I've eventually got around to writing this as I read tripadvisor planning this years trip!

We have excellent memories of Island Hideaway (IH), this was our second visit after Cinnamon island, a nearby place in the same Haa Alifu atoll. Incidentally, some UK travel agents are pricing Cinnamon as the more expensive, don't judge on this, IH has <50 rooms (on a larger island) as opposed to approx 100 and superb snorkelling off the beach. We actually chose to come to IH after seeing it from the dive boat.

Flight down with SL was direct and thankfully matched our internal connection almost perfectly, no waiting at Male this year and I think we did 'door to door' in about 18 hours. We were met at Hahnimahdoo by Suminder, our butler who then looked after our bags and oversaw our transfer. The arrival was faultless, drinks, iced towels etc and the butler even offered to do all our unpacking. We later had a buggy tour of the island and all the facilities. The rooms were ?Dhonakuhli residences?. They were stunning: bedroom, lounge, diner, dressing area, outside bathroom (excellent toiletries), plunge pool. The privacy is superb, we had our own path from the track that circled the island, curved so that your accommodation is hidden. At the back was a sitting area, swing and 'our' beach. This had our loungers and was screened from any neighbours by the foliage. Even on the upstairs sun deck I could only just see the roof of the neighbouring residences.

Elsewhere on the island were the bar, two restaurants, tennis court, gym (with pool table etc), spa, watersports centre. There is a lot of space here and so the kids club for example is hidden away from where any adults may choose to go (great for us). As mentioned you also have bikes to ride around on, it's a great way to get around quickly. The restaurant for breakfast is on the reef side of the island and every morning we saw baby sharks (tiny) swimming past as we ate. The bar is suberb but underused as it is a short distance from both restaurants, a shame as it's a great place to watch the sunset. There are actually no 'spoilt views' here at all, this place is really all by itself.

We were there mainly for the diving and suffice to say this was excellent. We never had more than 7 people in the water and never saw any other dive boats. This atoll is way North and the dive sites are still being discovered, outstanding. The dive centre staff, boat crew are all excellent. Maureen, thanks for getting my 60+ stepfather out on a couple of discovery dives. Free nitrox, kit all moved, washed etc for you, faultless.

Also the snorkelling is the best I have seen. Walk from the pool onto the beach and within a few metres you will be over the coral. Fin a short distance and you will be on the edge of the deep water channel. Here I saw: Turtles, moray eels, lion fish, scorpion fish, baby sharks and of course hundreds of different reef fish. The current was gentle and as long as you had sun block on your neck, legs etc it was quite easy to spend an hour watching life go by. Further into the channel dolphins occasionally came through. The coral is in good condition and the night dives are also done on this house reef.

There were mixed nationalities there, although the manager commented half the island was (at that time) rented by Russian travel agents. (Unlike other reports I've read, there was no 'inappropriate' behaviour)

The staff were all excellent, the food was v.good... The only negative I have is the butler concept. Please note, not the butler who was faultless. When I'm on holiday I want to disappear, I don't like saying we'll eat at 19:30 tonight because then I feel obliged to be there on time. Suminder always said we could go anytime as he would be there all night but we still felt like we were meeting an appointment. He would find us at lunch for iced coffees in the bar and served us at every meal wherever we were. If you do go, I don't think you'd find anyone better and I see that it's a very common theme in the high end resorts, just not for us.

Comparing this with our other Maldives visit, Cinammon had a superb, huge infinity pool, we had exquisite food (I think this was due to the best chef in the whole Cinammon group being there at the time) but as we sailed past in 2008 it had considerable storm damage. I'm pleased that recent reports suggest everything has been sorted out but I'd choose IH every time.

We are from Australia and when deciding where to go on our honeymoon, we wanted good food, great service and the feeling of being alone on a tropical island! We had a hard time deciding which resort to go to in the maldives as they all seemed so nice. We chose Island Hideaway and i must say it was the BEST decision (except getting married!) we've ever made!
I'll try and be as helpful as possible as trip advisor helped us make our decison.

Food: We went half board and it was fab. We ate in the main restraunt each night as the food was exquised and we could order whatever we wanted off the menu (even two deserts if you so desired). I believe the asian restraunt had a us$50 per person limit so you could order what you want as long as it wasnt over us$50. But as i said we just ate at the main restraunt and it was some of the best food we have ever had!!!
Drinks very very expensive..for a cheaper cocktail , between 5-7pm only $10 at the bar! Otherwise...it is ridiculosly expensive but your on holiday..enjoy!

Accom: We stayed in the dhonuki and it was superb! From the outdoor bathroom to the little swimming pool...it was fantastic. Next time i think we will stay in the cheaper Funa retreat...only because it looked just as lovely and was a lot cheaper and while it was fun to have a little pool, we really only used it a couple of times. We each had a bike to ride around the island which was fantastic but there are little golf buggys at your beck and call to take you anywhere you want to go if you didnt have the energy to ride!!

Spa: What can i say.....sheer indulgance!! I had an indian head massage and my husband had a full body and it was one of the most beautiful experinces we have ever had together. It was so romantic and the service was impeccable! A must do!!!

Watersports: We took our own snorking equipment because we read that it was expensive to hire but when we arrived we found out it was free, so check with them before you arrive about it. Non-motorised sports are complimentry as well. Loads of fun and the guys who run it are really lovely! The snorkling is beautiful. They have a house reef so you can just jump in and off you go. We saw turtles, manta rays, eagle rays, sharks and millions of fish!!

Butler Service and Staff: We were really unsure of this because we dont tip in Australia we were really uncertain how it would all work. I suggest you have a few US$ when you land because the guys at the airport are really helpful and i wished id have a few bucks to give them for their efforts. Our butler was sensational. He met us at the airport and him and the porters took all of our stuff! This was an indication of things to come. Never have we been so spoilt and treated with such respect. Hussain did as much or as little as we wanted. he took us snorling everyday (you can go own your own but we thought another set of eyes would be good for spotting stuff!), was there to attend to us at breaky, organised our spa treatments, ensured our bungalow was fully stocked with coffee each day, served us for dinner even set up a romantic dinner on the beach for us! He spent all day cutting up palm leaves to make love hearts out of them. He was amazing and we recommend you arrange to have him if you visit!! I think he is in hot demand! We tiped him at the end of the stay and gave him some little souveniers from Australia. Good idea to take some little presents for them...you'll feel like you want to give them more!!
Every single staff member was polite, attentive, respectful and just plain friendly! We had the pleasure of meeting Greg, the General Manager who was down to earth and very welcoming!

Every single second was perfect...i wish there was another word because our time there is indescrible. The whole place was fully booked but the only time we saw anyone else was at dinner and breakfast

I read some of the negative reviews and i think they are unfair. This place is a natural retreat...it has bugs, sand and mosquitos. An outside shower/toilet. It is a down to earth, back to basic's, natural island haven. Its like being on a deserted tropical island..with a butler!
Our bill at the end..including spa (x4), drinks (x loads), wakebording lunch/snacks everyday and scuba diving was US$1200.

Hope this has helped you decide. My advice..give it a go!

Unbelievable spot, private villas with private beach and tranquil aqua waters! Lots of sea creatures to see. Highlight was spotting the 3 Eagle Ray right in front of our private beach...I was happy snapping photos of my son and wife in the water and I spotted the eagle rays playing and swimming through. Never seen an Eagle ray before this trip...spotted the eagle rays as well while snokeling with my wife right outside the restaurant / bar and also the seaplane came landing only metres from us which we found fantastic to see...could have ordered a cocktail when we came up for air...now, that is what I call convenience! The reef is right at the door step...our butler yakeep look after our son most times and at one of the breakfasts my son was excited to have spotted the Octopus at the jetty! The abundance of craps on the beach was a great highlight for our almost 3 year old son and the daycare facility makes things really easy for us. We enjoyed our stay extremely and will be back hopefully next year....

Island Hideaway definitely provides the ultimate Robinson Crusoe escape island experience. It is extremely private as the villas are spacious and built far apart from each other. In fact you never really saw other guests except when eating / drinking at the islands restaurants or bar. I can imagine this could be a bit off putting if you were staying for a long period of time, however we were only there for 7 days and provided us a wonderful opportunity to unwind and relax.
Arrival & Departure:
Like many other reviews have indicated, the hotel is far away from Male. We arrived on a direct Sri Lankan airways flight from London to Male airport and then had to wait another two and half hours for our connecting flight to Hanimaadhoo airport. After arriving at Hanimaadhoo it was still another 30 minute speed boat transfer to the hotel. All in all it is a very long journey however, as we were excited to get there the time passed by fairly quickly.
The journey back definitely felt much longer. We had a 13:00 Sri Lankan airways flight back to London from Male airport and we were informed that we would have to leave the island at 6:30am which was a little frustrating leaving so early on your last day of holiday. This also meant a lot of time waiting around for our flight from Male to London.
Accommodation:
We stayed in a Jasmine Garden Villa which was incredibly spacious and had a large private pool, and also an upstairs balcony. The furnishings were of a good standard and the villa was cleaned to a high standard twice a day. The villa had both an outdoor bathroom (shower and bath) as well as an indoor bathroom (shower only).
Butler:
It is a little strange getting used to the butler concept. He served us at meal times and also arranged any additional activities that we wanted to partake in. Whenever we wanted to eat at the restaurants / bar had to call him beforehand to let him know we were going to have breakfast /dinner etc. Our butler was quite reserved but friendly which worked well for us as it allowed us to sit at dinner / breakfasts and chill out and stare at the beautiful views without having to engage in too much idle chit chat which seemed to be the case with some of the other butlers.
Food and Beverages
The hotel runs a morning muffin service where your butler brings you morning coffee/ tea and muffins to your room at your desired time. This was great as it allowed you to have your morning coffee and something light to eat early in the day and then have breakfast much later after a morning swim or snorkel.
Breakfast was served in the main restaurant and in my opinion had a large amount of choice available. This included eggs prepared to your liking, curries, sausages, sushi, cereals, pastries, cheeses, cold meats, fruits and yoghurts. I really enjoyed the selection of fresh fruits provided and our butler was always willing to have any type of cooked breakfast (omelets, pancakes, waffles etc.) that I asked for to be prepared.
Lunch – we usually did not eat lunch as we usually had a big breakfast. However, the bar did have a variety of salads, burgers, pizza & pasta available from lunch time which was served to late afternoon.
Afternoon tea – our butler served us complimentary afternoon tea everyday around 3pm which was great as this usually included a mini sandwich and tasty slice of cake which helped fill the gap between breakfast and dinner.
Dinner – we booked our accommodation on a half board basis which worked really well for us. It took the worry out of how much money we were spending on dinners on our holiday as the restaurant prices were very expensive. When on half board you can eat anything off the al la carte menu at the main restaurant or if you choose to eat at the Asian restaurant or sign up for one of the theme nights they give you $50 per person credit (for food only).
We thought the food at the main restaurant offered lots of variety (both meat and fish) and there were also daily chef’s specials. Everything was perfectly presented and tasted as good as it looked. We had a few different fish dishes and all were excellent and well prepared. The desserts were also divine! I guess the main downside at the restaurants were the cost of alcohol where the average cost of a bottle of wine was about $75.
The Asian restaurant was fantastic and the portions were huge. The butter chicken was delicious as were their Thai curries.
Theme nights – these were ridiculously expensive and we never went to any of these.
Cocktail evening – this was held from 6-7pm one of the evenings where cocktails and canapés were served on the house while you watched the sun go down. Also, it gave a great opportunity to meet some of the other guests staying at the hotel.
Diving/ Snorkeling:
Diving at island hideaway is very relaxing and safe. The instructor(s) (Yuko and Saweed) are very professional and try and satisfy every need. They try their best to ensure you have a good dive experience. I requested 3 dive sites which they were happy to accommodate. The instructor(s) give a very good pre-dive briefing and check the current and visibility before entering. The boat crew is friendly and helpful. The kit is assembled for you and the boat crew assists you when exiting the water. The cost is $92 which includes full kit and boat trip. This is well worth it as you receive water and fruit after your dive. I would recommend reading up on the dive sites beforehand (http://www.island-hideaway.com/recreation/dive_sites.htm ). I saw a variety of fish, manta ray, eagle ray and turtles etc.
Snorkeling on the house reef is very good and most of the fish which I saw on the dives I also saw on the house reef. I recommend purchasing the ‘Maldives Tropical Fish Guide’ from the Hideaway Bazaar which costs $8. We spent quite a bit time after snorkeling the house reef identifying the fish we saw.

Getting around:
Even though the island is bigger than most in the Maldives it was fairly easy to get around on foot. If you didn’t want to walk there were two other options. The first being buggies (golf carts) where you would call your butler a couple of minutes before you wanted to go somewhere and they will send someone round to pick you up by buggy. The second option is by bicycle. Each person gets allocated a bicycle to use while on the island and as other reviewers have indicated these could definitely be improved as they were not the most modern and quite difficult to cycle.

Bugs and Mosquitoes:
We did not find mosquitoes to be a problem. They fog the island every evening and we also sprayed ourselves with Deet 55 which seemed to do the trick for us. The island has a lot of natural vegetation and therefore to be expected has lots of bugs & insects (spiders, ants, lizards). Also, every evening fruit bats flew about outside villa.
Children:
Yes there are children. Some other reviewers have mentioned that there were too many children on the island. Don’t let that put you off , maybe it was the time of year that we went but there definitely were not that many children and I generally only saw them at breakfast time (and not at dinners) where the butlers were holding them or playing with them to keep them occupied and out of other guests way.
Management:
Generally we did not see much of management while we were at the hotel (except for the management cocktail evening). This didn’t really bother us at first. However, towards the end of our stay we had noticed that there was a German press group staying at the hotel and during drinks at the bar one evening, we were made to feel in the way as a special dinner was being held for management & the press group at the bar. Not the way you would expect paying guests to feel while management trying to schmooze the press.
Spa:
I went to spa twice and had my treatments in their water spa villa which was beautiful and so relaxing. The staff at the spa was great and went out of their way to make your spa experience memorable.

Overall we had a fantastic holiday and would definitely consider going back again. I suppose the one main drawback that puts me off returning is the very long transit time to get to the hotel and to return home again. If we went again it would definitely have to be in season as we went during the middle of May and had two days of torrential downpours where there was no sighting of the sun at all.