On 18th December 2020, after a long year of Covid-19, we boarded the plane for the long journey to the Maldives! 3 planes, 2 buses and a boat later and we finally arrived after 26 hours. The final plane from Male was amazing with incredible views of the Maldives and all of the little islands. As the boat docked at our hotel we were stunned by how beautiful it was - crystal blue seas a modern hotel on its own island and bright sunshine awaited us.
We stayed at the Riu Atoll. The rooms were lovely, modern and comfortable. We had the most amazing view from our balcony - one that will be hard to forget and we were right on the beach. It was quite a walk from our room (villa 19) to the pool/bars/restaurants/reception but you quickly get used to it. (If you want to be closer request villa 10). Every morning staff would come and clear anything washed up on the beach so it always looks pure white and spotless which I was very impressed with. There was a lot of wildlife on and around our island from birds and bats to lizards on the island and baby sharks, stingrays and endless amounts of fish close to the shoreline. Due to the current covid situation we couldn’t really judge the entertainment properly as a lot of it had to be cancelled due to social distancing but they done the best they could to keep us entertained during the day. Evenings were rather quiet, again they were not able to put on shows, but the live band were relaxing to listen to and they done film nights, karaoke nights and DJ nights. One thing we did find a bit unusual was how late the kids show was as this didn’t usually start until around 8.45pm. The hotel was honestly situated in paradise and I loved every second of the views! They offered paddle boards, kayaks and pedal boats as part of the all inclusive which I took full advantage of and loved my daily paddle board sessions, spotting the sea life and getting some great footage on the go pro!
We spent Christmas at the hotel which was something different for us - Christmas in the sun drinking cocktails on the beach! On Christmas Eve the hotel hosted a gala dinner, champagne cocktail reception (sparking wine cocktails) with a DJ on the beach and then live music in the evening - the food on Christmas Eve was amazing they went to such an effort and there was so much choice. It’s a shame we couldn’t have this standard of food every night!
The main thing that let the hotel down was the buffet food. Unless you are a lover of party style fried food, pizza, fatty meat or spicy curry with bones for lunch and dinner every day there isn’t a massive amount of options. You can choose some meat with potatoes but are rarely able to create a full dinner as they do not have many if any vegetables on offer to go with it (healthy eating is pretty much out of the window unless you want salad every day).
Having said this - we complained to the manager about the food and we did have the offer of meeting the head chef and having him prepare something fresh for us daily. One day he even cooked me lobster for dinner. The speciality restaurants are much better (photos below) but very hard to get booked into - when we arrived we couldn’t get booked in until day 5 but after this managed to squeeze a few more into our second week. The tenderloin steak in the steak house was so nice and this was one of my top meals but the second time we went they had run out of the tenderloin so they gave us sirloin which was not as nice and quite gristly and fatty like most of the meat in the buffet. The Italian restaurant was really nice and I had a good meal both times we visited, with lasagne on the first visit and stuffed chicken on the second. The soup in the buffet was generally pretty good.
If you want a holiday appreciating the beautiful views and sunny hot weather whilst relaxing - the Maldives is the perfect place! I had such an amazing time and what a way to end 2020 on a high when Lee took me to the most beautiful part of the beach to a photo spot and got down on one knee asking me to marry him - of course I said YES!! A memory that I will treasure forever and thanks to our lovely holiday friends, Nicole and Nick, who captured the moment perfectly for us we will always be able to look back on. And what a great couple to celebrate the moment with!
New Year’s Eve the hotel went to such an effort putting on another champagne cocktail reception with a DJ on the beach and gala dinner (the best dinner of the whole holiday) and then a live band, drinks, decorations and a DJ beach party by the main stage area! What a way to see in the new year and start 2021 on a high!
Weather wise it is very hot and the sun is extremely powerful (I was burning through factor 50 and had to wear 50 for the whole holiday which I never normally do) but as it is a tropical island you do get rain. Luckily the rain was mainly in the evening and we only had a couple of days where it rained in the day. One day it rained from 2pm after a really hot sunny morning. Another day it rained from around 8-8.30am and then by 10am the sun was shining again and on our last full day it rained for most of the morning but stayed overcast for the rest of the day however was still hot so you could still lay around the pool.
As a treat and engagement gift on our way home Lee upgraded our flight to business class and oh my! It was so comfortable. We had the Q suite which was like a little room for us both and we could turn our chairs into a lay flat bed which was unreal! The staff couldn’t do enough for you, with champagne and drinks flowing, food on request, pyjamas, slippers and a wash bag full of goodies! It was definitely an experience to say the least and we loved every minute of it so much so that we wouldn’t have minded if the flight was longer than it already was and the delay at the beginning waiting for passengers to board was quite welcome! Qatar airlines also give you free wifi which is so handy and good to keep you entertained (although it’s not strong enough to video call - I tried!)
Overall we have had an amazing couple of weeks and one that I will always remember. Maldives... you have my heart!
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