In a closet in the Maldives

We travel quite a lot, but we never write reviews, because. we are unpretentious tourists, although we always study them with interest, especially negative ones, so that any difficulties do not come as a surprise to us, but the story that happened to us made us sit down to write a review. So, in order.

Beloved wife, tired of stressful work and everyday life, made a utopian, from my point of view, decision to celebrate the Family's Birthday (5-year wedding anniversary) in the Maldives, at the same time fulfilling her innermost dream. After reviewing the prices and reviews, we stopped at the Eriyadu Island Hotel from November 19 to 26, 2016.

Well, on arrival, a surprise awaited us: instead of a paid bungalow on the Ocean, we were settled in a room for staff without windows above the reception with a satellite dish with a diameter of 3m opposite the doors and after the explicit eviction of one of the staff, as evidenced by a broken air conditioner without remote control (repaired), lack of a TV (brought in), someone else’s open shampoo, a cup with tea leftovers and an unwashed toilet bowl in addition ... The receptionist girl made big eyes and claimed that everything had been agreed with the tour operator (the notorious Join up), and the tour operator should have informed us about this (about the fact that we will be accommodated in a staff room?), And she did not react to the voucher with the specified and paid Superior room and did not name the terms of stay in the closet in the Maldives. So, the situation: a couple in love, having paid off a real bunch of green money after a daily flight / connections, arrives in a paradise in which all places are occupied ..

It turned out that this is not all. Arriving for dinner, we were asked to wait until the others had eaten, because. there are no free tables (they are reserved by bungalow numbers (and we didn’t even have a number above the door, because the number is not for tourists). We found ourselves, because we were already very hungry, and settled at the tables on the street without light in the rain .

There were SMS messages from us to the travel agency, and a call to a local agent - a representative of the tour operator (we called immediately, on the day of arrival), who promised to sort it out, but later - Saturday, you know, weekends are everywhere. They moved us, at our great request and since we constantly bothered them at the reception, the next day, and a table was immediately formed. But the whole day was lost, and the festive mood from our wedding anniversary was also gone.

Upon arrival home, dear Join up "lost" a written request from the travel agency, which was made on November 19, saying that it was necessary to apply earlier (although we applied on the same day), and then notified that the hotel was to blame for everything and it was necessary directly download money from them without leaving the cash register. And the hotel does not respond to requests from the travel agency to confirm the situation. That is, they threw us at a tidy sum (calculate for yourself: if you get there and back for two days, plus the day of arrival, check-in after 14.00 (maybe earlier) and the day of departure on suitcases after 12.00). The reason, in our opinion, may be that locals come for the weekend (Fri-Sun), they settle where there are places, and if you are "lucky" to arrive at the wrong time, you will live in the Maldives in a bunker and eat leftovers after all . Probably, there is also an agreement with tour operators of the "junk" level of the Join up type, on settling the first day / days (depending on the power of the tourist's voice) in rooms of a lower level, or in general in rooms for staff, as happened in our case (i.e. up to the level of the plinth). By the way, on the next Fri-Sat, several couples were also observed standing bewildered near the "closets" against the backdrop of a satellite dish.

Now, in essence: the hotel meets the quality of 3+: air-conditioned rooms are "experienced", not bad, but with thin partitions, the food is good (with an eye that everything is imported - chicken, beef, lamb, salads, rice-potatoes, tuna is always, very delicious sweets, 2-3 types of fruit), free drinks only in the morning ("juices" unlimited, tea / coffee - one cup), prices in the only store are exorbitant due to the absence of an alternative (t-shirt - $ 25, water 1.5 l - $ 4), plus there is no choice in the store either; there is no animation and, of course, the Chinese who come for a couple of days to check in - such as the Hajj to Mecca / Medina or the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Ball table tennis, billiards, a lot of books in many languages.

Naturally, everything is compensated by Nature and the Ocean. We snorkeled several times a day for a couple of hours in coral slippers (it is better to take fins) and filmed sharks, moray eels, a turtle, an octopus, manta rays and a bunch of fish (an underwater camera would definitely not be superfluous).

I advise, by the way, be sure to use sunscreen 50 - fried even in T-shirts with dense clouds.

Crows, herons, funny chickens and flying foxes live on the island (like bats, only with a kind muzzle).

We sent several postcards in different directions - have not yet arrived (. A month has passed (

The store is weak, at the airport in duty-ke everything is cheaper and more interesting.

P.S. If someone is really interested in the topic of divorce, I can attach photos / videos of the "number" and print-screens of correspondence with Join Up and the hotel

Question to Join Up (or to the hotel) - when will you reimburse the cost of living in a closet for one day and moral damages for a spoiled wedding anniversary ??

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