Quick Facts

Class:

Location:

Transfer Type:
Transfer Duration:

Island Size:

Total no. Villas:

Highlights:

★★★★★

North Malè Atoll

Speedboat
45 minutes

Extra large

90

• Beautiful villas
• Great food

• Easy access from Malè
• Fishy marine life & easy snorkelling

Reviewed by Florian

Transfers & Arrival

Let’s start this in-depth review of One&Only Reethi Rah with the transfers and arrival.

Reethi Rah is one of the easiest resorts to reach in the Maldives. The transfer is a 45-minute luxury speedboat ride directly from Malé International Airport. Unlike resorts requiring seaplanes, the transfer here is seamless. There’s no waiting around, you step off your international flight and within a short time you’re on the boat.

The boat itself is impressive: air-conditioned, spacious, and extremely comfortable, making the journey smooth and relaxing. On arrival at the island, we were greeted warmly by several staff members, including our dedicated butler. After a refreshing welcome drink, we were taken by buggy directly to our villa, ensuring that the arrival process felt effortless.

Our Villas (Beach & Overwater)

We decided to split our stay between two villas: a Beach Villa with Pool (number 191) and a Water Villa with Pool (number 255) that we’ll cover now in this review of One&Only Reethi Rah Maldives.

The Beach Villa with Pool is stunning. Exceptionally spacious, it combines a beautifully designed interior with a massive outdoor area. The villa feels fresh and modern, with elegant furnishings and a huge private pool that is both deep and long. Privacy is outstanding, with lush greenery shielding the villa from its neighbors. Outside, there are more seating areas than in almost any villa we’ve stayed in: loungers, a hammock, a couch, tables, and chairs. It’s designed for comfort and variety. The only drawback is that the sand in front of the villa feels artificial, a reminder that this is not a natural island.

The Water Villa with Pool was equally impressive. Built in a similar style to the beach villa, it offers breathtaking views directly onto the open ocean.

The private pool is large, positioned to maximize sunset views. What really stands out at Reethi Rah is the unique layout of the overwater villas: instead of being lined up close together along one or two jetties, they are spread across the island in clusters of just four. This design guarantees far more privacy than most Maldivian resorts, making the overwater villas one of the highlights of staying here.

The villas are definitely one of the highlights of our review of One&Only Reethi Rah.

The Island: definitely not the nicest

Here’s where Reethi Rah disappoints. The island is around 80% artificial, and you can feel it. While the beaches look pristine in photos, up close they don’t have the natural softness or untouched beauty of truly natural Maldivian islands like Park Hyatt Hadahaa or Anantara Kihavah which are among the most beautiful resorts in the Maldives. The sand often looks industrial and unnatural, and while the beaches are wide, they lack the charm of other top resorts.

Inside the island, the vegetation is very well maintained, super clean and manicured, but again, it lacks the wild, tropical feeling that makes other Maldivian islands so enchanting. In terms of natural beauty, our review of One&Only Reethi Rah Maldives is clear: this is not one of the most beautiful islands in the country.

If you value true nature and authentic Maldivian experience, this resort is definitely not for you.

Dining at One&Only Reethi Rah

Dining is one of the highlights of the resort and we of course had to cover it in our review of One&Only Reethi Rah Maldives.

Breakfast is outstanding. The buffet is vast, with an impressive variety of high-quality items, complemented by à la carte options. From pastries to freshly cut tropical fruits and many live stations, everything is top-notch.

The restaurants across the resort also deliver very high quality. We particularly liked that some dining outlets are adults-only for dinner, which helps create a quieter, more sophisticated atmosphere. Every meal we had was excellent, both in terms of taste and presentation.

However, we did not appreciate the strict dress code requiring trousers and closed shoes for men at dinner. While understandable in some city restaurants, it feels unnecessary and even uncomfortable in a tropical island setting where guests are looking to relax.

Overall, food at Reethi Rah is superb, but the dining experience could be more relaxed given the Maldivian context.

The Service: a huge disappointment

Unfortunately, this was where our experience fell short. At many top Maldivian resorts, service is warm, personal, and guest-focused. At One&Only Reethi Rah, service often felt transactional, with the impression that the priority was maximizing revenue rather than guest satisfaction.

Examples included being told a simple banana-chocolate milkshake would be chargeable during breakfast because it wasn’t on the menu, and being asked to pay for private yoga lessons because all the complimentary sessions were fully booked for the entire stay. Instead of finding a solution, the answer was always “pay more.”

The butler service, while present, was generic and impersonal. It lacked the warmth and intuition we’ve experienced elsewhere in the Maldives. At times, it felt like staying in a high-end city hotel rather than an intimate Maldivian resort.

Overall, service at Reethi Rah was a major disappointment and something we definitely did not expect at this price range.

Snorkeling at One&Only Reethi Rah

Given that the island is artificial and located in North Malé Atoll, we expected very little from the snorkeling. To our surprise, the fish life was actually impressive. We saw numerous turtles, schools of fish, and even a few reef sharks. While the corals are not healthy and the area for snorkeling is small, the marine life density made it worthwhile.

That said, this is not the kind of house reef where you’ll want to snorkel every day for hours. It’s good for a couple of swims but far from the best reefs in the Maldives.

The Main Pool

The main pool at One&Only Reethi Rah is a large, beautifully designed space surrounded by palm trees. The setting is relaxing, with ample loungers and shaded areas. Families use it during the day, but the layout is spacious enough that it rarely feels crowded. It’s not the most dramatic pool in the Maldives, but it is elegant, comfortable, and well-serviced by staff.

The Spa & Gym

Let’s continue this review of One&Only Reethi Rah with the spa and the gym facilities.

The spa at Reethi Rah is highly rated, offering a variety of holistic treatments in a beautiful tropical setting. Treatments are inspired by both Asian and Western traditions, and while the spa experience is very good, we were disappointed that all the complimentary yoga sessions were booked out for our entire stay.

The gym, however, is a real standout. This is the most impressive fitness center we’ve seen in the Maldives: huge, state-of-the-art, and fully equipped with Technogym machines. It even includes an outdoor training area, perfect for functional workouts in the fresh air. For fitness enthusiasts, this is a paradise and sets Reethi Rah apart from other resorts.

The value for money at One&Only Reethi Rah Maldives

This is where things get difficult. One&Only Reethi Rah is extremely expensive, both in terms of nightly villa rates and the pricing of food, drinks, and activities. While the villas themselves are stunning and the gym unmatched, the service and artificial island setting do not justify the cost.

For the same budget, guests could stay at resorts with more natural beauty, more personalized service, and equal or better villas. As such, our review of One&Only Reethi Rah Maldives finds the value for money very average.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Spacious, beautifully designed villas with excellent privacy

• Unique overwater villa layout with maximum seclusion

• Outstanding gym facilities, the best in the Maldives

• Excellent dining, particularly breakfast buffet and adults-only dinner options

• Snorkeling surprisingly fishy with turtles and schools of fish

Cons

• Artificial island, lacking natural Maldivian beauty

• Service feels transactional and impersonal

• Very expensive overall, poor value for money

• Strict dress code for dinner feels out of place in the Maldives

• Complimentary activities often fully booked, with push to charge extra

Conclusion: an overall disappointing resort for the price

One&Only Reethi Rah is a resort with a big name and big reputation, but our experience left us underwhelmed. While the villas are outstanding, the gym world-class, and the food excellent, the service and artificial island setting significantly detract from the overall experience. For the very high prices charged, we expect better.

If you’re looking for natural beauty, personalized service, and true Maldivian charm, there are other resorts we would recommend ahead of Reethi Rah, like Huvafen Fushi, Anantara Kihavah or Kudadoo Private Island.

Our review of One&Only Reethi Rah Maldives concludes that it’s not worth the hype, at least, not at these prices.

Contact us for more information or if you want to book your trip to the Maldives with the most competitive rates.

One&Only Reethi Rah Resort Tour