We have just returned from a 2 week break over Christmas and New Year with my wife and 3 children.
You cannot walk round this extremely exceptional island due to the fact they have built water bungalows and any attempt to go near them you are ushered away! They have installed

We decided to stay in the watervillas as this was our honeymoon and upgraded from B and B to half board. Doing this locally is cheapaer (50US$ every day for a couple instead of 50

We flew First Choice Airways and paid for a premium upgrade. The crew were fantastic and the meals and service were very good. We landed on time at 9.30am and after clearing customs were transferred to the seaplane terminal. Our luggage was sent by boat. We boarded our seaplane at 11.45am and arrived in Meedhupparu about 45 minutes later.

We were escorted to reception and greeted with a cold towel and a cocktail, both of which were very welcome. Our luggage arrived at 8.00pm and we were thankful that we had packed swim wear, toiletries and a change of clothes in our hand luggage.

We had a room near the north jetty which was great for snorkeling but the sea is rougher this side. We loved the outdoor shower and the twin wash basins.

The food was extremely good with plenty of choice. The evening meal was always themed. Our favourite was the Mediterranean night.

Breakfast was always a choice of fruit, cereals, pancakes, waffles, cakes, freshly made omelette's, fried, boiled or scrambled eggs. The list is endless.

Lunch always saw a collection of curries as well as various other dishes. You will never go hungry.

The Italian entertainment team was no longer there and the evening entertainment took place in the main bar. It was usually a duo singing or karaoke.

Most of the people when we were there were British with a few other nationalities as well.

We tipped our waiter 5 USD per evening, our room boy 30 USD per week and the bar staff a dollar a round. We also tipped the gardener for giving us coconuts and setting out our loungers every day. They were worth every penny.

Our waiter Ashraf would show us various ways to fold napkins, tricks with matchsticks and always made sure we had full glasses. Our room boy cleaned up a couple of times a day and always made patterns with the sheets. On our last evening we had rose petals all over the bed and goodbye written in petals.

TIPS

Don't bother with clean clothes to travel home with. Use the same day laundry service. It is so cheap and you get 50% off further laundry bills.

Take flip flops for around the pool but other than that you will not need shoes.

They provide clean beach towels each day so save on luggage space and don't pack any.

Use a high factor sunscreen as the sun is very strong. We used factor 30.

Take a lilo to sit on as the plastic loungers get very uncomfortable after a while and they do not provide mattresses.

We loved this hotel so much that we have booked to go back next year for 3 weeks

My wife and I chose Meedhuparu as our honeymoon destination and found it absolutely fantastic.

I would not recommend it for the evening entertainment or for those who want to 'keep busy' as it is aimed at relaxation and gentle water sports/diving etc. but if you enjoy snorkeling, diving and just quietly reading/enjoying each others company in the wonderful sunshine go there!

You can walk around the island and be lucky to see another human being.

The food was excellent every meal without fail.

The staff were friendly and helpful at all times, the dive centre staff were exceptional and we would go back again without hesitation.

One of the best things is the flight from Male to Meedhu as the views over the islands is breathtaking.

Thanks First Choice and Meedhu!