The staff was absolutely wonderful. Ahmed, the owner, was on Male when I was transferring and helped me adjust the booking with a reimbursement because it was a Friday. He met me early the next morning to make sure I was safely on the ferry and kept messaging me on WhatsApp throughout the trip, arranging contacts for excursions, a speedboat, and even a whole flight for me when the sea was rough. He arranged a safe taxi for me (solo female) while on Male and kept my luggage. The two ladies at the guest house were always available either at reception or via WhatsApp, very professional and helpful. They also organized a laundry service for 10 dollars that returned my clothes very clean, dry, and pressed. The ladies greeted me with a fresh coconut when I checked in, a nice touch. They arranged a free pickup from the harbor and dropoff to the tiny airport. The house is on a very remote island (4 hours by speedboat from Male) that was rebuilt after the tsunami 20 years ago. The streets are clean but mostly sand. There’s a bikini beach nearby and a few public beaches where you need to wear modest clothing. The food was very tasty in the guest house. I loved the Maldivian breakfast with tuna and the cheese omelettes in the morning. They also make fresh juices. I sampled most of the menu for lunches and dinners and liked pretty much everything. Very affordable, made fresh to order, not too spicy. My guest room had its own (wet) bathroom, great air conditioning, and a very comfortable queen‑size mattress with many comfy pillows. They cleaned my room and replaced linens as often as I asked. I worked remotely from here and the Wi‑Fi was surprisingly fantastic! Life is slow and sweet here. I would definitely come back. The furniture in the room is quite outdated, but functional. The terrace furniture outside is plastic or metal with no cushions, so it’s not very comfortable for chilling around. There was construction on the house while I was there, building a new set of stairs and guardrail, so there was a lot of dust and noise during the day while I was trying to work. We made do and they took breaks and I took some at the local restaurant Mikado Lounge (definitely recommend). That also means that until the construction and guardrail are finished, it’s not up to code and can be dangerous to use the stairs if you’re not steady or have small children. There’s an indoor staircase option as well that leads to other rooms. I think it will be quite nice once it’s done! The dining area is small but all I needed, with plastic chairs and small tables. They always had water for me and I could order à la carte whenever I wanted. However the stairs leading to the dining area are precarious—reminded me of a navy ship and I had to climb them backwards down, holding the railing so as not to fall. For me it was an adventure but keep in mind again if you’re not steady on your feet or have small children. The dining area, being an addition on the rooftop, means that you have to cross a short part of the rooftop that isn’t covered. That doesn’t matter except it was raining a lot while I was there and I had to cover my book so it didn’t get soaked while walking to dinner. The sandy streets were flooded most of the time I was there so I had to wade through them to go anywhere. Not the guest house’s fault of course! In fact, I didn’t see any leaks or water puddling during all the rain except that the outdoor stairs and covered terrace were very wet and slippery so just be aware.
Bethany_wanders7 months ago