Views are breathtaking & exactly like the photos s...

Views are breathtaking & exactly like the photos seen on the internet. I'm sure there are much better Maldive resorts out there though.

The over-water bungalow room was simple & air-conditioned, there was Wi-Fi access & basic hotel amenities/kit. You also have direct access to the clear-blue waters via a staircase from the back of the room - very convenient. The sea cucumbers & fish were friendly & the occasional uncommon sights (eg. rays, puffer-fish, baby black-tip sharks, titan trigger-fish) kept us interested & entertained. Make sure to bring your own snorkel gear as our travel agent told us that it was included at the resort which we discovered to be untrue after we arrived...luckily the resort had some for purchase...though at a hefty price. We also hired bikes (USD$15 per bike per day) which were great for exploring the island but they were very rusty & uncomfortable. I requested the smallest bike & apparently it was. However it was still too tall for me..I got bruising around the groin area - felt like I had been punched down there.

As expected, everything was expensive. I would recommend at least trying 1 activity during your stay to make your trip worthwhile (it is a once in a lifetime opportunity after all) - we did the sunset-dolphin sighting. We almost lost all hope at first as it seemed like nothing was in the waters for a while. We eventually did see some dolphins & the nice sunset. The couple spa was also a nice experience.

We got the all-inclusive package at the resort which only gives the perk of accessing buffet breakfast/lunch/dinner at designated time slots & some daily room beverages. You get allocated the same table each mealtime for the time of your stay but our table was given to another guest a day early which made it a bit awkward ... we did manage to get a different table in the end. Food was alright, nothing spectacular but enough variety to not be grossed out after a few days. Drink service was super slow...

Overall service at the resort was very slow &, in some instances, very inefficient & annoying. The buggie service seemed only existent at check-in & check-out, any other time during the stay would always be late. We tried a few times & were told to wait 10minutes in the room but after that time had passed we just decided to walk as it would've been quicker in the first place - we never crossed paths with the buggie on our walks either.

Allow for majority of the day for travel before you physically reach the resort. We departed Dubai airport at 9:45am & arrived in our bungalow room at 7:30pm...just in time for a rushed dinner. There's no direct way as Maldives consists of many islands & you need to organise your own domestic flight after landing at Male. Be prepared to go through customs again, get on & off a slow bus trip a couple of times before you arrive at a jetty to catch a boat to the final destination - but not before they mark your name off their list old-school style first! It was excruciatingly painful to wait & see the resort staff calling out names when they weren't raising their voice, couldn't pronounce names properly, & on top of that some of the guests were chatting & not really listening - it would've been much easier if the staff let the guests come up one at a time to find their name on the list. But that's not all, once you reach the reception area you need to sit down & fill out a quick form & then wait SUPER LONG for a staff to approach you before you can access your room as they need to induct about resort rules & attach a plastic wristband on you. The process to get off the resort is - unfortunately - very similar. We got a bit anxious that we would miss our flight.