Kuramathi Cottages and Spa, Kuramathi North Ari Atoll

Kuramathi is one of the larger islands in the Maldives and is divided into three resorts, Coconut Village (largest) at one end, Cottages and Spa in the middle, Blue Lagoon (smallest) at the other end.

We were at Kuramathi Cottage & Spa from 2 Feb until 12 Feb 2007 staying in one of the Water Bungalows. This was our first trip to the Maldives and we loved it.

The water bungalows are some of the earliest built in the Maldives and have a faded elegance to them. We loved the beautiful mahogany floors and high ceilings. The bed was one of the most comfortable we have ever slept in. The downsides were: The lights all had fairly low wattage bulbs which made reading of an evening difficult unless you were close to a lamp. The lack of drawers/shelf space, there was plenty of wardrobe space but a lot of it was hanging space. The water bungalows at the Cottages resort are detached whereas the water bungalows at Blue Lagoon are semi-detached.

The water bungalows are numbered from 231 to 280 and are in groups of 10. One drawback of the lower numbered bungalows is that they are close to either the desalination plant or the electricity generator (we didn't establish which it was) and there would be a constant low noise like an engine ticking over. We were in Bungalow 253 and the noise was not that intrusive.

We were on a half-board basis, the breakfast buffet offered plenty of choice. Evening meal was either a themed buffet, eg Italian, Maldivian/Sri Lankan, etc. or a 4 course set meal. The set meal offered no choice on the starter or soup courses, a choice of two main courses and desert or fruit to finish. The food was well cooked and nicely presented, although we heard one or two moans about the size of the portions. However, whenever there was a set meal there was also a small buffet and you could eat from the buffet as well as have the set meal. We never went hungry and now need to lose a few pounds! The tables in the restaurant were a little too close together and service could be slow. The table you are allocated to on your first meal is where you stay, so it is worth trying to get a good spot on the first sitting. For those people on full board, we believe the same formula applied at lunchtime.

There are several 'a la carte' restaurants, you could choose to dine in those and get a 20% discount if you booked via your waiter in the main restaurant. They are only open in the evening.

During the day, the coffee shops at each of the resorts offer snacks and there is the Palm Court restaurant close to the water-sports centre in the middle of the island which was where we ate at lunchtime. Having done our sums now we are home, we definitely saved money by not going full board. The salads at the Palm Court were generous and they will happily bring you two plates so you can share.

There is a small swimming pool at the Spa with about 50 sun loungers. This area was pleasant and never got crowded or noisy. The Spa itself had nice treatment rooms and facilities. Given that this part of Kuramathi advertises itself as being more for health and well-being, we expected to find things like stretching and meditation sessions and possibly some exercise classes but the only thing offered was yoga at 7am each morning.

Access to the reef for snorkelling is via channels with the closest being near the Water Bungalows. Snorkelling safaris to other parts of the Atoll are offered and you can also book private snorkelling trips. We went on one of the safaris with the resident marine biologist, it was interesting but we felt the snorkelling along the house reef was as good. We snorkelled everyday and each time we went in we saw something new. We felt that the snorkelling here was much better than any other places we have been, including the Caribbean. There is a Bio Centre in the middle of the island and every evening the marine biologist was there to answer questions and show photos. He gave several lectures on different topics, in German and English on different evenings.

On the opposite side of the island is a long sandy beach and a water-sports centre. We didn't use the centre but swam a few times off the beach which was very pleasant, a constant breeze kept the temperature down. Most of the time the beach was fairly deserted but the last couple of days saw more people using it, probably because low tide was during the middle of the day, so it was tricky getting out to the reef. Also, there were more children around the last couple of days, until then we had seen only two or three. There are no sunbeds on the beach, although there were a number of reclining chairs.

At the very end of the island, through the Blue Lagoon resort, is a sand bar which took about 15 minutes to walk the length of it. At sunrise it was deserted, at sunset there were lots of photographers. We were never there through the heat of the day so don't know how crowded it got then.

There was low key evening entertainment in all three resorts but we didn't watch it. Close to the Cottage reception is the Havana Club which is a wine and cigar bar, which was the most elegant room on the island but it was hardly ever used, the most clients we ever saw in there were four and two of them were us!

Any little niggles? Well, I didn't like it that there was no sugar or milk on the tables, if you wanted sugar/milk in your tea or coffee the waiters put it in when they poured the tea/coffee from large flasks. So no chance to adjust flavour after tasting. I asked for green tea and most of the waiters would bring and leave a pot at breakfast and a pot at dinner. I could have done with the opportunity to buy some fresh fruit, the odd banana or two, rather than order a fruit plate which was a mixture. The only food available in the gift shops were biscuits, crisps and chocolate.

Overall, the resort exceeded our expectations and the minor criticisms made above are nit-picking. We would certainly consider going back to the Cottages when we go back to the Maldives because after this trip we will certainly be returning to this beautiful part of the world.