Hi- we are hoping to book a resort in the Maldives for Februaruy and a lot of places are booked (Hilton, One and Only Reetha Rah). I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations- Four Seasons, one and only Kanuhara. It would be nice to have a peaceful experience - I have read of some resorts on small islands with many small children running around. This would not appeal to us- especially considering the high cost.
Thank you.

Traveljen, what is important to you at a resort ? Baros is an island that you might consider. We stayed there a couple of years ago and loved it, but it has become more up-market since its refurbishment and is beyond our price range now for anything other than a very special vacation. I think it would be quite favourable in price, however, to the resorts that you mention. It really all depends on what is most important to you in the whole experience. We are also going to the Maldives in February and are staying at Reethi Beach (not Reethi Rah). We've chosen this because the snorkelling is supposed to be very good, we prefer a quiet resort without lots of children and the price is within our budget, the accommodation, however, is not likely to be as luxurious as that at the resorts you mention. We've stayed on Filitheyo and loved it, though it was more rustic than Baros. Baros is luxurious, has great snorkeling and is a quiet 'couples' place.

Hope this may help.

Gaynor

We stayed at Veligandu Island Resort 1 year ago and loved it...Not as luxurious as you may want, but absolutely breathtaking, u may opt for an over the water bungalow..If u wish to see my pics..

http://travel.webshots.com/album/510872949qDQXtD

I stayed at Huvafen Fushi - I got a great deal off of luxurylink.com. I think the offer is still there. It was still pricey, but probably a 50% discout to rack rate. It was AMAZING. We had a villa over the water with a private plunge pool. The entire resort is small, you can walk from one side to the other in about 7 minutes. Very quiet, only about 45 rooms on whole resort. I would recommend this place 100% - one of my best trips ever! We spent five days here after 11 days in India - I didn't want to leave.

We'll be to both Four Seasons in early March. We did a lot of research on the higher end properties and found the two FS and the two O&Os to have the most consistently good reviews and the more traditional design and architecture.

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of people on this board who have been to the Maldives.

Most of the resorts DO allow children. I choose to believe that there will not be very many (keep your fingers crossed).

Of the two FS, the one is brand new and the other just had a major refurb. If you book with both of them, they will "throw in" the seaplane transfers. If you want to go to one O&O and one FS, you will have to pay for the transfer yourself and go back to the airport inbetween.

We spent a couple of weeks at Lily Beach Resort earlier this month(from end of November) FABULOUS!! Very peaceful REAL chill out time. Please email if you would like any info from our trip

Thanks for your help, everyone. I am going to do more research on the resorts you mentioned tomorrow. I have a question for Diane- re: luxurylink- I saw some nice offers on it but am concerned that I may get the offer and the dates that I am free to travel will not be available. Then I will lose my money- is this correct? Thank you.-j

Hi
Check this site:
http://www.maldivesresorts.com/Resorts/
Probably a comprehensive list of resorts in Maldives to chose from to suit your requirements.Moreover you need to book early as its peak season.Opt for beach villas for more of your kind of expreince-'tranquility sans kids'

traveljen-
I have used luxurylink before, but not for the Maldives. I have looked at their Maldives packages and I do know they are a good deal.

You can actually email resort that interests you to ask about availability, before you actually bid. Then place your bid (never really much "competition" in the bidding), and then email the resort again to confirm/book your dates. Unless they say availability is very tight in their first email, you should be fine.

Yes - Cruisinred is correct. We emailed the resort and found out there was lots of availability. Then we bid on the auction, and we got it easily. It looks like the offer is always there. We then reconfirmed with the hotel, right after we got word we won the auction. Very simple. It is a great resort, we barely talked to anyone but each other!

If you really want to splash out on something really memorable look at
Soneva Fushi Resort
or Taj Exotica Resort
both very luxurious.

Maldives - The One and Only - BOMBASTIC, Rethi Rah, BOMBASTIC - Huvafen Fushi - NOT BOMBASTIC... full reviews at http://www.bombasticlife.com/pas_maldives.html

For those with experience with the FS resorts, can they comment on the differences between the two? Hard to tell which one we should be leaning towards. Thanks.

Hi everyone. Just an update- My husband and I went to the Taj Exotica in the Maldives and were very happy with our stay. The resort was everything we hoped it would be. The food was excellent and it was a peaceful, lovely, and relaxing stay. It was almost all couples (many honeymooners). Thank you for your suggestions- they were very helpful.

Does anyone know how the Maldives are in April or May? I know that is the rainy season. Just wondering how rainy -- too rainy to be worth going?

May is right at the start of the wet season. We visited in November, right at the end of the wet season. Both months statistics show around the same amount of rainfall. We had some rain nearly every day but it didn't spoil our stay, and actually sometimes it was quite welcoming as it was so hot.