Rahaa Resort Maldives — Hotel in Hadhdhunmathi

This is an honest review of our stay at Rahaa Island. This was our fifth holiday to the Maldives and was by far the worst island we have visited by far. I really do not like to leave a negative review but after our dreadful experience on this island I cannot leave a good review.||We have visited other islands and have never had an issue with the food or drinks like we had at Rahaa, I understand we were visiting islands where they have to fly food in but there is no excuse for poor or cold food.||The positives|We were greeted at the resort with a fresh coconut drink, very welcome after our long journey.||Initially our room was at the far end of the island and we looked out on the lagoon which was surrounded by a concrete wall. When I asked if we could be moved nearer to the restaurant/bar as my husband was waiting for a replacement knee operation this was eventually arranged free of charge due to being messed around.||The negatives||We booked our holiday with Blue Bay Travel, we flew with Virgin in Atlantic, the food was terrible on both flights, resulting in both myself and my husband not eating anything on our return journey. We had been told by Blue Bay we would be able to use the airport lounge at Male airport while we waited for our internal flight, unfortunately when we arrived we were told this service was no longer allowed so we had to wait in the hot and busy airport - not what you want after a long flight.||When we were met by the Rahaa representative at Male we saw him talking to a check in clerk, he then came and told us our hand luggage could not be taken into the cabin as it was too big and therefore we would have to pay an excess I’d 34 dollars each for it to be put in the hold. We saw the man telling others they would have to do the same yet other and local passengers were able to take the same sized or larger bags into the cabin. Yet on the journey back we were allowed to take our hand luggage into the cabin.||We had to ask for our room to be cleaned on two occasions, the second time was after our room had not been cleaned for the second day in a row.||You were only given two bath towels for each room and no hand towels.|The bath and beech towels were often threadbare and heavily stained.|The hotel kept changing where you could change your beach towels without notifying you, originally they were changed when your room was cleaned, then in the bar and then at reception. On many days you couldn’t get clean towels.||We were only left coffee whitener in the room on day one, 9 and 10 of our stay, this was okay for my husband as drinks black coffee but not for me.||The bar ran out of tonic a few times, once for four days||The food was the worst we have ever had - anywhere we have stayed and not what you would expect in the Maldives||On some days there was no butter in the restaurant |Other days they ran out of sliced bread for toast, pancake mix or omelette, whilst this would not normally be an issue when there is such a limited choice available it was. |Fresh fruit was only available for breakfast, and this was very limited|There was no salad, only 3 bowls of mixed salad but this was not chilled |There was no cheese or cold meats available |The food was often cold, even when the restaurant first opened or when it was brought out of the kitchen, as if it had been brought straight out of the fridge. The best you could hope for was Luke warm.|Food choices were extremely limited, with one beef, chicken and fish dish with rice and vegetables. One more than one day these were all curry options- whilst I love curry all the dishes were cold so I ended up having bread for my meals.|On two evenings the option at the live cooking station was fish, with the other options being fish meatballs, fried fish and tiny pieces of grilled chicken wings or drumsticks with pumpkin rice or noodles.|There was a pasta station however they cooked the same food every day||You could book set meals, however at over £100 pounds per person we never saw anyone booked them||All the amenities were at one end of the island, even though there was a bar at the other end. When we arrived we were told this bar was only open from 4:30 to 7pm for drinks only - despite their own information leaflet saying it would be open from 11am and that you could get pizzas etc there. We only went there twice to watch the sunset, as when we went at 5pm we had to wait for someone to arrive and set up the drinks and seats etc. Despite having a lovely pizza oven they didn’t serve food. This is such a lost opportunity as the bar is in a lovely situation and would be a lovely place to enjoy a relaxing drink in a quiet area. ||The bar was a nightmare in the evening, every night there was a karaoke or they played loud banging music, there was no place for a quiet relaxing drink, most evenings people started leaving when the music started playing. This is not the relaxing Maldivian experience we expected. ||We saw rats roaming the island a number of times.||Before we left we emailed Blue Bay about the airport lounge and they advised us to speak with the hotel before departure in order for them to arrange for us to use the airport lounge as we would have a long wait at Male for our journey home. I spoke with the management twice and they assured us they had booked and paid for us to use the lounge, yet when we arrived at the lounge we were informed they had no booking from Rahaa resort, when I tried to contact the resort I had no response.||This was the first time we were counting the days down...

Our trip to Rahaa Resort in the Maldives was, from start to finish, an experience that will stay with us for a very long time.||The journey from Munich via Bahrain to Malé was admittedly long. After arriving in Malé, we had an additional wait of about two hours for our domestic flight to Kadhdhoo. The flight itself was 50 minutes, followed by a 30-40 minute speedboat ride to the resort. Despite the duration, we must emphasize that the entire transfer was excellently organized and ran smoothly.||The moment we set foot in the resort, we felt like we had arrived in paradise. Every single employee greeted us with an smile and a refreshing coconut. Even the resort manager made a point of personally welcoming us. We were given a tour of the island, including the bars, and our luggage was promptly taken to our room – a perfect start.||We had originally booked a Lagoon View Villa but received a complimentary upgrade to a Sea View Villa. Due to the low occupancy of only about 30% during our stay, all guests enjoyed these villas. The rooms are exceptionally spacious, equipped with a very comfortable bed, a television, and a well-functioning air conditioning system. Every villa featured an outdoor bathroom with two showers (one open-air, one covered) and two washbasins. A minor drawback was that, due to their open design, the bathrooms were not air-conditioned, which could make them quite warm in high temperatures and also attracted mosquitoes. Each villa boasted its own private access to the sea with two private sun loungers – an absolute dream for a quick dip in the cool water. While some parts of the rooms showed slight signs of wear, we were assured that renovations and painting are planned for this summer to restore everything to impeccable condition.||Although each villa had its own sea access, we spent most of our time at the main beach in front of the bar. With so few guests around, we often shared this picturesque stretch of sand with perhaps only 5-10 other people. The beauty of the surroundings, the breathtaking underwater world, and the unique privacy were indescribable. For this alone, we would wholeheartedly recommend the resort.||However, what truly made our holiday unforgettable was the service. I have never experienced such outstanding and heartfelt service in my entire life. We particularly want to highlight Islam and Robi from the bar. They always had a smile on their faces, and Islam mixed simply delicious cocktails – often unprompted and always keeping them coming! A huge thank you for that, Islam! The service in the restaurant from Sumon, Anis, and Alim was equally excellent. They too were consistently incredibly friendly and attentive. Empty glasses were refilled immediately, our food was always brought to our table, and they were quicker than the wind in everything they did. These individuals made our holiday truly special, and we want to thank them from the bottom of our hearts. I would also like to encourage future guests at Rahaa Resort to take the time to chat with these phenomenal and incredibly warm people. Even the resort manager checked in with us daily to see how we were doing and if there were any suggestions for improvement.||Another truly memorable highlight was an unexpected and genuinely wonderful encounter with the resort owner himself during our stay. He wasn't just a fleeting presence; he generously spent a significant amount of time with us, sharing fascinating stories about his own life and the journey of creating and developing the resort. He even personally took us to his favorite spot on the island, a gesture that felt incredibly personal and kind. He was an exceptionally warm, engaging, and down-to-earth person, and this interaction added another layer of depth and appreciation to our experience. The friendliness of everyone on this island, right from the top, was simply phenomenal.||The resort also features a diving center. While we didn't participate in any of the guided excursions (which other guests described as very beautiful, albeit a bit pricey), we can warmly recommend the guided snorkeling trips. These are offered twice daily (at 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM). During our 10 days, we probably joined about eight times and were newly fascinated each time by the diversity of the underwater world. We saw everything from rays and pufferfish to turtles and sharks. Here too, the tour guides were always extremely friendly, courteous, and kind.||Regarding the food, the selection was somewhat limited, but we never felt hungry, and there was always something tasty to find. The chefs did their best to make the most of the ingredients, which are naturally limited on an island. The Saturday evening, featuring typical Maldivian food, was particularly outstanding – it was so delicious we could have eaten it almost every day!||In summary, Rahaa Resort is an absolute recommendation due to its unique service and phenomenal natural beauty. The negative reviews are being noted, and the staff are working hard to address the points raised. I would encourage everyone to visit Rahaa Resort and see for themselves – for the price offered, it is truly unique! We would and probably will...

We were guests at Raahaa from 22nd April for 2 weeks and from the moment we stepped on to the Atoll it was pure bliss. |We were met by Azeez and Brando at the jetty and welcomed with cold towels, a lovely little hand woven necklace and a fresh coconut to drink. It was very much appreciated as it was so hot and we were tired from the journey. After that a very quick tour of the resort and its facilities before we were taken to our room, where our luggage was waiting for us. |The rooms were cool, comfortable and spacious with direct access to the beach and sea, just lovely. Yes they may be in need of a lick of paint and some taps may need to be replaced but it didn’t detract from how comfy, pleasant and clean the rooms are. I think what needs to be addressed is that this is just 1 of 2 hotels that the owner has and it isn’t a chain hotel and I am glad as this would take away the genuineness of the resort and the Maldivian people.||Food was good, tasty and of great quality every meal. There was always, salad options, beef, chicken, fish, vegetables, rice and noodles, there was never a lack of anything to choose from. But again this is an atoll pretty much in the middle of nowhere and there is no Tesco or Asda close by if something is not in season or ready to be harvested on nearby islands. There is always a live cooking station too for omelettes and eggs at breakfast, or wraps or toasties at lunch and then fish or meat at dinner. The Maldivian night is just lovely and great tasting food cooked by local ladies from nearby islands.||No diet drinks usually and ran out of tonic once but it was back in the next day and there is always an alternative. Always wine at dinner available, red, white and rose. Beer is good and cocktails are excellent, virgin or with alcohol. Always water in your room 2 x 1 litre bottles but more is available from the bar.|The staff are just brilliant and always happy to help. Waiters in the restaurant and the bar staff are very attentive, Islam runs a great team in both of these areas and he is always very helpful, especially when refilling your drinks 😆. Special mentions to Alim, Anis and Sumon who were so attentive during our stay, I don’t think we ever had an empty glass or weren’t helped with food to our table on any visit to the restaurant. Thank you so much!!!||Azeez was our main go to guy always happy and chatty, We received every morning a WhatsApp with outlined the weather forecast for the day and what activities were on in an evening wether that was Karaoke, a disco, Management cocktails, crab racing or Maldivian night we were made aware and welcomed. He arranged all of our transfer times and pick ups, was often seen at the Kareoke and was the DJ on Disco nights!! Brando though is the Kareoke King!!||Trips are available from swimming withTurtles or Dolphin watching, there are also trips organised to other island to see how Maldivians live, but best of all is the resort reef trip which is free and occurs twice daily, this is not to be missed when you visit.|Trips to the reef are guided by the Dive team so as to make sure you don’t miss anything. Along with the amazing variety of tropical fish that are there you swim with manta rays and turtles which is just amazing!! Mamdhou and Brando just 2 of the team that help you feel confident and supported whilst in this exceptional environment. Thank you guys!!!||The gardening staff I have to give huge credit to. They are constantly clearing up leaves on paths and between the bungalows and the beach. We had an influx of seaweed whilst we were there as there was a storm at sea and the next morning it was all being cleared up by the staff. It was as if it never happened. |The sea is beautifully clear and not polluted by the boats as someone has posted, there may be days that it’s not as clear as others but that’s to do with low and high tides and the weather, and on occasion manta rays kicking up loads of sand whilst feeding!! ||Finally the Spa, go and get a massage you will not regret it!!! The 2 masseurs are just amazing and will work out the last of any stress left in your body after a relaxing stay at Rahaa.||Huge thanks to all of the staff for making our holiday so amazing. Ishmael the GM and Mr Johnson the resort manager were also ever present at the resort and would often get involved with helping the team or Karaoke. They wanted to hear from us about our stay and if they could make improvements to make our stay better.|The owner was also a presence at the resort wanting to share his vision of Rahaa and how it had come to be which was really interesting.||All in all you will not be disappointed with this little piece of paradise as long as you let it be what it is and embrace the unique natural beauty and true...