We had a great stay on Royal Island Resort & Spa - thoroughly enjoyed it. There are more luxury locations on the Maldives, but this one offers a lot and is beautiful!

Summary:
Name of Island: Horubadhoo
(check it out on google earth or google maps with satellite view selected! Just enter the following in the search field: horubadhoo, maldives ;and it will take you right there)
Size: approx. 800 x 200m (which makes it a medium to large island on the Maldives)
Coordinates: 05.16N 73.05E
Region of Maldives: Baa Atoll, NW of Male Intl Airport, approx. 35min by water taxi (if on a non-stop flight, quite often with stops enroute for other guests)
Orientation of Island: SE to NW
Webpage of Resort: http://www.royal-island.com/

Beach: There is mainly a "southern beach" and a "northern beach", but technically it is more South-West and North-East. Generally, the southern beach is nicer and wider, and also less noisy (most boat traffic on north jetty, airtaxi arrives on north side). The north beach is also more eroded with sandbags being seen at some places. The huts on the northern side are more directly located on the beach, whilst on the southern side there is a stretch of trees between the huts and the beach, so your view from the room is less a beach-view than on the northern side. Be careful with wind predictions for each side: during our stay, wind changed sides. The windy side can be quite windy. If this is important for you, check the wind charts for your time of stay to chose.

Room: The room is nice has everything you need, including a veranda and an outdoor bath (there are 2 showers, one outside and one more inside - don't worry, both are shielded well from views).

Snorkelling: Yes, great house-reef, but you have to go on the outer side of the protection walls - best to get in/ out via South Jetty

Activities: There is a great number of things you can do, mainly water sports of all kinds. There is a good PADI diving school, offering courses for beginners to experts and many fun trips.

Spa: looked nice but we didn't use it.

Food: Good at Main Restaurant (included), other restaurant at extra price
Main Restaurant: Rather big, not particularly romantic due to canteen-style buffet, varietiy good

Weather: Do yourself a favour and check what the weather should be like. The temperature is always excellent (around 30C), BUT it rains. Any month other than January - March, expect some days with rain.

What to bring: There is not much shopping on the island, but there is one shop with basic stuff. However it is best to bring what you need, which includes:
- some snacks for inbetween
- your own snorkelling gear (preferably tested previously) (can be rented, but for a price that you could own the equipment)
- your own medical stuff (whatever you will need) (there is a doctor on the island, quality questionable)
- plenty of sunscreen, so you don't have to turn lobster like many others

Note: The weight limit on the airtaxi is strict! You will pay for any excess of 25kg in total (checked luggage: 20kg, hand luggage: 5kg). This limit is different from most airlines, it is less. And most likely your items will be weighed when checking in for the airtaxi.
Number of villas:

My husband I and just got back from spending our Honeymoon at this Resort. The resort itself is very rustic, nothing luxurious or modern about it, however it is very clean and has all the necessary amenities minus the terrible pillows. I would suggest villa's on the south-west part of the island as they the beach is nicer and you can enjoy the sunset as well. The staff is excellent and very hospitable. The food is good but lacks variety. The resort itself can get quite boring as it lacks activities and entertainment. The pool area is quite nice with free wi-fi so make sure to take your computer as everyone is on their computer due to lack of things to do. A 7 day holiday at this resort is perfect to unwind but I wouldn't suggest a day longer. There are also rats and fruit bats on the island but at least no snakes. To sum it up if you want a nice relaxing holiday with no frills at a good price it's a good place to stay, otherwise pay more and stay somewhere else.

We last went to Royal Island 4 years ago and since then it has always been my best ever holiday. Just arrived back from 2 weeks there and it is still the best holday ever! We have been lucky enough to holiday all over the world and there is still nothing like the Maldives. We requested the same villa as last time - 205 - and it was as good as we remebered. We were treated like royalty as we were "repeaters" and the staff made extra effort to ensure we were having a good time. The manager gave us a tour of the operational area of the island and it was really interesting to see how much organisation has to go on behind the scenes to ensure we all get fed & watered!
The only thing that has changed since our last visit is the small boulder wall they have put out on the reef to stop erosion problems. We did not feel it detracted it any way on the outlook. I do agree with some comments from other travellers that alot of the reef has died and this unfortunately is something they can do nothing about. We snorkelled everyday off the reefs and although the coral is not as pretty as it was there was still masses of fish. Whoever wrote in their review there were no fish were obviously not snorkelling where we were! Parrot fish galore and a massive array of beautiful reef life. We saw a couple of turtles and a few jellyfish!
We went all inclusive again and its definitely worth it. The drinks are expensive and the food is too - mainy because everything is imported.
Hopefully we will go back again as we have never experienced such friendly staff and beautiful views!

Reading the reviews before we travelled, we saw that it was best to request the non eroded part to the beach. So we did email the hotel before we went and they gave us the area requested which was lovely.
The seaplane transfer was amazing and well worth it.
On arrival we were greeted with cold drinks and wet flannels. We were checked in individually and then taken to our room which was a beach villa(no water villas on this island).
Room was lovely dark wood and very cool and airy which was appreciated after a hot day.
Big lovely bed, open air shower in the bathroom. Beach bungalows are seperated so there is little noise only from the birds in the trees. Just in front of our verandah was a hammock and through the clearing were 2 sunbeds on the beach-heaven!
The room attendant would come and sweep our verandah very early(never made any noise). He would set out our towels and water on our verandah ready for us each day.
We went All Inclusive which I highly recommend as prices for food and drinks on all islands in the maldives are expensive which I can understand being small islands in the indian ocean.
I am particularly fussy and get bored easily so thought two restaurants only for a 2 week period would be difficult but I can honestly say the food was amazing. Lots of sushi, fresh fish, curried dishes etc. Wonderful!
We would have breakfast, snorkel in the mornings-amazing sealife- and by lunch we would generally be the only ones on our area of the beach which surprised me as this is a small island. We could walk around it in probably 40mins max(strolling).
We could have stayed for 3 weeks which we haven't said ever before!
Staff were lovely and we had the same waiter for the 2 weeks so he got to know our drinks we would like which was very nice.
We also didn't feel like we had to tip all the time which was refreshing.
All in all a wonderful trip and will return in the future!