J Resort Alidhoo

J Allidhoo is a lovely small Island resort, it looks and is stunning. We stayed for 14 days and our stay overall experience was very positive and overall I would recommend it, especially if you just want a relaxing holiday, it is not perfect, but what is? I am a diver and the main reason for going was the diving. The diving is fantastic, very remote and great for close encounters with Manta’s. There is also a chamber on the island. We stayed in a Water Villa which was stunning with two levels. His and hers massive toilet and shower room, split level accommodation, with the bedroom upstairs with an on-suite and balcony. The interior of our villa was very clean and well maintained, plenty of complementary water etc. The outside was in need of upgrading and decorating, unfortunately in the original construction they used cheaper steel nails rather that stainless and they have off-course rusted, the rust is bleeding though to the paint work which is unsightly. The construction is solid, so not dangerous, it is just cosmetic. The Jacuzzi bath which is outside is also a problem, I would say it will always be, they need replacing or removing, the reason is that they are only suitable, in my view, for inside use and not for outdoors, so the electric controls which are not fully encapsulated and weather tight have eroded to the stage that the contacts are always going to be a problem. They did try to repair them and it did work for a while, but it is futile and not worth getting them round every other day to repair, it did not spoil my experience as a Jacuzzi bath does nothing for me, but if you are going because it has a Jacuzzi bath you will be disappointed. You can fill it with cold water and use it as plunge pool to cool off. I did not get to see the beach Villas inside, but from outside some did look like they had not been used for a while with roofs that needed replacing. I would recommend a water villa. The food and beverages are good and plentiful, but go fully inclusive as things are expensive in the Maldives, the service was also very good and friendly, especially by the pool. The WIFI is free but in our water villa was very poor, basically there was one small hot spot and very slow if working at all, again for us not a major problem, to keep up with emails etc. you could go to the areas that have stronger signal, like in the reception area, or better still just switch off and relax. There is no beach to speak off, it gets eroded by the waves, there are sandy sections so you can walk along the sand, but not what you would call a beach and getting into the water from the sand is not ideal as the coral surrounds the island. Great pool, not deep but clean and service for drinks is excellent, so we stayed around the pool mostly relaxing. Not a lot of entertainment, it’s chilled out relax location which was good for us. The journey is long with a flight from Male and a speed boat ride to the island, it does get rough and the speed boat in our trip was not massive and was open. Luckily we were up the front end standing by the driver behind the windscreen, but some people were at the back sitting and the wave spray was soaking them all the way, they had to change on arrival at the airport as they were drenched from head to foot. It was funny to watch but probably not funny for them! It is a remote location but that for me is part of the attraction. Overall a great experience.