Ellaidhoo Maldives By Cinnamon

“A taste of paradise”

The entire stay of almost two weeks did not leave anything to be desired: an incredibly forthcoming staff (thanks, Billal, for making our rooms multiple times a day), a most excellent house reef for diving and snorkeling (eagle rays, stingrays, nurse sharks and reef sharks, morays, etc), and a gr... more

The entire stay of almost two weeks did not leave anything to be desired: an incredibly forthcoming staff (thanks, Billal, for making our rooms multiple times a day), a most excellent house reef for diving and snorkeling (eagle rays, stingrays, nurse sharks and reef sharks, morays, etc), and a great kitchen with lots of varying dishes every day.

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“The paradise”

The hotel crew, the chefs and our roomservice Billal took very good care of us. All were very friendly and always had a smile for us. The room was cleaned several times a day!! (And: really cleaned!!) The house reef for diving offers everything you can wish for: sharks, eagle rays, turtles etc.

“A beautiful experience”

All i can say is wow. I was a little bit apprehensive about coming to the Maldives as i like excursions and seeing some of my surroundings. This has to be one of the best holidays i have ever experienced. All the staff here go more than the extra mile to look after everyone. The food in both the ... more

All i can say is wow. I was a little bit apprehensive about coming to the Maldives as i like excursions and seeing some of my surroundings. This has to be one of the best holidays i have ever experienced. All the staff here go more than the extra mile to look after everyone. The food in both the restaurants was exceptional. I also loved the fact that this island in particular was so passionate about environmental issues, like banning the use of all plastic on the island. The snorkeling in the lagoons and beyond the lagoon wall was fantastic, especially swimming amongst the sharks and rays, as well as the hundreds of different species of fish. Even the pesky trigger fish were great. One of the highlights is 17:30 everyday beside the main bar there was shark feeding which was brilliant seeing all the different species that live around the island. I would highly recommend a holiday here as even though its more a chilling holiday you would never get bored. A massive thank you to all the staff and management for making our holiday one to remember.

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“Everything we were looking for and more”

Just back from a fantastic six nights at Ellaidhoo. We chose this island based on reviews of the house reef and it was outstanding. Turtles, sharks, eels, dolphins, rays and every kind of fish; beautiful colours and great to see corals starting to recover, all within a few minutes swim from your ... more

Just back from a fantastic six nights at Ellaidhoo. We chose this island based on reviews of the house reef and it was outstanding. Turtles, sharks, eels, dolphins, rays and every kind of fish; beautiful colours and great to see corals starting to recover, all within a few minutes swim from your accommodation. This is a lovely relaxed, low-key resort with the focus on sealife rather than nightlife. With any big ticket holiday like this, it is hard to know which resort is right for you and Ellaidhoo was everything we were looking for and more. But the key points we appreciated knowing from other reviews before arrival were - 1. The sandy wide beach area is on one part of the island otherwise you access the water from steps down a sea wall into shallow lagoons. A second wall just further out marks the start of the incredible house reef and dropoff. This is why you have such amazing snorkelling so close to land - it was so amazing that my diver husband didn't even feel the need to dive when we were there. But it is good to be aware before you arrive of the existence of the wall and the fact there isn't a wide beach all around the island. 2. Water villas, while undoubtedly lovely, do not have direct water access. This was important to us so we chose a beach bungalow and loved being able to step off the porch and with a few steps be in the water. 3. Bring your own snorkelling gear if you can so you can head out in the water any time. Fins may be helpful for currents but we did not bring any as we just entered the reef and let the current take us gently around and then came back in when we were ready (there are access points all round the island). Currents can vary and we had mixed sea conditions with the onset of the rainy season but life jackets are provided in each room and the hotel encourages guests to use them should they wish to do so for snorkelling (there are no life guards on duty). 4. Food - when we were there all guests had access to both the main buffet restaurant and the smaller Seanic a la carte restaurant/bar by the pool. This is useful to know if you have booked a water villa as the latter restaurant used to be just for those villas. It was nice to be able to vary our dining locations and we never had any problems with seating even in the Seanic restaurant. The food is incredibly fresh and tasty, especially the curries, chutneys and salads in the main buffet. The other half is gluten-free and he was very well looked after. And while we actively sought out the curry station, all tastes are catered for so no worries if you prefer less spicy options. 5. Transfers - we were aware that transfers were pooled and so may not happen as soon as you arrive in Male. We chose the seaplane and did wait for a short time at the seaplane terminal but it was fun watching the planes leave and arrive. Re the departure, for us 2:30pm was the last seaplane from the resort even for a late evening flight. But given we knew this, we had booked a hotel in Male with free airport transfers, which gave us a few hours to walk around an amazing city and then have a shower and change before heading back the same evening to catch our plane home. For us it was well worth the extra money to see another side of the Maldives and to have some great last memories. We loved our beach bungalow which was spacious and really comfortable and we were incredibly well looked after by Bilal. The resort is doing a great job reducing plastic usage, with paper bags in bins and shampoo, shower gel and body lotion in all rooms in big dispensers rather than single use. And you do get to keep the lovely named metal water bottle you receive on arrival as a souvenir. Thanks to Ameer who went out of his way to help us settle in when we first arrived and Madhawa, Asela, Dilham and Chandana always prepared our coffee and cocktail orders with a smile and a chat. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Ellaidhoo and are already talking about returning with the adult kids and partners. All I can say is if we do, the chefs will need to prepare extra amounts of their delicious curries! Back home now in Ireland so sending thanks and greetings from one small green island to an even smaller and environmentally green one. Hope to see you again soon, Caroline & Lawrence

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