Raffles Maldives Meradhoo Resort

The Halcyon Private Isles Maldives is nothing but a fabulous resort. This resort will change your prospective of what a wonderful resort could be. I have visited the maldives 3 times and travel all year round and personally there are quite few hotels that get my full liking with no single flaw. And the Halcyon is one of them this hotel is just spectacular the staff here just makes the resort feels like home I would like to thank our dear butler Mia by name she is the the most kind person ever! She made our stay phenomenal. She is very helpful we can say we have experienced every single facility in the resort thanks to her. And we celebrated a very special occasion in the resort and had the cutest surprise from her. I would also thank all the chefs and waitresses that we were served by. Chef Niko is a very special chef he was nothing but a great cook and very caring. He doesn’t know english very well. And he still managed to come check on us every single day which was just very touching. He is a very good chef and The Halcyon is just lucky to have him. The food at The Halcyon is top notch which just makes this resort a 10/10. The staff from butlers to chefs to waitress, yoga instructor, marine biologist, massage therapist arr just beyond words. This resort really blends everything together into one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. I would a 100% recommend The Halcyon to anyone visiting the Maldives and I personally will gladly visit this resort many times in the future. The staff here are amazing they’re really the ones who shaped out stay. Butler Mia was really not just a Butler to us she was very caring and patient. The suprise she gave us was very touching. And the Chef responsible for the sweets who contributed in this surprise is also well thanked for.

Super over all and we are happy

There are so many hotels to choose from when deciding to visit the Maldives and this was by far the best hotel experience I've ever had! With only 38 villas it truly felt private and spacious and like our own piece of paradise. Like anything in life nothing is truly perfect but this came close. The promotional photos truly reflect what you get when you arrive. The property as a whole was well maintained though there were some signs of use; occasional uneven wood board, water marks on the blinds from humidity, damage to pool tile etc. Anything out of place was clearly from a careless guest and not a reflection of the management. I've stayed at a less then 6 month old brand new build in Cancun that showed more damage so the staff is clearly on top of it. The worst of it was the mold in the airport lounge in Male which the hotel just uses while you wait for your connecting domestic flight and has no control over. The extra travel time, and even the mold in the airport, was 100% worth the hotel. The airport butler was there waiting on arrival and departure and escorted us from arrival terminal to security both times. The speedboat transfer flew by in comfort with some of the best iced tea I've ever had! We were greeted by many members of the staff including our personal butler Nattu on arrival and shown the property briefly. By the time we got to our overwater villa our bags were there as well as our own personal snorkle equipment for use while there. Being on the sunset side the coral reef was right outside our room along with the best snorkeling of my life. Sea turtles, sharks, rays and more types of fish than I could count. Nattu was able to assist with anything we needed and even presented us with more than one surprise upon return to our villa. He was not only accommodating but observant. When he noticed we liked to play chess by the main bar he had a set brought to our room. When he noticed we took the tea supplies out of the Mini bar we started coming back to the villa with it all set up for us to have an evening cup of tea. We also met the head pastry chef on arrival and I mentioned having a sweet tooth and then at dinner the first night I mentioned liking lighter vanilla fruity desserts. The next 3 nights he prepared a special off menu dessert for me to try in addition to what was on the menu! The attentive staff was consistent throughout our whole stay, with the exception of one grumpy waiter, but we all have bad days. The waiter Ali more than made up for it with his knowledge and jubilant personality. If you enjoy yoga at all I highly recommend attending a few of the complimentary sessions. The yoga teacher was very knowledgeable of the practice and really knew how to stretch and relax the body. I literally felt a little drunk while 100% sober walking back from the Saturday Yin class. Our housekeeper was even on top of our habits and kept our water and nespresso pods stocked and we never ran out. The food was very solid, 8/10 which to me is good considering you don't have any other options so they could get away with worse. The only reason its not a 10/10 is consistency. One day pancakes were amazing, two days later too eggy for my tastes. The night the head pastry chef made the creme brulee it was 100/10, best of my life with the most perfect cook on the sugar. The next night someone else clearly torched it as it was uneven, burnt in spots, and somehow chewy and stuck to the teeth. Both times the custard portion was amazing with a rich yet delicate vanilla bean flavor. It was so hard to leave, especially considering the 4 flights and 30+ hour travel time home to the US. But this experience was worth every penny spent and every minute it took to get there and home. It was a true nature lovers paradise even at night with its proximity to the equater and seclusion I saw more stars than I did in the artic circle! Its rare to experience this pureness of nature while still being in absolute luxury!