Sun Island Resort

Oh. My. God. This has to be the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. Saw one reviewer write that it moved them to tears when they arrived - sounds really lame but felt exactly the same way a few times..! We booked the Sun Island Resort for our first wedding anniversary after getting a superb deal with Thomsons. The flight wasn't so good (now I know why Monarch have such an iffy rep) but was worth it when flying over all of the atolls on the way in. We read all of these reviews before we went and wanted to leave something here just to say how awestruck we were and how amazing this place is. From the minute you arrive on the pontoon deck and are handed fresh coconut milk and a cold towel to refresh you after the long-ish but beautiful boat transfer, you know that you are somewhere special. No standing at reception to check in for us, no, you were led to a comfy seating area and filled all of the paperwork in comfort. A golf buggy took you to your room and your luggage was taken care of from the minute you got on the boat until it reappeared magically in your room. The rooms were lovely - not overly fussy as we had a Deluxe room - but the outdoor shower was AMAZING! Was unbelievable having showers in the moonlight with the birds and flowers under the palm trees. Wow. But the best thing was the view. We were on the quieter side of the island and could see the beach bungalows from our beach, and walking out our back door on our first morning just took our breath away. Any visitor to the Maldives knows that you can wax lyrical for hours about the scenery and the views, but all of the cliches are true. See the photos for proof! The buffet restaurant was surprisingly good. We had a table right in the corner, practically on the beach, so we were a bit away from the food area but had fantastic views - and could feed the noisy Maldivian chicken-type things outside! My husband is a French chef, so food is very important to him (!) but he wasn't disappointed - plenty of fresh salads, fish and fruits, and they tried to do something a little bit different each day. We ate out one night at the beach BBQ (fantastic but probably not worth the money) and another night at the Thai restaurant which was fantastic. Our waiter booked it for us and asked them to do something special (maybe because we had just tipped him $10 at the end of the first week!) so our table was right at the window with views out on to the moonlit sea and they had decorated the table with beautiful flowers. Stunning. We booked the romantic dinner for our anniversary date, which was heavenly. Basically, you have a candlelit dinner with your own private chef and waiter on the beach outside your room. Our night was a bit windy so the candles weren't so effective (!) but the food was amazing - lots of fresh fish and delicious deserts. It was probably the most romantic thing to do in the most beautiful place on earth - not cheap (around $200 for the 2 of us including wine) but absolutely worth it for a special occasion. We spent most days on the beach at the bar as it was nice to cool off in the pool and sip cocktails at the pool bar of an afternoon! Service is fantastic and you'll find a fresh drink being brought to you before you've even finished your last - not that I'm complaining! The weather in our second week wasn't so good (the perils of going at the end of May/start of June) so the sea was a bit choppy and the snorkelling limited but the pool was a great place to be to wait out the rain! You got to try a free introductory dive but wasn't for me - I understand that the diving prices are quite expensive but can't really comment. Had enough trouble learning to snorkle...! The staff were fantastic and were really interested in who you were and where you were from. Most of them had really interesting stories to tell and you felt that they were totally focussed on making sure you enjoyed your stay there. Daniel in the main bar was a hoot! It is a cashless island, but we left a dollar or two each evening to say thank you for service that the UK wishes it had, which was no hardship, and guaranteed us our usual table and an endless supply of scarily strong drinks! They did sometimes fight over customers as the hotel was only half-full, so we did get the impression sometimes that our waiter at the start of the evening wasn't overly impressed when we moved tables during the evening to speak to friends so was unlikely to get a tip. We did the dolphin trip (5AM START!!!) and were lucky enough to see the dolphins and we also visited the neighbouring island and did the Sunset fishing as these were included in our All-Inclusive option. It was fascinating to visit the Island next door and see a real Maldivian town. The reps were very informative and explained all of the history and the social/cultural aspects of the Maldivians to us. I think it is a shame to go to another country and not explore beyond the hotel walls so it was a brilliant afternoon. This is probably the best place to do your shopping too - just be prepared to haggle as it's customary. The sunset fishing was superb - bobbing around in the moonlight in the Indian Ocean, catching HUGE fish with a hook and line was quite an experience! Luckily we caught a lot or would have gone very hungry that evening in the BBQ restaurant! The spa was amazing and we loved that couples get their treatments in the same "room" (nothing is indoors really in the Maldives!) at the same time. OK, I think I'm running out of superlatives (!) so to summarise: Good: SCENERY!!! service food and drink the people the romance! evening entertainment (a twice-weekly disco in the Maldives!! Who woulda thunk it...) Bad: Not completely all-inclusive Sales pitch from staff each day (think they must all have been taken aside each morning and told to sell a particular trip or event that day - so whoever got you first did OK!) noisy Russian models in the restaurant (but perhaps to some that would be a good thing...) Am DESPERATE to get back and they need us all to go back to help them re-build after the terrible impact of the tsunami last Christmas. So please go, and please pack me in your suitcase....! (Hello to Liz and BK and Jayne and Lee who we met when we were there - reunion back at Sun Island next year..?!?!?)

We just came back from one of our best holidays in our lifes. ( We were there in August 2005). When we arrived on the island I was so caught off guard by its beauty that I literally started crying. The water was tourquoise and you could see to the ground - it was so clear. The sand was like powdered white sugar. And all of this was sourrounded by palm trees and flowers. The island is spotless clean. The very friendly staff cleans the island all the time and you don't see one piece of dirt anywhere. The food selction is huge but I missed the original foods from the maldives (they even had the "Wiener Schnitzel there...). Also the "all inclusive" was a disappointment because the coctails were not included and you couldn't eat or drink many of the offered stuff at the different bars. I would highly recommend the half boarded package beacause you can always eat at the other resataurants for the same price or less and at the time you want to eat. The upgrade to full boarded is 15 $ p.P per day if you still want the full package. What was also a little bit annoying were the prices: For a bottle of water (1,5 l) 3$. Bike rental per day: 3$ (recommended if your room is far from the restaurant and main beach/pool area), snorkling equipment: 10$ per day. If you decide to take the plane to get back to Male instead of the boat it is 100$ per person (if you book it immediately at the travel agency it is 50$ per person from and to the island!!!) and so on.... The Spa is absolutaly fantastic though! Try the Thai massage - it is one of the best! All in all it was wonderfull. And I would definitly go back. Patty and Ned.

best holiday we have had and we have been to lots of places eg kenya,sri lanka,jamaica,cuba to name a few and this by far the prettiest place we have seen it looks just like the brochure,white sand ,clear aqua sea,tropical fish,the hotel we could not find a fault with.great food,friendly staff.Hire a bike to get around the island,pay extra for a sea plane transfer to get there quicker,views of the atols fantastic and you wont be seasick like some of our fellow travellers on the way home on the plane who had had sea transfers.we will be going again "fantastic holiday"

We went to Sun Island in March 2005 with Tradewinds. Having just spent 4 nights in Singapore, the relaxation of the Maldives was fantastic. When we arrived at Male airport we were asked to hand over our return tickets to the locale rep. I found this very strange and refused. We were then taken by boot to the main land for a 1 night stay in the Mookai hotel. He were met on the main land by a young boy who led us down a back alley to our hotel. It was the middle of the night and in a strange country things certainly weren’t looking like paradise. After getting 5 hours sleep it was time to go to our island. In the light of day the Mookai didn’t look half as bad and before we knew it we were back at the Airport to get the sea plane. Again the locale rep asked for our return tickets I reluctantly gave in as I didn’t look like we were going to get there until I did (I spoke to trradewinds about this at the resort and they advised that this was standard procedure, it would have been nice to know this in advance). After a 45 minute journey in the seaplane we arrived at paradise. We stayed in a water bungalow which was very nice, the only problem is that there was no breeze on the side of the island where the water bungalows were which meant sitting out on the sun terrace was restricted to early mornings and late evenings. The best part of being in the water bungalow was that we ate in a separate restaurant. Although we found out that the food was no different the service was quicker and more personal. (The main restaurant is vast and reminded me of a bit of a holiday camp) The food was superb always plenty to choose from and every meal I seemed to be returning for seconds of something. The resort…. We found that the pool side of the island was more pleasant to sit at due to the cooling breeze, the pool and beach area often got really busy very early. A better bet is the beach bar. The sea is blue the sand is white and the drinks were cool. We hired bikes to get around (needed) which was quite fun, but be warned while we were there someone had too much to drink fell off riding back to there room and spent time in hospital. All in all the resort and holiday was fantastic. Would definitely go back

My wife and I stayed at the Sun Island Resort in Jan 05 just after the tsunami had hit the Maldives. Our hotel had not been effected by the waves, but the hotel had closed the Thai restaurant and cancelled all evening entertainment due to not making enough money, as the hotel was only 25% full. I will spilt this review into two section good and not so good bits.. Good: Beautiful scenery, blue seas and perfect white sands, hot during the day and night! Buffet food was of a good standard and a fair variety to choose from. Staff very friendly and helpful, just tip them a couple of $US a day and they will go out of there way to help and serve you. Clean rooms, twice daily with outside bathroom, tv, air con and mini bar. Pool and beaches were clean and it was easy to get sunbeds around the pool or beach, also each bungalow had 2 sunbeds, though you were miles away from the restaurant or bars to get a drink – in fact, you couldn’t get a drink, unless you raided the mini bar, but you also needed to raid a bank to pay for them, because they were not all inclusive. SPA – this was brand new and you could tell by the décor, it was truly excellent very tranquil a definite must! – cost $70 per massage for 1 hr. Not so good: Rooms clean but décor needs up grading, mini bar is not all inclusive and very expensive $4.40 US for a half bottle (250ml) of coke!! Bike Hire are rusty death traps, and at $140 a pop and we could of brought new ones for that cost! A la carte restaurants these are beautiful with lovely layout and top notch food, but at absorbent prices !! $40 for bottle of wine (cheapest) $25 per pasta dish, lobster ..er crawfish ! $80 each.. If you had a meal with starters and a main course with a bottle of house wine plus sparkling water total bill $200 which is a bit steep considering we had already paid £4000 GBP ($7200US) for 14 days Sunbeds, though there were plenty of them, they all seem to be broken or have square wheels and for a 5* star hotel I thought in general it needed re decorating as it look tired in many parts. TV in room $10 per day, I could bought one for $140 by then end of our holiday. Would I go back to the Maldives ? yes defiantly, but not to Sun Island because I thought it was very expensive for the non all inclusive extra’s and I feel the bubble might burst for the villa hotel group and I am sure they are better resorts in the maldives for the prices we paid.

Just back from 8 days at Sun Island. Used Trip Advisor when I made my choice so I figured I should return the favour. Despite what you might think after reading this, I liked Sun Island. it was a well run place and I`d say ideal for anyone unsure about whether a tropical island is the place for them. the resort sanitises the rougher edges of this type of holiday in a sensible way. Its large, (the main restaurant is huge), theres loads of space. It was quiet when I was there so the service was especially good, I`d like to see how they cope when the resort is at capacity. just a few points let it down and I leave you to decide if they are of importance to you an help you get the most out of your trip if you decide to opt for this resort. The strong points are very efficient, clean, well run. good layout of resort and beach villa`s are quite spacious. Great room service and facilities. staff are generally very friendly, communicative and welcoming. Villa Hotels seem to look after their staff really well. Plentiful reasonably good standard of food (buffet, main restaurant). pretty decent sports facilities - tennis , badminton, basketball, volleyball courts, gym, etc - are well up to standard, unlike some other Maldives resorts I`ve visited. the wildlife on the island above the water is as usual quite interesting. the resort could make a lot more of this if they organised bat watching, bird spotting, etc. this might sound boring but its not. The bats in particluar are massive and fly freely at very low level from late afternoon onwards - head for the plantation and see what the worlds largest flying mammals look like close up! the plantation in the middle of the island is quite interesting in its own right. the sting ray feeding at the jetty every night is a superb event and not mentioned in the guide books i read. impressive as there are a lot of them and they`re pretty large. Also worth a mention are the 1.5m reef sharks that cruise around the restaurant near the water bungalows in the early evening. the accomodation had its own lilo type thing which despite sounding naff was actually excellent quality and good fun. The less strong points are very manicured, even the paths are brick sett paved, a bit too developed? sports equipment is costly to hire. theres no area assigned for smokers in the main restaurant. the policy seems to be to rely on the sea breeze to prevent problems. it does`nt. the all inclusive options are confusing - its not always what it says on the tin - check if you`re anything less than platinum level as not everything is in fact included. i took the basic option which suited me perfectly as I`m not a big drinker but I did not want the hassle of worring about meal costs. All inclusive means you have to wear a plastic wristband all week and carry a card around for the first couple of days. Some might find this annoying but I can see the challenge of running a resort thats part all inc, part pay as you go. Annoyingly the best bars dont serve drinks to all inc guests unless they pay. the snorkelling off the beach is`nt great by Maldives standards. the windward side of the island has a better beach, rougher sea, but not good snorkelling. the leeward side has better shallows but some rocks. the best snorkelling seems to be around the Italian restuarant just outside the reef but you need to be a decent swimmer and happy in deeper water Rooms 150 - 200 on the windward side are about the best for access to the restaurant , the beach, etc but are abotu a 5 minute walk from the beach bar. the basic rooms are`nt great in terms of location. pay the extra for a beach bungalow if you can afford it. the water bungalows are a bit soul less and not exactly attractive within their setting. there appear to be boat transfer options from Male - its a 20 min seaplane ride (i recommend this and it came as part of my package so I did not realise there were other options - but see below) so if its rough consider that you`ll be on a small boat for quite a while. I`d ask how long it takes. the seaplanes seem to be scheduled flights so check how long you`ll have to wait at Male. The at 5am `see the dolphins` trip was the worst point of the holiday. It was very rough, there was no warning at all and no one had the chance to pull out. they just seemed to want our money. three people fell off their seats when a wave broke over the deck of the boat. A decent lawyer would have had a field day with the operators. unless you`re into sailing or have sea sickness tablets with you, think seriously about this before you book and ask about the conditions. the operator openly admitted to me afterwards that they dont cancel unless its raining even though they knew that conditions were rough (which makes the chances of spotting dolphin less (we did not see any)). Much more serious is that fact that there was insufficient advice to the boat passengers on this trip in terms of safety - no explanation of what to do if things went wrong, where lifejackets are stowed, etc, in fact there was virtually no communication at all during the trip. we just cruised around a rough patch of sea for an hour and then headed home. I sail, I`ve given safety briefings to newcomers on yachts, what happened on this trip was totally inadequate for the conditions we experienced (10 + foot waves in the channel between the islands - if you`re not used to this believe me it can be pretty unnerving). Snorkel kit is 10 dollars US a day to hire. if i remember correctly fins are extra. I bought a set for 25 quid in London and suffered the extra weight. The beach bar at the eastern tip of the island is underexploited by the management - it could be fantastic with a bit more atmosphere and imagination. Overall - if Marks and Spencer ran a Maldives resort this would probably be something approaching how I`d describe Sun Island, apart from the boat trip.

Visited Sun Island Resort via a deal break with Thomsons online mid June 2005. We had a great holiday. Could not fault the staff at the resort or the Thomsons staff at the airport. We got a real deal for our money, however, even if you don't get a 'deal', this island is worth every penny. No, all the restaurants and bars aren't included, but there was enough choice for us from what was included, and we just stuck to them. If money isn't an object, go to the Spa! We got the speed boat there, and it only took just over 2 hours as opposed to the quoted time in the brochure. Having travelled by seaplane before, I think its the preferred option, but the speed boat is bearable. Staff are very friendly and helpful, the island is 'cash free' so there's no pressure for tipping. We did tip at the end for our waiter and cleaner. They look after you well. Food - there was so much choice daily, we never got bored! There must be something for everyone........ you'd have to be very fussy to not find something you liked. At each serving there was always 3 types of fish, and as for home made bread, about 10 different types! The only thing you don't get is pork. Everywhere was very clean, this is one island where you can wear shoes, as there are paved roads. Lots of people hire bikes, but then you might miss something if you did. We didn't and didn't feel we struggled with our five minute walk to the restaurant. Don't let the fact I have said there is paved road put you off, the island is still very tropical, has lots of wildlife, and the beaches are beautiful and untouched. Its been developed in a very considerate way. On some evenings there is entertainment, it does vary and its not too exciting, but it was fine for us. Beaches vary all over with one side having much bigger strong waves, and the other side being by the reef very gentle. Snorkelling was great, the pool we visited once, lovely, but we preferred the beach. There are lots of rays around, harmless but a bit scary at first. at night you can go and feed them. Weather was great, we had a little rain, mostly late afternoon, but got a great tan. I think its a real shame that people have been put off the Maldives by the Tsunami. Its a long way, and a long flight, but well worth it. We had a wonderful time and would definitely return. I have been to 3 islands in the Maldives now, and was nervous about going to such a big one, having been to one with only 42 rooms before. However, now I believe I would pick the larger one over the smaller ones. Any questions, email me (if its shown)

We've just returned from our honeymoon on Sun Island and I find it difficult to add anything to what has already been written. Every word is absolutly true. Whwn you're on a sunbed over perfect white sand, in the shade of a palm tree with the bluest sea you have ever seen lapping on the beach and being treated like royalty you really have to pinch yourself to make sure its not a dream.

U N B E L I V A B L E ....WOW What can i say the Most Beautiful place in the world ...................... The Hotel is breath taking as are the views you literally walk round with your mouth open gawping at the views for the first few days. The staff can t do enough for you and make you feel like royalty (a big thanks to mohammed our room boy.) Tips don t miss feeding the sting rays on a night its great and they feed from your hand... Go ALL INCLUSIVE Visit the Thai restaurant its not on all inclusive however worth every penny... This truly is the best hotel i ve ever been too , i have booked again to go in November . And never normally go anywhere twice but will be hard to compare so here i am counting down the days..... Get booking today for the holiday of a life time!!!!!!! Laura Leeds

every thing about sun island was fantastic .We could not fault the food,staff,or service. if you are going to sun island take the seaplane transfer people that had the boat transfer arived 3hrs after us and after an 11hr flight from the uk thats no fun . room upgrade we upgraded to a water bungalow when we got there as they had a special deal instead of $140 a night extra it was $67 wich was about £40 a night well worth it. a fantastic island we dont usally go to the same place twice but we shall return paul & anne