Rahaa Resort

We stayed at the Rahaa Resort for two weeks. It was rather a long journey as when we arrived in Male, we then had to wait a further four and a half hours for the flight down to the local airport to Rahaa and then a forty minute boat journey in rough seas to the resort. But when we got there it was well worth the travelling. We were welcomed to the island and the staff went out of their way to make sure we were happy. There is one central self service restaurant and for every meal we were welcomed by Wasanthi who made sure you had all you needed and Alim was quickly there to arrange your drinks order. The food is well cooked but there are not a lot of options but it varied from day to day. There were options for special meals but these were very expensive! There are two bars, the main one next to the restaurant and you are expected to drink your drink in the surrounding area rather than wander off to the beach with it. In the late afternoon the sunset bar opens at the other end of the island and Robi does an excellent job in supplying your drinks. The rooms were spacious with huge ensuite bathrooms which had both an indoor shower and an outdoor shower. The TV options are very limited but you could access some channels. I would recommend getting a room in the 200 range which look out to sea rather than the 400 range that look out on the lagoon. There are mosquitos around but with sensible precautions they should not be a problem. Every room has its own allocation of two sun beds and there are also a good number of free sun beds round the main beach area. The evening entertainment is somewhat limited and was dominated by karaoke and loud modern disco music. Once a week there was hermit crab racing which was entertaining and no hermit crabs were injured in the race! In fact, the island has a plethora of hermit crabs, lizards, hens and crows. The sea is very clear and has a gentle slope so very safe for bathing. Small sharks and manta rays happily swim along close to the shore. Twice every day there is a free snorkelling trip out to a nearby reef which is good fun. There is a beauty salon and gym in the complex. The beauty therapists offer a free massage going into breakfast and our reservation also included a free half hour session which was very relaxing. There is a library with a good selection of English, German and Russian books. Summary: Rahaa is not the most well equipped of the Maldive islands but we found it excellent value for money. If you want all the trimmings then you can opt to pay twice as much and go to a more prestigious location. Absolutely make sure that you are booked on an all-inclusive package otherwise your food and drinks bill could be considerable. I trod on a sharp piece of coral which was treated by the medical team on the island. I would strongly recommend a pair of beach shoes and especially for when you are going in the sea. The WiFi covers the rooms but is fairly weak so we encountered a lot of buffering. Whilst we were there, a new WiFi was put in the bar area which was much better but only worked in that location. Hopefully, in time, a more powerful system will cover the resort. I would also suggest that the staff be given name badges so visitors can identify who they are seeing. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable holiday.