One And Only Maldives -Could This Possibly Be The Worlds Best Resort Secret?

Its that time of the year when most of the world's travel magazines and newspapers reveal the best of 2007. When it comes to resorts one destination and one resort keeps on surfacing to the top. The destination is the Maldives and the resort is the stunning One and Only Maldives At Reethi Rah. Influential travel mag Conde Nest just had its readers rate it as # 1 in the 'Overseas Leisure Hotels' and wait for this it came out #1 in EVERYTHING for travel.

Now for those of you who don't even know where the Maldives are well here is the low down. There are some 1200 coral islands that make up this paradise and they lay southwest of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean by the Equator. 202 of the islands are inhabitated and 87 of them are exclusive resorts! The average year round temperature is 29-32 degrees. There are a host of international airlines flying in but most people go via Singapore or Malaysia. You can get a general run down on the Maldives  here.  

There is another great reason to make it to the Maldives before you die - somewhere in the next 100 years (some say 20) it wont exist. With global warming the boffins say it will be one of the first places to go under water as most of it already only sits about 8 feet above sea level.

This place has some of the flashiest resorts on the planet so the competition is thick. But the one at the top of the pile right now is the One and Only Maldives at Reethi Rah. The resort is home to 130 private villas that include 32 water villas perched above the Indian Ocean - bliss has a new word ! Words and even pictures are pretty hard to describe the quality and style of the rooms. Check out the room tours here. 

And how much does this hedonistic retreat going to set you back? Ok draw your breath - between $US900 and $US5,000 - a night. But is does include breakfast but not taxes - such a deal. This however is the starting rack rates and there are some good packages floating around either through the hotel or on some of the better web sites. 

So how does it rate with the punters ? We checked out Trip Advisor and most of you gave it 5/5  with descriptions like "Loved It Loved It ! Loved It !" and  'Absolute Paradise" and 'Unbelievable". That being said there were some 3/5 in the reviews with comments like "the food was aweful" and "the island felt like Disneyland". The biggest complaint seems to have been the bikes that the resort provide for guests. Most reviewers said you could find better ones at the dump.

And our verdict ? There is no doubt Reethi Rah has had some stunning reviews from all the respected travel mags and generally on line reviews are first class from past guests. That being said there are a collection of first class resorts in the Maldives and we reckon you can probably find one as good if not better for less money. You might want to check out a good web site that compares all the Maldives luxury resorts called Five Star Alliance. If you have any additional inside secrets on the Maldives we would love to hear from you.