Thulhaadho Beach

Royal Island is a paradise! This was our first time to the Maldives and didn't know what to expect. The service was top notch from the time we stepped foot on the island. Staff were available to check in all groups arriving on the boat at the same time, so there was no waiting. We were set up with a contact via WhatsApp (Mark) and he kept us up to date with what was going on at the island each day and was available to address all of our questions. The food at the buffet was good and each dinner had a different theme keeping it interesting. Our server Naseer was friendly and efficient. Finally the setting! The island is beautiful! The clearest water outside of a pool I have ever swam in. We were at the west end of the island and there was easy access to snorkelling in the lagoon. There is some damage to the reef, but we still saw so many fish, rays and a shark. We also enjoyed the Wanderlust and Hanifaru Bay snorkelling excursions. The transfers were well planned (don't panic about not having the details until the day before). And bonus, because we had a late departure they gave us late check-out without an extra charge. Overall a fabulous experience. Highly recommend.

Staff in the Restaurant, bar, beach and servicing the water bungalow were excellent. Very friendly and went out of their way to make you feel welcome. They were very attentive to all of our needs. However, more attention could be paid by the management to ensure transfers to the accommodation were handled properly. Spent a lot of time on arrival waiting for a seaplane to take us to the accommodation and then had to transfer to the attol by speedboat from another one anyway. The transfer back to the airport on departure was a disaster. Initially we were given a 1.00 pm transfer time which was changed at short notice to 3.30 pm. This would have been ideal if we were contacted about this in earlier on the day. Instead we arrived at 1.00 pm at reception to be told this after we had packed all our beach wear in our suitcase. Some of the trips that were available weren't widely publicised in reception so we missed out on these. Despite the excellent service at the restaurant and bar, we were expecting another restaurant and bar to be available. Apparently, these are currently closed for refurbishment. These comments reflect why I can't give a 5 star rating.

Stayed from the 19th for a week. We've had the holiday of our life time. Beautiful place and the most important...wonderful people. Especially at the Maakana restaurant ... Thanks to Ash,Lassaan and the rest of the team Can't wait to go back.