Hi, I'm 27 years old. I live in London, England and I work in TV Production. My main interests inc...
Hi, I'm 27 years old. I live in London, England and I work in TV Production. My main interests include music, film and travel.
Member since:24.02.2006
Reviews:7
We have just spent two amazing weeks in the beautiful Maldives, on the lovely island of Meedhupparu.
I cannot fault the island, the staff are excellent and willing to do anything to make your stay more enjoyable, the kitchen staff do a fantastic job catering for so many people, and the rooms, whilst simple, are all you really need in paradise, when you should be spending most of your time outdoors soaking up the amazing Indian Ocean.
We flew with First Choice Airways in Premium - please see my review of the airline for more information.
On arrival in Male we were met by blazing sun, exactly what we had hoped for. We made our way through the airport and were transferred by bus to the seaplane terminal. We did have a long wait for our transfer, nearly four hours, but it was a comfortable and we didn't mind at all. The terminal has sun loungers so you can sit and watch the seaplanes taking off, and we brought two tuna rolls and fruit juices for $6, hardly extortionate.
The seaplane trip was incredible. Yes, it's loud, but I didn't care and was just too engrossed in staring out the window at the amazing view below to worry about any noise. As Meedhupparu came into view the pilot did a sweep of the island so we could take it all in, and although I'd seen many pictures (I did my research!) it still took our breath away. We were met on the pier and taken to the main reception, where we were given a fruit cocktail and a cold towel. We were then taken to our room and it was exactly what we hoped for.
We were on the south side of the island, which is on the opposite side from the Main Bar and restaurant, and about 10 steps from our room was the stunning turquoise ocean. We were so happy that within ten minutes of arriving we were in the sea. The room was relatively simple and had a very comfy, king size bed, two chairs, a cane sofa,
coffee table and tea & coffee facilities. The French doors opened onto a veranda with a table and chairs, and magnificent views. The rooms are semi detached, but we couldn't hear our neighbours and felt pretty isolated, which was great. The bathroom has twin sinks, an indoor shower, toiletries, and an arch into a little courtyard with an outdoor shower. Ours was surrounded by fruit trees and everyday we'd shower and watch the fruit bats swinging from the trees…quite a surreal experience! We were in room 278, which we found ideal.
Our room boy, Mohammed, was fantastic, really friendly and he did a brilliant job cleaning our room twice a day. We spoke to him about his work and bear in mind they have a minimum of 10 rooms to look after each, they clean them twice a day, and he never spent less than half an hour doing a very thorough job in ours each time. Every evening he arranged our sheets in beautiful patterns, and was even on hand very quickly when one evening we were faced by the biggest spider we had ever seen, which he quickly removed, much to my relief!
After having an explore of the island we headed off to the restaurant for dinner. We were allocated a 2 seater table and met our waiter, Jamil, who was very helpful and friendly. The chairs are a mixture of plastic and metal, all of them have cushions and none are uncomfortable! The restaurant isn't air-conditioned, but it is completely open around the sides so you do get a breeze. Every other day or so you do have candles. We were quite lucky that our table was off to the side of the main buffet area, so it was a little more private. The main dining room is quite open and a bit too canteen-like, and I can imagine it would get quite warm and it could be a little noisy.
The food on Meedhupparu is of a very good standard. Breakfast offers omelettes, cereals, fry-up, curry, toast, pancakes, waffles, fruit, and pretty much anything else you can think of! Lunch also has plenty of choice but I did find it got a little monotonous after a while, that's not to say that it wasn't good, it just didn't change enough in my opinion. There was always a good choice of very delicious curry, soup, salad and pasta. Dinner worked on different themes in the evening, and again, although the food was great quality, it could be a little more varied as if you're on a two-week break it does get repeated. Make sure you try the steak, it's incredibly tender, and when they serve prawns they are to die for! Wine is only served as part of all-inclusive with dinner but we actually found this not to be a problem.
We didn't really sample the evening entertainment as it wasn't what we were visiting the Maldives for, so we tended to avoid the main bar area and head straight to the Grill Bar (not all inclusive after 6.30pm but definitely worth it if you want to get away from the masses), or back to our veranda or beach with a couple of drinks and just stared at the stars and listened to the ocean.
We did find there was a bit too much of a holiday camp feel around the main bar and pool only, for our liking. The majority did seem to congregate here in the evening, which definitely wasn't what we wanted from our holiday, but this is a medium sized island and they are catering for everyone. Also, whilst the pool is stunning we didn't go anywhere near it for two weeks as it just felt like you could be anywhere in the world. Some guests did not move from their poolside sunbeds for two weeks, and I think it was a shame for them as they just didn't make the most of the stunning beaches.
Clientele wise - it really was a mixed bag. There were people of all ages and backgrounds, and unfortunately there were quite a few stereotypical 'chav' types hanging round the pool, but again, this can be avoided by sunbathing on the beach, having dinner and making a swift exit back to the Grill Bar and avoiding the main bar at all costs! If you are after a lively evening then you can definitely find it, but if not the island is big enough to get away from everyone else and enjoy a very different evening. Also, and a lot of this was to do with the World Cup, but there were a fair few lager swilling England fans decked out in St George's flag attire, which was fine and understandable, but it did get a bit much when a couple with a megaphone whipped it out during dinner and started a chorus of 'oggy oggy oggy'! It was a little bit 'Benidorm' on occasion, but like I said I'm pretty sure this was just due to the football.
We also did a tour of the Water Villas and they are stunning, albeit very expensive and you lose your all-inclusive benefits. However, they are planning to stop people upgrading from the main resort. Meed and the Villas are actually two completely separate hotels. They wouldn't let anyone upgrade while we were there and we had a good chat with the manager who said they are planning to stop it altogether, along with eating in the restaurant, so I would advise anyone wanting to upgrade to arrange it in advance, as you probably won't be able to when you're there. We did however mange to eat there one evening and the food was phenomenal. We were the only people in the restaurant and the food and service was excellent. We were extremely lucky as we had the tour on Sunday and called and made our reservation straight away, but we wanted to go back again on Thursday, as it was tipping with rain, and we weren't allowed, and another couple we spoke to couldn't either.
I would also definitely recommend a visit to the Fine Dining Restaurant, it makes a nice change from the main restaurant and should be saved for if you are getting a little bored with the food! The service, as ever, was excellent, and the food was delicious. You can also have a lobster dinner at the Grill Bar for $50 per person, we didn't do this but saw a couple one evening and it looked gorgeous.
The weather was slightly varied whilst we were there, but we had expected that seeing as we visited in June. The first week was beautiful and we had endless sunshine, then in the middle of the fortnight we had some cloudy days, and two torrential ones, followed by three days of blissful sunshine again. We amused ourselves on one of the rainy days by visiting the Ayurveda Spa, and for $100 per person enjoyed a full body massage, foot massage, face massage and herbal bath. It was fantastic and we almost floated back to our room we were that relaxed. We also tried a yoga class on the edge of the beach, and it really is a different experience doing this outdoors - definitely worth it.
We didn't scuba dive but you can do a free trial dive whilst there to get a taste for it. Snorkelling off the piers was excellent, and we saw a huge abundance of fish in the brightest colours imaginable. I was a little disappointed not to see any dolphins, but I think that was just bad luck, and on our last day just as I got out the sea my boyfriend saw a turtle, I'd been looking for one for a fortnight so was a little gutted! However we did come face to face with a very large and very ugly moray eel, which was an experience in itself but not one I would necessarily like to repeat!
Tip wise we gave our room boy Mohammed and our waiter Jamil $15 per week, and we also gave the gardener who tidied by our room $10, as every day he was outside clearing away any debris from the wind and storms, came round with coconuts and generally kept the island looking lovely. He seemed quite surprised so I guess maybe he's overlooked sometimes. We also kept dollars spare to give the men who helped us with our bags and bar staff.
Meedhupparu is a beautiful island, and you really won't be disappointed. It was perfect for our first Maldives visit and I cannot fault the actual resort or staff in any way at all, they do everything they can to help and make your stay as perfect as possible. Maybe it is a little let down at time by some guests, but that' isn't down to the staff or resort at all. I would highly recommend Meedhupparu if it is your first visit to the country, or if you are looking for a medium sized island with lots of choice of entertainment. We probably wouldn't visit the island again, but only because we realised we don't need evening entertainment or a pool to enjoy our holiday, and would probably try one of the smaller, quieter resorts.
I was incredibly sad to leave and could quite easily of managed another week, and I have to admit I did shed a few tears on the seaplane as it took off, as I saw our beautiful island disappear in to the distance.
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very good review, i am going and cant wait. thanks for such a good write up :)
rusticgirl 09.07.2006 18:48
I am having a holiday in the maldives in november, a week cruise and a week hotel stay, i have been fretting over which of the 2 hotels you can choose from for the second week to stay at. This reveiw made up my mind straight away. She talked about all aspects of it even bits she didn't really like which made it sound better i think, and not just some typical 'sales talk' you tend to get on the websites.
lindsayjayne 30.06.2006 00:50
My best friend went there for her honeymoon and she said it's an incredibly beautiful place. Great review. x
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Jun 29th, 2006
exceptional by (30%):
very helpful by (70%):
