I'm a married full time Mum of 2 adorable children, who loves travelling and reading chick lit.
I'm a married full time Mum of 2 adorable children, who loves travelling and reading chick lit.
Member since:05.11.2006
Reviews:7
My family and I went to Kuredu in August 2005. When I say family I mean 10 of us in the whole party with ages ranging from my Son who was 3 months old to my Dad who was 54 years old.
We flew to the island from Male on the sea plane which cost us £120 each extra but was well worth it for the views. You couldn't hear a thing for the noise of the plane though.
We happened to hit the island at the end of the rainy season and thus our 1st week was sunshine from dawn till dusk but the 2nd week was constant torrential rain but still very warm. Despite the bad weather I still came away thinking WOW!!
We stayed in Beach Bungallows which were the most basic form of accomodation on offer but were still lovely. They are situated on the opposite side of the island to the side with the main beach (10 mins on foot) . They still step out onto a thin beach but it has quite a few rocks here and there and most of the villas are set amongst palm trees which we found to be a god send as it gave very valuable shade in the afternoons (especially as we had the babies!!).
The villas themselves consisted of a large bedroom with a double bed
and a small table and 2 armchairs. There is a mini bar but this is chargeable. Even bottled water needs to be purchased at the bars and brought back to your room. We had ample space also for our 2 cots for our 2 young children. The bathroom is a door off the bedroom and opens up into a high walled off garden, which houses your bathroom ( toilet, basin and lovely shower and a cactus garden. The rooms have air conditioning units, tea and coffee making facilities and a CD player. All perfectly adequate and very clean.
If staying in the villas you are allocated a dining room to eat in for your entire stay (1 of 2) and in here you are also allocated a table for your entire stay. The waiter/waitress that serves your table will serve you for your entire stay also, which makes tipping them easy at the end of your stay. I have to say the food is delicious and amazingly varied considering they are an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. They do the occasional themed night which are excellent. There are also a few a la carte restaurants for you to try all with a premium payable of approx $20 per person per meal.
The drinks included on the "All Inclusive" package aren't that great. Lager is included and so is vodka, gin, whisky, brandy but all basic brands. Any cocktails or anything remotely out of the ordinary, you have to pay for. I like malibu, southern comfort or martini rosso but unfortunately all had to be paid for $5 a time, which I can assure you soon adds up!!
The main pool area is beautiful as the pool is surrounded by a large wooden deck. The deck has wonderful views straight out to sea and onto the main beach which is golden sand. There is a pool bar also.
The spa is wonderful. I went for 2 different massages which cost $40 each. The setting is so beautiful and tranquil and you are made to feel truely special. They offer a very large range of treatments and massages as well as a jacuzzi.
There is also a well renowned diving centre with lessons for all abilities and excursions to some fantastic dive locations (all at extra cost). We paid to borrow some snorkelling gear for a few days which cost approx $20 for 2 masks and snorkels. We snorkelled off "our" side of the island inside the reef barriers and it was amazing, so well worth the cost. We got to see fish upto 2 foot long even though you could still stand up in the water. The angel fish were wonderful.
Kuredu has a pitch and put golf course and a small driving range with daily competitions. I even had a round as a complete novice and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Again this costs - $5 a round and for the clubs. They also have a small and friendly bar here too.
As far as nightly entertainment goes we kept away from it all and spent most of our evenings in the reception bar just drinking and chatting whilst there is the main bar where there is a stage area attracting quite a few nightly shows. Apparently all very enjoyable but having the young children with us we kept away. (not that we wouldn't have been welcome!!!)
If a honeymooner is writing this review they probably would say it wasn't family friendly as they didn't want us there with kids but our money was just as good as theirs and that's how the island and staff saw it. We were made a fuss of if anything as the locals all live on the island away from their familys for most of the year, so our kids were the only ones they'd seen in a while.
There is a gift shop but I've got to say most things in there were a bit naff. There is also a jewellers and a surf clothing shop.However, that's your lot.
Tipping is nearly compulsory but very gratefully received. We found that we tipped the bar staff well on the first night and they then looked after us from then on. We tipped them once a night approx $5. The waiter that served our meals was fantastic and we tipped him at the end of our stay $20 a couple, and our room boy (cleans and tidys your room daily) $15.
All in all, despite us spending quite a bit of money enjoying ourselves on all the extras, we all had a fantastic dream holiday and would all go back there tomorrow. I would also recommend the family to families and honeymooners alike as everyone was welcome. The people were so friendly and the scenery is unbelievably beautiful. Photos and pictures really do not do the place justice!!
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