Who: Husband and Wife traveling from London.
Occasion: Honeymoon
Nationalities: Australian and British
When: January 28, 2012
Duration: One week
Accommodation: Beach Villa
Board: All-inclusive
My wife and I arrived back in London last night from our belated honeymoon (which was so belated it became our one year Anniversary) at the Coco Palm in the Maldives. I must admit upfront, we're not holiday people and I hope my review will assist other people not so well versed in the package holiday culture. We both work long hours in the corporate World and this was our big holiday. The Coco Palm DK is our first ever tropical island holiday.
In booking the flights and holiday, we were outlaying a huge amount of money to us and so I used a travel agent (Nicky Bloom from Travel Counsellors UK) because I didn't want to leave anything to chance. In fact I admit I was nothing short of difficult in my pedantic queries. I had taken charge in organising the trip instead of my wife so it had to be perfect. I was not prepared to make a blunder that would ensure I would never hear the end of it.
We stepped off the plane after being reminded for 14 hours that the Maldives really is a long way from the UK but were immediately relaxed when we saw the lovely Coco Palm man named Rauf holding a sign for us. He met us with a huge smile and in less than 90 seconds he had us over to the seaplane check-in, took our bags away and put us on the bus to the seaplane terminal. The seaplane waiting is, well, boring but that is the Maldives. There's no getting around the sea plane rearranging, delays and Island-time approach to getting exhausted tourists to their respective resorts.
When the seaplane landed at the Island, a boat was already waiting for us at the little marooned pontoon and it was all hands and smiles to help us out of the plane and onto the boat. Laura greeted us by name and made us feel really welcome. Laura is a cheeky Italian and has a really great sense of humour and we enjoyed her company when we met throughout the holiday. We arrived on the Island's jetty to be greeted by two guest attendants; Veronica from Russia and Yuki from Japan. It was twilight when we arrived and our first barefoot walk through the tunnels of tropical flora is something that will live with Susannah and I forever. They ensured we got a thorough tour and felt at home in our beach villa before they left.
We partly chose the Coco Palm because of its emphasis on relaxation. Susannah and I work in media and didn't want to be anywhere near news, TV, radio, the internet or phones while we were there. We even left our phones in London! And the Coco Palm didn't disappoint. I was a thousand miles from anywhere, metaphorically and literally!
After much deliberation, we went all-inclusive so we could essentially pay up front, then relax and eat and drink whatever we wanted. We were surprised to discover when we arrived that all-inclusive included spirits and cocktails. A limited selection but still plenty for a beach holiday. All the usual suspects were there, Pina Colada, Sidecar, Whisky Sour, Singapore Sling etc etc, and always served with a smile.
Food:
The buffet restaurant The Cowrie was absolutely sensational. I've eaten in many five star hotels and this, due to its setting surpassed most of these. The live food stations where you watched the chef prepare your food were really great and the variety really impressed us. We avoided the Western style food and stuck to the fresh fruits, fish and Asian foods.
Zahir the waiter usually bee-lined straight for us when he saw us and always looked after us. Anis the waiter was so wonderful and gave us a real insight in the Maldives. He taught us about the different islands and some of his culture. The chefs were very generous with their time and really were great ambassadors of the resort. One chef at breakfast even taught Susannah how to make exotic animal-shaped pancakes. Everyday the staples are there- fruit, cereals, bacon and eggs etc but the special things are the live food stations and the more traditional Maldivian and Sub-continental foods. We loved the atmosphere and the actual open-sided building of The Cowrie so much we never even bothered paying the extra money to eat at the A la Carte Cornus restaurant. We also loved it when the trio of Maldivian men played the drums and sang. The Wife and I chuckled at some of the musical interpretations of Western songs but it really added to the charm of them and we thoroughly enjoyed them singing in the background.
Conch Bar:
This is the all-inclusive bar and we often went at about 3pm for a light snack and cocktails. The staff here were wonderful and very open with conversation, tips and service. We chose the more secluded tables away from the bar near the reef's edge and we were in heaven. We often walked to Conch to courier cocktails back to our private sun lounges at our Beach Villa. Being able to get these same cocktails from Lagoon Bar would have been infinitely easier and I don't understand, financially, why one can't, but it wasn't a big issue.
Activities:
We only opted for the complimentary sunset fishing trip and fishing isn't my thing and I admit I kind of begrudgingly went along because it was free but it turned out to be one of the highlights of our holiday and I found it so relaxing, fun and wonderful. I can't recommend it enough. Ahmed the Maldivian fishing trip attendant was good fun and constantly recast my line for me when I lost my bait. I was comically bad at it but it's so easy I kept catching enormous red snappers. It really has given me a false sense of talent which a trip to any regular lake or stream will destroy!
I wish we'd opted for the dolphin-watching in hindsight but another time.
House-keeping:
We had Ahmed the Maldivian who went home each night to his own Island (most live on site). This guy could not do enough for us. If you could turn house-keeping into an art form, Ahmed would be an artist. He decorated our bed specially for our anniversary (my wife and I- not Ahmed and I!) and it was wonderfully over the top, perfectly done in rose petals and folded bed-linen. Ahmed came and remade our bed twice a day because he came to learn we liked an afternoon nap. Such great service.
Beach Villa:
Before we left, it really pained me that we couldn't really afford an over water Lagoon Villa. But after being there and staying in Beach Villa Number 3, I thought it was the absolute best option. We had an extremely private series of naturally formed tunnels of foliage to our villa and then from the villa to the beach where our private lounge area where we were secluded all around except the front where we had a uninterrupted view of the water. We stayed on the calmer lagoon side, close to the Lagoon bar which not only gave us an enormous space of beach, but we had great privacy from other holiday-makers. I found some of the other beach villas to seem exposed and crowded, especially on the far top-left of the Island (if you're looking at the map. The opposite end to Conch Bar) and along the reef side. The villa itself was beach-minimal. Not spartan, but classy and functional in it's avoidance of garish typical hotel trinkets and tat. After all, it uses the lush surroundings to provide the drama. Not the decor and furnishings. This extends throughout the entire resort. The bathroom was like nothing we've ever experienced. Showering became an experience overlooking the greenery and the tops of the trees.
The Spa:
We had two massages each and they were expensive, but were incredible. The deep tissue massage in particular was really rewarding- even if it hurt at the time! I asked for it and I got some harsh punishment. Despite what some have said about the spa being basic, I actually found it super luxurious in it's classy minimalism.
Highlights:
-The massages at Coco Spa.
-Getting to know the chefs at the Live food stations in The Cowrie.
-Catching red snapper on the sunset fishing trip. At just 2 hours, it was perfect for a little taste of a fisherman's life.
-Seeing a turtle while snorkeling (and borrowing snorkeling equipment for the duration of your stay at no cost).
-All inclusive made the whole experience even more relaxing.
-The Maldivian male voice and drum choir surprising us guests with a moonlit dance.
-The attention given by our house boy, Ahmed.
In Conclusion:
We knew when we booked that it was going to be a once in a life-time experience and realistically, we might not to get to the Maldives again. Next trip in a few years' time will be somewhere entirely different. So I am so happy I chose the Coco Palm DK over other islands. I'm sure they'd be great too, but I can't imagine how they'd be more suited to what we wanted that the Coco Palm. I haven't gone a week barefoot since I was a small child. Also, even when the Island is full like when we were there, it still seems bizarrely empty. Wherever we were, there never seemed to be many other people and that's exactly what we wanted. We didn't want a holiday buzz, lots of people and energy. We wanted a secluded, calm paradise and that is exactly what we got. By the end of the holiday families started arriving with small children but thankfully it's more an adult experience at Coco Palm. I've already started my campaign to convince my Mother to take my Father there from Australia for a once in a lifetime experience of their own.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
8 February 2012
Dear Allan
What for a detailed review!
On behalf of Laura, Yuki, Ahmed, the SPA girls, the live cooking chefs and all of us here in Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu, thank you very much to share with the world your experience and appreciate the time you invested in writing this review.
We all shall look forward to welcome your patents soon and why not both of you again for the next anniversary and join the large community of repeater which Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu envoys since long time. Once you here for the honeymoon there is no other place to be consider for the wedding anniversaries.
So again thank you and look forward to be of help for your next visit, do not hesitate to contact me for you booking.
Kind regards
Raffaele
Raffaele Solferino
Genenral Manager
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
