Riu Palace Maldivas

We have never been to the Maldives, I did so much research on the many different resorts there are. We decided on coming here to RIU Palace. Some of the reasons were that there are no mosquitoes, no roaches and modern overwater villas. Best decision we ever made. We landed at Male airport and headed to the resort booths, we found the RIU booth and waited there. I think we may have missed the representative when we got off the plane. He took us to a lounge area and we chose a meal and drink until our airplane arrived. We took a plane to a nearby island and then a boat to the resort. We checked in and then were taken to our overwater villa. It was modern and very clean. I was worried since the overwater villa is shared with two others that it wouldn’t feel private but it was very private. We enjoyed just sitting in our tub, drinking our champagne and enjoying the beautiful view. Some may think why should I go so far when I can just visit Mexico, Hawaii or the Caribbean? The Maldives cannot be compared to any of those places. There’s no place like the Maldives. It’s like your on another planet. The water is shallow for hundreds of feet, the water is calm, it is in different shades of turquoise for hundreds of feet all around you depending on the reflection of the light and depth of the water. Depending on the house reef you will see sting rays and sharks. The sharks here are so pretty. Beige with black tips. There was translucent fish everywhere. Walking on the bridge with the miles of surrounding waters reminded me of the movie Thor the bridge he walked on in HIs home planet. You just cannot compare the Maldives it is an experience and a beauty like no other. The main buffet had delicious food, plenty of choices. We made reservations for the steakhouse and the fusion restaurant. I’ll be honest, the food at fusion and steakhouse was good but it was a long wait for the food and honestly I asked hubby if we could let go of our 3rd reservation at the Japanese restaurant because I preferred the many choices of food at the main buffet and I preferred sitting outside next to the beach. Hey it’s why we came to the Maldives. I wanted to be by the water 24/7. The breeze at night at the main buffet was incredible and so was the sunset. We quickly became attached to the staff they made you feel like family. Adikari, Marshall, Samwell. I’m starting to forget names but everyone was so kind and helpful. A couple of times I walked into the buffet looking for my favorites at breakfast and as I approached the area of my choice the chef handed me my fried egg that was mostly white as I like it and at the fruit section the chef handed me a full mango that he was just cutting up. I loved that they are very attentive to what you like. The staff everywhere had the best customer service. We loved Fernando at the pool bar. He made me a drink that was so refreshing called Prawnsta Mati (hopefully I spelled it right) it had passion fruit in it. I asked him if he could teach us how to make it so we could bring some of the Maldives home with us. He did. That was so kind of him. Hubby and I joined the bartending class. It was so much fun. Yapa made it a blast. We had decided to stay one more day before we came and booked a junior suite on the beach. It was just as beautiful as the overwater villa and wonderful to step out in the sand from your suite. I sat out on the sand and the staff cleaning the beach gave me some beautiful seashells. We enjoyed going to the gym which had a great view of the beach. If you love people watching while you are on the treadmill it sure makes time go by quickly. Paddleboating, canoe and paddle boarding are all inclusive. We loved doing that. We also went to the gift shop and hubby bought me a gorgeous coral colored necklace and bracelet. There’s two hammocks on the RIU Atoll side at the very end and a Wooden Frame for picture taking. There’s also some isolated sandbanks you can walk to on the atoll side. The atoll side is where the sports bar, dancing and music, the canoes, paddle boarding, gift shop and gym are. The doctor is on the atoll side as well. It is very busy on the atoll side. I personally preferred the Palace side, it was less occupied and more quiet. When you do want to go to the atoll side there was always a buggy that can take you. The rooms also have umbrellas you can use for rain or covering yourself from the sun. When leaving we had a 9pm flight but had to catch the 11am boat. We wished we could’ve stayed on the island longer. But we arrived at the Male Airport and it may have been Suneth that arranged for us to have the option for a tour guide to tour Male so we didn’t have to just sit at the airport for hours. We met Ahkey. A very kind hearted man. He took us to see the Presidents house. Coincidentally as we arrived so did the President and his wife they were very well protected. Guards were watching us as well as we got near the gate. We went to a food market (purchased delicious snacks), a fish market, watched huge sting rays eat and saw a turtle. We saw a war memorial and ate at a delicious restaurant that had the best fish ever. As we treated Ahkey to dinner we felt like Anthony Bourdain interviewing Ahkey about his life on Male and his life being born in one of the atolls. Learning about the culture of the people of the Maldives enriched our experience at the Maldives. Thank you RIU Palace, it was a great pleasure for our 30th celebration and wonderful memories and stories to share back home.

This is our 15th visit to the Maldives and I can say it is one of the best! We are staying in room 58 sunset over water villa with a pool and it is worth every penny The villa is larger than usual with an outside bed 2 loungers chairs and a small infinity pool (7mx4 m) spirit optics, fridge, dressing area, shower and stand-alone bath inside. One of the 3 ice machines is directly outside our villa which is super handy. We have usually stayed in water villas before but this is a bit special as is our first time with a plunge pool which is fantastic. The island has only just opened and it definitely feels like they’re investing in a super soft landing on opening on great value price deals and fantastic service. There are 4 speciality restaurants between the 2 resorts (Riu Atoll accessible via the bridge) which we are yet to use as we only arrived yesterday however the main restaurant is really good with the usual Maldivian offer with premium drinks The gym is top notch looking out on to the Indian Ocean as you exercise and plenty of water sport options plus a sports bar (in Riu Atoll) and entertainment at night with a lovely bar on the Palace side (Paradise) but as described the snorkelling lacks a good reef immediately nearby but you can travel to one easily. The benefit of the 2 resorts is more choice. So! If you were like us and thought it a risk because it’s just opened, don’t fret it’s outstanding - great job Riu Palace team!