We were excited to return to One&Only Reethi Rah Maldives. We had first visited the island when the resort had just opened, and it is as impressive now as it was then! We arrived in Male international airport in the morning and were greeted the Airport Manager of One&Only of 20 years. We were escorted to the private yacht transfer to the resort. Once we got settled in the boat host, Ahmed gave us a welcome drink and briefed us on all the safety aspects of the boat in case of an emergency. It felt very safe. He then gave us a small orientation around the boat. There was Wi-Fi, speakers to connect music, a charger for phones and a room for me to have a little nap if you felt like it. They had thought of everything. The transfer from the airport to the resort took 1 hour.

Once on the beautiful Maldive island, our Butler was ready to take us to our villa. He first took us for an orientation drive around the island and we were glad he did because it is huge! It is well laid out, the paths are all clearly signposted and covered in lush vegetation, which is quite important in the Maldives. It can get extremely hot in the afternoons during the Northernly Monsoon (November to April). A cycle ride around the island is a great way to get orientated. The Beach Villa with Pool located on the Grand Beach, which is the biggest of them all and in our opinion the best location, was amazing. It has a sunset view and is in the middle of the island where nothing seems too far away. We could easily walk to breakfast in the mornings at the Reethi Restaurant and the rest of the restaurants were a short cycle away. The Butler was also always around to pick us up and drop us off in the buggy if we did not fancy cycling and if you really do want to go the extra mile, you can rent your own buggy for the day at One&Only Reethi Rah.

The room was incredible, it had a beautiful landscape layout and overlooked the beach and the water.  It had a pool, a day bed, a hammock, and some lounge chairs to sunbathe. The inside of the room was impressive too and well thought out. Our favourite bit was the bed, it’s hard to get up for breakfast!

The dining highlight was at Tapasake, the signature restaurant. We had some delicious sushi that was made with crispy black Maldivian rice and tuna and chocolate fingers for dessert. We also had a wonderful hot stone massage by Ubon – a delightful therapist and a meditation session with Tamara the visiting Yogi. It is safe to say I left One&Only Reethi Rah feeling very zen.

As for Covid, it is an oasis amongst the chaos of the world. All the staff wear masks, but guests can roam freely without one as all guests provide a negative PCR test on arrival. They do take your temperature every morning at breakfast to be safe and ask you to wear a mask when inside the Reethi Restaurant when you go up to the buffet, other than that it was business as usual. It was such a refreshing change for me from being cooped up in a London flat over 15 months. The service at One&Only was faultless, it is so clear why even after so many years the resort remains at the top, setting the bar for luxury in the Maldives.

Planet Dive Holiday is a specialist in Luxury Maldives Holidays. If you are interested in a luxury Maldives dive holiday is it always best to speak to an expert here at Planet Travel on +44 1273 921 001

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