Fun Island Resort, South Male Atoll

My husband and I went to the Fun Island Resort in the Maldives for our honeymoon in October 2003. What can I say? It was amazing from the minute we set foot on the jetty. We were met with a cocktail and a cool towel, and the excellent service continued for the whole 17 nights. You have a set table and waiter for your whole stay - look out for Abdullah, what a star!! The accomodation was basic, but cleaned twice daily. The food was gorgeous every day, from breakfast through to dinner. It was always a buffet, but just the puddings are out of this world! Be prepared to come home a bit heavier! The island itself cannot be faulted, it is just how it looks in the brochures, beautiful. With fantastic snorkelling, and swimming and a stunning beach. We will definitely be going back. Monarch is our only complaint, it was very cramped for such a long flight, and we weren't informed that we would be stopping at Sri Lanka on the way home, just 1 1/2 hours after leaving Male. It did marr an otherwise faultless holiday. I would advise going all-inclusive, we spoke to others who seemed to be paying a lot for their meals and drinks, which would add a lot more onto the final cost of the holiday. Overall, 110% on everything else. We loved it!!!

My wife and our 6 year old booked Fun Island Resort last minute when I had some bonus from work. The cost for the 3 of us for this all-inclusive holiday was £3497. We went for the last week in March and the first week in April 2004.

The flight out from Gatwick is at night (10pm) and with Monarch. The outward leg is overnight and direct so we thought we'd sleep. The return flight is via Sri Lanka. Overall the flight with this particular airline comes close to spoiling a fantastic holiday.

The resort is simple, the island untouched. This is not a glass and marble resort but a sand in your toes at dinner place. We loved it. The high point has to be the house coral reef, you just walk into the water and it never fails to astonish you. Everyday we saw and swam with something new - dolphins, 3 types of shark, manta rays, sting rays, sea turtles and all of Nemo and his friends. I pinched myself everyday to make sure i wasn't dreaming! We were initially worried that there wouldn't be much to do for a 6 year old (after all, the Maldives is for honeymoon right?) - he was busy every day from dawn (6am) to dusk (6pm). There are 100 rooms on the island and it was fully occupied when we got there - however it never felt full and we were always amazed at meal times (same table, same waiter everyday) at how many people were on this island with us and we wondered where they were hiding during the day! This is the first holiday that we have not wanted to leave when the time came. From the speedboat trip from the airport to the candle-lit dinner on the beach it was awesome. We did the night fishing trip twice, the island hopper and the free diving experience - all excellent. Don't bother with the cost of a water bugalow, they look great from the outside but the same from the inside as a beach bungalow. Who wants to see the water from a glass floor when you can get outside and into it? We went with Thomas Cook because they had availablity. We would stay at this resort again but never fly with Monarch again. Emirates fly from Manchester with Kuoni - the guests on the island who came with them said it was great.