ROBINSON Club Maldives

First things first. On an absolute scale, this resort is very pleasant indeed. For those who have never been to the Maldives before (and this seemed to be the majority of guests at RC), I’m sure most must have thought it an unparalled paradise. For us, this was our fifth visit; each time we went to a new island. The first we thought unbeatable… until we went to the second, then the third. And fourth. Of the five, RC comes last. For this, I must say, I blame myself at least partly. Let me explain. Friends of ours with young kids had been to RC in 2013 (also their first Maldives trip) and they had raved about it, and shown very enticing pictures of the reef (snorkeling is our primary reason for visiting the Maldives). Since this time, and unbeknownst to me, RC had become “adult” only (no one under 14); as a consequence, our 16-year old twins felt distinctly teenagey there! More importantly, however, was that I had failed to understand the significance of “Club” in “Robinson Club”. This holiday club approach was not really for us. The laid-back atmosphere of the other island we'd visited was definitely absent and replaced with regular events, live music, etc, etc. There was never-ending (and forever repeating) music playing just a little too loudly in the background everywhere near the public areas. So, to summarize this aspect, it simply wasn’t our thing, though I get why others might love it. Next, the beach and reef quality. The beaches were in excellent conditions, with only a very short stretch of 10 to 20 m of sand bags at one point. We were positioned at a point where at high tide the beach was barely a meter wide, but that was fine for us, as it allowed immediate access to the reef. For those occupying a beach villa, the numbers 1320 to 1332 might be preferable if sunbathing is your thing. Access to the reef was excellent with many access channels distributed thoughtfully around the island. The reef itself, though, was a sorry sight to see – 90% bleached and certainly not the colorful display shown me in 2013! The fauna was more promising, though there were no large shoals of fish like we experienced elsewhere (apart from a regular huge parade of parrotfish, which was truly a wonder to behold!) In general, the fauna were less interesting than we had experienced before, but this could definitely be due in part to the general decline in health of the corals in the Maldives since we were last here three years back. Still, despite all this, there was still plenty enough for me to put together an interesting seven-minute YouTube video! One last comment about the beach and reef – I was incensed by the regularity with which we could see guests trampling all over the corals – I’m sure the staff must also have observed this, but no action was taken as far as I could see to stop it, despite theoretical warnings given to all guests when they arrived. It takes your standard coral a couple of years to grow even a centimeter, so such repeated vandalism will denude the reef in RC sooner or later. The food. RC obtains consistently excellent reviews for its food in tripadvisor. After a couple of days of being really rather disappointed by the offerings, this confused me, though now I think I understand it. The majority of guests are German, and the cuisine reflects this – the food is labelled first in German (no problem, I speak the lingo) and there is a bias towards westernized meat and carb dishes with a German slant. This went down very well with most of the guests. For our family, however (except my carnivore twins) the food seemed notably inferior to the four other islands we have visited. My other child is vegan, and was thrilled to come across the RC website extolling their vegan credentials. The reality however is that the selection is exceedingly limited and contains almost no protein. Alarmingly, the difference between vegan and vegetarian had to be explained more than once to the kitchen staff. Also, unless specifically requested to use little or no oil, the vegan offerings were consistently very oily. Even when my daughter pointed this out, about 50% of the time the chef preparing the meal would either ignore this or simply didn’t understand… Probably my daughter was the only vegan there (get used to more coming soon is all I can say, however!) so I understand that preparing an individual meal for one person at a buffet is time-consuming. I simply feel that the website about this is at best misleading. More minor niggles. The minibars in the rooms were unstocked, so if you wanted a bottle of wine or a G+T on the veranda, you had to call room service and pay very high prices. This seemed small-minded for a five-star resort all-inclusive package, and was not something we’d experienced elsewhere. The bathrooms in the villas were a little run down with fittings rusting and coming loose in many places. The parasols on the edge of the beach were also very dilapidated. Small things, but they add up. The upper management could come across as being a little imperious with the lower-echelon staff, in particular the non-European ones. We were told by one or two staff that they were obliged under threat of being otherwise sacked to perform additional tasks outside their job description that could make their working day in excess of 16 hours. Whether this was either true or widespread, I cannot really say, but one wonders why such a fiction would be disseminated… On the other hand, most of the staff were really genuinely friendly, although just a few were distinctly less so, particularly one or two of the serving staff at the buffet. Some of the German staff were indeed almost overbearingly friendly, though I attributed this to the club atmosphere. They even asked to sit with guests at lunch and dinner as a gesture to improve staff-guest intimacy. Again, this is something you either like or don’t. In summary, imagine an alien coming down to earth. The first thing he encounters is a guy in a VW Passat, who takes him for a thrilling ride. Zorgon Beetlejuice is overwhelmed with the beauty, speed, and grace of this earthly transport. RC is a Passat.

High recommendation for That amazing place! Robinson Club Noonu is the most pleasant and unforgettable resort you can spend the vacation days. The staff is frendly, welcoming and always smiling. Every single one of these people want the guest to be happy! To be satisfied with positive emotions and delighted. Me and my husband spent 9 sunny unforgettable days and we are thinking to be back as soon as we can! We are very thankful to everybody even all the guys on the serving restaurants. We want to say big thanks to the General Manager, Olessya, Tanya , the photographer, Robin - the bartender, the DJ and all the smiling people on this island. We appreciate your very effort!!!