Canareef 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.....

Veronika Joanna

We stayed in January 2023 for 10 days with our family of 5 (3 small kids under 5). Had a an alright time but would not recommend or go again. + Positives: We could all stay in 1 bungalow with one large double bed, one extra bed and one cot. Lovely room, plenty of space, always clean and great air con. Staff are exceptional. Super attentive, family friendly and just overall wonderful. Kids loved the children's pool. Super safe and right by the restaurant so convenient around meal times. - Negatives: Water is NOT the clear water you expect from the Maldives. The beach around the villas is riddled with seaweed and sticks. Totally unusable. Some spots you can swim and snorkel in but everything involved a buggy ride (little golf cart type vehicles that staff drive guests around in from place to place). Buggies. Kids loved these. But the island is super big. So everything involves a buggy ride. Expect to wait up tp 15 minutes during busy times. Disappointed by the wildlife. Previously in the Maldives we saw lots of sharks, rays, turtles etc. right on the beach. Here at feeding time, they just chuck leftover fish blood etc into the sea. Not guaranteed to see any actual wildlife. We only had two nights out of 10 with any good sightings. Kids club was pretty bismal. Very bare. Playground needed lots of TLC. Often was shut when we went there and had to wait for someone to open it. So overall not really usable. Meal times. We were all inclusive. So expected buffet open the whole day/snacks served throughout the day. Instead, there are 3 set meal times at the main restaurant. Extremely spread out times (Breakfast finished at 9am, lunch 12-2pm and dinner not until 7-9pm). Kids would be super hungry between breakfast and lunch and then lunch and dinner. There's a snack served at the main pool at 4pm sometimes but it was often spicy or unsuitable for the kids and if we weren't there exactly at that time we wouldn't get it. So very difficult to navigate meals when you have small kids. We would have really expected more from a "family friendly" hotel. Overall, the kids had a good time but we were pretty disappointed. We've been to the Maldives before and paid much less for a much higher quality experience with better beaches, better wildlife, better food and just overall more of a "lux" feel. Wouldn't say value for money is great here. Would really read reviews carefully before considering to go.