Just came back from Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo Island it was fantastic all the staff we great but must mention Donald Jayasiri he was great at entertaining, and made my our holiday really special.
We will certainly be going back to this Island, it was so relaxing, food great, and the snorkelling was fantastic.

Arrived 4th Jan From Manchester with First Choice/Thomas Cook for a week. The seaplane transfer from Male to resort was great. Had a wait of about 45 mins at the seaplane terminal and stopped off at two other resorts on the way to Chaaya Reef. This meant that the speedboat transfer arrived shortly before us, but enjoyed seeing the other islands and the take off and landings are always fun.

Stayed in water villa 407 which was clean and bright but could do with a bit of sprucing up as looking a little tired/dated. Enjoyed the outdoor bathtub and balcony to watch the sunset in the evening. A slight disappointment was not being able to access the water from the water villas but think that is because quite often the water is very shallow in this area. The balconies on the water villas are also not large enough for sunbeds etc so you really need to get out during the day.

The reef was amazing! Always lots to see; reef sharks, titon trigger fish, rays, the resident turtle etc. It was sometimes tricky to access the deeper water when the tide was out due to coral but much easier in the area between the water villas and the dive school.

The food and drinks were great – and the service was probably some of the best we have experienced in a hotel/holiday resort. As we were in the water villas we ate in the pool restaurant which was great as was quite airy on hot days/evening (and the other restaurant for non water villa residents did appear a little cramped). Stayed on all inclusive which was very good – although I do find the all inclusive in the Maldives a tad confusing as not all cocktails are included but this is a small point. Paid for a couple of extra meals; Lobster dinner and Spice Extravaganza both of which were great however the Spice one should not be missed if you are a curry lover! We had great fun picking herbs, spices, chillis and salad from the organic garden which were then used in the meal cooked in front of us. Special thanks to Haris, Ali, Sid, Shehan, and Sadam for looking after us so well. Also Anthony the guy who looked after the pool area - he made sure we had loungers every day and was always ready to move the umbrella when the sun was too hot.

The Dive school was also excellent. We booked the full day snorkeling trip which hopes to see Manta Rays, Dolphins and Whale Sharks. We were successful in seeing two out of the three (Manta’s and Dolphins) and snorkeling with the Manta’s has to be one of the best experiences ever. Amjey at the dive school is a great asset.

All in all the resort is great for service/food/reef etc., but perhaps just needs sprucing up a little. The sea wall does look a bit ugly at first but you can understand why it is there and you soon learn to look past it.

It's hard to believe that less than three weeks ago we started to think about taking a break in the sun. We managed to find a good value late availability break to Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo and after researching with Trip Advisor decided that this was a good option for us. We wanted primarily good snorkelling, and research told us that this resort had one of the best house reefs in the Maldives and we were certainly not disappointed. We swam with Rays, Reef Sharks, the odd Turtle and during our time there saw virtually every fish on the "Fish of the Maldives" chart pinned up in the Dive Centre.
We stayed in one of the Beach Bungalows just off of the beach. The room was surprisingly spacious, immaculately clean, quiet with an outdoor bathroom. There was also a mini bar and television, neither of which we used. Personally I see no reason for a television!
The staff throughout the whole resort were extremely friendly. The island is well equipped with tennis courts, badminton, gym, infinity pool, two restaurants, two bars and an excellent Dive Centre. There is also a table tennis table, darts and table football.

The restaurant served an adequate selection (buffet style) which varied daily. Generally the food was of a good standard and neither of us were ever disapointed. A previous reviewer has mentioned the early finish time for breakfast at 9.30, and we were also disappointed to miss breakfast on one occasion but the bar rustled up a sandwich for us immediatly. And with a smile.
Some people we spoke with didn't think much of the entertainment, and I agree that the guys probably would struggle to make it on "Maldives Got Talent", but personally I felt it blended in perfectly as a background competition to the sound of the waves. The staff at the bar were very good.
The beach outside our bungalow was beautiful. Despite other reviewers suggesting there was a bun fight for the parasols, we didn't find this to be a problem. We were able to 'reserve' our favourite sunbed even on days when we were late rising, and on the days when we were unable to get our sunbeds of choice we took the view that we didn't have an entitlement to that particular sunbed anyway.
I would estimate that at the time of our holiday, probably about 50% of the guests were British. Everyone we spoke to seemed to be like-minded insofar as they were happy with their choice of destination.
We booked the 'Manta Ray' trip and we were lucky enough to see 8 of the wonderful creatures and felt it was $90 well spent. We also did the night snorlling expedition with Amjad and it is probably the best $25 I have ever spent. I went a couple more times - it was brilliant.
My wife had 5 'treatments' at the spa and was totally satisfied with the Balinese staff.

All in all we were very happy with our experience, and although we have previously stayed at the 'superior' Lily Beach resort in the South Ari Atoll, if we were to be given a free holiday ( eg courtesy of Trip Advisor for hours spent at the keyboard) we would choose the Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo resort. It ticked all our boxes.

The Pictures on the website dont do justice to this Property. u have to see it to believe it. one of the best trips we both have been on. The Island is not too big, not too small... its just right!

We had booked the beach bungalow. Arrival we were told that we would be staying in the standard room for the first day and then upgraded to the water Bungalow (Room No. 417.WOW!) for the rest of our stay :-). A candle Lit dinner at the beach and a sunset fishing trip was organised for us during our stay.

The food was excellent, so was the service. Three Names we would like to highlight
1. Nafis from Madi Restaurant. Always greeted us with a smile and great conversation
2. Harris from Malamathi Restaurant. We could talk to him for HOURS. And so pleasant ....:-)
3. AND finally Suresh (Manager -Front Desk) for being available at all times.... for helping us with almost EVERYTHING!!!!

We loved every minute on this island.We went snorkeling for the first time and were hooked. we had to go the next day. I could go on and on about Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo.

Two things i wish could have been different - There wasnt too much local food being served at any of the restaurants, alot of Sri Lankan food but not much of Maldivian food.... and i wish we had opted for the sea plane transfer instead of the speed boat.