Raffles Maldives Meradhoo Resort

Our trip to Raffles Maldives was decided at last minute and hotel reservations managed and did everything to make our reservation smooth and easy.I especially thank the GM Miss Tracy working very hard and taking care of every guests from morning till late night. All staffs take care well and our butler Mr Nattu very kindly and take care of us 100%. This Raffeles Maldives is very special and excellent villas never seen in the world so beautiful and very very clean. Very good weather beautiful private swimming pool and private beach with sun set views beautiful. Only thing I can tell you come and have this experience specially in the world The staff on this Island are so very polite and attentive, we loved meeting them and having conversations and enjoyed their outstanding service.

My wife and I visited in February and it felt like a dream! We loved our overwater villa. The water had so many colors. We loved the size of the resort. It felt intimate and quiet-which we loved because we live in a big city and we want to feel relaxed on vacation. The staff is wonderful. Yassir was our butler and he took care of us. The Raffles worker who greeted us at the airport (I believe his name was Ahmed) helped us tremendously. He got us all checked in for our domestic flight and showed us where to go. He even got us on an earlier flight to the resort which we so appreciated! The General Manager Tracey is fantastic and helpful. And we have wonderful things to say about the chef, Shane. My wife has dairy and gluten allergies and she can’t eat most meats. Shane did a great job catering a menu to my wife and he was so friendly! We miss the staff at Raffles, including the waiters. All of them made Raffles feel like home. Raffles is definitely a paradise island. Very unique. And if you are looking to go to the Maldives for the first time or visit a new place in the Maldives, we definitely recommend Raffles! You won’t regret it. Everything about Raffles was perfect. The house coral reef is excellent with lots of exotic fish. This was our first time in the Maldives. And we plan to visit Raffles Maldives again. We’ve stayed at nice resorts around the world in around 50 countries, including Four Seasons in Bora Bora. Raffles Maldives might be my favorite. We are not smokers and we hate the smell of cigarette and cigar smoke. We let Raffles know this ahead of time because we didn’t want to smell smoke at restaurants or as we enjoyed the deck and pool at our villa. Thankfully, we didn’t smell smoke once! One thing we recommend is making sure you give yourself a 3+ hour layover to get to the international airport on your way home. We did and because of airplane delays we made our international flight in the nick of time. We’re glad we gave ourselves extra time otherwise we would have missed our flight home. The domestic flight company, when we were there, had a number of delayed flights (which isn’t Raffles’ fault). Raffles can help you out with all of that and they’ll take care of you.

One of the best resorts I have visited and the service was exceptional. The accommodation is luxurious and peaceful, surrounded by teaming marine life. Our butler Nattu looked after us beautifully and I would highly recommend both Nattu and the hotel.

Raffles was our second half of the honeymoon. I would say it’s very remote in a good way! We tried many activities that we never did before. The villas are massive that you actually forget where you placed your stuff. Our activities included: - dolphin watching where we saw lots and lots of dolphins swimming along side the boat and with the stunning sunset view! - jett ski and turtle snorkeling was a first and it was so fun. - diving where we got really nervous but was still a good experience to have done. -nurse shark watching, by far the best activity we did. SO MANY that come out and you can take stunning photos of them. only pity is that we didn’t get to see any whale sharks during our stay. Food was delicious but at times may not be enough for people that eat more (like me) All of the activities and food reservations where done easily and flawlessly by our butler Nattu, where he managed to be really helpful and make us feel like you always have him by your side but without compromising your privacy with your other half/ family. Nattu also prepared a wonderful bath for us as a surprise for my wife. Exceeding all of our expectations. Thank you

My wife and I stayed at this beautiful resort in Feb 2025 and we are so glad we selected Raffles to be our accomodation for our first time to the country. We had long wanted to come to Raffles, however when initially researching where to stay, we were met with an abundance of options that all looked beautiful online, so how did we narrow our search down? Our first criteria meant we wanted the place to be: 1) a luxurious place to treat ourselves to, 2) have both overwater villas and beach villas so we could experience both types of rooms, 3) have calm waters off the doorstep of these rooms as we enjoy water activities esp snorkelling, 4) have a smaller guest number so we could feel more disconnected from the world and our busy everyday lives, 5) have good food that foodies would appreciate, and 6) offer value for its price tag in comparison to other luxury competitors. Raffles ticked all of these boxes. We ended up selecting Raffles for the above, but furthermore, other great features we appreciated were: 1) whether you are staying at the beach or overwater villas, there is literally a top tier reef you can walk/swim out onto, and given you are provided with complimentary snorkelling gear, you are basically given unrestricted opportunity to snorkel amongst a safe reef filled with sea life. Quite often you need to book a snorkelling excursion (and pay) - here you can choose to still do this, or you can do all of your snorkelling at Raffles should you wish. 2) Service. It isn't a cheap price tag, and it is also a small guest number given the limited number of villas that exist, so common sense told me that the service would therefore be spectacular and catered to you, and this ended up being true. The price tag is invested into their service. The staff to guest ratio really emphasises the service level that Raffles is renowned for world wide. Each villa will have its own marine butler that you can go on a snorkelling trip with, but the butler is so much more than that. We had Yasru, and not only did he take us on our first snorkel here, but he really took a lot of pride in ensuring that we were looked after at all times, that he communicated with us to ensure all the experiences we wanted to have were catered for and executed without hassle, and he went above and beyond with so many meaningful touches to ensure that we weren't just staying on a beautiful luxurious island, but that we were able to interact with a Maldivian person that was more than just a staff member, but also a mate doing his best to leave us with a positive impression of both Raffles, and also the country itself. Yasru helped us coordinate activities we wanted to do, always maintained open and honest communication re the wide array of activities that are on promotion in the Raffles promotional material (eg we wanted to do a manta ray trip, but he advised against it for the time we were there given the recent lack of manta sightings, so as to ensure we weren't disappointed in any way, but then gave us recommendations on what other activities we could book based on our taste), he helped me recover an expensive piece of equipment I lost in the ocean (without me asking him to), escorted us on an excursion to other inhabited/uninhabited islands but furthermore ensured this private tour was executed in a manner suited to our style as a couple, ensured our connecting flight back to Male was done in time for our international departure, but then also ensured he was there to farewell us at 4am in the morning, helped set up a Valentine's surprise that we were not expecting, created a personal drawing for us that really added another level of personal experience to the trip, the list goes on. If you get Yasru as your marine butler your money is being spent on someone that prides himself on providing quality customer service, and If the other butlers are on a similar level, then you are still in for a treat. 3. Rooms are very well maintained and cleaned with attention to detail. One of our house keepers named Siam/Sayam(?) did a great job with our beach villa. We also learnt that there was a pool cleaner that came everyday to ensure the pool was as spotless as could be. Also - do your research into the room size of what you are paying here vs other resorts. The beach villas and overwater villas are villas, not Bungalows, which means at Raffles you are getting a house instead of a room. Good size, good aesthetic. For each of the beach and overwater options, they are either sunset or sunrise facing, and you can select either option with a corresponding price. The beach villas open up onto an immaculately well-kept beach with fine sand, and given the low guest number, you essentially have a private beach to yourself. The bathtubs in the beach villas look like they came straight out of Ancient Rome, and the beds in the overwater villas were not only huge, but comfortable beyond words. When you book and before you check in, you are given a menu of preferences online for things such as pillows, scents etc. This indicates how much they care about the individual experience. 4. We loved the fact that the overwater villas were disconnected from the island of Meradhoo. Do not be disturbed by this though thinking you will be isolated. If you want to go back to the island where the beach villas are, we were told your marine butler can help coordinate the 1-2 minute speed boat transfer between the two locations whenever you want, but what we personally found is you essentially get unlimited transfers at any time you please, and we never waited more than 60 seconds for one, be it organised or on a whim. The disconnected overwater villas helped enhance that 'escape from life' vibe we were seeking, and they are on a next level of aesthetic and luxury, with the added practicality of stepping down into a reef you can swim in with unlimited access. 5. Restaurants - we asked for sample menus when booking, and based on these we could tell the food was going to be good. The food is fine dining restaurant level you would expect of a resort in the Maldives with this price tag, but if you want you can opt to upgrade to a half board (fast + dinner) or full board (fast, lunch, dinner) inclusion so that you have a bit more freedom when selecting from menus which probably works to be more value for money. The island has two restaurants and a bar, the overwater villas have one connected restaurant and a bar. Thari and Firepit on the island have fine dining options that cover western and non-western taste (varied cuisines, with fresh quality ingredients). Yuzu where the overwater villas are is Peruvian/Japanese fusion, and this was something else. it is one thing to cook food well, it is another to create a fusion menu and then execute these ideas into unique flavour bombs in reality. Whether you are staying at beach or overwater villa, do know you can eat at either restaurant because the 1-2min speed boat transfer is so easy to do. The Waiters also make a great effort of explaining what is included in your half or full board plan. Aside from that, the waiting staff to guest number is strong, to ensure guests are not forgotten, but are the focus of the resort. They are constantly looking to ensure your water is always filled, your food is up to par, and know how to strike a balance between letting you enjoy your meal whilst immediately being there shall you require assistance or have a question. If you are a friendly type of guest, they are also down for a chat to help make your stay more personable. Two of the waiting staff we connected quite well with were Azeen and Liz. Both always ensured our orders were correct, explained menus and inclusions to us, and remembered our preferences (eg sparkling water over still) and orders on subsequent days. Azeen even organised for tea to be given to me when he noticed I had a slight cough one morning, which I did not even ask for. He just thought it would be something nice to do and it was such a nice gesture in our eyes. At the end of our stay when deciding between desserts and wanting to pick one I had not yet tried (but couldn't remember if I had had it or not), he remembered my dessert order from earlier in the week. This Is that attention to detail you don't expect. Liz knew I enjoyed taking photos and videos of the resorts beauty, and encouraged us to do so, and better yet helped us select seating preferences that catered to this and even went out of her way to advise on how I could get the best footage (eg she arranged with Yuzu's chef an ideal time for me to capture him doing his best work without interrupting on the service). Both have a caring nature that genuinely want guests to have their best experience, and we found this to be the case with the staff in general. Restaurant manager Shane also shone through with his desire to ensure guests had the best experience and conditions possible whilst dining. The yuzu chef also wanted to know from the waiters how we enjoyed specific meals we had selected, which to me shows just how much pride he places on his work and the guest satisfaction. 6. Airport transfers - to get to any resort in the Maldives, you have to make your way from Male international to that resort, which involves further transfers. For Raffles, you take a one our flight to an island near Meradhoo (Kaadedhdhoo Island), then 10-15min speed boat transfer to Meradhoo island which is essentially Raffles resort. When you arrive at Male, you have an airport butler to escort you to your lounge. You don't just stay in one of the larger airport lounges, but you get your own smaller/quieter room (shared with a small number of guests, but we had it to ourselves when arriving/departing) within these lounges so it feels like a more exclusive experience. Arriving at Male is a straight forward task which the airport butler makes even easier, but departing Male can be a nightmare as it is a tiny airport swarming with a plethora of people from around the world and only 5-6 gates serving flight after flight after flight. The airport butler during departure made our life SO much easier, not just with our baggage, but also helping us to navigate our way through as many different checkpoints as he could. This helped save us time given the swarms of crowds in an unfamiliar place, and at this moment whilst I was looking all around me at the endless number of people, some of whom were stressing out and getting angry, it was only us I could see that had a personal assistant helping us with the chaos that was departure time at Male International. 7. More on service - upon arrival, you get the beautiful traditional greeting which makes you feel so welcome, but also the general manager Tracey was there to greet us. We also saw her not only greeting guests at different points during our stay, but also asking them what each person/couple was up to, remembering little details about each one's stay. Again, it's that care for attention to detail and the desire to ensure you are enjoying your stay. She even agreed to meet with myself when I asked a favour re whether something was able to be arranged or not during our stay. Even if she had said 'no', which I would have totally respected, the fact she made time to meet with me says a lot about how Raffles cares for their guest experience. 8. Given the relatively small guest numbers, the gift shop is pretty good. The male staff member there was very patient with us as we explored everything on offer, and always genuinely tried to help us with what we were interested in purchasing based on our tastes. Helpful and a good range of products. 9. There is a DJ at Long bar on the island, and the music is tastefully selected. It is youthful, it is upbeat, it is lively, but it is not so out there and intense to the degree that it is off putting. During dinners, there is a live violinist and saxophonist that adds a further touch to the ambience of your meals. The music again isn't slow and dreary, nor is it too in-your-face, it simply strikes that balance is being lively and elegant. In summary, If you want a luxurious option in the Maldives, definitely put this on your short list because for the same price tag as other luxury options, you will have a lower guest number which means a calmer experience with customer service that is laser focused on you (with enough sense to leave you to your devices if you don't want to be interacted with too much). This left us having our first Maldivian trip as not just a holiday in a luxury resort, but rather a vacation in paradise that was enhanced by the endless array of personal touches, gestures and conversations with staff that have obviously been carefully been selected and hired. You can tell the people working here have an ability to adhere to an ethos that Raffles management has tried to instil in their team, an ethos whose primary goal is ensuring your experience as a guest really is as memorable and as best as it can be.