Name: Raakani Villas
Address: Guraidhoo, 08080 Guraidhoo, Maldives, South Male Atoll, South Male Atoll, South Male Atoll, 08080, Maldives
Rating: 9

Air conditioning

24-hour reception

Smoking areas

Currency exchange

Gift shop

Garden

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Family room

Rooms

Ironing

Laundry

Services and amenities

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Barbecue grill(s)

Fishing

Recreation

Children's menu

Kids

Location

At the hotel

Kandooma Beach

Male International Airport

Raakani Villas

South Male Atoll

I stayed overnight at this establishment in december 2016, before they opened to the public.  The owner personally greeted & welcomed me.  I would never forget his kindness & hospitality.  At this time this was a brand new hotel so everything was new, I had a blast.  Also had a traditional Maldivian seafood dinner, it was excellent!

excellent place to stay!

We had booked Raakani for 4 nights. We left after 1 which the staff were very accommodating about. The guest house was not to our taste at all, you sort of felt like you had a room in somebody else’s home and it was just a little bit too weird. I think unfortunately the pictures have been taken to show something that is not quite representative of what it’s actually like. The bed linen was stained but other than that the room was clean. 

The beach in front of the hotel is not a bikini beach. Excursions are expensive in Guraidhoo, we changed to Maafushi, accommodation is better here and you can get half day snorkel trips for $25. 

Not what we were expecting 

We are sure this is the best option to stay in Guraidhoo. The new bikini beach is just outside the bedrooms, amazing sea views, close to the harbour and great price-value relationship. It is very convenient if you intend to do diving and it has great comunal areas as well. Since the owners of Manta Divers Dive Center took over the place is just getting better and better. Try the Maldivian breakfast and enjoy the sunset!

BEST HOTEL IN GURAIDHOO

Raakani Villas is a nice and small hotel, where you have a direct and friendly contact to the owner. You can plan snorkeling tours and you will be guided in the water so you really see all the nice underwater life, sharks, turtles, rare fishes, starfishes, colourful shells and a lot more... The hotel is directly at the ocean with a beautiful view, the rooms are big and clean, the beds are comfortable, the bathroom is very nice and clean also and you can sit in front of your room with oceanview and there are loungers at the ocean to relax. The AC and refridgerator work perfectly. You can lend snorkeling equipment for free and there is a big beachtowel to use for every guest. You can reach everything on the island per foot, just 2 min away is a small supermarket, a restaurant, the diving school manta divers and a small souvenir shop. 
I will stay at Raakani Villas again, I was completly happy here.

Oceanview, lovely staff, nice rooms

We found this place via a booking site and travelling through Sri Lanka decided that we would like to finish off our trip with a couple of days kicking back on the Maldives.

After we placed the booking we needed to get some assistance with the transfer from Malé and we contacted Ahid the General Manager of the Raakani Villas. Response was quick (within 12h I believe) and it was swiftly arranged. We were met at Malé airport and following a short wait were transfered to Guraidhoo. Ahid and his staff were waiting already at the jetty and we were welcomed with a nice drink.

The accommodations are basic, clean and the location is the best on the island in terms if snorkeling and diving, excursions etc as the jetty with the boats is literally 30 seconds walk away. The rooms are equipped with a/c and own bathroom. It is to be said that the showers can give off an unpleasant smell from time to time, although the water itself doesn't make you smell bad. If you have a room on the first level all of them get an ocean view - although the balkonies are a shared space. The rooms below have a garden view. The beach is approx. 10 meters away. 

Upon request Ahid and his team will provide snorkeling gear free of charge and I believe there are also kayaks to be used. Ahid - the Man for everything - can organize all the tours and whatever you can think of also. The food is very good with their Sri Lankan chef creating  great local dishes as well as other stuff. 

The island can be walked in roughly an hour (taking it easy). Bikini Island is a ten minute walk away with a very nice place to hang out. At this stage we feel we would like to point out the fact that this is an alcohol free island and we encourage everyone to take some time to get to meet the locals, they are great. There are a few shops and restaurant with fairly reasonable prices (e.g. a meal in one of the restaurants cost me ~ USD 10.00). There are one or two convenience stores as well as tourist shops with some nice local art stuff.

The diving center is on the jetty and they were super nice guys there. I cannot comment on the quality of the dives as I only  snorkel,, but apparently one of the top 10 dives on the Maldives is right here.

I recommend to take the "Full Day Excursion" with snorkeling, Dolphins and Sand Bank Lunch. We got to Snorkel with Manta Rays (!) and turtles. Ahid the Man will provide all the details upon request.

All in all this place is authentic and "real" and if you are looking for a rather favorable stay on the Maldives then this is he place to come. They will make you feel welcome and I will miss sitting on the beach with a drink watching the sunset (and of course enjoying the company of Lulu their local cat).


Great place with wonderful staff

Trip on 27Feb-2Mar : Despite all the news, we (2 girls, Singapore, Chinese) decided to proceed with our flight but I change the Hotel from Male City to the Hulhumale Hotel nearer to the Airport, hotel pick-up transfer by car. 5D4N there they took care of us very well; receiving us at Pier 5, speedboat.

Raakani (~2yrs old) : Clean room, nice bed & pillows; good house reef - Octopus/ eels/ puffer fish & many fish & healthy coral; helpful owner. One of the staff there is also very helpful and his effort in "wanting to learn & listen" to our need as trying his best on his English. Friendly Island. The flexibility exclusive arrangement for showing us what is Trolling, our tour for Dolphin watch, Spotting sharks, night fishing, Day & Night snorkeling, Island walk. 

If not because of last Nov Cebu trip learning that there are many parts of the world still using well water, "the very city us" will have made a big fuss/complain about the yellowish/salty tap water! It' just like our last Cebu island experience; realised/ learned that it's underground & well water. 

Small island, short walk & can swim on both side of the island, everyone knows everyone & are friendly, helpful people. Can see that Ahmed & his team is trying to put in their best effort for us. He also tag along to ensure everything run smoothly & safely. He even get an assistance with rescue certified (going on as a Dive Master Cert) to guide us in water. 

We like the flexibility of the arrangement for our day/night tour trip. Every trip we go, we will face hiccups, yet still acceptable by us in a certain way. We appreciate the help, the people we met, the things we learn. It's our first time to Maldives. And we will back soon to this place! This time round will be with dive trips!

Raakani Villas

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