We stayed at Olhuveli, which is in the South Male Atoll, in 2007. It was an absolutely fantastic holiday, one of the best I have ever been on. The island is a small paradise - it's not too posh or stuffy but has all the luxuries you need.

The staff were all very friendly and did everything they could to help us. I was lucky enough to be there on my birthday and that night the kitchen staff all came out in a procession, banging pots and pans and presented me with a birthday cake whilst singing happy birthday!

The food was good, although perhaps not the best thing about the island - if you're looking for fine dining I'd suggest somewhere else but it was all still very tasty and suited us perfectly.

There is a good range of activities to do as well; we did some absolutely fantastic diving. There was also a 'dolphin safari' boat trip, where we saw many dolphins - they seem to like swimming alongside the boat and playing in the wake.

I would definitely recommend Olhuveli to others, it is the perfect place to unwind and relax. Just paradise.

Me and my wife went to Olhuveli because it had been hit by the Tsunami at the end of 2004. We felt that this was the best way to give back to Maldivian community, since we had spent our Honeymoon in the Maldives in August 2004 (Sun Island). The island was fantastic, and as I can not swim I could venture out into the shallow waters. Also, we spent our holiday staying in a deluxe villa at the Olhuveli Beach & Spa Hotel, but we upgraded to the deluxe Jacuzzi water villa. All the accommodation has been refurbished since the tsunami and it is very modern. We saw lots of Sharks and Sting Rays!!! The hotel staff were very helpful.

Great for couples!

We spent 1 week Half Board at the wonderful Olhuveli beach & Spa Hotel, in a deluxe room, at the end of March 2006, and we absolutely loved it. 7 days of sun, turquoise sea, colourful fish and very helpful and polite personnel in a relaxing environment. The food was good, and plentiful considering you are on a small island in the middle of "nowhere". If the buffet style dining wasn't good enough, there was always the other 3 restaurants to choose from, where you could get better food than in most British restaurants (not included in HB of course). We had a candle-lit dinner on the beach, even though we were very happy with the buffet (many times better that the average+ British food).

We were perfectly fine with our deluxe room, but when we were offered to upgrade to a Jacuzzi villa for the last 2 nights for a modest price of $50pp/pn, a total of $200 (£120) for 2 days in absolute luxury, we couldn't resist.

Yes, alcohol is not cheap on the island (beer $5, GT ~$9, and a glass of house wine is $3,40), and they charge you a service fee of 10% on everything you buy, but because you are aware of this it is nothing to get upset about.

I think we have only one negative thing to say about the place, and that is that sometimes there are just too many Italians to be comfortable for non-Italians. I won't say anything more about that; everybody that has been there knows what I mean

As a conclusion: if you are looking for a totally relaxing holiday with good food, perfect service, and without any fuss, I would strongly recommend Olhuveli. If you are looking for party and cheap booze, then I would suggest you save your money and go to the Canary Islands or the nearest pub.

Also from our side no moaning like some of the other people did in their review. After 12 days tour through Sri Lanka we stayed for 5 days "All Inclusive" on Olhuveli. The transfer from the airport to Olhuveli was good, nice boat and the sea was calm. Unfortunately it was raining so our arrival wasn't that what you expect. We had a superior room and it was nice, clean and 5 meters distance to the sea. Just a note: If you want to book a watervilla and you're not from Japan; please forget it! Almost all water villas are occupied by Japanese and it's just because they pay more per night and cannot have "All Inclusive" so they donate quite some more dollars than the ordinary European tourist. Anyway, water villas are also not that great as you expect them to be.... The personnel was always friendly and the resort was cleaned on an ongoing basis. After one day of rain our beach holiday started and I have to admit it will stay as one of my favorites in the future. Swimming between baby sharks (1-meter)and stingrays (plenty) is absolutely fabulous....You might get bored if you go there for two weeks but up to one week is so relaxing! Everyday snorkeling, some windsurfing and just relaxing. The food in the restaurant was tasty, plenty and what we felt; delicious. We did a Dolphin tour but all we saw was a giant sea turtle but no dolphins. The morning we had to return to the airport the boat picked us up around 6:30 and the sea was as calm as a mirror and the sun was just rising. We were sooooo lucky as during our trip to the airport we were accompanied by I think around 20-30 dolphins swimming and playing along the boat. The captain decreased speed of the boat and we could nearly touch them as these great creatures were very curious. Great holiday!!!

Hopefully everything is still OK with all the personnel as we've heard that Tsunami hit specifically Olhuveli very hard.....

Like the last reviewer, I was slightly worried about our trip to Olhuveli after reading the reviews on this site. Thankfully, our holiday was brilliant, and I'm not too sure about what the other reviewers have been complaining about - I did notice a pattern however, people who go in the low + rainy season (April to September) seemed not to have a good time. People who went in the high season seem to enjoy themselves immensely - so take this into account when you book.

Firstly I'll start with the transfer & accommodation. After getting off the plane, our luggage was on the carousel after only 5 minutes. We met a rep outside and then were pointed in the direction of a 'check-in' desk, where we were given some extra documentation and told where to go for our boat transfer. You get ushered to a bar area, where they charge $3 for a water and $5 for a beer (which is the same price as the resorts charge). I'd opt for water as you can take it on the boat with you - and sometimes you are only sat there for a few minutes. The speedboats are very modern and hold about 14 passengers. The journey is about 50 minutes and is very refreshing after the plane; you also get to see a bit of Male from the water - not a great sight! And you also pass a number of other resorts en route.

Once you arrive at the resort your bags are taken to reception and you are greated in the main bar with a drink and a cold towel which is a nice touch to start the holiday. You then get allocated your room by the guest relations people and get a quick tour of the resort. You then have your bags carried by the porters to your room - they are only small guys, and seeing them having to lift a 20+kg bag onto their shoulders is worth the tip alone ($1 each is appropriate). We had a superior room which had 2 3/4 double beds pushed together which were very comfy. You get a aircon, TV, hairdryer, minibar, shower, bath (in most) and plenty of storage space. The plugs are a mixture of European and English 3 pin plugs - so no need for any adapters. The room was in good condition, probably more of a 3 star room than 4, but to be honest we were barely in it so were more than happy with what we had. The patio doors opened onto a small patio and then it was the beach, and then another 10 metres to the crystal clear sea. Doing that walk first thing in the morning never failed to put a smile on our faces. You get your room cleaned twice a day and clean towels every day, the beach towels have seen better days, but again, the place is so beautiful if you're worried about the state of the towels, then you're obviously in the wrong place.

Right the island itself. The island is surrounded by a large reef, in some directions it is at least 500m until the edge of it, meaning you can walk out the entire way, if you can be bothered. The water was crystal clear and full of marine life, sharks, stingrays and more fish than I can describe. We found it quite amusing that when you heard the word shark, everyone ran into the water to get a look, rather than getting out! The beach goes all the way round the island and is mostly powdery sand, although in some places it is a little sharp with shells etc. You are allocated your own sun loungers, so no need to worry about beating the Germans in the morning to get one! There is a pool on the island which is quite large, lovely and warm, but only a metre deep. There is little breeze here, so it seemed too hot to sunbathe for us, but the pool is nice to cool off in, and makes a nice change from salt water.

The island has two bars, one called the lagoon bar, which has beautiful views out over the sea, and the other is the pool bar which is strangely enough by the pool - this has a TV where you can watch the footy if you're that way inclined (we were). You pretty much get your own waiter(s), once you get to know them, they will always try to take your order which is actually nice - they all speak excellent English are very friendly (genuinely) and are very interesting to talk to. We were all inclusive which suited us perfectly, you have the choice of 3 beers (Heineken, Sam Miguel and tiger), house red and white (not great) and bog standard spirits (but all known labels i.e. Smirnoff etc) and all soft drinks are included. You can get your bill at anytime and it shows you how much you would spend if you were paying for your drinks. We 'spent' about $2500 on drinks in two weeks and weren't drinking a great deal - a vodka and coke comes in at just under $10, a beer is about $5 and water is $3. If you're not all inclusive, you pay 10% service charge on everything you buy. You can only have one drink at a time, so you need to be able to finish one drink as the next arrives, as they are under strict orders not to let you have two at once! The service is very good at all times and tipping helps to keep everyone sweet. We gave $10 to 2 waiters after 3 or 4 days and then another $10 at the end of our stay - the same with the room boy who cleans your room.

All inclusive dining on the island is all done in the main restaurant. You have 3 buffet meals a day here. Breakfast is fruit, cereals, freshly made omelettes etc, boiled eggs, toast, cereal, so plenty of choice. This is a Muslim country so there's no bacon :-( (well they have beef bacon, but it's just not the same!). Lunch consists of vast array of hot and cold food, salads, pasta, stir fry's, potatoes, rice, and then various meat and fish dishes. Dinner is a very similar affair. We found the food to be very good and out of 50 odd meals only had 3 or 4 bad meals there, and this was down to poor selection (they make their curry's very hot). You get allocated your own table (very few people shared) and a waiter - ours was a bit slow, but generally they are very attentative - our tip to our waiter reflected this. There is also an a la carte restaurant which we eat in a couple of times just to break up the routine of eating in the same place. The food is good here and ranges from $8 up to $50+ (for lobster) - your all inclusive drinks still counts here. There is a wine list which starts at $18 a bottle for a nice shiraz, and goes up to $350 for the top champagne (Moet etc are all $144 a bottle).

The island is used by Brits, Italians, a few Japanese, German and Swiss people. The Italians are the majority and they are loud all the time. Many have there children with them, but there's a kids club so you barely see or hear them. The entertainment is run by the Italians, so can get a little annoying. The entertainment consists of a magician (rubbish), a live band (excellent), crab racing (good fun), love night (cheesy songs) and a disco (crap Italian music, followed by rap and house music till 2/3am). The entertainment is really the only bad thing a little too butlins for my liking but I think this is the Italian influence, the crab racing and band are good, but the other stuff is just annoying. My girlfriend and I are in our mid 20's and would normally like the disco etc, but we came to the Maldives to get away from this... but it is only one night, and if you complain to reception enough apparently they turn it off!

They run several excursions and the customer rep will tell you pretty honestly about them, we went on night fishing and dolphin spotting. The night fishing was ok, but the dolphin tour was rubbish, we didn't see anything and they don't tell you what's going on, so it's pure luck if you see anything. Clothing - don't pack more than one pair of trousers (boys and girls), it's just too hot. A t-shirt or short sleeved shirt will be the most you can tolerate, or vest tops and light tops for the ladies. Flip-flops / sandals is all you need for your feet (we did see some girls wearing high heels!!) Take lots of factor 30 for the first week and then you can move on to the lower factors in week 2.

Right, I'm waffling. The snorkelling around the dive school is great; we've never snorkelled before and were amazed by what we saw. Try to get snorkelling gear and underwater cameras in the UK. Hire of the kit is about $50 a week and the cameras are $26 to buy. Go snorkelling, you'll love it, even if you don't think you will.

Overall we had a fantastic time, definitely the nicest place I've ever been to and the photos in the brochure and online don't do it justice. Forget about the moaners on this site, if you focus on the great things about this place (and there are loads) you will have an amazing holiday. We met some other people our age and older and we all agreed it was fantastic. If you want to ask me anything about the island drop me an email: [email protected] and I'll try to help out.

We just returned a few days ago from Olhuveli and I was extremely apprehensive after reading several bad reviews of the resort. It seems to be a very individual thing whether you enjoy a holiday or not and is heavily dependant on individual taste! Personally we really enjoyed our holiday and thought it the best we had been on yet and I have quite a discerning taste!
We stayed in a water villa which I highly recommend if you can afford it, which had brilliant facilities (a new flat screen TV was delivered to our room whilst we were there). This would not be ideal for those with young children though due to the location over the lagoon.
The service was brilliant as was the food in the buffet and we also ate on the lagoon deck 3 nights which was wonderful. This was a la carte which you pay extra for.
The only thing I would complain about was the mosquitoes that seemed to be a greater problem the hotter the weather got. It did rain a little in spells for the first 3 days but I still managed to burn! However it was very hot and sunny for the remaining 7 days!

On the whole, despite seeing some negative reviews before our departure we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday and would go back there again.

I would recommend staying in a water villa though as they are on the quieter side of the island and the sea is much calmer. Also to note the live bands can go on until 2am but we didn't hear them from this side of the island (I can't comment on the other accommodation but I believe this is quite basic and can be pot luck with the location).

This was our first holiday to the Maldives. All previous reviews are very mixed in opinions and I can understand how this will be confusing to potential holiday makers to Olhuveli Beach & Spa Hotel.

The Island

The island is beautiful. Again I will stress that this is the only island we have visited in the Maldives but the sand is lovely, the sea/lagoon fantastic - very clear and a lovely colour but more so at one side of the island. It was a good size island for our needs. Just busy enough really. The weather on the whole was good. It was the rainy season so could have been a lot worse. There were 3 or 4 poor days out of a two week stay.

Rooms

We stayed in a 'superior' first floor room. It was a bit dated but the 'room boy' was excellent and it was always clean, towels replaced twice a day, sheets folded back every evening. I agree with other reviews stating that the towels have seen better days and are grey and fraying however. The room was spacious enough for two. People I spoke to in 'deluxe' rooms and in the water bungalows were very happy with their rooms too.

Food

I found the food satisfactory but nothing to rave about. My husband liked to eat off the 'hot plate' then he knew it was just cooked. I tended to see what looked like it was fresh out of the kitchen and had not been there too long. I avoided eating the salads as they were warm and unappealing. The desserts tended to be quite similar, i.e. mousse type desserts of different flavours (although they all tasted the same to me) There was always fresh fruit available. In the evening there was always a massive queue for fruit being freshly cut by a chef. Likewise, pasta was always being freshly made to appeal to the Italian guests. The seating arrangements were that a lot of couples sit together on tables of four. I personally did not mind this as we met some friends straight away. I can see why some people may not be happy however as you don't know who you will get landed with and as you may be eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with them for two weeks that is quite a bit of time. I'm sure those who really object can get a table for two, if not straight away, as soon as possible.

Entertainment

The entertainment on the whole was quite good. There was a good magician, crab racing, a live band (they were excellent) and a disco. It would be nice to provide different entertainment on a two week rota for people who holiday for a fortnight however.

Snorkelling/Diving

My husband had just passed his 'advanced divers' course and this was our first holiday diving for him outside the UK. He was happy with the diving team although he sometimes questioned a few points as they were done different to in the UK. He went on four dives altogether and saw just about everything he hoped to see and as he had an underwater camera we have some superb pictures. I was happy snorkelling around the island. We went on an excursion that included snorkelling at two different points but the fish there were not as good as around our reef. Although on the trip we did see a turtle, manta rays and dolphins swimming alongside the boat.

The Staff

All the staff -the waiters, bar staff and room boys are all very hardworking and friendly.

Watch out for - the prices. I think the only way to go on this island is 'all inclusive' as drinks are very expensive.

The Holiday Makers

The resort attracts the British, Italians and Japanese mainly. It seems that there are slightly more Italians or is that just because they are the loudest?!!!

Summary

Our previous holidays have been mainly to Spain, The Canary and Greek Islands. They have all been much cheaper holidays and usually self catering. Therefore a holiday like this to us was definitely an improvement and like paradise. However if you are the type of holiday maker who likes Five Star luxury, Olhuveli may not be for you. I do want to go back to the Maldives again in the future but we will try a different island. I would recommend it though and if you are going -enjoy.

Arrived at Olhuveli Beach & Spa Hotel on the 26/07/04. Boat trip from airport longer than expected due to terrible weather. Booked deluxe room. First room taken to was appalling, looked like a bare prison cell, just three beds and a TV, bathroom was stained and dirty looking. All the bedding and towels looked grey and worn and rather frayed at the edges. Requested better room immediately. Credit to the manageress she didn't quibble and moved us to a far better room on the better side of the island. She explained that some of the rooms have been updated and many are still waiting to be done. There is a big difference in the finishing of the newer rooms. One side of the island looks out over the lagoon which is filled with sea grass and not very pleasant to look at, the other side is sand and clear(ish) sea. Also the upstairs rooms are better than the downstairs rooms (Deluxe villa's, we can't speak for the standard rooms). If the management spent a little more money getting the small details right, i.e., replace all the bedding and towels that are worn out, it would help improve the general feel that they actually take pride in the resort.

We have now been eight times to the Maldives and the food is always to a very high standard. This island is the exception. Food is plentiful and edible; however it is not anything special, reminded me of school dinners. All the other islands we have been to vary the menu daily, here it is virtually the same old stuff every day. If you like pasta you will be ok as there is an Italian chef who cooks fresh pasta every mealtime as most of the guests are Italian (very noisy!)

The house reef is ok. We did not experience a strong current and were able to swim easily. We saw rays every time we went out and a five foot white tipped reef shark twice. The water is fairly murky due to the plankton. Learning to dive on this island seems quite expensive. When you go to the dive shop they tell you it is $350 (as did the manager in an email before we left). They fail to mention there is also a $120 'certification' fee, $12 per boat trip and finally a 10% service charge on top of everything. This 10% service charge is applied to everything you buy on the island from drinks to any trips. None of the staff seem to know why it is added. The losers seem to be the boys who take you on boat trips as no one was tipping them as a service charge had already been added, apparently this does not go to them but to the hotel.

If you are going to the Maldives for the first time you would probably be satisfied with this island. It rates itself as a four star island. In our opinion this is a 2.5 star resort.

Take the strongest insect repellent you can find. The mosquitoes are something else. everyone we saw and spoke to had bites. None of the guests we spoke to had seen or heard any spraying/fogging at all. Every other resort we have been to carry out mosquito killing at least twice a week. We have returned covered in bites and we took the best spray we could find (jungle formula).

All of the staff on the island are very friendly, you can not fault them and this review does not reflect on them in any way. Some of the staff we spoke to were very interested in our opinion of this island as we had been to several over the last few years. They tend to move from island to island and the general opinion was that this was not the best island they had worked on.

If you are looking for a quiet, unspoilt romantic holiday (in our opinion, what the Maldives sells its self on and is what it is all about)then you will be very disappointed. It appears to be very geared to the Italian family, apparently the kids all go free. It is very noisy including the evenings when the entertainment begins at 22.00hrs with most rooms able to hear the loud noise, not our idea of quiet and romantic! If you are a family looking for an exotic 'Butlins' type resort you will be more than happy with this island, but do be prepared for a cramped room if you take the kids.

The other islands we have been to are:- Velivaru 7/10, Veligandu 9/10, Coco Palm 8/10, Thudafushi 8/10, Kanaifinulu 6/10, Velidhu 5/10, Kuramathi 4/10. We have given each an overall rating out of 10.

Stayed at the Olhuveli in October 2003. We booked to go back within a week of returning.

Trips are excellent value for money. Hire a Catamaran and skipper for 2 hours £35. Trip to see dolphins in their own natural habitat £10. Hire of sports equipment buttons. Diving on the reef, spectacular. Food, 1st class, hot and lots of choice. Waiters exceptional. Bar staff exceptional, Room box, excellent, Receptions staff excellent.

Can't wait to get back there.

Pete & Val

General Comment:
Olhuveli Beach and Spa Resort - By Colin Jones

I booked to go to Olhuveli in the Maldives on the 9th May 2004 with my partner for 10 days All Inclusive. This wasn't our first choice and poor service from our agent "Dreamticket.com" resulted in this being our destination.

Arrival at Male was smooth and effortless (customs and immigration), transfer was arranged by Speedboat to the island. Was annoyed at the fact we were met by a rep who informed us the speed boat had not arrived and we should sit and wait. So we waited for approx 30 mins in a heat of the day waiting for a speedboat. As it turns out their were 8 other couples that had been waiting quite a bit longer after arriving on a earlier flight. I would expect paying for a holiday such as this prompt service would be paramount. Apparently not as I will further advise in this review. Speedboat journey lasted about an hour. Were not met and greeted like other guests were with the traditional drums.

Rooms:
We had booked one of the few "Deluxe Beach Bungalows" The bungalow had high ceilings and felt spacious and clean. Remote control air conditioning etc. During our stay we met a couple who were staying in the standard bungalows, I was so thankful we had paid the extra for the Deluxe and difference was huge, and im sure the price difference wasn't. The standard of finish in the rooms and bathrooms are not that what I would expect from a 3*/4* resort. The finish was cheap and that attention to detail was missing.

Food:
Large choice available of food of how much you would eat is the issue. I would consider myself to have a wide and varied diet, but I didn't struggle almost of a daily basis. The choice was large however alot of thick heavy sauces accompanied the meats and chicken dishes available. Alot of curry of different types and rice. Salads and pastas. Although most of the food was thick heavy and stodgy, not what you want in 34oC and 90% humidity. Furthermore the amount of flies that were allowed to crawl over the food appalled me. I don't expect every thing to be protected but no effort was made to protect the food from flies which I thought was disgusting.
The restaurant itself was located on the Lagoon side of the island which offered stunning views and the noise of the wind through the palm trees.

Entertainment:
Well what can I say, personally im not bothered whether im entertained or not, I was their to chill out and relax and witness the most beautiful sunsets and gaze at the stars. What I saw of the entertainment was the band "Sultan" who were a local Maldivian band and were actually very good. The Magician was the most strangest thing I have ever seen, the total lack of magic and entertainment was shocking. Romantic night is held every other night which means they do nothing apart from a single candle at each table, for this they feel the need to advertise with posters all round the island.

Service:
If there is anything that saves this Island from me giving it an absolute slating is the service from the Food Waiters, Drinks Waiters and the Room Boys. They work very hard and the service is amazing. Best waiter "Ameez" was a star. The island customer service and the UK rep called Dianne were ok. Although when the issue of mosquitos and the de fuming of the island issue was ongoing they lied through their back teeth and told different stories to many guests. Minibar in the room, Mars Bars out of date, complained about this still got charged for eating an out of date chocolate bar.

Resort:
Beautiful Island visually, and stunning lagoon, grounds well kept. As I said earlier depending on where your located on the island could be the difference on this holiday. Some of the accommodation was located next to less desirable areas such as, water storage and electric generators, satellite dishes and so on. If you are going to this island check this ! and check it again get it in writing. Island had a Mosquito problem which they were reluctant to deal with, people needed to get injections from the Island doctor because they had been bitten so much and of course they had to pay for this.
The House Reef wasn't great the water quite choppy and current strong weak or nervous swimmers beware. The Diving school apparently was excellent and those who were involved couldn't sing its praises enough. Another important point here is there are a high number of Italian guests here for which they have their own chef (nice) but they also bring their children with them, so if your looking for peace and quite then another important point to note. We went in the rainy season and had 10 days of great weather !!

Recommendation:
As you can tell I would not recommend this resort to my friends, for the money we paid we know for sure we could have booked elsewhere and enjoyed another island, even for the sake of paying perhaps a few hundred more pounds I would go elsewhere, I mean you have travelled half way round the world to get here may as well cough up a bit more to get that extra luxury. The Maldives has earned a reputation as one of the best holiday places in the world, I don't doubt that for one minute but sadly Olhuveli doesn't come to the mark.

Olhuveli Olhuveli Beach & Spa Hotel - I saw ROBEM's review before leaving for Olhuveli. Too late to cancel trip so decided to go and see for myself before commenting. I spent the first week of June on the island, and here are some comments.

(I did not verify whether the original review was written by the English Ents Manager of the resort or not. Even without checking there is enough to say. But just the thought of someone trying to get away with this type of tricky reviewing is what motivates me to reply and also to write a review of my own.)

Rooms:
We were happy with our room. I think it is a standard "deluxe" room on the second floor. Basic but quite adequate. In fact the standard rooms might be better value for the money since they are located in the quieter side of the island. The northern part of the island, where the deluxe beach bungalows are located, seems a bit more crowded and less private.

I am not surprised, however, by the bad experience suffered by ROBEM. Depending on your location on the island, your dream vacation could be ruined by one of the following: Sound from generators, or the deslination plant, bad music from the bar, or, of course, looking into a satellite dish.

Food:
Large quantity and variety of food but of uneven quality. Good for people who like heavy Italian cooking. Recommendation: Don't go to this island if you fit one of the following description:

a.You are French and like well-prepared food.
b.You like food that is not overwhelmed by grease or the taste of the sauce.
c.You like to eat fish (Fish is plentiful in the Maldive, so ruining good fish is unpardonable)

Besides the dining room, the only other place to get food is the coffee shop. Here the service is slow and the menu is limited. You can get pizzas, hamburgers, salads and curry. But quality is again low.

Entertainment:
For us the best entertainment on the island is the beach, the clear water lagoons, and the sound of Palm trees rustling overhead. We did not come to the Maldives to hear loud rap music, or live rock late into the night. The latter is what we got. Imagine, you are sitting at the lagoon bar waiting for your drinks, the sun is setting over the lagoon, a warm ocean wind is blowing in your face and suddenly the bar decides to play some rap music. We cancelled our drinks and left on the spot.

Sevice:
Service in the dining room is ok. The grounds keepers do a wonder job with the garden. Reception staff are friendly. Sometimes it is hard to get a satisfactory answer. You might get a yes / no but no explanation.

Resort:
There is a house reef. It might not be as good as house reefs on other island. Also the lagoon surrounding the north side of the island has a lot of sea grass and algae. Makes me think that this could be the result of improper waste disposal or pollution of some sort.

Recommendation:
I would hesitate recommending this resort to a friend. The risk of something ruining the vacation could come from anyone one of the following: poor food, loud music, getting a bad room on a noisy part of the island. And the prospect that the ents manager wrote one of the glowing reviews is troublesome.

Olhuveli Olhuveli Beach & Spa Hotel - Having read an extremely favourable review of this hotel we booked a dream holiday. Upon arriving we were to discover this review had been written by the English ents manager!
Upon arrival we were dropped at a nearby island only to have to wait for a rickety boat to take us to Olhuveli. As the holiday progressed we were disappointed to see the varying degree of 'welcomes' for guests. We soon noticed that if you arrived in small numbers you did not merit the grand welcome of the speed boat and a traditional 'drum' lead into the hotel.
We had booked a standard room and soon found out how basic and standard it was, certainly not the dream Maldivian holiday we were hoping for. We were not informed of the maintenance work on our block and on the first day was greeted by a shower of sparks from welding taking place outside our patio area. Needless to say we complained immediately to be told it would be finished the next day or we could move to a room overlooking the hotel's satellite dishes!!! We decided to wait out the work until the room above us sprung leaks (due to maintenance work) and our bathroom became a waterfall!!! After complaining bitterly, we were finally told 5 days into our 13 day holiday we could move to another room. We were moved to a beautiful upper floor deluxe room. (I wish we had booked this first!).
Although this incident may have been a one-off for the hotel, we were dismayed at the way we were handled. We had to spend the first few days of our holiday constantly 'bugging' the reception staff and the ents manager to do something about our situation. We feel that had we not persistently requested a room change our situation would have been ignored.
The hotel had a large Asian and Italian clientele, which was a nice mix until we became bored with the same Italian foods at dinner (the chef turned out to be Italian too).

We stayed on Oluveli Beach & Spa Hotel for two weeks back in October 2003. We booked the deluxe room on an all-inclusive basis.

Upon landing at Male airport our very efficient and genuinely friendly tour representative dealt with us personally and escorted us to our speedboat. The very welcome wind in your face 45-minute speedboat journey was just what we needed following a pleasant and reasonably comfortable direct 12-hour flight with Air Lanka.

When we arrived we felt immediately relaxed as the first impressions were of a well maintained but natural area, which oozed tranquillity. The reception area was obviously run very efficiently and again everybody seemed to be genuinely friendly. We said goodbye to our luggage as we where shown to our room. The rep guided us through tropical plant fringed coral walkways to our accommodation, which was situated at the end of a row of two storey individual buildings away from the main dining and bar area. We had a room on the first floor, which we found to be perfectly adequate. The room was very light and airy with an en suite shower room and queen size bed. The air conditioning was whisper quiet and operated via remote control. The whole front of the room is glass-panelled doors leading onto a large wooden decked balcony with comfortable seating which overlooks the beautiful and large turquoise lagoon and powder white coral sand beach.

The island is on the small to medium scale judging by the other islands we have visited on previous visits and can be walked around with a swagger in about 15 minutes.

It consists of a large buffet restaurant area which is located next to a freeform swimming pool with swim up bar. Next to the pool is a good sized and comfortable bar with a TV mostly showing various sporting events. The small gym, doctor's surgery and dive school/office are also located in this section. Walking away from the restaurant and pool area to the main reception you pass a surprisingly well stocked small provisions and gift shop and opposite to that is a jewellery store. You get your western chocolate bars in the little store at the same time as stocking up with familiar toiletries and reasonably priced souvenirs. Western goods are very pricey but that is not a crime given the location of these little islands.

Coming into the reception area you will find a photo lab and tour office. The safety deposit boxes are well run and security seems to be of a high standard. The only thing strange with the safety deposit system is the key rings. If you do go to Olhuveli you will find out for yourself.

A short stroll from the reception area is the main bar. It is the best island bar I have come across so far. The service as always in the Maldives is brilliant. The very large wooden deck looks out over the ocean and has plenty of comfortable seating available. As we where on the all-inclusive package we did spend rather a lot of time in the main bar unlike some of the people who had elected for the half board option. The drinks I feel where overpriced even for the Maldives. The range of drink available is enormous and the bar tenders seem to know every imaginable drink recipe from around the globe. On the all inclusive you are slightly restricted by brand but far less restricted in choice than most other resorts. The all-inclusive option is strictly controlled to make sure you are not giving away drinks to other guests but its not oppressive and only fair. The worst part of the whole experience is signing a chit for every single drink you have even though you will not be charged. On a good night this could and frequently did take up to 10 minutes of scribbling something resembling your signature. It does pay to look at the slips because its possible to order a drink that is not part of the all-inclusive menu and you will be charged for it. But hey you order it, you drink it, you pay for it. The gentle breeze wafts slowly through the bar area keeping you ever so slightly chilled in the heat of the night. It truly is a wonderful place to spend a few hours with new friends and very welcoming staff. When we where there they had a couple of hours entertainment laid on each night.

On the first night we took part in an alcohol fuelled live crab race. Little local hermit crabs where held in the centre of a circular board and released at the same time. The firs crab to make it to freedom won a prize for its human partner. It's a good laugh and decent icebreaker of an event for the first night. You are never pushed or pestered to take part in any event on this island unlike others we have been to. The rest of the week's entertainment was made up of very good local acts consisting of a pop/rock band singing a wide range of western and Asian tunes. A local drum band that I thought was excellent. A cabaret night run by the resident Italian tour reps and a disco made up the rest of the week. The bar was big enough to allow people to sit well away from the noise if they wished or crowed around the action without sitting in each other's lap.

Because we where on the island during a fantastic full moon they held a full moon beach party at the top of the island on the largest area of sand. The night started with an ok seafood (extra cost) barbeque/buffet meal on the beach at the waters edge lit only by the beautiful full moon reflecting off of the crystal clear and calm waters of the lagoon. Once the meal was done we headed of to the rest of the party where they served a warm and quite potent fruit punch (extra cost) whilst the local lads once again entertained the guests and themselves with the drums and a large log fire. In short it was a night never to forget.

Connected to the main bar is the Al a Carte restaurant area. I had my 40th birthday whilst I was on the island and we decided to celebrate it with a seafood and champagne extravaganza shared with a couple we had become friendly with. The table was beautifully decorated with all sorts of flowers and petals together with a birthday wish meticulously formed from coloured rice and things. It was very expensive with each bottle of pretty ordinary Moet priced at about £135 per bottle. I can tell you when you order a couple of bottles the level of service goes up to an amazingly high standard and you are discreetly flanked by several eager waiters who by the way, know some pretty neat and mind boggling table magic tricks. They seem to make a hobby of it. If you can do some good ones yourself you will be a friend for life.

A short walk away from the bar/restaurant is the water sports centre that is stocked with all the usual beach/lagoon equipment. For the more energetic the beach volleyball is located just a few yards away. If its tennis you are after then the one well maintained court is tucked away in the trees near the buffet restaurant.

The one area I have missed out is the relaxation spa. It is located between the pool and reception areas. The spa offers a good range of reasonably priced treatments that we did not indulge in until the second to last day of our stay. If I had gone in on the first day for the head neck shoulder and back massage I had on my one visit I would have gone back several times more. I wont go on about it, as you have to be there to know what a delight it truly is. Just when you think you are the most relaxed you have been in your life your are shown to a relaxation room that I would say rivals some of the best in the world in terms of location. The gentle music, large wooden loungers, green tee and general feeling of well being after your treatment whilst confronted by a peak and sounds of the ocean through the lush tropical planting is in a word WOW.

The main buffet restaurant was well laid out with plenty of space between tables and long self serve buffet areas. We had a table for two next to the beach and very close to the water. The table also benefited from the gentle breeze unlike the tables nearer the buffet area, which had fans above for comfort. We found the food on this island to be exceptional. There are a massive variety of meats, vegetables, rice, pasta, local specialities, fresh fish, sauces, curries, and salads, to chose from. I am (according to the wife) an extremely fussy eater and I can tell you I was spoilt for choice. The food is cooked in all manner of ways by the predominantly Italian and Asian chefs. There are 3 sittings a day. Breakfast, which is not to early unless you are going diving, consists of a massive variety of foods from around the world. You will not sea pork on these islands as the Maldives observes the Muslim faith. You can get bacon but it is beef bacon! It looks pretty much like the real thing and tastes ok with a dollop of scrambled egg and strong coffee but with such a wide choice of other produce you could easily give it a miss. All the fruit is beautifully fresh and traditional favourites are on hand for the homesick as well as various curries and things for the more adventurous breakfast eater. Lunch is a long sitting and again the food is impressive and diverse. A wide range of very tasty foods from all continents is available and the menu changes every day. It is easy to overdue the eating and diets should be planed for your return as the food is irresistible. The same theme runs through the dinner sitting. Large selection of dishes from around the globe cooked in a verity of ways from barbequed to steamed. Believe me when I say that the food on this island is as good as your going to get for the price. Ok I may have neglected to mention desserts. Desserts do not come into the food category on these islands but fall more into the entertainment bracket. It's pretty hard to explain but just about all puddings are made of a sort of blamonge and disguised as something more familiar. It's a hoot looking at the huge variety of dishes available knowing they will all taste the same yet you always feel strangely compelled to try a bit of this and a bit of that. The wine available at mealtime is perfectly adequate and the cool imported beer will go with most things. The Al a Carte restaurant does have some better-known wine varieties available but at a price. Your waiter will stay with you throughout the holiday and will expect a small tip at the end of your stay.

A general guide to tipping should you wish to do so is contained within the literature in your room. We did go a bit overboard with our bar waiter but the lad worked his socks of and we never had to ask for a drink as he always made a point of looking in on us as the drink got to the lower half of the glass.

The island is popular with Italians and English. It is also very popular with people from all over Asia and Japan so a good balance of people and cultures exist. It's quite interesting to sit on you balcony with a G & T watching the various cultures go about the business of enjoying themselves and the different approach to it. You will have to sit there for some time as the island even when full has a feeling of tranquillity and you will often find you are one of only a few people on the beach. The same voyeuristic tendencies can be employed at meal times where there is an amazing variety of eating habits between cultures.

The Dive centre is located on the jetty and is well stocked for all sizes and levels of divers. I have my own equipment that I travel with but would say that the equipment at the centre is good quality and well maintained by the dive centre staff. The dive boat is a typical dhoni and gets you to the dive sites! The boat crew where excellent and you rarely touched your own gear. You get warm tea after each dive and a biscuit. A toilet is available on the boat as is sunshine and sea spray. Take a waterproof bag for your stuff!

For anybody interested in diving a small amount of research will let you know that you are in one of the top diving areas in one of one of the top diving areas in the world. There are some fantastic and varied dives local to the island. When I went in October there had been a couple of weeks of storms so dive conditions where not at there best but strong currents made for some fun drift dives. I have dived locally in October on previous visits and found some of the best conditions I have ever experienced but you are safer going in December as things are generally more settled. There is a lot of information on the local dive sites on the Internet that will help to wet your appetite. The dive centre was run with a safety first approach and the German dive guides where very knowledgeable. I understand the people who ran the centre when I was their have now left and been replaced.

If you are interested in snorkelling then the place to go is just off the jetty. It can get a bit choppy as the sea meets the wall but as you relax it will not be a problem. The dive centre has equipment for hire and for anybody trying it for the first time should take or hire fins to maximise the enjoyment. If you have not been to the Maldives before make sure you wear a T-Shirt and plenty of waterproof sun block on the backs of your legs. You will come a cropper if you spend half an hour in the water snorkelling, as you will be badly burnt even on an overcast day. You will see the people who have learned the hard way sitting in the shade in the bar.

When you pack your case to go to this island make sure you leave your formal wear in the wardrobe. For men, shorts and short sleeved shirts are perfect for meal time and in the bar and ladies are from my experience beyond telling what to wear and will take two of everything in two different colours despite only needing a shoulder bags worth of stuff despite any advice they may have been given. That's why we love um!

As this review is somewhat of a novel, I would like to dedicate it to my wonderful wife who makes every holiday wherever we go just that bit extra special.

Olhuveli beach & spa hotel is 4T rated in Thomson's brochure & we would not disagree with that. The Island is about 50 mins by speedboat south of the airport at the end of a chain of Islands in the South Male Atoll. Very few comments about Olhuveli were found on the web before departure as it used to be operated by Japanese Company until 2 years ago, when it was known as Olhuveli view & 3* rated. It would seem quite a lot of money has been spent upgrading the facilities. Although only small, around 600yards x 75yards max there are a wide range of facilities. There is a Tennis court, table tennis table & snooker table, the water sports centre looked to be well equipped with well maintained & fairly new equipment for a wide range of water sports, we did not use this but did consider a double canoe @ $10 per hour. There is a large diving operation at the end of the pier, I was told the tanks used were 10 litre aluminium as opposed to 15 litre steel normally used in UK. We are retired, so older than most who go to the Maldives & in past 12 years most of our holidays have been cruises only two hotel holidays- Paradise Park at Los Cristianos & one on Red Sea that was rated 5* we rate this hotel superior to both those.

All public areas were well kept with attractive furniture, the lagoon bar is over the water with good views, entertainment is here nightly, we mostly made our own entertainment but did catch a bit of a Magician, local band (heavy drumming) & a Bob Marley performer (good). The pier is about 300yards long overall with a sand surface, you are met off the speedboat by two drummers who lead you down the pier to lagoon bar where you are given a juice drink & then your room key- it really is that simple. Bags are taken to your room on the shoulders of a porter (give $1 per bag tip). There is a central sand path down the Island with rooms facing the sea both sides. There is a circular swimming pool with small children's pool but we spent all our time in the sea & the beach. East side of the Island has a beautiful lagoon about half a mile wide to the oceanic reef (that reef dangerous!), the west side lagoon is about 300 yards to reef & can be walked with water shoes on. You cannot walk a full circuit of the Island as the northern tip is the staff quarters with a service harbour, here there is a narrow channel between Olhuveli & Fun Island, this is a dangerous channel & you are not advised to swim in it.

The standard (superior) rooms were in blocks with 5/6 on each level & looked quite nice & we would have been happy in them. We were given a first floor room in the newer blocks of four with a thatched roof & had a good partial lagoon view. Some rooms do not get a view at all due to palm trees & vegetation etc so always ask for a first floor room. Room was a good size with balcony with cane furniture & the bath room was good size with large shower. Ground floor rooms had a concrete patio with plastic reclining chairs & a table. Storage was a little limited, only 3 drawers & the closet had hangers with no cross bars, beds were two 42" beds pushed together to make a 7ft bed. Central ceiling fan & a Japanese built a/con unit mounted high with a remote control. TV provided BBC world & some of Sky sports + others. Bar by the pool had large screen TV showing live football.

Food & Dining room we thought very good, we did arrive in D/R on first night in what we would call smart casual as opposed to some who looked straight off the beach! & we were given what we came to regard as one of the two best tables in the room (no2 far right corner between sea & pool) 2nd week we moved to best table (No1) in the corner. The D/R is quite large & some tables in central area can be a little noisy, it is open to the sea & a clear screen is rolled down if the breeze is too strong. Two nights we were invited to dine under the stars by candle light around the pool- just great. Wide choice of food on the buffet & good to try something different. Good salad bar, fresh pasta, joints or grills, curry & some nights a theme i/c a Maldivian night (beware the coconut chutney-very very hot). Omelette & fresh eggs cooked to order at b/f but the Islands are Muslim so no pork products. We only had half board but by taking b/f at 9-10am (open 8am) & eating a good b/f we found that most days we could last to 8pm dinner without lunch & I still put on 5lbs weight. We never had any tummy probs or heard of anyone who did. We rate food as far superior to Paradise Park hotel Tenerife.
Dinks are fairly expensive, around $5 for a 400ml glass of beer, we are not big drinkers but enjoy our wine, therefore we did not use the bars much but had a bottle of wine at dinner, usually South African two oceans label either shiraz or pinotage both $18 + 10% a bottle & quite acceptable to us.

Snorkelling was our principle reason for going to the Maldives & there are a lot of fish on the reef at Olhuveli, for photography though the water is not as clear as I would like it, vary's from day to day depending on the tide & current. With the huge lagoon & being at the end of the chain of Islands there is quite a lot of sand in the water at times & large quantities of plankton-that is what attracts the fish. Even people who do not go in the water can fish watch from the pier or beach, Manta's, sting rays, & small sharks can be seen with every new tide. The one problem I had was with the snorkel excursions purchased from the hotel, I am not a strong swimmer & therefore always wear a snorkel blow up life vest (worth it's weight in gold-get one if you cannot swim 100yards in 60 seconds!!) Billed as to the 3 "best reefs" we were dumped in the water at the first one with a very strong current, a party of Malaysians got straight out & no one could make it round the coral head, we struggled back to where they had streamed a rope to hold on to otherwise I do not think I could have made it back. One retired lady who was a diving instructor could not & had to be rescued, she then had to lay on the boat bench for an hour & missed 2nd stop. At 2nd stop we were going in at end of reef to snorkel with the current to other end, man in charge did not know which way current was flowing, so first person in soon was out as it was flowing in other direction. After much testing of water we eventually went to other end of reef & snorkelled with the current. At 3rd stop direction of current was right but going like express train! Difficult to get any photos. Complained at hotel & eventually got my money back on this one. On basis it could not be any worse I signed up again the following week, 1st stop was the one we did 2nd previous week, he got current right this week. 2nd stop was new & again strong current that carried me across the reef & I was just not a strong enough swimmer to get off it so they had to send someone in to pull me out. 3rd stop was again a very fast current . Moral is currents are worse than expected & I have snorkelled round the world & seen tidal flows through lagoon entrances so know not to snorkel between Islands etc. My advice always wear a life vest (30-40£ in UK) & never trust anyone, use your eyes etc. The house reef at Olhuveli had many safe sandy areas for beginners to snorkel & the reef itself had a very gentle current that did not seem to vary a great deal. If you do not have your own, hire of snorkel, mask & fins for 2 weeks was $70 + 10%
you can see my snorkel photos (78 in 2 albums) at http://community.webshots.com/user/ericy102

Who goes? Mainly Europeans + all parts of Asia, saw no one there from the "new world". A high percentage are from Italy & we were told on first day by Swiss & Germans that Italians were noisy Not too bad for first 5 days but then an Italian group arrived who wanted to take over every one else's bit of beach & chairs, allow their kids to leave litter all over. One problem seems to be that while other Nationality's market it to couples Italians get free child places & come in large family groups. After being shouted at by Germans one day & us the next, they did move away & be a little more discreet, then after a week it was back to peace for last two days.

One tip for when you leave, room vacation is at noon & boat for Britannia flight is at 1.30, reception area is open at sides so get there early & get some of the 6 seats in the enclosed a/con library/internet room & be much more comfortable while you wait. We would go again to the Maldives, had a great time, met some very nice people, did like the ambience & friendly staff at Olhuveli but would probably try a different Island to same standard if only to hope for clearer water on the reef. In next years Thomson brochure Olhuveli is AI only no H/B option & brochure price is £600 more than this years half board, just do not think we could drink that much in two weeks in spite of the expensive prices at the bars.