Trip Report Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon

[Doc Harry]

Trip Report
Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon
March 4 through March 12, 2022

I will be making this trip report as a series of posts. Be patient while I get all the posts added to this thread.

Official website of Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon

Sri Lanka Hotels | Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts Official Site

No matter where you choose to stay, we make sure you enjoy every minute of it. Be it the ocean, the forest or even the city, you'll be able to soak it all in.

www.cinnamonhotels.com

Above photo from:

ELLAIDHOO MALDIVES BY CINNAMON - Updated 2023 Prices & Resort Reviews (Ellaidhoo Island)

Book Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon, Ellaidhoo Island on Tripadvisor: See 3,818 traveler reviews, 8,162 candid photos, and great deals for Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon, ranked #1 of 1 hotel in Ellaidhoo Island and rated 4.5 of 5 at Tripadvisor.

www.tripadvisor.com

 

[Doc Harry]

OVERVIEW:

Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon is a small all-inclusive resort on the eastern edge of the Ari Atoll in the Maldives.

The resort has a dive shop, a spectacular house reef, and plenty of snorkeling. Diving is billed separately, and is not part of the all-inclusive package. You can joint the daily morning and afternoon boat dives, sign up for special dive trips, and dive on the house reef.

Transfer to Ellaidhoo is from the capital city of Malé, either via float plane (30 min.) or speed boat (1.5 to 2 hours).

The resort is very popular with Europeans (especially Brits, French, and Germans), Indians, and Russians. Most of the guest are there for sun and snorkeling, but there is also a sizable diving crowd.

 

[Doc Harry]

RESORT LAYOUT

Ellaidhood is an oblong island, oriented west-east. You can walk from one end of the island to the other end in about 3 minutes.

The island is surrounded by a vertical and overhanging wall that drops to a depth of almost 100 feet. The wall on the northern side of the island is more of a steep slope, but the west, south, and east walls are vertical and overhanging.

Just inside of the wall drop-off is an outer concrete breakwater. There are many gaps in the outer breakwater that provide access to the outer reef for divers and snorkelers.

Inside of the outer breakwater is a shallow lagoon. This lagoon can be anywhere from 6 inches to 4 feet deep, depending on the tide.

The island itself is surrounded by an inner concrete breakwater. Inside of this breakwater is the beach.

The inner breakwater is absent in the area west of the dive center (in front of beach bungalows 301 to 311). Here, the beach extends directly into the lagoon.

The inner breakwater and lagoon

The lagoon and out breakwater

The dive center (right). West of the dive center has a sandy beach extending directly into the lagoon (in front of beach bungalows 301 to 311).

Beach bungalows 301 to 311 do not have the inner breakwater, only the outer breakwater. In this photo, you see the outer breakwater.

 

[Doc Harry]

LODGING

There are four classes of lodging on the island:
Water bungalows ($$$$)
Beach bungalows ($$$)
Superior rooms with ocean view ($$)
Standard rooms ($)

WATER BUNGALOWS

The water bungalows (401 to 424) are always very attractive, but after staying at Ellaidhoo I'm glad that we didn't stay in one. They seem like they'd be very hot and there's no shade. The infinity pool and bar are there with the water bungalows, and a restaurant just for occupants of the water bungalows. It's the same food as in the main restaurant. Be advised, if you're staying in the water bungalows but you have friends staying in other rooms, you won't be able to eat with them. Separate restaurants.

Water bungalows

All guests on the island can use the infinity pool and bar, so it's worthwhile to head out there every evening to enjoy the sunset and drinks.

BEACH BUNGALOWS

The beach bungalows (301 to 346) seem to be the best deal. You have a nice room with shade in the trees, and you're right on the beach. Beach bungalows 301 to 311 don't have the inner breakwater, but there is more foot traffic on the beach. Beach bungalows 312 to 346 offer the most privacy, with very little foot traffic.

Beach bungalow

The inner breakwater in front of beach bunglows 330s

SUPERIOR ROOMS WITH OCEAN VIEWS

The superior rooms with ocean views (201 to 228) are also excellent values. These are two-story buildings with four rooms, right on the beach. I prefer the upper level for more privacy. You're up in the trees, it's cooler, and you're looking down on the beach. The ground level rooms see a lot of foot traffic.

Second-floor superior room with an ocean view.

STANDARD ROOMS

I would not recommend these rooms (101 to 114). There are located back behind other buildings in the interior of the island. Kind of depressing, actually.

 

[Doc Harry]

DINING

There is an open-air restaurant with buffet service for all guests. Each room has a reserved table. Request a table under a fan. There is a wide-range of food options, including local Maldive & Sri Lanka dishes, seafood, Asian cuisine, and typical western foods. The restaurant does not served mixed drinks, only beer and wine. If you want a Pinky Fresh or Blue Lagoon or Rum Punch, you'll have to go to the bar.

The occupants of the water bungalows have their own private restaurant next to the infinity pool. It's the same food that's served in the main restaurant.

 

[Doc Harry]

I'm tired of posting, so I'll stop here for now. Future topics will include
The bar
Dive shop
House reef diving
Boat diving
Reservations
Money
Travel & transfers

 

[Doc Harry]

TRANSFERS

Most people will fly into the capital city of Malé, and then transfer to Ellaidhoo. When you make your reservation with Ellaidhoo, you will also make your transfer arrangements with Ellaidhoo at the same time. Transfer is either via sea plane ($335 round-trip per person) or speed boat ($202 round-trip per person). If you can afford it, get the sea plane transfer.

Packs sandals, shorts, and a light shirt in your carry-on bag, and change clothes before you land in Malé.

When you arrive at the Malé international airport, exit baggage claim and then look directly ahead for the Cinnamon booth to check in. We had to wait 3 hours for all of the other Ellaidhoo speed boat passengers to arrive.

If you are transferring by speed boat, the Cinnamon representative will guide you across the street to the water taxi pier. The speed boat ride to Ellaidhoo takes 90 to 120 minutes, depending on the roughness of the sea. The speed boat is typically packed full, with suitcases piled everywhere. If you tend to get sea sick, then take your medication. It's a rough ride across 40 miles of open ocean!

The water taxi pier, across the street from baggage claim. That's the city of Malé off in the distance.

When it's time to return to Malé, the Ellaidhoo staff will inform you of your speed boat boarding time the night before check out. Be prepared for a 5:30 a.m. departure!

We decided to stay in Malé for a night after checking out of Ellaidhoo, just to see the place. Actually we stayed on Hulhumalé, which is the island north of Malé. This was a mistake. There's not that much to see, it's an industrial wasteland, and it's very expensive. Next time we are going to go right from the speed boat to the airport.

Malé

 

[Doc Harry]

THE DIVE SHOP

Ellaidhoo has a dive shop on site. Diving is billed separately from the all-inclusive resort.

The primary gas used for diving is EAN30, but you can use air if you prefer.

Tanks are DIN, but there are adapters for yoke.

The dive shop is a short 100-foot walk to the pier

Rinse tanks and drying racks

Your gear is stored in numbered bins in the dive shop. Wetsuits and BCs are stored outside on the drying racks.

 

[Doc Harry]

SHORE DIVING ON THE HOUSE REEF

Ellaidhoo has a spectacular house reef, which is a 100-foot wall all the way around the island.

The wall is vertical or overhanging all the way around the island, except on the north side. The north side is a steep slope.

When I say the wall is vertical, I mean VERTICAL

There are several access points around the island for shore diving (white dots on the map below). The inner lagoon is pretty shallow in places, so you have to use the access points where the lagoon is deep enough to follow a rope out to the wall. (Note on this map, NORTH is towards the bottom.)

Sign up on this board when you go shore diving.

Pick up a tank from a couple of storage locations at the dive shop. You can use 10 L, 12 L, or 14 L tanks.

Analyze your gas before diving

The dive staff will transport your gear out to your desired starting point.

This is a typical access point. Stairs lead down to the water (3 feet deep), and you follow a rope out through the breakwater to the reef and wall. There is always a bench to don/doff your gear. When you are finished diving, you can leave your empty tank at any of the access points.

Before you jump in, check the current and plan your dive. You can also talk to other divers coming out of the water for a better idea of the current direction and strength. The wall on the south side is SPECTACULAR and very colorful. It is overhanging in many areas, and there are large caverns in the wall that you can swim into. There is a small upside-down wreck at 100 feet on the south side.

Swimming/drifting around the east and west points of the island are wonderful dives. Conditions vary with the current. When we swam around the east point, the current started ripping, the water was much colder, and there were giant schools of very large fish and big sharks. It felt quite remote and foreboding!

Can you swim all the way around the island on one tank? Maybe -- if you are better than average on your air, if your take a 14 L tank, if the current is minimal, and if you stay at 25 feet. Then you might be able to get all the way around the island on one tank.

It's pretty easy to get halfway around the island on one tank, if you don't stay deep. Kick against the current until you round the east or west point, and then drift to the takeout.

We did several night dives. On our last dive there was a eagle ray in the lagoon in 3 feet of water, feeding. It ignored us and swam within inches of us.

 

[Pearlman]

Thanks for the very well organised informative posts. Must take a lot of time! I have a question and it’s not just for laughs…

Q: House reef just a few steps out of the resort ... shore diving … vertical wall 100m all fine… actually very impressive! But where do all the toilets flush? How many guests (total population) on this island for its tiny size? I am sure you were diving in blue not brown waters… but after the chuckling is over and from a more serious ecological and sanitation perspective - how does one design and build a population centre on a tiny natural structure like this without polluting the local environment?