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One&Only Reethi Rah have exceeded our expectations in all ways and their hospitality created one of the best holiday experience for our family. From the moment we arrived at the airport until we departed, the level of service from the staff members were impeccable, thoughtful and with sincere friendliness. Mahmoud our Buttler was wonderful, he checked in on us regularly throughout the day, provided us with insightful information of the facilities and efficiently helped organised all events that is of our interest. We also appreciated the service of the staff in the restaurants (we tried all), beach club, kids club, spa, dive center and the shops. Everyone tried their best to anticipate our needs and always with a lovely big smile. We were impressed that the resort has quite a diverse team from many countries around the world, most of them have worked there for over 10 years and the excellent service they provided. Our package came with half board and we enjoyed the great breakfast selections and dinner options. Tapasake the Japanese restaurant offers a unique “shark watching” experience and in Botanica we had an amazing organic dining experience in a beautiful garden setting. Service in all the restaurants was fantastic and the food superb. The overall facilities of the resort is first class. It’s not glitzy, instead it’s classic luxury. Despite being over 14years old everything has been maintained extremely well and doesn’t look outdated. We stayed in one of the sunset beach villas, it was spacious with comfortable beds and a nice big bath tub with a sea view. But what made our stay incredible is the beauty of the island’s nature. We fell in love with Reethi Rah and it’s soft white sandy beaches, crystal blue clear water that’s as blue as the sky (with no plastic trash in sight!), thick green canopies of palm trees and our favourite site was the turquoise green lazy river that divides the two islands on the resort. Our family had so much fun drifting down the river numerous times during the stay. We stayed for 5nights total and never felt bored because there are various options of activities to do for adults and children. They provided us with bicycles to cycle around the property (massive 44 hectares with only 120 villas). The beach club is well stocked with water sports equipments and the house reef is rich with fish, turtles and even reef sharks! We did two dives while we were there. We saw a diverse marine life and our dive masters KG and Ali were excellent guides. We took the opportunity to take some family photos and Ali our photographer was great with kids and he took beautiful shots. The coaches in the gym gave us a great workout. The ladies in the kids club kept the kids entertained, and our kids especially loved playing with Zara. The treatment and massage at the Spa was blissful (my Balinese masseuse Suwarni has healing hands) and you get the relax in the tranquil spa garden that looks like a little piece of paradise. If there’s one thing to consider is to refresh the bar area (the only area in the resort that feels a bit outdated) and have livelier night entertainment options. We highly recommend One&Only Reethi Rah and would love to one day come back again. …
Seriously world-class!!! Its a private island of perfection from the villas, restaurants and facilities to the food, spa and staff. The turtle snorkel is a must, we saw 5 different turtles among a huge and colourful fishlife. Special mention must go to Butler Oopvan and Restaurant Manager Dumi. The personalisation and friendlies of staff are untimely what makes your stay memorable and these two are true assets to One&Only. Senior managers are hands-on and always around the resort for a chat or to assist. Cannot attempt to fault anything. World Class!…
come and take a look to paradise! we never felt comfortable like that before... perfect service in a perfect surrounding, it was heaven pure... great island, breathtaking villa, most wonderful beach, best breakfast ever ever. and all of these impressions outdone by the kindness and warmth of the people who maintained us in a simply perfect way - thank you very much!!…
Suites: Well appointed and maintained. Ours had a private garden/beach with beautiful ocean views. Really enjoyed stepping from the room to the beach for a swim in the sea. Cuisine: Very good with Botanica being my top pick. Botanica was quite possibly the best eating experience I’ve ever had. It’s really special. Resort activities: August not a great time for whale sharks and manta dives, however the diving and snorkeling experiences from the resort are acceptable. Lovely Spa and limited water sports from the beach. Well equipped gym. Service: Superb. Feels really personal and attentive. Summary: Great resort with super team of people. Perfect place to relax and unwind.…
My husband and I were eagerly anticipating a relaxing stay at Reethi Rah following a whirlwind 11 day, three camp Safari across Kenya and Tanzania. This was our first time at a One&Only property (we are loyal Four Seasons fans), and we were looking forward to 'awe-inspiring experiences' that are supposed to be synonymous with The One&Only brand. We paid $12,555 for a 4-night stay (this included over $1500 in resort incidentals, not including my shopping). Usually, I never list the price of our trips, but I am for this review so readers can weigh for themselves the service vs. experience factor. For this price, we were expecting flawless service and memorable experience. Though my rating is three stars, it was a solid 2.5, however, half stars not a rating option on TA. *** OUR DISAPPOINTMENTS*** WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE: Island Wide Mosquito Fumigation My husband and I were about to go out and enjoy our pool and swim in the ocean around 3:30 pm. The Butler reminded us that beginning at 5 pm, the fumigating would start near our Villa and not be alarmed by all the smoke, but we should remain indoors. This cut our swim time short, which was annoying, considering good weather was few and far between that week. What was alarming was that the fumigation fogger plumes were massive, and being carried high and far by the winds. We watched in total shock from our Villa window as a lone man with a fumigation fogger sprayed dense smoke in front of the Beach Villas. The intense smoke drifted close to guests on their porches, children still in their laps. We have had hundreds of nights of stays on beach and island resorts all over the world; we have never seen anything like this. Fumigation smoke is NOT something we are comfortable being exposed to. I know that my friends and family also have serious concerns about chemicals used in mosquito/insect control. This was something I would have liked to have known in advance to booking. I attached photos to this review. WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE: The Weather According to Google, Monsoon season in the Maldives runs from May to October. We should have checked before booking a stay in August. I am also asking our Travel Consultant to cease suggesting destinations at (Especially at $3K a night) during the rainy season. Each day of our stay, we encountered some severe weather that interfered with our planned activities, especially on the windward side of the Island where our water Villa was (#156). Two nights we had water flooding in from our front door (that's how stormy it was). The wind was powerful, and it made walking down the long pier to meet our dinner Buggies a little dicey and wet. No one can control the weather, we get it, but we can control booking a better time of year. WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE: The Butler Experience Though Nasih was a kind man, we found our experience with him more frustrating than beneficial (more on that below). Nasih did loan me a brush from the Salon (forgot mine in Kenya), and he did seat us in a beach bed at Beach Club one afternoon. He signed us up for a cocktail class at the bar on a rained out day, but that's the extent of it. On Nasih's day off his replacement, Kutsi, introduced aggravation and stress by maintaining she couldn't assist us with our questions and concerns about our upcoming departure. Instead, she repeatedly asked me to 'wait until Nasih was back tomorrow' for help. Enormously frustrating. WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE: Dining Frustrations During arrival orientation, Nasih our Butler told us the breakfast buffet (included in our board package) was an "Assortment of fruits and pastries." You can also find this same description on the One&Only Reethi Rah website. (BTW, this is total misinformation, more on this below). When we asked about room service breakfast, Nasih explained it would be "Continental Style" with a delivery surcharge. Underwhelmed by these breakfast options, we skipped our complimentary breakfast each day until our last. We opted to start our days with lunch at Beach Club or Rah utilizing what we misunderstood to be an $80/pp daily food credit. Let me explain. We had a 1/2 Board package with our stay, which meant Breakfast and Dinner were included along with an $80/pp daily food credit for two specialty restaurants. Keep in mind, we don't have any idea which restaurants are the "specialty restaurants" included in this Board, and we booked these details nearly a year ago. Our Butler never asked us if we wanted reservations at the specialty restaurants, though he came to chat during almost all of our meals. We proceeded to have lunch each day at Beach Club or Rah Bar after servers confirmed these were included in our resort dining credit. On checkout day, our folio included a food and beverage bill for $640 more than expected. We called our Butler and asked why our daily food credit didn't absorb these charges. He explained we had misinformation and we had forgone the use of our credit completely. Maddening! Turns out, the $80/pp daily food credit was not for the two restaurants we visited for lunches, but in fact for the acclaimed restaurants Tapasake, or Fanditha and for dinner only. We should have memorized the long forgotten materials more closely. Made sure the names in the fine print of our paperwork matched the menu names of where we were dining We should not have trusted the 'yes, yes' assurances of the well-meaning restaurant employees when we inquired prior to ordering. However, we also expected more from our Butler, he certainly could have been more useful in this area. This was a total bust. Breakfast Surprise: On day five, before checkout, we arrived to have this "fruit and pastry" breakfast Nasih described. Much to our amazement, more than fruit and pastry selections, there was a stunning Buffet with a COLOSSAL selection of international cuisine. Just some of the buffet items included Sushi, Crepe station, exotic fruits, dozens of freshly prepared yogurts in exotic flavors, Detox juice and smoothie bar, meats, cheeses, dim sum, seafood, baked goods, pastries, Middle Eastern cuisine, bottomless Mimosas and Kir Royales, and fantastic a-la-carte menu options for egg and omelet lovers. WOW. How did our Nasih neglect to mention this? We would have set the alarm each morning to attend this feast, and it was included in our stay! The restaurant manager asked us why we waited until day five to come to 'The best breakfast buffet in the Maldives.' We deflatedly explained we had no idea it existed our Butler failed to tell us about it. Now, we are just angry! WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE: Dinner Service Challenges: Our first dinner was the Italian night buffet, and the wait service was horrible. While my wine arrived minutes after ordering, our repeated requests for my husband's beer was forgotten or not understood by three different servers. I told a manager, and it finally arrived 20 minutes after we started eating. We had to plead with passing staff to clear our plates and bring us cutlery. We got up and refilled our waters, we ate with spoons when forks were not replaced, and we eventually spotted replacement silverware at a hostess stand so we could eat our entrees. On the 2nd night (and moving forward), we had fantastic service from an ambitious waiter named Shuaau. We praised him, tipped him, and thanked him profusely for promptly bringing beverages, replacing silverware, refilling water, keeping my husband's beer on ice, and clearing plates. After we showered Shuaau with gratitude for his attentive service, things got really weird. This meal, and all subsequent meals were dominated by non-stop interruptions from managers, assistant managers, our waiter Shuaau, other wait staff, our Butler and his trainee. All of them interrupting our conversations to make sure all was OK and then each would linger with well-meaning small talk, which we politely obliged. What should have been romantic dining for two, turned in to what my husband referred to as a "packed house circus" each night. We were so bewildered by the constant intrusions that my husband quietly whispered to me, "Is this a prank?" We cut the remainder of our meals extremely short to escape the staff interruptions that dominated more than 50% of our dining time. If Management wants to check in, hop in our Buggie, or drive the buggie and let's chat on the way to the Villa during our downtime - don't constantly interrupt our meals, please. Or perhaps, call the Butler phone you gave us at check-in. We turned it off when we didn't want to be disturbed. The meal intrusions were beyond annoying and we've never experienced anything like it at any property anywhere in the world! I appreciate the concern and intention of the well meaning staff, but I hope the team at Reehi Rah reads this and takes away that a couples' dinner is not the appropriate time for a barrage of check-ins, chit chat and hovering service. WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE: Lack of Air Conditioning / Comfort During Dining: There is little refuge from the oppressive heat at Reethi Rah. Though our Villa had fantastic A/C and we kept it at 20 C/68 F day and night, all of the restaurants on property are open air concept. The high temperatures at night, paired with thick humidity and zero wind on that side of the Island made for some pretty uncomfortable meals. I personally found the oppressive heat while dining to be quite miserable. However, looking around, other guests from the Middle East and Europe didn't seem to be phased. We dressed for indoor, evening dining (with A/C). Should we have known there were no cool places to dine, much lighter attire would have been better to pack. WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE: Lack of Privacy - Villas Despite what marketing ads look like, there was virtually no privacy at our Water Villa. There are beach villas and water villas all around you. You can see everyone, they can see you. We didn't know that either, now you do. We arrived at this booking we set-up nearly a year earlier exhausted and expected the O&O to oversee an incredible stay. Instead, they fell short in many places. *** WHAT WAS GOOD *** WHAT WE DID LIKE: Reehti Rah is a stunning property. Throughout the resort, you will see design influences from Maldivian, Chinese, and Balinese architecture. WHAT WE DID LIKE: Pools, beach, and public spaces never felt too crowded. WHAT WE DID LIKE: Housekeeping kept our Villa spotless, beautiful and immaculate our entire stay. One detail I would suggest; please place a cork stopper in the champagne in the Villa. I was shocked that it wasn't done and the bottle sat there open and flat for almost 3 days, even though new ice was brought for it each day. I have never seen that happen before at other properties and it stood out to me as one of those details I thought OO would be on top of. WHAT WE DID LIKE: Our Over the Water Villa was enormous and well-appointed. We enjoyed our balcony pool when weather permitted. We appreciated the excellent A/C inside the Villa as well. Our Villa had steps descending into the ocean, this was great, and we used every chance we had. The ocean water was the perfect temperature, crystal clear (though oddly devoid of any fish or sea life). There was a fresh water handheld shower head at the top of the steps for rinsing off, very convenient. WHAT WE DID LIKE: The Bikes that came with our Villa were a great way to get around the Island and were fun to ride. WHAT WE DID LIKE: One day after lunch (and the rain had stopped) we wanted to ride bikes back to the Villa. Nish, the restaurant manager, called maintenance and had had them bring the bikes to Rah so we could ride back to the Villa. That was an outstanding service, and we much appreciated it. WHAT WE DID LIKE: We are grateful for our waiter, Shuaau, and his 5-star service at meals. Though we appreciated his attentive service, it was an over-correction for our previous lack of service. It's OK to let a sip of water go from a glass without hovering over us to refill it immediately. ;) Also, please don't watch me cut that last bite of food as you anxiously wait to clear my plate. Too much of a good thing is still too much, but we love you Shuaau, and we know your intentions were in the right place. WHAT WE DID LIKE: The cuisine at Rheeti, Rah Bar and Beach Club was excellent, every time, without exception. WHAT WE DID LIKE: My husband and I enjoyed our guided snorkeling excursion. We saw beautiful fish, turtles and plenty of Black Tip Reef Sharks. My only negative comment is that I wish Ash and the other crew member would have refrained from smoking on the upper deck while we were in route to the reef. We were downwind from their cigarette smoke and triggered my asthma before the snorkel dive, making me more nervous. MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES: At checkout, we spoke to Florian (Asst. Front Office Manager) with specific details about our service challenges, he didn't seem adequately concerned. My husband and I both got the impression Florian was insinuating that our experiences with staff were unlikely. Instead of empathy, he vehemently defended his employees (and our Butler) inferring, they would never do that, they would never say that. Florian went on to defend our Butler as a 14-year seasoned employee with vast experience and knowledge. Florian did not connect with the level of our frustrations that we described in great detail. We felt his approach was slightly dismissive and the conversation was a bit uncomfortable. Though we did not ask, Florian applied a $160 refund on our total bill of $12,555 for a 4-night stay. We would have preferred contrition, empathy, and acknowledgment of where the One&Only could have been better, but we didn't hear that. If Florian insisted on putting a dollar value on the problems rather than expressing an appropriate amount of mortification, he missed the mark as his solution in no way compensated our time and frustrations. Our conclusion is that the One&Only is satisfied with the level of service we experienced. Our boat ride to the airport was the icing on the cake - the interior of the boat was filled with gasoline fumes. They were very strong and did not dissipate on the 45-minute trip. The smell was nauseating, and and entire family of passengers moved to the top deck after complaining it was too much to tolerate. FINAL THOUGHTS: The Maldives is beautiful, but considering the distance from New York, the price point of The One&Only and the service challenges, there are better Island destinations for U.S.-based travelers. Our opinion is that ANY Four Season property or resort has a much higher level of service and guest care than our experience at this One&Only. Service was reactive, not proactive and hotel management was aloof and rarely visible. If you are going to visit this property, don't rely on the staff or Butler to assist you in navigating the details of your stay... you have homework before your vacation here.…
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