Palms Retreat

I don’t like writing reviews, but it’s probably worth it here, because... cry from the heart. I want to say right away that the review does not concern the hotel staff, the food in the restaurant or the hotel itself. Avoid this hotel if you don’t want to ruin your vacation because of the greed and disregard for the hotel owner and his manager. Let me start with the fact that because of the management, my wife and I lost a whole day of vacation, moved from another island, specially got up as early as possible, sailed to Male at 8 am and, relying on the managers from the hotel, waited for their transfer until about 16:00, in the end we got to the hotel only in the evening, when it was already dark. They justified this by the afternoon waves and the fact that the boat had broken down. What prevented us from being put on a transfer right away in the morning? Nothing got in the way, just some ulterior motives. Of course, there was no compensation for this. At first they promised a free kayak day, then they deceived us about that too. I asked for help with organizing my wife’s birthday - the owner promised a cake, but in the end there was no cake. Then we saw that there was a partially eaten cake in the refrigerator, but no one told us anything about it. We ordered a romantic dinner on the shore - it left much to be desired. An excursion to a manta ray is also something special, you didn’t see any manta rays, but you had to pay the full amount of money. A scam for tourists, nothing more. If you don’t approach the hotel owner about any question, he will only pretend that he is interested. But in fact, he is only interested in your money. On most issues, the manager will pretend that he does not understand you, even if you explain everything in the simplest language or even text. We would gladly change to another hotel, but unfortunately there were no more rooms in the other hotels. For all the services we turned to a neighboring hotel, we thank the manager there for everything, only there we saw a human attitude.

I visited three different islands during my visit to Maldives and this hotel was by far the best but also the most expensive for solo traveler from the one I stayed in. The hotel is really well organized. You have a restaurant and common space downstairs and spacious rooms on two upper levels. I stayed in a single room (with a single bed) but the room was really big with balcony, seating area and big bathroom with open shower. Everything was clean and modern. There was an air conditioning and a fan, kitchenette and drinking water. The hotel has a Thai restaurant with delicious Thai food (even though a little bit pricy). Even though the vegetarian offer is limited they are very flexible and can adjust meals to your diet. From time to time the hotel organizes entertainment for its guests (all visitors including locals are welcome though). It is centrally located in the middle of the village (more less where other guesthouses are placed). The staff was very helpful and caring. The only disadvantage I could think off is lack of internet range in the rooms.

Siamo stati in questa struttura diverse volte a pranzo. Si tratta di una vera oasi di stile e tranquillità che non ti aspetti di trovare al centro del villaggio abitato di Fulhadhoo, davvero una piacevole sorpresa. Il ristorante ha un'atmosfera piacevolmente fresca, curata ed elegante, spazi ampi, pulizia eccellente, personale gentile e attento e soprattutto una vera e buonissima cucina Thai con prezzi giusti. All'esterno c'è un ampio spazio attrezzato per gli ospiti. A volte organizzano degli spettacoli. Siamo passati per caso durante una serata di musica tradizionale, ci hanno pregati di entrare e ci hanno anche offerto da bere senza voler esser pagati! Ho chiesto di vedere le camere: davvero curate. Si tratta di una struttura paragonabile a un piccolo albergo "boutique", un po' più costosa delle poche guest house sull'isola, ma li vale tutti, assolutamente consigliabile.

Fulhadhoo is a very beautiful and green local island and Palms Retreat is THE place for staying. We are so glad that we have chosen it and I can not even imagine staying elsewhere. From the beginning they arrange the speedboat from Male, welcome you at Male and at the pier at Fulhadhoo and wait for you with a delicious welcome drink and thai appetizers. I mean total no hassle vacation! And no cars, no traffic, no loud bad music, just peace of mind. The hotel has such a nice ambiance, good music and a lobby to relax and use the good internet. Nice decor, with many wood and places that invite you to have a seat and rest in the middle of the day or waiting for having dinner. An outside area with sand floor is perfect for having popsicles! The room is so good, clean, airy, with everything that you may need, nice amenities - otoman moisture soap was a nice touch- and the most comfortable sleeping ever. High qualiy pillows, bed linen, towels, toiletries, robe,slippers, etc, etc… Nice porch to dry the beach stuff. All the people are friendly, helpful, professional and they are always smiling and ready to help you. The owner, the chefs, the manager and staff are out of this world. And the restaurant is out of the blue: a genuine Thai restaurant with the most delicious food ever - thai and international. The dinner is just amazing, so so good food and so much care for the details. We were missing our trip to Thailand, so have authentic thai food here was a great bonus! And the breakfast is a truly event, 5 course meal, with fruits, soup, pasta , eggs, sandwiches, pancakes, mashuni, etc. Loads of food, is more like a brunch than a simple breakfast !! The coffee is Nespresso. We had a lot of fun at the beach, kayaking, snorkeling, island trip. Kayaking at the blue lagoon was just wonderful! And the best thing is riding to the end of the beach with the cool bikes at no more than 10 minutes through the beautiful jungle path. You can also go walking or with the electric tricycle. We have just loved our staying at Palms Retreat and we will come back for sure! We have been to more than 20 local islands and also 3 resorts and I can say that this island is just perfect, many sandbanks all around, no crowds, no big buildings. And Palms Retreat is a really hidden gem!! Hope come back as soon as possible!

Palms Retreat is by far the best hotel on the Island. It is as close to a five star resort as you can come. The staff treats you kindly and respectfully and they are always there to help you with whatever you need. The food is excellent (Thai) and if you choose full board as we did you will have different food every day. Food is tasty and if there is something to complain about it is too much :-) We did fishing excursion and uninhabited island. Booth were like a dream, but the fishing was best, we got 12 fishes the first time and then 5 the other time. Both times they cooked the fishes for us and served them - gorgeous! In the morning they drove the whole family to the beach in the electric Tuc-Tuc and came and pick us up again at our desired time. For the Island, Fulhadhoo, is pure paradise. It is very few tourists, maybe 20-30 families on the whole island. You literally have the whole beach (which is rated 23:d best in the world) for your self. Me and my wife went with our three kids, 3, 5 and 8 years old, and it was no problem to fit in their spacious rooms. Compared with other places we stayed Palms Retreat is very priceworthy. We would love to come back as soon as possible!