Isla Retreat | Hotel in Fehendhoo, Baa Atoll

Positive: Isla Retreat is a beautiful small boutique Hotel with a fantastic service quality. The Island is an absolute Paradise with very few tourists and lonely beaches. The Hotel provides free bicycles so you can reach the next bikini beach in around 5 minutes and the end of the island (with a big, pretty beach) in around 15 minutes. Alternatively you can take a SUP oder Kajak, also provided free of charge. There is a lot of equipment and other activities that are included. Other activities and excursions, such as swimming with sharks or Mantas, snorkeling with seaturtles and diving courses (also for complete beginners like me) are offered at a fair price. The service quality in general is outstanding and deserves a special shoutout: Romy is a very lovely roomboy, always wearing a smile and cleaning our room two times a day to our fullest satisfaction. Hassan is a very friendly manager, looking after our well-being 24/7 and showing us his favorite spots on the island (to stargaze for example). We were also lucky to meet the owner, Ismail. He is a unique person with a lot of experience and insights that he was willing to share with us. The hotel also contains a gym, a library and a game room. We were very excited about those... but never used them in the end, as the Island had so much to offer! Important Note: The transfer by speedboat takes around 1 3/4h from Male Airport and is operated by a third party (Atoll Cute, Costs: 57$ per way per person), 2 times a day.

Negative: Unfortunately, the beach in front of the hotel is in a non-bikini area (which is totally fine, just important to know). The food was generally good, but not outstanding. There are a good amount of options to choose from with local, Indian and European menus (we had halfboard, so a à la carte breakfast and a 3-course à la carte dinner was included). Especially the dessert Menu leaves some room for improvement. But it was all fresh and tasty (which is honestly an achievement by its own, being located in the middle of an ocean). Restaurant Service also couldn't keep up with the rest, but was generally solid. There is a preorder system, so your food doesn't take long to prepare. We didn't really like that system, as we prefer to sit down, look at the menu and then order (while being okey with some wait time), but that might be personal preference.

Positive: I felt like home. Cosy and at the same time very good hospitality .

Positive: Real Maldives experience unlike artificial resorts. The place is luxurious with all amenities, electronic conveniences, a wonderful kitchen/rooftop restaurant with authentic cuisines. Perfect for families with kids as there are plenty of indoor activities. Being a public island there is life as it goes in a remote island to witness local culture and hospitality. The beaches are endless all over and beautiful as well.

Negative: Kid's cycle would be a great addition to adult bikes! Really not a complaint though.

Positive: Our goal was to experience both the Maldives and a local island, and this hotel was perfectly suited for that. It offers everything you need for relaxation as well as activities. The staff were very welcoming and helpful. The island is beautiful and not crowded with tourists, which made the stay even more enjoyable. We will definitely return to Isla Retreat.

Negative: Nothing

Positive: Very large, clean and cozy room with beach and sea view. Breakfast and dinner are served on the big and nice rooftop. You can borrow bikes for free to ride to the bikini beach.

Negative: The bathroom smells a little musty. The room doors are quite loud so that you can hear the neighbours of the same floor.

Positive: We really enjoyed our stay at Isla Retreat. First, the island of Fehendhoo is small and walkable, it has an amazing bikini beach down the road from the hotel. The ferry from Male to Fehendhoo was simple and Isla picked us up at the dock with our bags. Arrival was nice, cold cloth and a welcome fruit drink. The rooms are so pleasant and comfortable - AC and fans as needed, kept us very cool in the afternoons when we rested. The balcony was equipped with a clothes line to dry wet swim suits. Our room overlooked the beach in front of the hotel (where you can also sunbathe). Bed was comfortable and the showers have plenty of hot water. I loved the window seat for a reading nook (the hotel has a library for physical books during your stay). The restaurant is on the top floor, great views of the water and you can dine al fresco in the evenings. We stayed a week and found there was plenty of variety in the menu where you didn't need to repeat meals. However, I enjoyed the fish so much I had it 3 times. Breakfast was included with our rate, which was great, and we had a leisurely breakfast every day. The hotel has a list of activities and will help you get setup for whatever you may want to do, including scuba diving if that is of interest. We really enjoyed the rose garden snorkel, fish feeding and island drop. We also got to play with the bioluminescence one evening, which was a lot of fun. My partner took advantage of some scuba. They also have kayaks, SUP and floats for guest use, we had a nice kayak one day to the bikini beach. The staff are all friendly and nice, going out of their way to support anything you might need. Overall, just a lovely experience, we would definitely come back for another visit. It's likely that the island will get busier in coming years as there are several resorts being built, but right now its very quiet and local, super relaxing.

Negative: Nothing, its a really special place worth visiting. The waters are so amazingly blue...

Positive: Amazing staff. Andy and his team are so friendly and accommodating.

Negative: Only critique I can make is the water pressure in the shower, which honestly isn't the worst but if there was one constructive criticism I could make, that would be it.

Positive: All the staff was wonderful. They were very attentive to every request. The food at the resort was very good but somewhat of a limited menu. The island was quiet and remote and the scenery was amazing! We did snorkeling and scuba tours which were amazing! If you are looking for secluded downtime reading a book on the beach, it is a perfect location. We were in the off season and literally saw on one other tourist on the island. The photos that are in the listing are accurate. The rooms are beautiful and very comfortable with ceiling fan and A/C.

Negative: We were looking for low key and isolated but discovered that maybe we went a little far. 1hr 45min to get to the island and really nothing else on the island. There was a small store and a pharmacy. No shops or other restaurants. We couldn't even buy sunscreen. There is no snorkeling directly on the island. You have to go out on a tour which was great but did require traveling. Did a fishing trip but be aware that this is more like going out with a local and watching them fish than actually fishing. We caught a couple fish but I never touched a rod just watched the local guy.