Riveli Retreat — Hotel in North Ari Atoll

Having stayed only in Tourist Islands over the last 15 years maybe 15/20 including Halaveli, Moofushi, Grand Centara and Soneva Fushi I had an opportunity to visit a local island as my wife had to return to the UK after a week at Haliveli due commitments. I had been recommended Riveli Retreats and the island of Mathiveri from a Maldivian working on one of the tourist islands. After all the luxury of the other islands I was looking forward to enjoying the local culture and island life without the pomp and ceremony associated with our usual trips. Riveli Retreats is owned by two brothers. One of the brothers looks after the guest house by the name of Faruhadh. He arranged a speed boat from Haliveli and met me on the boat at trip that took a comfortable 35 minutes to Mathiveri. He then offered me a tour of the small island on his motorcycle which was very kind and interesting. My room looks was spacious, clean and comfortable with a lovely view through the palm trees onto the beach. I had the bed and breakfast option and was offered any choice of breakfast I could think of and this was extended to dinner on 5 occasions. The flexibility to request meals such as fish curry or Lobster was available as it was a quiet period but I’m sure they would always go out of there way to oblige if they could. The chef was Shohag who was enthusiastic and very good considering he had to replace the normal chef taken I’ll at short notice. My whole stay was enjoyable and I met lovely helpful interesting people with a genuine kindness and it left me with nothing but good memories. | All the rooms are good but naturally the sea view rooms at a premium. The excursions are numerous and relatively inexpensive. There are a number of grocery shops selling essentials and fresh fruit. A few restaurants open all day one in particular I enjoyed called Second Home. ( order before you arrive if possible) . They will make anything or just surprise you. It was very good. I checked out other guest houses but one seemed as good. I will definitely be back here sooner than later as there were signs of too many new guest houses being built and a large hotel that will surely spoil this unspoilt island in years to come. In the mean time I can’t recommend it enough. Everything will be arranged for you at minimum cost from the boat transfer or sea plane to the dreaded PCR at the little...

We stayed in Riveli Retreat guesthouse for 12 amazing nights in February 2020. Accommodation Room we stayed in had a seaview through romantic palm grove. Room was big enough with big double bed and bathroom. It was cleaned every other day which was completely sufficient. Some small maintenance would not hurt (some lights, loose holder in shower). Service Personnel were always helpful and nice. They arranged any necessary transport to nearby sandbank, or trips. At first we had manta snorkeling, which was amazing. Guides from the guesthouse took us to two places to ensure we are satisfied. As we are not very good snorkelers they even helped us to get closer to mantas. Second trip was a rift snorkeling with sandbank picnic, again at two spots to accommodate our needs and snorkeling skill. The last trip was a resort visit. Guesthouse guides arranged the visit with nearby resort and took us there and back on arranged time. Restaurant Meals we had were very tasteful. They were flexible in arranging the time of breakfast and dinners. We recommend trying local menu and fish, pasta and noodles rather than pizza. All the time we had local breakfasts which were amazing. We additionally utilized guesthouse restaurant for dinners. Fish we had were always fresh and tasted great. One evening we even met the chef with freshly caught fish coming...

When we arrived at the port, we were welcomed and picked up. In the accommodation we got towels and very delicious drinks. The owner Farhad showed us the room with the phrase "feel like home". This motto ran through the whole holiday. ||Farhad was always available to answer any questions we had and always had a smile on his face. He can always be found in the accommodation and is open for a short chat, a little fun or for any questions.||A special highlight was the manta tour and snorkeling on the reef. This tour starting from the hotel is highly recommended. This is possible alone or in a small group without experiencing huge tourist crowds. A wonderful experience.||Also ask about the shark feeding at the harbor or the blue glowing plankton on the beach. The Riveli staff are always willing to help, love their island, live it and are happy to show it. ||The island itself and its locals are absolutely courteous, friendly and open. Just walk through the streets, ask, try and experience. ||The Riveli and its employees are an absolute insider tip for everyone who wants to get to know the real Maldives and their wonderful people away from the huge tourist crowds.||It was one of our nicest...