads, different fish, curries, sushi, roasted meat, lasagne, kebabs and beef wellington where just some of the dishes on offer and everynight a superb dessert selection with two varieties of homemade icecream. The chef was in the restaurant at every mealtime talking to the guests telling them about the dishes and asking them what they thought. It was very good indeed. Because the resort was empty when we where there as it was low season they served lunch in the al la carte restaurant with a set menu, this happened most days so we were very fortunate that we had table service for lunch and buffet for dinner - not that the buffet would be boring twice a day, far from it but you will now understand why we visited the gym, many of the guests did. The lunch was very professional, the presentation of the food was remarkable, the chefs were clearly very talented. There were some comments on here about the staff eating in the restaurant, they do, the staff table is tucked around the side. This wasn't a problem for us, the dress code was whatever you wanted it to be, it didn't make a difference that the staff where there, we always chatted with them as we walked around choosing our food. The drinks were expensive, a diet coke was about $6 as was a lager (half) a fairly reasonable bottle of wine was between $30 and $50. Cocktails were around $12 each. We spent about £700 on drinks and we didn't go to the bar after dinner every night and there were some nights that we only had soft drinks. The bar is lovely, you can see stingrays and baby sharks playing around in the water, it is very nicely done and has a pool table, they have happy hour early in the morning and later in the evening. Overall The staff are very friendly, everyone smiles and says hello. The service was great, our waiter Ali was lovely and looked after us very well. Our room staff were also very good. The manager of the hotel is always around and checks the guests are ok and was always very pleasant. The resort is spotlessly clean and staff are constantly cleaning and sweeping areas, they were sweeping the seaweed from the beach as it landed. I have seen from some reviews that there has been some debate from other guests as to whether the resort is 5*. I think it is, in an understated, unpretentious way it is very special. Everything we experienced here was very good and as it was quiet we had the place almost all to ourselves. I think if I went back to the Maldives I wouldn't go for two weeks, we were a little restless at the end but then we don't usually relax this much on holiday in the one place! If you want a quiet, relaxing and personal holiday this is the place for you - it is truly beautiful. The other guests were all very nice and we met other couples from England as well as guests from elsewhere is Europe, it was a great mix of people and ages - there was one family there and that was it for kids, who were very well behaved. It is an ideal resort for families and couple and expecially for honeymooners or special occaissions or anyone who wants to experience the true magic of the Maldives.

We spent 10 nights at Medhufushi at the beginning of May. There had been mixed reviews on trip advisor before we went, which initially made me want to cancel the holiday after booking it. I was worried that the resort would not be finished and still in a bit of a mess. We eventually decided to go for it and stick with our original choice of Medhufushi. I am so glad that we did. It was fantastic!! Everything is all completed and of a high standard. We flew with Sri Lankan air direct to Male and the flight was fine. It is well worth joining Skywards to be able to pre book the seats on the flight. The seaplane was a good experience and took around half an hour from Male. The transfer was completed with great ease and ran very smoothly. We arrived at Medhufushi and were greeted by the new resort manager and a complimentary drink. The new manager is from Switzerland and was very customer focused. We had booked a deluxe beach villa, which was detached. Some of the villas were joined to each other and these seemed to be more suited for families. We stayed in number 185, which was on the non-windy side of the island. You can walk from one side of the island to the other in less than a minute. Our villa was perfect in every way. It felt secluded, as there were bushes growing either side and hiding you as much as possible from the neighbours. The island was only half full which was good. There were bushes and palm trees in front of the villa also. Some people said that they would have preferred that there were no bushes so that you can look out to sea whilst sitting on the decking, however it would not have been nice sitting in the sea and looking back at the island and peoples villas. The bushes made everything seem more private and secluded. There was a large decking area with a wooden hammock, sun loungers, table and chairs. The villa was brand new with quality furnishings. There was one English style plug socket in the room so no need for adapter. A brand new air conditioning unit that was very quiet. There was plenty of space, flat screen TV, DVD player (can rent DVD’s or just take your own), coffee and tea making, robes, safe etc etc. The outside bathroom was really nice with his and hers sinks, garden area and stand alone shower. There is also a separate door to the outside bathroom so you can come staright out of the sea and directly under the shower! No bath - but its really not needed. There were a few ants in the bathroom but only what you’d expect considering where you are and the fact the bathroom is outside. They didn’t bite or bother us at all. There were no insects or ants at all in the bedroom. There were no mosquitoes either which we found incredible. I had heard reports of other islands having large amounts of mosquitoes but I didn’t see any at all. I usually get bitten to bits but I didn’t get one single bite. I don’t know whether this was because it was fairly windy or the time of year. Every night a machine went round the island spraying something that killed insects. This may have got rid of all the mosquitoes. I heard that the other island owned by AAA – Filitheyo, has lots of mosquitoes. After a couple of nights we realised that we didn’t need to use the mosquito at all. We also stayed for a couple of nights in one of the water villas. We paid to upgrade whilst we were out there and the price depends on what time of year you go. We paid $100 a night to upgrade. It was a nice change and the villas really are very nice. Very differently styled when compared to the land villas. If I had to choose to stay in either one for the entire holiday I would pick the land villas because they are bigger and more comfortable. I have posted pictures of both. It was nice going down your own steps into the sea. The villas are situated on 2 boardwalks. One set of villas is the sunset side and the other is the sunrise. We also swam out to the honeymoon villas that are a little way from the island. They are both being used now and the little dhoni boat is in operation. They are beautiful. We looked inside. They are very big with a massive 4 poster bed, large decking area and amazing out door bathroom with a large Jacuzzi style corner bath that looks directly out to sea. They are very secluded and private. I had read very good reports about the food before we arrived but did not expect it to be as good as it actually is. The buffet restaurant was very good. We were on a half board basis and the dinner would have cost $45 if paid for separately. Our waiter was called Abdullah. He was very professional, polite, friendly and had a good sense of humour. In fact all the staff were very polite and friendly. We ate lunch around the pool or in the bar. There wasn’t a fantastic choice but we tried everything and it was all very good. We didn’t encounter any problems at all and any little issues were sorted promptly. The over water bar is very relaxing and very well styled. Cocktails were $14 each. The long island iced tea is especially lethal!! On a daily basis you can see baby black tip reef sharks and stingrays swimming around this area. The spa was very good. The team are Balinese and the full body massage was very good value. The weather was great whilst we were there. I was a bit dubious because we were entering the rainy season. It only rained once for about 10 minutes whilst we were there. It was windy on one side of the island, which was very good and kept you cool around the pool area. Watch out for the crows around the pool. They really are funny and will steal things!! One of the main things that we will always remember about our Medhufushi experience was the diving. The dive centre is by Werner Lau and the team are fantastic. The diving really is top quality. You basically have the reef to yourself with an excellent choice of dive sites. The equipment is all brand new. The team are very professional, friendly and very encouraging. Big thanks to Ingrid, Laurent, Hassan and Yuki who made the diving extra special. I could go on and on and write good points about Medhusfushi. We are well travelled and are used to staying in top hotels and resorts. I always fully research our destinations and pick hotels carefully. Medhusfushi did not disappoint. I would have been disappointed if noisy children had been around but there was only one French child aged around 5 who stayed in the villa next door. He was very well behaved and was the son of the photographer who was taking pictures for the new Medhufushi website that will soon be up and running. I think the petty things that people have moaned about are ridiculous. You get what you pay for when you buy anything. People that have complained about pillows, crows etc etc should really spend a bit more on their holiday and go and stay at the one of the ‘one and only’ resorts. Medufushi is good value for money and can be classed as barefoot luxury.

We stayed from May 7 to 16 in a beach villa (106, very well located on the sunset side of the island) and overall experience was great : - room : entirely renovated with design / modern touch ; outside shower is great ; DVD player useful to listen to music ; very nice terrace with different sitting areas - restaurant : very good and diverse food ; try the special lobster dinner on the beach, a unique experience ... Half borad is sufficient ; snack at the pool for lunch is good - service / organization : international team at 5 star hotel level - spa : very nice location - full body massage is a must - pool : great place to spend some time at - don't miss the sunset with a cocktail - acitivites : snorkling on the reef is great - the hotel proposes snorkling trips to different locations every day If really looking for negative aspects : no bath in the room, indian curry is very hot (!!!)

We (my husband and I) returned from Medhufushi a few days ago after spending a wonderful 16 nights there. Our intention for the holiday was to relax and de-stress and we were able to do this at Medhufushi within days of arriving. Everything - with the exception of the European dive staff - was wonderful. The problem with the dive staff was that we didn't want to do any diving and so they felt no obligation to acknowledge our existence. Other than that though, the Maldivian and Sri Lankan staff were excellent, the food was consistently superb, the weather was fantastic. We have done a lot of travelling all over the world and have very high standards in terms of hotels etc - we really couldn't fault this resort. We had a beach villa (number 213) which was cleaned twice every day by the house boy - Rafee. The villa was immaculate and we never had a problem with insects. We were a few steps away from the beach on the lagoon side of the island. This side was more susceptible to stronger winds - which were so refreshing at night time we often slept with the doors open and the air conditioning switched off - but as we were also only a few steps from the other side of the island, where the water was always tranquil, we spent quite a bit of time there snorkelling. The water is very shallow around the island and there is obvious signs of coral regeneration following the devastation of the coral bleaching a few years ago (a natural phenomena and not man-made). The marine life was pretty good. There were a lot of small coral heads; the smaller the coral, the smaller the fish and vice versa. The largest coral heads were no more that about half a metre across (still early days for the coral regrowth) and we spent most afternoons just drifting above the coral waiting to see what fish we could spot. On rare occasions we saw other guests in the distance but mostly we had this area all to ourselves. Our reservation was on a half board basis so we were able to have breakfast and dinner every day in the main restaurant, which is a buffet. For dinners, there was always pasta, various different curries, salads, sushi, soup, deserts etc. but each day was different (different salads, different pasta and so on) so we never got bored with the food. At our first meal in there, our waiter introduced himself (Chiras) and he was then our waiter for our entire holiday. He was very attentive and very professional and no matter how ever many other guests he may have had to look after, we never felt neglected. The bar and al a carte restaurant is manned by Sri Lankan staff (Chiras and the other waiters in the main restaurant are Maldivian but because they are Muslims, they cannot work in the bar area which is why Sri Lankans are employed). The service provided by the Sri Lankan staff was also exceptional. Because of the variety and quality of the food in the buffet, we only had a couple of dinners in the al a carte restaurant and the food in there was world-class. The resort works on a no-money system so the only money anyone would need to take would be for tipping the staff (although none of the staff expected to be tipped). Tipping is purely voluntary but we did tip Rafee and Chiras. Everything else is signed for, even in the souvenir shop, and added to the bill which is then settled the night before you leave. We didn't really need many toiletries either as there was very good quality shower gel, shampoo, soap and body lotion supplied in the villa. These were replenished by Rafee when necessary. We would definitely go back to Medhufushi and would strongly recommend other people to go there too.

We went to the island from the 5th May - 12 May 2007 and cannot fault anything. The staff were lovely, the food outstanding, our room beautiful and the beaches and water spectacular. The island is now complete and there is no further work to be done, the loungers and umbrellas are all over the island. It was windy when we were there but was a welcomed relief from the 31 degree and 75% humidity. We went half board but would suggest full board/all inclusive as the meals and drinks are pricey than what we expected (around 14 dollars for a Pimms and lemonade cocktail and 12 dollars for a club sandwhich). The dive centre was of a high calibre and the staff friendly and the equipment was of a high standard. We completed 4 dives and really enjoyed the experience and even had a dive boat to ourselves and an instructor which was a novelty. At no point did we see any cockroaches, mosquitos, flies or bees. There were a few ants but this is a tropical island! The one thing that was a bit of a pain were the crows but other than that could not complain. Our beach villa was large and the outdoor bathroom a real treat but they only have showers. The watervillas are superb and if you can afford the upgrade would recommend this. The beaches are clean and you are able to have your loungers put onto the beach or you can lie around the pool. The service we received from all the staff was outstanding and seemed to be genuinely happy to help. This is low season so the hotel was not full, but we seemed to be alone on the island which was exactly what we were looking for. There were no children or families of any sort when we were there which was bliss. The food again was excellant. Every day there was a different buffet and never had the same food twice (dinner). At no point was the food cold or awful. Overall we had a wonderful week and would highly recommend this hotel if you seek relaxation and to get away from civilisation.

Medhufushi, an AAA Resort. A 3½-star Resort, and far from Tranquil. (March 15th – 31st, 2007) Medhufushi is a disappointing resort, mostly because it isn’t sure what it seeks to be. The land rooms are of a barely three-star standard, but the new water bungalows are much better, at four and a half stars. They don’t have the insect infestations that seem common in the land rooms, but although brand new, have been built to a fairly poor standard. If Medhufushi doesn’t know what standard of room it is aiming at, it has even less idea of which market segment of customer it seeks to attract. Maldivian holidays are typically restful and tranquil — at least, they are supposed to be. But ours was marred by the constant noise created by badly behaved children (and their parents) which the resort management failed to address, even though numerous customers were complaining about the intrusion. Rooms. We had reserved a land room. We prefer them: they are generally larger than water bungalows, they give direct access to the beach and planted areas, and they give you a chance to interact with the geckos and birds which don’t visit the water bungalows. You also don’t have the hot, long boardwalk to negotiate every time you want to move between your room and the hotel facilities. The land room we were reallocated (89) was larger than a water bungalow, but its standard of furnishing was poor. The resort insists that all the rooms are new. This is true of the water bungalows, but the land rooms (those we was, at least) have only been refurbished, and not to a high standard. The resort claimed to have been open for just a month when we arrived (on March 15th) but that is not time enough for the room to have decayed so: we had discoloured and water-stained varnish on the basin surround, as well as deeply-ballpointed graffito. The furnishings looked to be three or four years old. Certainly the air-conditioning units were far from new. We had arrived late in the day, and though unhappy with the room, didn’t immediately seek to change it. A fabulous thunderstorm over night whetted our resolve. At three in the morning, around five hundred ants were crawling over everything in our bathroom. Of course, Maldivian bathrooms which are usually at least partly open-air, will always suffer from a few ants. But this was a swarm: clearly, a nest nearby had not been attended to. Maybe other customers hadn’t been bothered: three-star customers probably wouldn’t. We spoke to the General Manager, a Maldivian, and he acted promptly and effectively. We were readily offered a no-cost move to a water bungalow, which we eagerly accepted. The water bungalows are brand-new, but through March, only half of them were habitable. For the building work, there are clearly many problems with obtaining materials, and in the time we were there, pairs of bungalows shared a common hot water supply. This comes from solar panels and roof-mounted tanks, and it was clear that there were only tanks on every other bungalow. We were on the western arm of the water-bungalows; on the eastern arm (which was entirely closed) there were no water tanks at all — probably explaining its rooms’ being empty. Sharing tanks in the short term is an innovative way for the resort to open up half its water bungalows, but it must be a short-term work-around: our room (15) took hot water from next door (16)’s roof; but this meant that hot water took about three minutes to arrive at the shower. A minor inconvenience. Superficially, the water bungalows are fine: our was just a month old. Everything was in order and designer-smart, apart from a couple of splatted mosquitoes on the white walls. But the detail is poor. The room-height headboard that initially looks like teak appeared, on closer inspection, to be made of plywood, with dozens of tiny nails keeping the thing together. The tiling, particularly around the windows, is poorly finished. Either the shower cubicle or the tiles used to cover its floor were out of true. Worst is the fitting of the windows. These are full-width on the western side, and open concertina-fashion. But when closed, they met with the frames so badly that a great deal of air came in. With the bathroom windows at the back being similarly vented even when ‘closed’, in the evening the curtains would billow out constantly by half a metre or more. This rapid change of air was too much for the air-conditioning, which just couldn’t cope. We could never cool the room to less than 27C. Other Customers “Hell is other people” said Sartre. That would sum up Medhufushi. Medhufushi says it makes no provision for children: no discounts, no baby-sitting, no play areas, no special menus, no ‘family’ rooms. But that didn’t stop tiny children from disturbing the peace pretty-well constantly for eighteen hours in every day. The pool was strewn with plastic toys most of the time; children ran around the buffet and even the menued (English for ‘a la carte’) restaurant. Despite numerous complaints from many customers, the management did nothing to contain this. Late in our stay, I handed to the Reservations Manager — during the management-team daily briefing — a note that said: “As you should know by now, Kevin was ‘dancing’ on the pool table late last night. His parents defended him vigorously. Do you have no control?”. ‘Kevin’ was the over-indulged child of a Swiss-French couple, whose parenting skills were so poor that they had to spend the entire day chasing after him in an effort to control him, so everyone on the island knew the brat’s name. The pool table was in the bar next to the menued restaurant, and we had been forced to go there after finding it impossible to relax in a buffet restaurant that had become a hide-and-seek venue for infants and their parents. Bad parenting is not the preserve of the poor, nor is it a class thing. But the spread of different affluence levels and classes amongst the customers at Medhufushi was dramatic. Many were there on full-board, perhaps on much cheaper packages than we had obtained (we paid about GBP 5000 for fifteen nights, room and breakfast). There were fat, common Cocker-neys, committed to eating all they could and doing nothing much else (fine; they caused no disturbance). There was an extended French family, with one change of clothes (each) for their whole stay and the usual French aversion to soap. The parents of this famille du banlieue failed to control another of the screaming gamins which competed for everyone’s attention. A middle-class Italian couple with two (it seemed like two dozen) loutish children also spent most of the day by the pool or in the buffet running after them, or encouraging them to scream. We had deliberately gone to the Maldives out of term time, so as to avoid the noise that bad parenting produces. Kuoni had endorsed the island as being ‘safe’ for adults looking for peace. They let us down. Finding peace was next-to impossible at Medhufushi. Due to constant disturbance in the buffet restaurant, we could only use the menued restaurant for lunch and dinner, and even there we could still hear the distant chorus of screams and easily observe the running around in the buffet restaurant on-land. We stopped using the buffet on day three and the pool after day six. Had we been on a full-board package, we would have been obliged to use the buffet. Interestingly, there was no Room Service. Five star? Staff Some of the staff at Medhufushi were excellent. Our waiter in the buffet grunted his very limited English, and showed little inclination to do anything efficiently or better. Most of the other staff were significantly more adept. The team that run the menued restaurant and bar were mostly excellent, with good English and a willingness to please. Unfortunately, no member of staff wears a badge, so it made it impossible to identify anyone to management who deserved particular praise. Our room boy was exceptionally discreet and effective. None of the staff members — except the baggage porters, internationally a demanding breed — expected any tips, and there was no encouragement to pay any. But we singled out the excellent room boy and also the pool boy, whose attention to his customers’ needs — he managed towels and the poolside food service — was exemplary, and apparently telepathic. It would have been good to have been able to use his pool and services more often. In many Maldivian hotels, customers are assigned a table and a waiter on day one, and are expected to stick to both. To Medhufushi’s credit, they don’t allocate a table, but the same waiter will follow you around: this oddly makes for occasions when some waiters are very busy while others are just standing around. Make your request to ‘another’ waiter, and he just transmits it to ‘yours’. Hardly in the customer’s interests. Food Buffets in many countries are often the chef’s way of taking an evening off. Stuff dries out and looks sad; the only highlight is the salad bar. Not so at Medhufushi. The buffet was excellent, with a vast array of dishes and ingredients that managed to change night by night. Everything — cold and hot — was kept topped up and fresh, and every national taste was accommodated. So we had the amusing spectacle of Japanese customers (with beautifully behaved children) combining sausage with sushi and rice crispies for breakfast. Food in the Menued Restaurant was also very good, but with a limited menu, we were becoming fairly bored by day fifteen. The balsamic vinegar really was the proper treacly stuff; excellent. In the buffet, the dressings had been cheap and ordinary. There was plenty of high-quality, fresh ingredients available everywhere. The steak was just about acceptable. The wine selection was good, with plenty of stock at the right temperature. One bad bottle of red was immediately and without fuss accepted as being bad and replaced (none of that ignorant-waiter’s “Shall I bring back the wine list?” when you reject a bottle of vinegar). Wine was of a high standard and inexpensive: under USD40 for good, middling Italian and Spanish reds. Of course, there the usual disappointing Australian and French reds, too. Why don’t these nations stick to what they’re good at: White wine for the Australians; white flags for the French? We ate well in the menued restaurant for under USD100 a day. Diving This is what we went for, and this is where we found our peace. We chose Medhufushi because it was away from South Ari and offered quieter diving sites, which it certainly delivered. Maldivian diving is universally good. Maybe this wasn’t quite up to last year’s standard at Baros (an utterly exemplary resort); a bit more rubbly, but then the tsunami hit the south-east harder. The dive team — Ingrid, Laurent, Chris, Danni, ~ and ~ were very friendly and very helpful. All spoke English well; none was native English; the school nominally German (Werner Lau). Verdict. There are many better resorts. On three-star Meerufenfushi, superior rooms in 2001 were better than Medhufushi’s standard rooms in 2007. If Medhufushi is five-star, Baros is seven. Universal’s Baros is also cheaper. Medhufushi is confused. It doesn’t know what it seeks to provide, nor who its customers are. The persistent irritation of children pretty-well ruined our holiday, and in the end we were glad to leave. If you’re looking for a tranquil break in a well-managed resort, don’t go to Medhufushi.