Mariano

We were a couple expecting a baby (the wife was 24 weeks pregnant at the time) and chose Maldives for our 'babymoon' mainly because it is a safe place and has good standards, especially when compared to other places in SE Asia. The all-inclusive option was also very attractive - we read a lot of reviews of other hotels and the impression we had was that food and drinks are generally very expensive in the Maldives so this was the icing on the cake. Location: The Kani Island is exclusive to Club Med and is a gorgeous place. The water colour is amazing, the water temperature is a balmy 30 degrees and the sunsets here seem prettier than anywhere else. It's relatively close to Male (just 30 minutes by speedboat) so very easy to access, especially if you arrive in one of the late night flights. Activities: Maldives is a world-class surfing spot and Kani has a super fun break just off the resort (a right-hander named Ninja Point) - this definitely sealed the deal when deciding about which island to stay. Club Med does not promote any surf related activity or guides so you will be on your own, although most of the times there are other surfers from the Safari boats or neighbor islands. I found that many of the resort staff are also surfers and will go for a surf in their lunch break or after work, so ask around and you will find a local surf buddy in no time. I met some of them and they are such a great people - one of the highlights of the trip. They even organized a surf trip to another island (Chickens) which was amazing. The Ninjas break is not too shallow and is just a short walk over the reef and for this reason you WILL need reef boots if you plan to surf here. Apart from surfing, there are other water activities. I took sailing lessons with the catamarans and they were super fun. There is not good snorkeling off the resort beaches, but they run 2 daily trips (AM/PM) which are included in the package and they take guests to different diving spots depending on weather conditions. We went pretty much every day and saw a large variety of marine life including turtles, sharks, rays and even the lion fish. The snorkeling crew was amazing - very knowledgeable and super fun people. Apart from Snorkeling and Kayaking, there are not many water activities for pregnant women, which is understandable. Even the Spa won't cater for mums-to-be as it can interfere with pressure points so if you're pregnant, it's better to set your expectations right about what you can do. Room: We chose a Deluxe Bungalow and found it fairly good - nothing luxurious but had a comfortable bed, fridge, air conditioning and a decent shower. TV has a very limited channel selection, but seriously who goes to Maldives to watch TV? We mentioned about the pregnancy when booking and they were very kind to give us a nice room close to the restaurants and main amenities - very cool. Food: There are 2 restaurants - one buffet and the other one 'a la carte'. The 'a la carte' option can only cater for a limited number of tables so you have to book the day before between 12 and 13 pm and it is normally booked-out in a matter of minutes. The food is good but not outstanding. Don't go there expecting a Michelin stared restaurant, otherwise you will be disappointed. The main buffet restaurant was very good, great variety of cuisines (French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Maldivian) and great service. Beverages: It's an all inclusive resort and you can have as many drinks as you like. They serve Carlsberg beer off the tap and have one brand of wine in the all-inclusive package (red, white and rose). All wines are served chilled, including the reds - don't ask me why. To be honest I wasn't impressed with the wine selection. I went through their wine list in the 'a la carte' restaurant and found the prices were fairly reasonable so it's an option if you're fussy with the wine. Their cocktails selection was quite guide and the bar by the pool is amazing - sipping the Pina Coladas by the pool watching the sunset was memorable. Another nice little touch is the Nespresso coffee they serve in the 2 bars. One thing I was disappointed was that they sell their all-inclusive package saying that there is a large selection of premium brands - although this is not true. Most of their spirits is cheap branded. Hospitality: Hospitality in this place is superb. Great staff - I wouldn't fault anything and was very pleased with service. Price: We live in Australia and we found that the price in the Australian Club Med website was 3x more expensive than other countries, for exactly the same accommodation (try the US website for example). We ended up buying it through the Brazilian Club Med website, as we have 2 nationalities, so my advise is to shop around.

Experience Begun: October 2012

Created on: Wednesday 13 February 2013