Luxurious Rooms, Perfectly Serviced

The first sign of success is how luxurious the room interiors are. These are rooms to make you feel like an aristocrat. They are spacious and expertly laid out, with high quality furnishings and amenities from the deck to the semi-open bathroom. Hilton knows all about how guests like their rooms and how they should be serviced, so it is not surprising that everyone loves their room here. There are nonetheless a few choices to make. The side with the main jetty is busier than the other side, with boats and seaplane activity. Also it is hard to find a beach room with a good view of the beach and lagoon, partly because of a screen of screw pine trees and bushes and also because most of the rooms are in a curved layout in order to fit more rooms onto the coastline. The layout makes for a sometimes confusing path inside the island, which pedestrians share with buggies.

A Great Kid's Club

Another asset to the resort is the Kid’s Club, which is very well run and resourced. Nearby is a good games room too for older kids. Children are also well catered for with specific child-friendly food in the main buffet and outlets. At the same time, couples are provided with their own child-free area. This is around the lovely Reflections Pool, a fine shady spot with the infinity pool flowing out to a big beautiful beach.

There is a decent amount of beach, and great sand, almost all the way around the island but it is best of all on the West side, that is the jetty side and at the two ends. Unfortunately there is some erosion at various points and so sandbagging happens at certain places and times of the year. There is now also a low lagoon wall all the way around the island towards the reef edge.

A New Atoll For Resorts

With the reef edge fairly close all the way around the island, it is very convenient for snorkeling from any room, particularly those towards the end of the waterbungalow jetties. The atoll is new to resorts and so the diving is to fresh sites that few have visited.

The local inhabited islands are also not used to tourist visits and so it is a chance to see Maldivian life as it has been for centuries. Hilton have been very good with local relations and in particular the women’s organisation on the neighbouring island.

Some of the local women are employed as commis chefs, which has to be good for the resorts local dishes and another Maldivian, not local, is the sommelier, with responsibility for all the outlets. And the wine is very well thought through. One of the world’s 100 Wine Masters originally chose the wine for each particular outlet. These restaurants are very popular and you actually need to book ahead to be sure of a table.

Meals and Drinks and Buffets

It is fair to say that the meal and drinks can come in on the expensive side. On the other hand, the breakfast buffet is one of the best  in the country. It is a great spread, with many healthy options, cooked options and pastries, and a fine Maldivian spread too.

This is a resort that will keep improving with every season as they listen to their guests and try out new ideas and adapt old ones. A good example is the take-away coffee and ice cream shop in the shopping area. This is near to the jetty, so it’s perfect for taking something away with you on an excursion. Another good example of adapting things is the change of a cigar bar into a champagne and oyster bar. 

Review written 3 June 2011