RIU Palace Maldivas

Christopher Bee

Other than messing up our request for a seaplane transfer the journey was seamless. The feeling that is all out of a James Bond movie doesn’t fade…. It’s just remarkable what humans can achieve on the middle of the ocean. I have ready some reviews about strong currents and swimming. Well not in outlets experience. Shallow waters you can stand in up to 100 yards from shore. The food is good with free flowing lobster and Iberia ham to name a couple of menu items. Be prepared to walk… there are buggies but only every 20 mins or so….. and it’s a long atoll. Staff can’t do enough All in all a good value destination

Dean Le Roux

There are few words to describe what an absolutely incredible experience Myself and my Wife had at this resort for our Honeymoon. We had been fortunate enough to experience This resort with its breath-taking views ,Amazing staff and great food. The organisation of collections and drop.offs where unrivalled to any other establishment i have visted before. Over all We had the best time of our lives and memories that we will never forget. I urge anyone that has the opportunity to visit this absolute piece of paradise do so.

Gamze Birinci

I don’t even know where to start from. Me and my husband visited this resort for our honeymoon. We’ve stayed for 10 days and struggled to leave! I’m not one to usually leave reviews but after the exceptional experience it was a MUST. We stayed in the over water villa with the swimming pool. The minibar was topped up daily and room cleaned to a very high standard. I would like to personally thank the cleaner for this. I am allergic to chlorine and the hotel manager kindly excepted my request of not adding chlorine into our pool. Therefore a massive thank you. The food was beyond our expectation. Very delicious and a huge variety of options. The bar by the pool had a choice of drinks which were all very well made. A special thank you to Aminda and Chamod for their hospitality. These boys have gone above and beyond. Sande was also very kind, welcoming and professional. Always worked with a massive smile on his face. Shathir also made sure that we left the restaurant happy. I could not have been any happier, I am very happy my husband booked this resort. Certainly recommended for all types of vacation whether it’s honeymoon or family getaway.

Vanessa

We had booked the Riu Atol side of this resort not knowing the difference between the Atol and the Palace, which are both the same hotel connected by a long board walk over the beautiful crystal clear waters. On arrival we quickly realised that the Atol was not for us and upon enquiry to reception they could move us to the Palace side the next day. By 10am on our second day we were happily settled into our room on the Palace side and noticed a distinct difference. Lack of children, quieter, service was top notch, clientele dressed more....elegantly I guess. Room service is available over here, bar is stocked with 4 spirits, mixers and beer, and ice machines every 30m or so along the pathways. The Atol side has no room service and only beer in the minibar, and no other drinks will be supplied, even if you want to pay for them (we booked all inclusive). We like sitting on our balcony having a GnT in the evening and the Palace side makes that possible. We booked a direct beach front access room as we had no intention of staying in an over water bungalow, it's just too confined for us, we like to wander around. The rooms are big, well appointed, fabulous air-conditioning and beach towels replaced as and when required. I'd highly recommend bringing your own mask and snorkel because the shallow waters go for miles and remain 1-3 foot deep with fish and hard coral a plenty. I easily spent 2 hours at a time just floating around watching the fish and crustaceans. The buffet has a good mix of food and there are 2 other restaurants you can book into on this side of the resort for 630 or 830 seating. The Japanese restaurant was especially delicious. There is also another steak restaurant over on the Atol side. The service at the pool bar is outstanding and super friendly with great music every night. It took us a couple of days to settle into the routine on the island but now we don't want to leave (tomorrow 😔). I can highly recommend the jet ski rides and we caught the seaplane from Male to the hotel which was a great way to see the beautiful islands in all their glory. We only got to spend 5 nights here (😪) as we had 2 weeks self driving around sri lanka in a 1980s jeep (that's another post) and a week in Malaysia so it's been a big trip. The Riu Palace was our wind down at the end of our long trip and fully fulfilled our expectations of this bucket list location. Thank you to the team here, we have had a wonderful stay. X we will be back some day.

Claudia Scarano

If you are a foodie, do NOT go to this resort. It’s a shame because the place is beautiful and the service is great. The food was enough to make me want to leave. Everyday was the same thing & tasteless. Room service is the worst I’ve ever seen in my life. It claims to be 24hour snack bar, but they serve only old pastries, and toast with 1 slice of cheese and an old cold hot dog from the fridge. I was beyond shocked. There is no other food available from 10:30AM-1:00PM. The only restaurant that was very good was the Japanese restaurant. It was delicious. All the other restaurants are the same food at the buffet. Cannot believe I spent $1000.00/night for this.