Reethi Beach Resort

Cost of stay: 4 nights - USD 4,600 per person. I would like to clarify that I am deliberately not describing every detail of the stay. The situations below are already sufficient to form a clear understanding of the actual level of service at this property. The hotel positions itself as luxury. In reality, the overall impression is that the staff lacks both proper training and experience required for this segment. 1. Arrival and first impression Already at check-in, the lack of consistent service standards became evident. With only a few guests present, two were personally greeted with welcome towels, while I was told to collect my towel myself at the reception. For a hotel claiming a luxury standard, this is not a minor detail but an indicator of poor service control. 2. Check-in and guest assistance While walking toward the villas, I was asked to wait on the road because other guests needed to be escorted first, as it was “not on the way.” As a result, my check-in effectively took place without proper assistance. I was accompanied only by the staff member carrying my luggage. The staff member responsible for guest assistance appeared only around 25 minutes later. Such organization of the check-in process is unacceptable for a hotel claiming a high level of service. 3. Failure to deliver included benefits My booking package included a bottle of wine and a boat excursion. I learned about the excursion only by chance, during a conversation with the dive center staff. No information was provided at check-in. The bottle of wine included in the package was never delivered during my stay. These are not subjective impressions but a clear failure to provide paid benefits included in the booking. 4. Dive center and safety issues No proper briefing was conducted before the dive. Basic safety procedures and standard protocols were not explained. After the dive, the instructor effectively left me alone in the water and headed to shore. Due to waves, exiting safely was difficult, I was pushed against the corals and sustained abrasions and scratches. After reaching the shore, we also had to walk approximately 500 meters in full equipment to reach the sports area. This is not merely a service issue but a basic guest safety concern. Such situations are unacceptable for a hotel positioning itself as a high-end resort. 5. Overall staff competence and restaurant service Throughout the stay, there was a consistent impression of poor staff preparation, lack of structure, and weak guest-handling skills. In the restaurant, a single fish dish took more than 90 minutes to be served. During this time, waiters and even the chef approached me at least five times promising the dish would be ready in “2 to 5 minutes.” In reality, the waiting time exceeded one and a half hours. After the dish was served, staff continued approaching repeatedly to ask whether everything was fine, despite the obvious discomfort caused by the situation. Eventually, I had to ask them to stop approaching in order to finish the meal calmly. As a form of “resolution,” I was told to come back the next day so they could “do something from their side,” which is inappropriate for a hotel claiming a high service standard. Conclusion Taken together, these facts lead to a clear conclusion: the hotel’s stated positioning does not correspond to the actual quality of service, level of organization, or staff competence. At a cost of USD 4,600 per person for 4 nights, such a level of service and guest treatment is unacceptable.

This is nice place to visit. We stayed 10 nights in villa. Water is clean. The meal in two restaurants Reef and Surf is tasty and fresh. Special thanks to receptionist Mercyline. She assisted us with necessary information, provided nice service with smile. The guy with name Suaid helped us with our luggage. He is very quick with full energy to work. Thanks to all friendly staff at this hotel. We hope to come back again.

My wife and I have just returned from 10 days at the re-opened Reethi resort following its acquisition and renovation by Minor Hotels last year. For me, the four pillars of a R&R holiday are resort, accommodation, food and beverage, and staff. Reethi smashed each of them. Taking each in turn: The resort is fabulous. The island is 600m x 200m so big enough, but you can walk barefoot from top to bottom in 10 minutes. The vegetation is lush and well maintained, the beach is beautiful, there is lots of wildlife and the house reef is vibrant, with a bustling population of colourful fish, sharks, eagle rays, dolphins, turtles and we heard that an octopus is resident too (though we didn’t see that). We chatted to divers who said that there was little point to diving as you could see 99% by snorkelling. Accommodation. We took a “standard” beach villa. The accommodation has been fully renovated. The rooms were stylish and well appointed and the bed large and comfortable. The bathroom was large, well-equipped and semi outdoor. The larger beach villas had a separate living area and some had a plunge pool, but for us, the villa is for sleeping etc so these features were superfluous. Food and beverages. I’ve read a couple of reviews on here complaining about the variety and quality of the catering; only the deluded would expect Michelin quality à la carte cuisine in a resort buffet restaurant so if that’s your vibe you need to be writing out a bigger cheque. And if you’re looking for a “Sandals” type experience with 20 odd food stations then you might be disappointed. But each mealtime there was a selection of local/asian and international dishes, vegetarian dishes and salads, fruit and desserts and the quality was very good. We visited two “à la carte” restaurants. Kaiyo is a pretty “over the water” venue offering an Asian fusion menu (heavily Thai influenced, in my opinion) and Alifaan is a grill restaurant. The latter venue wasn’t particularly inspiring but the food was good. I understand that there is a third à la carte restaurant but it wasn’t open during our visit (I don’t know why). We were all inclusive and the selection of beverages at the main, sunset and rum bar was great - except the standard all inclusive beer is Carlsberg which must be a mistake - please remove it ASAP! But if you ask nicely then other beers may be available ;-) Staff. The resort had only been open for 2 weeks when we arrived. The staff were a mixture of pre and post acquisition. There was clearly a little bit of “finding their feet” but without exception, they were very friendly and helpful. There were a few standouts worth a shout: Majid, Reefa and Rajesh on the waiting team struck the perfect balance between attentive and unintrusive. In the main bar, Nikhil isn’t just a barman but a well-qualified and experienced wine and spirit professional (ask for one of his own recipe cocktails - the Cafe Noir and his as yet unnamed XO rum cocktail - we just called it a “Nikhil”). Megna aka “Supermeg” worked with Nikhil and was super-attentive and smiley. Sandeep and Madhu manned the sunset bar and rum bar respectively, and looked after us with big smiles. Our housekeeper, Amin, is a perfectionist. Was everything absolutely perfect? No, there were a few minor niggles but that’s understandable as the resort and staff settle following significant changes under the new ownership. They’ll be quickly ironed out, I’m sure. Overall, you could pay less for a Maldives vacation, and you can pay a lot more. But for us, it was luxury enough and worth every penny. We plan to return. P.S. ignore the two recent reviews by Vera and Tatiana. Amongst the many idiot points made, if you choose to take a baby on a long haul trip to a tropical resort, then that’s on you so accept the consequences. There are mosquitoes, and whilst the resort sprays to control them, they are impossible to completely eradicate. Re: the seaplane, yes, it takes almost 2 hours from landing at Male to arriving at the resort, but I’ve checked and the island can’t be moved. We found the transfer to be a very well-organised, smooth experience.

The island is beautiful and easily reachable in just half an hour by seaplane from Malé. We were among the first guests after the resort’s reopening, following a very well-executed general renovation. We stayed in a De Luxe Sunset Villa, right on the beach—spacious, comfortable and tastefully renovated. The sea, beach, and surrounding nature are stunning. There is also a splendid coral reef, easily accessible directly from the shore and perfect for snorkeling. All the staff were extremely kind, attentive and helpful. The wellness staff were excellent. We spent Christmas and New Year’s with our family. The Christmas event was very well organized, and the children were delighted by the visit from Santa Claus, who brought them gifts. For New Year’s Eve, the buffet was a true feast of lobsters and many other delicacies. A wonderful experience and we hope to return again soon.