I was intending to write a brief review of Kuredu but it's just not going to happen so, make yourself comfortable....

Having been to the Maldives on two previous occasions I'd like to think that I can provide an accurate review of Kuredu in comparison to other resorts in that part of the world.
This was a holiday on a budget but, at the same time, I was out to impress a very special person who has recently entered my life.
After hours of trawling the internet and reading countless reports on trip Advisor I settled for Kuredu. I had some concerns though. Namely the size of the island (it is much bigger than both the previous islands i had visited) and was concerned about the less exclusivality of the resort. I also had concerns about where my accommodation was going to be located on the island. As luck would have it I needn't have worried. But it was partially down to luck.....
I decided to book a Beach Villa and was so glad I did. There are Beach Villas almost all around the Island but some are in better positions than others. We were lucky. Our Villa was right next to the Watersports Centre on the South side of the Island. In my opinion the south side of the island has far superior beaches. Yes, there is noise from the seaplanes landing at the jetty but this really isn't a problem. There was probally an average of maybe five flights a day but the pilots cut the engines as soon as they can and I really wouldn't let this concern you. The beaches on the rest of the island, although beautiful are not as good. From the beach you find yourself looking at either the Water Villas or a small breakwater put there to prevent beach erosion. Also you can't walk out very far into the water because of rocks and seaweed (it was ok for snorkeling though).
We went "all inclusive". You are allocated a restaurant when you arrive. You don't always have to eat thete though. There are four restaurants on the island and, if you are quick, in the morning, you can book any restaurant for your evening meal but there are a limited amont of bookable places in the other retaurants so you have to be quick. The food was fantastic and the cleanlyness was the best I have seen anywhere. You get a free bottle of water everyday which was adequate. Any further water could be got by the glass from any of the bars.
Snorkeling on the island was pretty good. The best place was to the left of the jetty. I lost count of the number of Turtles we saw. But watch out for the Titan Trigger fish - especially if they are nesting. It's worth getting advice from the Prodive Dive centre before you go either diving of snorkeling. The centre was excellent with helpful staff and all you could need for getting in the water.

To sum up - this was a fantastic island. As good as my previous visits to the Maldives but be sure to get accommodation on the south (jetty) side of the island and book your evening meal early. Enjoy.

We booked this holiday back in August 2008 and since then I have been reading other holidaymakers reviews about Kuredu. I now get the chance to write mine. We flew from Gatwick with Monarch direct to Male. Our one and only mistake was not to upgrade to premium class. If it's a special holiday I would really recommend you do so. On arrival at Male airport - really well organised we were immediately transported by a small coach to the Seaplane airport and half an hour later boarded the plane. The trip by seaplane takes approximately 45 mins and the experience is breathtaking. Make sure you have your camera and video camera at the ready. Bear in mind that your luggage does not come with you on the seaplane and it can be up to 6 hours later that it arrives at your villa. When you step off the plane onto the jetty and you catch sight of the island you know you have arrived in Paradise. We paid extra to have a jacuzzi beach villa. Approximately 2 weeks before we arrived I emailed the resort asking for the JBV at the Sangu end of the island as friends of ours had stayed in JBV 143 and said it was the better end of the island. I was delighted when we were handed our room key and we were in villa 153 and they had even accommodated our friends who we travelled with in the next door bungalow. The upgrade to a JBV is well worth it we were about 50ft from the water's edge and had our own private section of beach to sit on. We walked the around the whole Island each day and as other reviewers have mentioned where the garden bungalows are positioned this is not the most attractive part of the resort and does not represent paradise in my view. We were so glad that we paid the upgrade for the JBV. However if you are allocated an O' villas JVB or a Bonthi JBV you wont be too disappointed. We ate every night in the Sangu restaurant which is for the dedicated use of the Water Villas. A word of warning you have to phone up between 9am and 9.15 every morning and book a table if you want to eat in this restaurant. They only allocate 10 tables per evening to other guests in the Sangu JVB. The food is incredible, so much choice and very well cooked. There is something for everyones taste buds. We drank in the Sangu bar of an evening if you go there between 6pm and 7pm and the cocktails are half price. If you do want to go to the other end of the Island to eat then there is a courtesy bus service which will take you there and back and runs all night long.

I would highly recommend the full day's snorkling trip. Fantastic day we visited four sites for snorkling all of which were fabulous. The highlight of the holiday for me was swimming with the manta rays and also the appearance of about 60 dolphins which raced alongside the boat as we headed back to Kuredu. The cost is about 80 dollars and includes a barbecue lunch. Really good value. My partner and I also went parasailing. Look out for the deals. On certain days they will do half price parasailing trips it cost us 69 dollars to do a tandem parasail. A visit to the Spa is also a must. You are given a complimentary 15 minute massage on arrival which must be used in the first two days. We all opted for a full body massage and had out 15 minutes added onto this.

Although there are 350 villas on the island it never ever seems busy - you rarely see people other than at meal times and even then it never feels crowded. Be warned that the day before you depart that your cases are taken the night before at about 10pm. You dont see your luggage again until you arrive at Male Airport the next day. So pack an overnight case. Plenty of time when you arrive at Male Airport to repack your case.

I waited 9 months to go on this dream holiday and my only complaint was that it was too short. We wished now that we had gone for 10 nights minimum it would have made all the difference. Will I go back again ? I have already started saving to return next year. Hopefully that says it all.

Landed last night and having reviewed trip adviser before went wanted to get a review on whilst fresh in mind. We travelled with Cosmos and Monarch, as this was cheapest option. Paid £140 between us to upgrade to extra legroom seats with both of us tall was very worthwhile.
Accomodation was Garden Bungalow which was absolutely perfect. Food was fantastic and we had 2 weeks and didn't get bored of it. Trips were great (would partic recommend full day sailing on the Muna). We met loads of great people and are thinking about returning next year. Couldn't fault the place and couldn't understand negatives posted on trip adviser. Main thing to know that is you do want to buy crisps, snacks etc it will cost you alot i.e. £3 for a bag of crisps, so just be ready for that.
Diving was great and snorkelling fab, pretty much guaranteed to see turtles and rays on the house reef if you snorkel every day. Oh how I wish I was back there now. If you're going don't worry and don't spend too much time reviewing Trip adviser, just go with a happy heart and enjoy it. You will believe me !

This was the second part of our two week honeymoon holiday ( the first part being a week in Sri Lanka), we arrived from Male airport via seaplane to Kuredu island on an all inclusive package from April 22nd until 28th April. The first impressions stepping out of the seaplane was 'WOW' beautiful long powder white sands along the beach, blue skies and hot !! As i said we were on our honeymoon and had booked a beach villa and after reading previous reviews on here had asked if possible for the 'o' resort beach villa, however after booking in we were told they had something special for us and took us to one of their very new and private 'Sulthan Villas' 'WOW again !! these were beautiful self contained, private, secluded villas with their own private pool, large decking areas, garden and inside large bed, large TV, and an outside bathroom with a jacuzzi bath !!! with these villas there is no beach view but a 30 second walk to the beach and you have your own designated sun beds with brolley.
The all inclusive food breakfast, lunch and evening meals from our buffet resturant were excellent there are other restaurants we could have used at an extra charge but as the food was so good where we were we never bothered...
As the days were hot about 36 degrees the sea and pool water were very warm on the south side of the island near the seaplane jetty is an excellent snorkling house reef where sea turtles and manta rays hang out !! There is also a football pitch,tennis court and golf course on the island but in that heat you've got to be mad to use them :) there are also two spa's offering all variations of massages and beauty treatments the 'o' resort spa overlooks the sea....
On an all inclusive basis as well as the food and drink you can also take a canoe or wind surf out for an hour everything else is chargeable. The island has its own dive centre to arrange dive and snorkling trips by boat. I would recommend the day snorkling trip at $79 just to see the manta rays and dolphins !! The diving i would recommend the house reef as i saw more there than i did when i took a half day boat dive at another reef.
Now i have stayed on Kuredu this is what i would recommend certainly go all inclusive and i would ask to stay on the 'South' side of the island in a beach or jacuzzi beach villa why ? well on the 'North' side which includes the 'o' resort , water villas and garden bugalows the beach is no where near as nice and also it is where the man made sea defences are which i know have to be there but do spoil the paradise view ? The 'Sulthan villas' are beautiful and if you want to keep yourself to yourself then they are perfect they cost between £3-3500 per week and for a honeymoon upgrade we were certainly very grateful but once the novelty wore off after a few days we felt quite isolated so if we ever came back it would be to the South side in a beach or jacuzzi beach villa. So would i recommend the Kuredu island ?.........Most definately !!!!!!!