Canareef Resort

Tola Balogun

Picturesque Lush Paradise Location! The staff were very friendly and professional. Special thanks to Mohamed Shiruhaan who was super helpful and made sure that our honeymoon was very memorable. Great variety of food with every meal. Great system to organise every part of our stay at the resort. Great long beaches for relaxing walks. Amazing weather, even when it rains! Regular buggy rides to get us around the resort whenever needed. Large villa that was cleaned very regularly, with soothing bed and lovely jacuzzi whirlpool. Massage was amazing! Lovely swimming pools and atmosphere around the resort.

Victoria Richardson

A truly wonderful holiday. Our Superior, Sunset, villa with hot tub was amazing. So clean, spacious, and absolutely gorgeous. The staff in resort were lovely, and the food was superb. The bookable trips to see dolphins, and snorkelling were awesome - Highly recommended. The island is the longest in The Maldives, and we enjoyed using our bikes to get around. The buggy's also came in handy too. I would return again, as it was such a chilled, beautiful, friendly resort.

Greg Campbell

Came for 10 days but could quite happily have stayed longer. The staff were really friendly and always willing to help. Highly recommend the dolphin trip and make sure to go to the fish feeding on the pier. On the down side take insect repellent and bite relief cream as the mosquitos pack a mean bite. There is a shop on site but only sells tat.

A.N. Other

Paid circa £6.5k for an AI holiday beach lodge for 2 here. Takes an age to get there re: additional internal flight from Male airport circa 1.5 hours on the back of your flight to Male. Rooms fitted out ok, building exteriors need a lot of restoration and maintenance. Sea shore/beaches heavy in corals so be sure to wear something on your feet when bathing. Went all inclusive, food was mediocre at best and buffet style, very limited in choice and on cyclic repeats. If you want to eat at the beach bar for a change (e.g. a light lunch without the inconvenience of a 1.5km each way golf buggy ride to the buffet restaurant using the intermittent shuttle buggy service, which will take quite a while out of your day), this will cost you extra on a pay as you go basis (e.g. burger and fries for 1 circa $20 US). All inclusive drinks quality was shockingly poor, to the extent that we couldn't drink any of their alcohol as it gave us splitting migraine headaches and visual disturbances within an hour of drinking them, very concerning for your health and definitely something not right there. Saw plastic waste on the shoreline at times. Plenty of mosquitos about so make sure you take plenty of repellent and bite treatments. Not a lot going on here or much to do, and general environment lacked 'atmosphere' and vibrancy. There are a number of activities available but most appear to be additionally chargeable (see notice board pic). For the return leg of your journey to the UK, expect to leave your room around 01:30 to start travelling back, two internal flights to get back to Male airport should see you get to Male by around 07:00 and then wait around until circa 11:30 for your main flight back which will take circa another 11.5 hours if your flying direct, killer journey! Not the Maldives heaven or experience we were expecting, so definitely won't be going back, you can get far far better vacations and far more interesting destinations for your money.

catherine woolley

If you're reading this review whilst researching a Maldives holiday then look no further. If you're reading this review because you are booked to stay at Canareef and you are counting down the days to your trip then consider yourself very lucky! Canareef is a really special place and the resort deserves huge success. Being located on the most southerly atoll requires a lengthier transfer but it does mean better weather. The transfer itself, organised by the resort, is really straightforward and hassle free. For us the return journey required a very early start and a bit of hanging around at Male but there a worse airports around the world! When you arrive at Canareef you are met with a wonderful welcome and are instantly made to feel relaxed and indulged. The island itself is breathtakingly beautiful and this is one of the charms of the resort. It hasn't been over landscaped and the natural beauty dominates every part and because all of the villas feel slightly hidden amongst the beach edged palm trees, it feels very rustic and very private. The efficient buggy system that takes guests from one end of the island to another is brilliant and essential although riding around on bikes is fun too. The snorkling is excellent - a huge variety of fish plus we encountered turtles and very shy reef sharks in shallow water which was incredibly exciting. The spa is excellent; better than many in the Cotswolds or London! The Balinese ladies are so lovely and their treatments really are very good. Travelling with two teenagers with very different tastes meant I was slightly concerned as to whether the buffet would satisfy everyone. I needn't have worried. The food is incredibly delicious and so much thought and hard work goes into flavours and choices. Every meal was delicious. Every single member of staff deserves thanks. They are all super kind and friendly and genuinely seem so proud of their island and keen to share it and ensure you have an amazing stay. We certainly did.....