Riu Palace Maldivas - All Inclusive

We stayed in Riu Palace for 1 week, choosing the suite with direct beach access. We were doubting between this one and the water villas, but at the end, I think we made the right choice. The room is spacious and big, having direct access to the outstanding white sand beach. You are literally 20 steps from the crystal-clear sea. The water villas are located on the bridge that We stayed in Riu Palace for 1 week, choosing the suite with direct beach access. We were doubting between this one and the water villas but at the end I think we did the right choice. Room is spacious and big, having direct access to the outstanding white sand beach. You are literally 20 steps from the crystal clear sea. The water villas are located on the bridge that separates the two hotels: looks beautiful but it’s more expensive. Also each water villa block has 3 rooms and we heard some feedback about the challenges that you might have sleeping there due to light and being on top of the water. That being said, a good tip is to choose the beach suite on the ground floor: nice terrace where you can leave you belongings and go to a dive. There are also suites on the 1st floor. The water in front of the suites is not deep: knees level. Another tip is to bring some diving shoes due to the corals and rocks. And off course diving glasses: water is crystalline and you will be amazed with the beauty of the corals and diversity of fishes that you can spot next to you . If you think about Maldives as luxury, I would classify Rui Palace as budget luxury. Why? As the hotel is pretty big so don’t expect an exclusive butler/ concierge during your stay. Is that a problem? Not for me. The staff is so nice and attentive and you have access to top and super clean facilities. Specially in Riu Palace (5 stars ) compared to Riu Atoll (4 stars). Palace is smaller and more exclusive and you can feel the difference on the details: better service, better food and better drinks served for example in proper cocktail glasses. Guests from Palace can go to Atoll and access the Atoll facilities but not the other way around. About the staff : truly amazing and attentive . Despite the challenges of having a big company group during our stay, they did everything to meet all the guests wishes and expectations, exceeding them. A word to Edie at the buffet restaurant, Sanju and Daisie at the pool bar and Yohan from the cleaning room staff: truly outstanding service, gentle , kind … Rooms are super clean and so are the facilities. You can also book some restaurants as part of the all inclusive , but we were not impressed : limited menu choices and for example not air conditioned in the steak house . We preferred the Palace Buffet: wide variety of food, always being cooked/ fresh . Think about seafood (amazing lobster and mussels), curries, Asian fusion food but also Mediterranean cuisine. About the stay: bear in mind that you are staying in an island was the island is the resort… so apart of diving, reading, water sports (kayaks and paddling are for free) and sine excursions (we did the snorkeling one) there is not too much to do: just enjoy and relax . A final word to Pedro the general manager: really nice and down to earth person: was liberty to meet him during the final day of our stay. And nice to speak Portuguese with home :) Thanks for the amazing experience Riu Palace and its staff separates the two hotels: it looks beautiful, but it’s more expensive. Also, each water villa block has 3 rooms, and we heard some feedback about the challenges that you might have sleeping there due to light and being on top of the water. That being said, a good tip is to choose the beach suite on the ground floor: there is a nice terrace where you can leave your belongings and go to a dive. There are also suites on the 1st floor. The water in front of the suites is not deep: knees level. Another tip is to bring some diving shoes due to the corals and rocks. And of course, diving glasses: the water is crystalline, and you will be amazed with the beauty of the corals and diversity of fish that you can spot next to you . If you think about the Maldives as luxury, I would classify Rui Palace as budget luxury. Why? As the hotel is pretty big, so don’t expect an exclusive butler/ concierge during your stay. Is that a problem? Not for me. The staff is so nice and attentive, and you have access to top and super clean facilities. Especially in Riu Palace (5 stars ) compared to Riu Atoll (4 stars). Palace is smaller and more exclusive, and you can feel the difference in the details: better service, better food, and better drinks served, for example, in proper cocktail glasses. Guests from Palace can go to Atoll and access the Atoll facilities but not the other way around. About the staff : truly amazing and attentive . Despite the challenges of having a big company group during our stay, they did everything to meet all the guests’ wishes and expectations, exceeding them. A word to Edie at the buffet restaurant, Sanju and Daisie at the pool bar, and Yohan from the cleaning room staff: truly outstanding service, gentle , kind … Rooms are super clean and so are the facilities. You can also book some restaurants as part of the all-inclusive , but we were not impressed : limited menu choices and, for example, not air-conditioned in the steak house . We preferred the Palace Buffet: wide variety of food, always being cooked/ fresh . Think about seafood (amazing lobster and mussels), curries, Asian fusion food, but also Mediterranean cuisine. About the stay: bear in mind that you are staying on an island, and the island is the resort… so apart from diving, reading, water sports (kayaks and paddling are for free), and some excursions (we did the snorkeling one), there is not too much to do: just enjoy and relax . A final word to Pedro, the general manager: really nice and down-to-earth person: we had the liberty to meet him during the final day of our stay. And nice to speak Portuguese with him at home :) Thanks for the amazing experience, Riu Palace, and its staff

The Service excellent, the place, rooms , everything. The overwater room a dream! We were so happy. The buffet and restaurants amazing! Very nice experience

We completely agree with all previous comments. We had an amazing relaxing holiday in paradise. All the staff were so friendly and efficient, special thanks to Sanju, Dessy and Romesh who looked after us so well. We would also recommend the snorkelling and dolphin boat trip.

Everything that has been said is true..this place is pure paradise! But much more than this, I have never experienced such wonderful service in any hotel before. The staff are so lovely, gracious and hardworking with genuine smiles that will stay with you a long time after you leave the resort..too many names to mention but big thank yous to Risma, Desy, Sanju,Helmey,Sammee...Sorry if I have forgotten anyone, you were all wonderful. We stayed for 10 nights and my fear was that I would get bored but with amenities split across the two islands it was perfect. We stayed in a beachfront villa, simply the best located accommodation we have ever had, straight out of the doors onto a white beach and into the shallow, turquoise sea...as I said, Paradise. We had sunbeds everyday outside our room. Towels are given to you in your room and you can also pick-up near the pool so are always available. We soon got into a routine of breakfast, followed by a walk either around the island or across to the Atoll side. We would have a coffee here or sometimes lunch. Back to the sunbeds outside our room and a couple of hours in the sea. We took our own snorkels and beach shoes on recommendation which was great advice. It was actually our 1st time snorkeling and wow what a place to do it. The fish just swim alongside you and were mesmerising. We were also lucky to see the baby black tipped sharks but the absolute best part of the holiday was spotting the turtle and swimming along with him for a while...most amazing experience ever! Later in the afternoon we would pop to the Paradise bar for a drink and a game of bingo or jump in the pool for a cocktail. We also chilled on the beach to the Sunset DJ a few times...honestly you will never feel so chilled! We loved all of the food and speciality restaurants, especially the Italian over at the Atoll. If you are celebrating, let them know in advance and they will make a fuss of you. The restaurants are very warm so the handheld fans which you can also use as table fans are a must. The only room for improvement for us would be the entertainment.. Whilst we loved the Chilled vibes of the Palace side we felt that some nights we would have liked a dance without going over to the Atoll. We attended most of the party nights at the Atoll which were very good but again, The music was quite repetitive and could have done with changing up a bit. The only other thing I didn't like were the concrete water villas which I knew on booking were for modern design but I feel would be perfect if they had been more authentic. However, they mattered less to me as our stay went on and we appreciated the beautiful setting and nature of the Maldives. I hope one day we can go back but do not hesitate to book this wonderful hotel if you are thinking about it, you will not be disappointed.