"My husband and I came here on our honeymoon, and can confirm: the Ritz-Carlton Maldives truly feels like something out of a movie. Every bit of the rooms and resort grounds lived up to what we had seen online. The design of separate islands connected by bridges make it feel as if you're going "into town" when you bike or get a golf cart ride over to dinner or to go to the beach. By the end of our 7-night stay, we had a nice routine down yet never felt bored or like we were ready to leave because it always felt like there was more to do. The grounds are immaculately groomed. The sand art created on the floor of our room each night was a real highlight. And the couple of picture-perfect sunsets and sunrises we got to experience against the crystal clear waters had us already planning a return trip to the Maldives before we'd left. The food and beverage team at the Ritz-Carlton was also superb. We were a bit worried about what to expect given I'm gluten free (celiac), but we met the Food and Beverage director at one of the beach happy hours, and she kindly informed us about some gluten free items to watch out for (read: gluten free naan at Arabesque and via room service!) and even remembered us throughout the rest of our stay. But the highlight for us was definitely Chef David at Summer Pavilion. He went above and beyond to not only accommodate gluten free, but give us a different experience each time we came back (and we came back quite a few times!). To this day, at home, we have a dinner we just call "Chef David" which is an attempt to recreate a beef and rice noodle stir fry dish he made that still lives rent free in our heads! We did notice that we seemed to be in the minority of guests staying for an entire week; most people seemed to come for a few days and then leave. And unfortunately, we did notice that service from our Aris Meeha and room staff, dropped off around that same time frame -- perhaps as he shifted to take on new guests. But for a five-star hotel (and the price of this hotel) that was a bit of a bummer. We had to resort to sorting things out on our own for the last 3-4 days of our trip when we saw that we weren't getting anywhere messaging for reservations/a golf cart ride/etc. The offered activities also left a bit to be desired, with morning yoga and a facial class feeling particularly terrible. And as others have noted, the coral and ocean life here just hasn't yet grown enough to quite give you the quintessential Maldives swimming experience straight from the overwater bungalows (particularly compared with friends who stayed at other resorts in the Maldives). All in, the Ritz-Carlton Maldives was a truly wonderful experience. But would we come back? Perhaps for a day or two for memories' sake. But if we were to come back to the Maldives, I'd also wonder if the service might be better at some of the other hotels."

"Its been a magical 3 nights (gals trip!) at The Ritz Carlton Maldives. Loved the resort’s design especially Eau Bar. Everyone made us feel at home and service was seamless the icing on the cake was our butler I-gie. Her attention to details and communications with her team were always on point. Every night we come back to our beach villa to some lovely surprises. Food and service were top notch esp the Summer Palace dinner. We had a spa massage which is sublime ! The resort offers a free session of professional photography and a printed copy as keepsake - we had so much fun posing around the island ! The dolphins cruise was one of the best we’ve ever experienced, we had 2 pods of dolphins swimming next to our dhoni! Can’t wait to be back again !"

"Overall very satisfied — probably the best resort I have stayed at so far. Special praise for the pre-arrival email communication: every reply was clear, precise, and answered my questions directly, with every single point I mentioned in my emails being addressed. Many other resorts, even luxury ones, do not do this well or give it much attention. Of course, a reminder: things on the island are not cheap. I forgot to bring an SD card and ended up having to buy one on the island at nearly eight times the usual price."

"This is our second trip to the Ritz Carlton Maldives. The first was as a couple. This one was as a family with 3 kids. I can categorically state this is one of our favourite resorts in the world. Getting there was seamless. We flew Etihad from Abhu Dhabi to Male and we met by a Ritz team member who escorted us to our boat. They tagged our bags by room (one for our kids, one for us) and handled everything for us. The transfer boat was luxurious, and there were nice snacks. The location is of course amazingly beautiful, but what really makes this resort memorable for us is the people - the Maldivian people are lovely and the staff at the resort incredibly friendly and service oriented. They are definitely one of the best hospitality teams we've encountered after staying at many Ritz Reserves, Amans and other luxurious properties. Our butler Ammadey was so attentive and responsive. All the staff we encountered, in the restaurants, the pool, the excursions, dive center etc, were great. The villas are spacious and luxurious, and the room housekeeping super on top of things. We never had to ask to have our room made-up. They would automagically take care of things while we were out. We had two adjacent over water villas on the side of the island near the Beach, fitness center. The last time we stayed on the oval side near the spa. Both are great locations. This was good with kids as we did a lot of activities. If you're a morning person this side is also good as it aligns with sunrise. The other side is better for sun set. There are lots of great excursions and water activities to do. 1. Dolphin cruise - definitely a highlight. We went out on a traditional Maldivian vessel and it took a while to find the dolphins, but when we did it was a massive pod - maybe 50 of them - spinner dolphins who were fun to watch as some of them did acrobatics. 2. Snorkeling - you can snorkel from your villa and they bring you equipment to do so, but we also chose to do two excursions - a Shark Quest where you go to a reef where you can see Black Tips, White Tips and Nurse sharks. Don't worry they are docile and are not interested in coming close to you. We also did a Turtle snorkeling excursion but unfortunately did not get to see turtles. The clarify of the water is great and the reefs full of sea life. One highlight on the Shark Quest is our guide filmed us and the sea life with a go pro. 3. Water sports - we rented a sea bob a couple of times which was a lot of fun. Especially being able to go under water. We also hired a speed boat to pull us on an inflatable bed / couch at high speeds. It was a rush. Our daughter also went on a Fly board - a board like a snow board that has water jets and is attached to a jet ski. She had a lesson and was able to master getting up in the air and doing turns / spins. She had a lot of fun. We also enjoyed most all of the food options. 1. Arabesque - our top choice of the trip. It's a 10 min boat ride to an island where the Patina resort is based. It's Indian and Middle Eastern food and we all loved it. The serving staff and chef were great. They gave our son a tour of how to use the Tandoor oven. The food was delicious. 2. Eau Bar (Japanese) - our kids loved this place. My wife and I were not quite as enamoured. They did have reasonable vegetarian options (I'm a vegetarian). 3. Locanda (Italian) - one of our sons loved his Tomahawk steak and the other loved his Carbonra. I enjoyed the 4 cheese pizza. We later ordered items from here for room service, and our son loved the bolognaise and we enjoyed the truffle, primavera and margherita pizzas. Locanda is also the location for breakfast. The buffet and a la carte options are strong. I was glad that there was a dosa station which hit my Indian craving. 4. Brasa - steak house the island with Patina. We're trying it tonight. 5. Food trucks - also on the island with Patina. Our sons enjoyed burgers, while my wife and I had Asian food. I had a veggie pad thai which was quite good and my wife enjoyed her Lobster friend rice. There's also a gelato truck. The butler service really is a big plus and makes everything so seamless. The staff remember your preferences (e.g. sparkling water), and go out of their way to make the experience special. We will most definitely be back."