Island wonderful but hotel and guests not.

I agree with the negative comments previously, over run by sun bed hogging Germans and idiots that bring toddlers and babies to a place like this, may be because its the cheapest resort.

The island is small and very nice, with an abundance of fish in the warm clear water, 7 days is enough, if you have 2 weeks do sri lanca as well. (and of course another resort)

The hotel side is a bit of a let down, i agree with previous comments, food poor and after spending about £3.5k getting the 4 of us there you would expect to have a coffee or tea when you wanted, and what a scene if you took a tea spoon, unbelievable,
all inclusive is a rip off, poor drinks and set up compared to the rest of the world. Shame it could be so good.

For most the Maldives is a once in a life time experience, so i would recommend finding another resort that has more facilities and less of the mentioned negatives.

Thompson flight:
the plane is good with direct flights and in seat entertainment, however they do rob you of another £5 to access all channels, not bad leg room, food poor, dont believe the Aldo Zilli hype, absolute rude and ignorant crew at the back of the plane, where did they get that bunch from, every one was complaining, i would try every other airline rather than go with Thompson again.
These thoughts are the views of many, not just our crew , i cant understand why previous reviews are so positive about the place, its just miss leading.

We flew out at the end of March. The weather was perfect the whole stay, with only 2 rain showers at night and were a welcome relief.
The boat was kept company by dolphins and flying fish on the journey to and from the island.
Our arrival was pain free, greeted with a cocktail and luggage taken to the room. Popping our swim wear on immediately, we took a walk around the island.
Great snorkelling and diving, for every level of experience. You always manage to find a piece of beach and sea to yourself and it is if you could be the only ones there.
The food was amazing, something different to suit all tastes. Although you do have to share your table, they do try and sit you with people of the same language and our table companions were brilliant. The waiter Mohammad was always welcoming and come the end of the stay had our drinks waiting for us.
The room boy cleaned the room twice daily and was very friendly.
We flew with Thomsons and had no problems.
All we can say is the island is a tiny piece of paradise and it is exactly as breathtaking as any pictures you've seen.

Booked with Thompson AI 1 week - 2 adults 2 teens,

i chose this location due to some good reviews on trip advisor,

Flight delayed 1 h out and 1 h return, then diverted to Manchester to drop a few off before going to Gatwick making the hotel to airport return leg about 18h - yawn. very stressed and rude flight crew at the rear of the plane - same crew on return and they were just as bad, possibly the worst i have ever encountered in 30 years of flights.

We were one of only 5 British family’s on the island last week, the rest were Germans, you know the type - towels on the sun loungers at 6 am then left all day - pushing in at dinner, loud etc etc - some of them even had babies and toddlers with them, screaming all day - nightmare, avoid like the plague - hotel rooms are very close so you can hear Hans clear his throat every morning - nice, it must have been a nightmare being on the same block as the crying babies, we were lucky we only had to suffer them at meal times. All the brit couples mentioned the same problems and positives.

- i could go on about many other negative things but they have been covered by other reviews, coffee / limited trips / poor food/ no entertainment plus much more but there is no point in going on about them as you don’t want to go here. AVOID it might be slightly cheaper but its money wasted.

The island its self is lovely, as i would imagine all of the Maldives are, warm clear fish filled water with nice soft white sand so next time we visit and we will as its one of the most stunning areas of the world, we shall choose one with out Germans... and babies .. lets hope that’s possible.

We returned from Embudu yesterday and I decided to get this info on straight away. I was checking tripadvisor daily before I went and you get a very good overview of the Island. This was my 3rd trip to the maldives having previously visited Meeru and Summer Island. This is by far my favourite and if I had to choose one Island to go back to, this would be it. The island is very basic and I will try to list the pros and cons. One thing I will mention is the food. It is not as bad as some people have painted it to be, but there are some things that really let it down. The thing that stood out for me was the 'fruitjuice' at breakfast. I cannot conceive that anyone would go to the trouble or expense of bottling/canning something so awful. If it did not state what it was you would have a hard job guessing. So here goes - the good:
1) Clean but basic rooms, with good size bathroom and plenty of hot water. Linen and towels changed regularly.
2) Lots of shrubbery and shelter and little 'openings' onto the beach giving lots of very private feeling areas.
3) Nice soft sand throughout - I only wore shoes once.
4) Fabulous reef for snorkeling, clearly marked entrances and exits and an abundance of fish. I didnt realise they grew so big. I don't dive but the divers were all out daily. I think this Island is aimed at serious marine life lovers and that is what sells it. They do not need fancy gimmicks.
5) The food was reasonable. I am a vegetarian and didn't starve, but I dont eat rice so this made it a little difficult. However, they watched like hawks that I was eating enough and would always come up and ask me if there was anything else they could get me.
6) The staff were excellent and couldn't do enough for you. They are the most willing i have met on any Island (barring the grumpy egg chef).
7) Mixture of cultures. predominantly french and german, but everyone polite, friendly and courteous.
8) Very peaceful and laid back.
9) The smell of Frangipani all over the place it was fab.
10) Our room was number 35 and we loved the position.
The bad:
1) Some scruffy areas
2)No 'no smoking' areas even in the dining room.
3) Table sharing - you are allocated a table and are very lucky to get a table for two. However they try to match you with your own country and we actually ended up sharing with a very interesting couple from Guernsey. They were great fun and lovely people and certainly made our mealtimes more interesting. We did not see each other every mealtime as you often go at different times. This could be a problem if you don't smoke and were paired with smokers, or people with questionable table manners, although I believe they will move you when another table becomes vacant if you are unhappy.
4) The economy rooms are in the staff quarters, so make sure you book a superior room. All superior rooms have air con, so make sure you ask for it.
5) Our room was very smoky as ciggie smoke from both sides escaped into it. If you really hate smoking this would bother you.
6) No coffee and tea during the day on the All Inclusive. Unless you have a water bungalow I would recommend taking a kettle and supplies as when you are not out you may well sit near your room and fancy a brew.
7) Plug sockets! Different rooms have different sockets for the adaptors. Ours took the round 2 pin, but some neighbours took a flat 2 pin. Be prepared lol. I always take out a 4 plug english extension as well just in case I need to charge a lot of things.

Overall it is a lovely little island and absolutely fantastic value for money. Communication is good, but the internet is a little expensive. I would not recommend taking children as there is nothing for them to do. There is no pool and you will have to watch and entertain them constantly. The same goes for adults. If you like to be 'entertained' then this is not the island for you. Bear in mind even the rooms do not have tv (except water bungalows) and there is only one communal tv near reception. If reading, swimming, peace and quiet and marine life are your main priorities then this is the island for you.