Just returned from Helengeli and had a fantastic vacation. I've been to my fair share of beach vacations and the service here was the best I've had. Here are a few of my comments:

Pros:
- A true "island" escape
- Amazing beaches and turquoise waters
- Awesome snorkeling at the house reef
- Exemplary service
- Great bar and restaurant
- No shoes required
- Quiet relaxed atmosphere

Cons:
- long wait at the Male' seaplane terminal (not fault of Helengeli)
- Rooms showing a bit of age (beds not the most comfortable)

General - a small island north of Male'. This is a quiet and relaxing style Resort. No bands, DJ, loud music. One restaurant, one pool, one large bar and general seating area. White sandy beaches, beautiful water, very good 'house-reef' and sunsets. The island is mostly all white sand. The beaches and island common areas are raked daily, making the overall appearance exceptional. The Island website states 'this is a barefoot island.' That is true. Barefoot is fine for dining also.
This was our first visit to Maldives and have no comparisons to other Resorts. However, the couple staying next had been to 6 different Resorts in the Maldives. They told us that Helengeli was the best overall (they were divers).

Room - The rooms comfortable and in very good condition (fresh paint and little sign of wear). The outside toilet/shower/sink area is tiled and good size. There is a high wall around this area with an open sky. A second outside shower (no hot water) can be used to rinse gear, clothes, etc.
Problem: Ants and tiny white ants. The room came with a can of bug spray. We took our own liquid (Walmart-Hot-Shot $3.95, 3 oz travel size). It worked better because it did not blast the little ants around.
No problem with misquotes or any other type of insect.

Food - We did the half-board. Found the breakfast to be very adequate and good selection. Dinner meals were varied and, we thought, well presented. Half-board was plenty adequate for us. We happened to be at the island dock and saw fresh fish being purchased by the Helengeli Chef for evening meals. One day the load of fresh tuna purchased for guests and staff was 800 Kilo. That evening there was a special tray of sushi grade tuna. Unbelievable wonderful. Fish was on the menu every evening. Generally great. Sometimes a bit over cooked (dry). Fish included grouper, snapper, and mix variety of reef fish. We saw the fishermen fishing just off Helengeli island. It was really fresh. Our compliments to the Maldivian Chef.

Reef - There are 6 reef access points around the southern two thirds of the island (northern third is off-limits). Large variety of tropical fish. Coral is coming back and many different colors. In addition to all the colorful tropical fish, we saw manta ray, sharks, turtles, octopus, barracuda, grouper... Great snorkeling. Divers we spoke with were very pleased with their dives in the area.

Service - The bartender and servers were especially friendly and helpful. A big plus is that most every worker on the island is smiling and greets you when passing. Some communication challenges. We are English speaking and vast majority of guests seemed to be from Switzerland, Germany, and Netherlands +. Some of the brochures and postings were not in English.

Price - We happened to be able to book this Resort while they were running a promotion. Making the 'value' outstanding.
Note: cost of 1.5 liter of bottled water is nearly $5. We drank 4+ liters a day. Making our fresh water bill around $100 for a 5 night stay. The island recommends 'not' drinking the tap water.
Happy Hour drink specials were buy one, get one free. Different each day and generally very good (the best buy).

Seaplane - Great experience to view the islands of this Atoll from the air. Everything was terrific except the long wait at the Male' seaplane terminal (not Helengeli Resort fault). Try to get a window seat.

We just returned from a stay at Helengeli and had some lovely dives and relaxed. This is not the place for luxury and fine dining and we went knowing that. The house reef is great and the dive operator is so well set up and you can do your own dives on the house reef or they run boat trips in the am and afternoon. You do have to take a seaplane to get there and we did have to wait 2 and a half hours before leaving the sea plane terminal which was upsetting when you havent slept and arent aware of this and not this is not a fault of the resort. The rooms are def older but very clean. We stayed in the deluxe bungalow at the end and the beach was nice however did have people using the loungers outside on the beach so used the wooden ones on the lil deck. I think the room could use a clock as we def got confused with the time difference:) There is new management in place for around 4 weeks now and they seem super switched on and very nice and helpful. We did half board and found the food to be a bit bland but we are used to spicier food and they def try hard and have to get food all the way there! Had sarmies at the bar for lunch and Raj? the barman was so very nice and always friendly. Also the two servers during cocktail hour were great as well as our assigned waiter:) We had a nice stay and thank everyone on Helengeli.

I have to preface this by saying that anyone who really complains about a vacation in the Maldives will surely come across as rather spoiled, and probably with good reason. However, I also think that many people who dream of paradise might find better ones at a fraction of the price.

Maldives appeals to many because it is exclusive. And it certainly is, this resort being no exception despite being on the lower end of the ridiculous amount of money that vising here costs. I took my mother on this vacation, and we stayed in the A-frame at the end of the island, which was lovely and, I would say, worth the extra money if you want more privacy. Everything was cleaned very well, and the staff were friendly.

The snorkeling, which is what we came for, was OK, but the truth is that due to the various cataclysms of the last 10 years, that reef (as most others around this area) is largely dead. That said, it is still an amazing experience. Swimming with giant turtles, octopus and many other amazing animals is definitely something to write home about. But as for the coral, sadly, this is not the place to go for spectacular views. Unfortunately, regular swimming can only be done off the boat pier, which was a bummer, as swimming is one of my favorite activities, and this is not the nicest place on the island.

Little annoyances were also there, such as instant coffee. I mean really, come on. Also, cheap hot dogs do not a sausage make - and should not, for the price of such vacations. In general, the food was quite good, but a little more local flavours would have been nice to see. Along with tropical drinks that are not made from a mix.

Overall, as I said, it's hard to complain. But it also must be said that one can find a better 'paradise vacation', even one with better reefs, at a fraction of the price. It all depends on how exclusive you want to feel.