Rihiveli grows in you, day by day, charming you with its beauty, simplicity and fabulous atmosphere. You are still enjoying every minute of it, while you already think of your next stay and your goal to have your name hand painted on your chosen fish. Not only Rihiveli embraces you, but allows you to meet valuable people whom you are proud to call friends by the end of your stay.

My friends and I could not have been happier with our decision to stay at Rihiveli. The island is beautiful, the rooms were really nice, the staff was friendly, and the food was great. And the added bonus (as if all of that wasn't enough), activities were included in the price. While at the resort we were able to go night fishing, kayaking, snorkeling, and wake-boarding.

The island was quiet and clean (although they do spray for bugs once a day, which isn't the greatest, but makes your stay more comfortable overall). The view was spectacular in all directions, and you are able to watch the sun rise and set perfectly!

We stayed at Rihiveli Beach Resort for 4 nights in November following a trip through Kerala in India - we definitely wished we could have stayed for longer!

Rihiveli is located in South Male Atoll - having worked in Addu Atoll in the south, I originally wanted to return there, however we were on a relatively tight budget so couldn't afford the exclusive rates of the southern atoll hotels.

Our flight had massive delays due to bad weather over Sri Lanka (we were flying from Trivandrum in India), and I was initially angry with the Reservations Manager at Rihiveli as she was unwilling to help us arrange alternative accommodation for our arrival night as the hotel does not do night time transfers. We ended up staying in Male one night, and then transferred to Rihiveli the next morning, where we were welcomed by the wonderful Guest Relations staff from the resort.

The adage at Rihiveli is 'no news, no shoes' and it really works here at the resort. Most guests walk around without shoes - I didn't wear shoes for 4 days! It was wonderful! The accommodation was simple, comfortable, clean and each villa had direct beach access.

Mealtimes are shared with the other guests, where you sit on tables of 8 and get to know some of the other people staying at the resort. This is great if you're not expecting romantic intimacy and isolation (which we (Mum and I) certainly did not want to have!!)

The facilities at the resort are fantastic, and there is more than enough to keep you entertained for at least a week. The spa is divine, with super masseurs from Bali. The water sports were also great, with kayaking, wake boarding, water skiing and mono skiing, hobie cat sailing and twice daily snorkel trips.

The diving - wow the diving! Everyone says how amazing the diving is in the Maldives, but until you have experienced the aquarium that is the waters of the Maldives, then you cannot understand how truly wonderful it is. Rihiveli organised 2 diving trips per day, all dive sites are within 40 minutes boat ride away, and all dives are boat dives. My second dive I was fortunate enough to dive with the most amazing and graceful manta ray - it was truly a divers dream! The dive centre is run by Andrea from Euro Divers, and is a PADI learning centre and very professional. The resort also has 2 uninhabited islands attached to it, which are accessible throughout the day by kayak, or you can walk across as the water is shallow enough between, at only knee deep at the maximum. If you have sensitive feet though, I would recommend wearing shoes over as there are some fragments of broken corals on the way.

There is one main restaurant where you have all 3 meals, although you can opt to have a romantic dinner down on the beach for an additional charge. The food was outstanding. Phenomenal. Hats off to the fantastic Maldivian chefs - it really was amazing and delicious.

The only downside with Rihiveli was that, as a result of the original French owner of the resort, the resort is dominated by French tourists, with all of the staff speaking French. This results in English speakers ending up being the minority, and we were unable to join in the weekly quiz as it was conducted in French (although we still tried to answer the questions, which proved to be more entertaining). As a result though, the English speakers clubbed together, and we made some wonderful friends and met some lovely people.

I love the vibe at Rihiveli - no shoes, no TVs, good value for money and affordable, and perfect for friends or a not-in-your-face-romantic holiday experience.

Following my complaint of the situation with the transfers, we were still charged for the night in the villa when we had to stay in Male due to our delayed flight, however, our departing flight at the end of the holiday was in the evening, so we were given the use of our villa, meals and use of all the facilities at no charge for our departure date, which was very much appreciated.

I would definitely stay here again.

This was our third trip to the Maldives. Having stayed in relatively large and typical resort style islands earlier, this time we were looking for a totally different Maldivian experience....and we got that exactly at Rihiveli.

Selecting a resort in Maldives is a task in itself, a very pleasant but difficult one, with over 100 resort islands to choose from. We would have gone through the portals of over 50 of them and finally zeroed in on Rihiveli. Looking at the website and the tripadvisor reviews itself we felt that this will be a special place and it turned out to be exactly the same; very special indeed.

What struck us as very different here was the warmth of the entire staff at Rihiveli. May be it has something to do with the fact that this is a smaller resort but it really made us feel at home...Our earlier visits to Maldives were also on special occasions like honeymoon and birthday but at Rihiveli it was very different and unique (we checked-in on my birthday). There was a surprise birthday cake at dinner and with others guests and staff joining-in in the singing and wishing, it couldn't have been better!

Coming to the island, it is small but meticulously maintained. With less than 50 bungalows dotted across the perimeter of the island, you will always have enough space to yourself. The bungalows themselves are quite cute and very comfortable with views opening up to the white sand and the sea. There is always a nice breeze blowing (more on the western side) and you will not for a moment feel the absence of air-conditioning becoming a cause for discomfort.

The two sister islands on the eastern side of Rihiveli add to its charm and are definitely another USP of this place. We walked to the islands daily during our trip and the feeling was simply extra-ordinary. Just imagine being on an island all by yourself!!! Even in the main resort island you will get the same feeling most of the time.

The main restaurant is on the eastern side on the sea and the bar is on the western side with lots of sitting space on the beach. You can sip in the spirits and enjoy the breath-taking sunsets from the bar...

Coming to the food, the spread was European and Asian with breakfast and lunch served buffet style and dinner served based on the menu of the day / buffet. The Maldivian dinner on the beach was excellent...with the nice breeze and the sky full of starts above, definitely an experience to remember for a very long time.

The overall food quality was good and quantity sufficient.

We are not into water sports much but did see the other guests enjoying their snorkeling, jet skiing, catamaran rides or kayaking. There was enough activity and all included in the package to keep you busy.

There were quite a few unique things about Rihiveli which will excite you if you were to choose your holidays at Rihiveli...

Overall we had an excellent stay at Rihiveli and will look forward to returning there someday!