Heritance Aarah

My husband and I stayed in an Ocean Suite Villa (#718) It’s huge. Upstairs, it has a bedroom with a TV and wireless speaker, a bathroom and a small balcony. There’s a large wardrobe with a safe and numerous drawers for your clothes. Downstairs you have a kitchenette with a sink, a coffee machine, kettle, toaster, a fridge with soft drinks and some chocolate, a fully stocked wine fridge and in the cupboards are some plates and glasses etc. Also downstairs is a large lounge that has a wardrobe and numerous drawers. There’s a glass section of flooring in the centre of the lounge to look down at the water. There’s a second bathroom downstairs so that you can have a bath or shower immediately when exiting the sea. (The water pressure in the showers is woefully low) Outside you have a large decking area with a double sunbed, a double sunbed swing and a table & chairs. You have a nice sized pool and steps that lead directly into the ocean. If you’re visiting from the UK, you don’t need to bring an adapter. British plug sockets are everywhere. You’ll also find a USB and USB-C socket by the bed. The resort has a house reef and the water in front of our suite was approx 1.3m high at high tide. There’s a lot of coral a few metres in front of the suites which you can only swim over into the deeper water at high tide and even then, you need to be careful. Take water shoes with thick soles if you’re not planning on wearing flippers. You won’t be able to navigate the sea floor without them. Also, bring rash vests to wear when swimming. The temperature at the beginning of December was 30° and so humid. We saw (and swum with) a variety of sea creatures in front of our villa including Reef Sharks, Eagle Rays, Parrot Fish, members of the Barracuda family (not harmful) and many, many colourful fish. The water really is crystal clear all around the island. It’s incredible. Whilst life jackets can be found in the lounge wardrobe, snorkel masks and flippers are not in the room, but are available from the dive centre free of charge. They can then be kept in your room for the duration of your stay and you need to return them at the end. In the Ocean Suites you’ll find: A decent and powerful hairdryer. A good steam iron and ironing board. A beach bag. Flip flops. Slippers. Dressing gowns. Big bottles of Elemis shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. A bath bomb. Bath salts Hand soap. A comprehensive vanity kit in case your luggage is a little delayed in getting to the island. The suites are just a few metres apart and whilst it does feel like you have a good deal of privacy, other guests will frequently swim past your suite. That didn’t bother me, but the occasional noisy neighbour did. I didn’t see an umbrella in the room which was surprising, as the weather can be very changeable, but the room category provides you with a butler that can drive you wherever you want to go in a golf buggy, or you have access to room service which does not incur an additional charge. All of the bars and restaurants were great. In particular, Ralu and Ginifathi. The Ocean Suites get the added benefit of having access to an all day restaurant called Baani which is along the jetty opposite the infinity pool - which is also only for Ocean Suite guests. You’ll find that lobster is not part of the all inclusive package, however beef tenderloin is and it’s the best steak we’ve ever had! Most drinks are included but there are some more expensive ones that will incur an additional charge. You do get several excursions as part of your all inclusive package and we did the sunset cruise, dolphin cruise and night fishing. All of which were brilliant. Things like swimming with turtles or manta rays, using jet skis and parasailing are chargeable. Many of you from the UK will wonder whether you need any vaccinations to travel to the Maldives. You certainly don’t for this resort. We renewed our tetanus and that was it. I guarantee you won’t catch anything on this island. There aren’t even any mosquitos or sand flies! They do however have the most enormous bats I’ve ever seen!!! If I’m being really picky, I had concerns about there being no hand rails along any of the over water walk ways. In a place that plies you with cocktails, I figured it was only a matter of time before someone ends up falling off and into the shallow water. I’d also point out that there’s little in the way of evening entertainment. I’d have liked to have seen more. My husband used the spa twice for massages. With your stay, you get a $75 credit per person but the massages are incredibly overpriced and he regrets booking the second one which cost around $360! This truly is a luxury resort and the staff are what makes your experience really special. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. A special mention goes out to Toddy at the Dive Centre who came to my rescue following an incident whilst swimming with turtles. I can’t thank him enough. Our butlers Alessandra and Nafiu who do an incredible job for their guests. And finally to Ibrahim the Teppanyaki chef who cooked us a delicious meal and kept us entertained. One last thing - Despite having read about a limited baggage weight allowance before we flew. Luggage wasn’t weighed for the seaplane either flying to the island or returning. Thank goodness as we would have been waaaay over! Read less