Kuredu Island Resort

86 readers found this review helpful

I and my wife are just back from our honeymoon in Kuredu and I have been reading these reviews since I booked and feel we should give our view now.
We stayed in the O’ villas for 2 weeks on the all inclusive option. (All inclusive is needed as a spirit and mixer will cost $12.50)
Our flight out with Monarch was a lot of hazel, we wanted to upgrade to premier as it was our honeymoon and where unable to do this before hand with direct holidays (Not good at all, will not book with again). When we arrived at Gatwick airport I was sent to a lot of desks which had big cues at them to try and get upgraded with no luck and was then told by a staff member to ask the crew when I board, as they had four seats available on board. I did this and got upgraded at a cost of 155 pound per person one way; feel they could have done it a little cheaper since it was last minute. The upgrade is worth doing as it was along flight and you get a free bar and all the other extras. Great fun.
The transfer at Male to the seaplane was well organised. We where told to take whatever luggage we need now and the rest will arrive at our hotel by 19:00 by boat on the same day, which it did.
We where then taken to another waiting room to await our seaplane transfer. This room is very nice and cool with plenty to drink which is all free. A member of staff took me around and showed me the sea planes and told me a little history of the island – Very nice people and was not looking a tip. The seaplane ride is great and gives you the best view of the Maldives and a nice way to start you holiday.
When we arrived at Kuredu, the blue clear water and white beaches and a lovely cold drink a waits and a very nice welcome. The Sangu and O resorts have their own receptions and we were transferred to the O resort as requested before hand by the taxi service, The road is mad with trees growing everywhere. When we arrived at the reception we were given another drink and advised of various things.
We where then escorted to our room, which was suburb with great views (Ask for villa near 320, as the lower down the beach you go the more trees there are and wave breakers, which block your sea view) and shown how things work. The O Villas in my view are a lot nicer inside then the other villas, although the sand is not as good but still very nice. The water on this side of the beach has a very strong current, so be careful but overall the resort and pool all makes up for this, plus no children under 12 are aloud and it has the best view of the sun set.
We ate mainly at the O restaurant. Our waiter was good, very nice and did what we asked although other waiters did go overboard for their guests. The chief is very nice as is all the staff on the island. The food we felt got a little similar and boring after two weeks but still tasted very good. You can eat breakfast and lunch at any of the restaurants without booking but for evening meal you can book that morning, Franco's to eat in is ok, service was very slow and you can order room services which tastes very nice. Pizzas are very good, although slow to arrive but hot. I rathered the beach are the Far east restaurants as it is alot like you would get in a great restaurant back home (around $60 for two courses and drinks for two).
Diving/ snorkeling gear costs $8 a day with deals done for longer. Pro divers are excellent and know the water and area well so go speak to them early in your holiday; the turtle trip is great as was the local island visit and you must do the night fishing and the sunset cruise (All great). On the island visit you get to meet the locals and their way of live (i.e. Schools, Hospital etc).
In summary the island is paradise with great staff and great food and as much to do as you want. (May cost you, but your on holiday). With regards tipping our advice is tip a little at the start, middle and end. They do work for it, especially the room boy who is great and very friendly and cleans your room twice a day. (The staff dont go looking for tips but may expect a little tip. About $30 for two weeks for the room boy and $20 for waiter)
Building work is taking place at the top end of the island by o resort bungalows and in the middle by the spa but here it is hardly noticeable. We were very sad to leave and would recommend Kuredu to anyone.
Tips to help you on your holiday.
1. Bring plenty of high factor sun cream (Very hot and expensive to buy).
2. The mini bar food is cheaper in the shop to buy. (store up and take back to your room)
3. You do need flip flops for the rocks at the O resort side of the beach and for night, so you done stand on any mini crabs.
4. Take some small dollar notes for tipping.
5. The area is not lit up well so bring a torch and a small umbrella if going in wet season as they will cost $20 over here.
6. Go to kuredu web site and look at rooms and email hotel and state requirements.
7. If staying in kuredu ask for villa around 320.
8. If on honeymoon, let hotel know this before and when you are there as you will get a surprise. (Let room boy know)
9. Have a small bag packed before hand with clothes for going out that night and a swimsuit and leave sun lotion at top of suitcase to take out when over there.
10. Go to the spa, it is great and not expensive. Cheaper then home.
11. Things are layed back here. So relax and do the same and enjoy

13 readers found this review helpful

Just got back last night, this was our second visit and we took four friends with us this time. just great, wonderful place, great snorkling, great staff, wonderful food. hope to return. as for accomadation we stayed in the garden bungalows they are basic but ok, have everything you need. we only have a late afternoon sleep and sleep in the evening. not in them that much. I love the out door bathrooms GO FOR IT ITS GREAT

33 readers found this review helpful

flew my fiancee out to Kuredu as a suprise to celebrate our engagement, only, things didnt got exactly how I planned.
On Saturday 24th January 2009 my fiancee and I were the victims of the most awful ordeal.

At 13:00am on the way back to our room we were viciously attacked by a drunk, middle aged, English man.

I was the first to be attacked, thrown to the floor where I banged my head, then held down and received punch blows the face, head, chest and arms,
My partner then managed to drag him off me and was then the second victim and received punches and kicks all over her body.

I screamed hysterically for around 10 minutes, screaming for help, only to have complaints made about my screaming by other guests!

No security came to help, at least not until I ran to try to get help before this hideous man attempted to much worse to the both of us as he continued to tell us he would.

He shouted at us that he was going to "kill us" and quite frankly we have never feared for our lives so much,
We thought we were going to be raped and killed.

When security eventually did arrive the man had ran off, they never found him.

I then collapsed to the floor and continued to have a severe panic attack, while my partner panicked in fear looking for my handbag so that she could give me my asthmatic inhaler, the security guards did not help her, nor try to help me, instead just watched while the whole situation went on around us.

We were escorted back to our rooms where one security guard stayed all night long, as we were too petrified to be left alone.

The next day we spoke to our holiday rep, Jacqui, from Hayes and Jarvis, she asked us for a word, assuming she had heard about the evening before we went alone,
Only to find out that some man who for no reason had taken a disliking to us, had made a complaint about Amy and I trying to get other friends we had met to dance in the bar the evening before,
Excusing the fact that this is a truly pathetic complaint to make as the evening before we had actually had a great night with friends we had made, a great night that is until the horrible incident took place,
Jacqui informed us that the hotel were furious and were going to kick us off the island and that they even had a seaplane waiting for us that very morning – which all turned out to be utter rubbish as the general manager later confirmed.

Jacqui was fully aware of our ordeal from the evening before and yet did not ask us once how we were doing or if there was anything she could do for us,
Instead she wanted us to apologise the the general manager.

We met with the general manager only to find the same level of un empathetic and un sympathetic behaviour who basically in so many words told us that no one would do this for no reason and that the attack must have been provoked. I can assure you that we certainly never provoked the vicious attack we encountered.

There was no empathy or concern shown by either the general manager or the holiday rep,
We were told " that's your side of the story" and then told that that evening, at the time of our attack, complaints were made by guests staying in near by villa's because of the screaming they could hear, my screaming, my screaming for help.

Unbelievable.

I asked what I should do if I wanted to involve the police, I was given a shrug of shoulders and told "you call them if you want to involve them"

They were not in the least bit concerned about us and the horrific ordeal we had encountered, the fact we were terrified for our lives and what this man might do to us,
There only concern was they did not want other guests to find out.
They pretty much told us that we must have deserved it and provoked it and that we were "under the influence of alcohol" – we had three glassed of wine each and were completely in control.

We were not asked once if we were ok, if anything could be done to make us feel more comfortable,
They were fully aware of just how terrified we were, this man was still on the island and we didn't even know who he was! For all we know he could have been right next door to us, all we knew was his height, build, age and accent, it was dark and everything happened so quick this is all we could get,
There were many men on the island who fit the description, we were petrified for the last four days of our holiday.

We requested the guests who complained about our screaming for help to be spoken to again,
As when I was screaming for help he was screaming too, "mimicking me", my partner was screaming for me to go and get help, he also screamed mimicking her.
Surely if they heard my screaming for help they must of heard him screaming mimicking myself and my partner.
We were given no response.

I requested a copy of the rapport from that evening (I had been informed previously by a staff member on reception that I would be requested to sign this)
We never seen this rapport and our holiday rep refused us a copy of this.
We requested copies of the statements made by the security guards, we refused a copy of them by our holiday rep, we were not even able to see this information.

Despite the lack of empathy and concern we approached our holiday rep and asked her if there was anything she could do as we were walking around like nervous wrecks petrified every time we heard a London accent, petrified every time we seen another man with the same description, wondering if that was him,
We were told "the only thing I can do is get you to Male, hotel prices start from $150 per night"
We informed Jacqui we could not afford this, it was nearing the end of our holiday and besides, we had already paid for accommodation on Kuredu,
We were then informed that we would be breaching the contract made with Kuredu if we left early.

I can honestly say this was the most terrifying incident I have encountered, I witnessed my fiancée get brutally attacked by a man, I feared for her life and what he might have done to her, I feared for my life and what he might have done to me.
We were given absolutely no concern and no empathy what so ever.

It was utterly horrendous.
We are now both suffering from anxiety and loss of sleep,
We will never go back to Kuredu nor would we recommend,
the way we were treated after such a horrific ordeal was absolutely diabolical.

20 readers found this review helpful

We have jsut returned from paradise back down to earth with a massive BUMP! The place is exactly (if not more) as it says 'on the tin' it is complete Paradise.
Spotlessly clean, the food and service is amazing and the people, well it is really difficult to put a word to descibe them - they can not do enough for you.
We stayed in the Beach Bungalows, which have recently been refurbished and were fabulous, they made your bed three times a day and water was brought to your room.
Would we go back ??? Oh yes, tomorrow if i had the chance, recommend it to anyone, we are definaltley saving our pennies to return ASAP - go for it you wont be dissappointed!!!!

7 readers found this review helpful

Hi All
We have just arrived back from our honeymoon to Kuredu, from the min we stepped off the plane in Kuredu we were met by the Island Resort Leaders and then given welcome drinks and brought to our room which all i can say is amazing we over looked the indian ocean in a Beach Villa Room 109. The villa was close to everything and we loved it. The buffet Rest had so much to choose from and then we ate a couple of times in Francos amazing food and really good value. We drank mostly at the pool bar as we found the guys who worked there the best fun Namal and Saji. I would rec this destination to anyone as we had no problems from the min we arrived til the min we left an amazing place and we are going to defo to go back again. Starting to save again for it.

7 readers found this review helpful

Stayed 14 nights in water villa on honeymoon. It was as great as it looked on their website. I recommend the massages in the spa, we had 3! I want to go back but cannot afford it now we have a child! We booked this as it was best of both worlds: quiet during day on water villa side of island (sangu) and more going on in evening on main side of island. All staff so friendly and hard working. Met some great people there too. When we booked it was best value maldives if you want a water villa all inclusive.
No bad things to say.

7 readers found this review helpful

A perfect honeymoon destination! The people, food and resort are outstanding they cannot do enough to help. We stayed in a beach bungalow which was basic but cleaned every day twice and had a superb view of the ocean. Make sure you take snorkelling gear with you to enjoy the turtles and bright coloured fish which can be seen on the house reef. An excellent place which we are desperate to return to.

9 readers found this review helpful

My wife and I spent 14 days on Kuredu in January 2007 on our honeymoon. We stayed in a beach bungalow which was basic but very clean. The whole experience was fantastic. The island itself was wonderful, beautiful clear blue sea and great beach. The food in the restaurant was great, fantastic choice and lovely, helpful staff. We visited the Akiri bar and found the drinks excellant (the lager was San Migel and Cobra!!!!nice!). We are not into diving so cant really comment on that side of it, though we did have a couple of goes snorkelling and really enjoyed it, lots of great fish to sea and managed to see turtles whilst out on the free kayaks. Overall the place was just fantastic. I have seen criticism on here, but our experience was that it is a lovely, friendly place. We wanted a honeymoon to remember (obviously!!) and this was it!!! WONDERFUL!

4 readers found this review helpful

Our first time to the Maldives. We were delayed by 24 hours because of faulty First Choice aircraft. They rarely travel on time anyway. We stayed at the 'O' Resort - (there are 3 resorts on the island) - which was completed September 2007 and our accomodation was one of the Beach Villas and it was brilliant! Absolutely brand new and we thought we were the first people to stay in our villa. (Obvioulsy not, but it felt that way) The beach was great but you could not really swim from it although I did and the snorkling was very exciting - even had an encounter with a 2 meter black tipped reef shark plus loads of turtles!!
The restaurant / bar area of O Resort is outstanding and stunning during the sunset. Food you could not fault. Although the Villas were excellent, we are going to come back next year and stay at the O Resort Jaccuzi villas where the beach is excellent to go straight in for a dip. O Resort does not allow children under 12! Great as it made the pool area very pleasant. Sorry kids, but we preferred the peace and quiet. The Diving was quite good - and the dive centre was superb. I did a Nitrox course. The best trips are the all day snorkle trips. Saw loads of Mantas and probably saw more than on the dives I did. We found it difficult to find any real faults. We suggest you don't stay at the Garden Villas. You pay for what you get. Sangu is proably the best part of the island resort although we preferred O Resort. We are well seasoned travellers and just loved Kerudu. It is large enough to have your own privacy.

5 readers found this review helpful

Beautiful island, with friendly, helpful staff.
we had a fantastic holiday. the rooms are a bit basic, but did not spend that much time in it, and it was always clean. the out side toilet took a couple of days to get used to, sunbathing while sat on the loo in the morning. walk straight out onto the beach, and the sea to watch the baby black tip reef sharks swim over your feet ( they are halmless)
and you can snorkle out 25 - 30 metres out and swim with Turtles, mantres, and the odd Stringray. the Dive center was brill, and really helpful telling you the best places to snorkle, and where not due to strong currants. food was great, buffet style, plenty of choice, and some cooked fresh for you.
overall we we loved it, and will be going back in a couple of years.
The only downside is the Monarch flight, the food, service, and crew were great .But the plane was not tiny seats, armrests that did not go fully back, and if you had a window seat you could not see the tv screens, which only went down the middle of the plane, so you had no choice on what you watch.