This place is difficult to review because some things are incredibly great, while others are dismal... Let's start with the positive: It is an amazingly beautiful natural island, not "raked to perfection" like others but wonderful plant and marine life and great for little walks. My bungalow was pretty with a nice outdoor bathroom and - thankfully - very quiet and respectful neighbours. The beaches are sooo white and the waters so turquoise (and yes, coral islands have coral pieces laying around, get used to it!). The food buffet was simply great, and I don't usually like buffets. There was so much choice every single day, from Sushi to roastbeef, just amazing! And my massages at the Balinese spa were among the best of my life and not toooo pricey! And do go check out the nurse shark feeding every evening at 9.30 p.m. at the furthest jetty by the diveshop - incredible! (Sadly they don't advertise this to the tourists, don't know why.)
Less positive is the fact that the roofs need thatching (looks haggard...) and some walls need painting. Some beachfront bungalows have almost no beach left (but if you wander towards bungalows no. 125-130, which are not usually rented out, you'll have a great beach all to yourself and can use all the chairs, too). Most guests are older German couples. They are nice enough but on my holidays I don't want to be given brochures in German... Too bad there isn't more of a mixture of people.
But the WORST part of this island is that most of the - very sweet - staff members have NOT BEEN PAID for several months and cannot leave the island because they don't get the seaplane fare before their yearly contract is over! And some of the many foreign staff (mostly Bangladeshi) even have had their passports taken from them! What I first thought might just be an unjust complaint of a disgruntled staff member hoping for a generous tip turned out to be a rumour throughout the island, spoken by many in hushed tones and confirmed by longtime returning guests! So think again about going to this island: You will be giving your money to a business that exploits its staff members in a sort of modern day slavery! It's a disgrace for the Maldives - shame on you managers!