Reethi Beach is an all time favourite for many people on the forums. It is not without reason. A beautiful island with good food, and good value for money

Read my review:

Stayed one wonderful week at Reethi Beach.

Seaplane: Getting there took about one hour, due to some waiting for available platform on one of the resorts. The way back was only a 35 minutes direct flight.

One thing to remember when you are looking for your flight on your way to the resort; If you are looking for Reethi Beach you will not find it, so you will have to look for the island’s real name Fonimagoodhoo Island, and the flight code is “FON”. If you are stopping at other resorts before getting to Reethi it will be stated like this: DOH-COH-FON, meaning it will land at Fonimagoodhoo as the last resort on the flight.

The TMA airplanes are safe, and there was actually not as much turbulence as I thought it would be. But they are old, hot and very crowded (and overpriced). Bring a bottle of water.

The Island is a true beauty with its lush vegetation and natural feeling. The beaches consist of fine white powdery sand (high grade aragonite sand) which is free of coral rubble. The vegetation consists of 10-20% coconut-palms, but the rest is more bush like growth. No dangers from coconuts, they are collected. They also have their rustic garden, where they grow a variety of flowers and trees, which I really enjoyed.

The reef is pretty good: Very good for schools of fish, especially at the reefdrop, but not the best when it comes to coral.

The sea currents are not too bad on this island, but always practice safe snorkeling. The dangerous area is the sand banks that stretch north from the water bungalows. Close to the bungalows you are safe, but do not go too far out on the sand banks; where you can get caught by drifts, especially if you are using a life vest.
Also, the best way to snorkel is to go to the north of the island, and follow the currents along the reef drop to the south (on both sides of the island)
The animals on the island are in general used to people, but do not stay straight in front or top of stingrays, and allow some space for the titan triggerfish (there are several on the west side) This is really a fish soup island!

The rooms are a bit outdated, but ok. I had the standard villa 161 which was nice, and next to one of the reef exits. If you are staying in deluxe, I would choose 130 or 131, which have the most uninterrupted sea view.

The food on the island is very good. The best dishes I had was the Teriyaki beef (moodhu), two different versions of carpaccio (Reethi grill & Saima) and the sweet symphony dessert at Saima garden.
The highest standard of foods was at the Saima Garden. Reethi Grill and Moodhu came out equal, but the latter was most used due to ok wi-fi.
The buffet restaurant: I did not try it.
If you are eating at Reethi Grill: they have two special tables closer to the sea: ask to get one of these.
The service on the island is very good and genuine. The best staff is located at Moodhu restaurant (though a few of them work in more than one restaurant/bar). I want to thank the staff there for making my holiday a memory for life. Keep up with genuine service from the heart!

The best staff in service area: The blonde European with glasses working in the reception area. I am sorry I forgot your name. She was very professional and a comfortable being.

Restaurants must be booked in advance for dinner, but a few hours in advance seemed sufficient. But they probably prefer several hours in advance.

The AI system; no matter if you are on AI or AI select, you still have to sign every bill. The prices of the food and drinks will show, but not if you are asking for a print of your total bill (at reception). I would still prefer that it did not show any prices on the bill, except for payable items (cigars, champagne, lobster etc)

Football (world championship) will be shown in the activity room behind the Rasfeganu bar, and on big screens on the beach when Germany is playing. Also SONY Six will cover the matches (in your room)

There are also a few cons, but I’m not letting them affect the rating on this review, as they are not subject to the resort itself, but external services:

The spa: Cononut spa is a chain of spas, which is fine. But their skincare products, and the selection of treatments is not the best. We all have our aloe vera with us anyway.
My tip: get your own resort spa, go for products that are of new technology and reflect the image of the island & surroundings. One example: “Thalgo” la beaute Marine.

The dive school/ sea explorer: Professional, nice and safe. I was also very happy with my snorkeling excursion to turtle reef, BUT: The main reason for choosing this atoll in June was for manta rays in Hanifaru Bay; that they didn’t offer this trip was the biggest drawback of my holiday. If the dive center was an internal service of the hotel, at least one star would have been removed just for this drawback!

Insects: They spray one area at the time for mosquitoes (about 10 bungalows at the same time). You will be informed if your bungalow will be exposed; one day in advance. Remove your toiletries and clothes from the open bathroom. The good thing, not a single insect bite the whole holiday. I saw no mosquitoes or sandflies at all!

The weather: one night with heavy rain and wind, otherwise 2×15 minutes of rain the whole week.

I also expected this to be an island with mainly English, Scandinavians and Dutch, but it actually turned out to be more than 50% German. Normally when travelling with friends I wouldn’t care. But they are sticking much to each other because of the language, and are often of a more conservative behavior, but very polite!

The island has a lot of cute small reptiles (not too unusual for the Maldives though)

Would I recommend this hotel to my friends: yes (but not for single travelling Scandinavians I guess)

Would I go back: Probably.

The lack of Hanifaru trips might direct me to another island in the Baa atoll if travelling in June (manta season end of May until end of July). [/showhide]