Maybe paradise is also not perfect
Jun 17, 2026 deejay90210 New Delhi, India
Just returned from a beautiful vacation. It was my second trip to Maldives, so I have some perspective. I had booked an all-inclusive stay at the Beach Villa for 7 nights. There are a lot of positives, so lets begin with the pros
1. Easy pick-up from the airport. The local staff was cordial and efficient. We were on the boat within 30 mins of…
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Just returned from a beautiful vacation. It was my second trip to Maldives, so I have some perspective. I had booked an all-inclusive stay at the Beach Villa for 7 nights. There are a lot of positives, so lets begin with the pros
1. Easy pick-up from the airport. The local staff was cordial and efficient. We were on the boat within 30 mins of getting out of arrivals. The boat ride took just 15 mins and it was comfortable.
2. Beautiful resort, with lots of insta-worthy spots especially around the pool.
3. Overall, service was great. Housekeeping staff, waiters at Captains bar (eg Ryka), or hosts (Manu) and waiters at the Bageecha (Ram, Salman, Dharamveer, Mohamed) all went out of the way to make us comfortable and feel welcome.
4. Cleanliness was maintained throughout the resort. Pool, rooms, common areas, restaurants and even beach areas were all very well maintained.
5. Food was great. I thought that we will get bored eating in the same restaurant for 7 days. But the menu was changing regularly and the taste was good. The variety was not expansive, but was adequate.
6. Snorkeling was good. You can do it right of the beach. Saw many sharks and some manta rays and sting rays along with many other fishes.
7. Water and land sport options are a plenty. You can enjoy badminton, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, squash etc, and all are complimentary. The courts and sport equipment are all well maintained.
Obviously, one should be aware of the cons too.
1. The resort assigns an “Island host” to be your main point of contact for any needs. This is a great idea, but if your host isn’t up to par, it can really impact your overall experience, so it’s a bit of a gamble who you get. Looking through the reviews, you’ll notice some names that have consistently been praised. Sadly, we didn’t get to experience any of those. We only asked for one thing before we arrived: a room close to the main building, since we were staying with teenage girls who wanted to explore independently. Of course, we ended up with a room far from the main building because all the beach villas near it were being renovated (which we weren’t told beforehand). We asked our host to try to get us a room nearby whenever we could, but she never addressed our issue. During check-in, she made us wait for 20 minutes, while all the other guests arriving with us had already checked in. We got there around 2:30 PM, and the resort only serves lunch until 2 PM, so she offered to arrange a special lunch for us after our 8-hour journey. But the check-in took so long, and then she said it was late and we could come back for snacks at 4 PM, while we saw all the other guests arriving with us having lunch. This felt very rude and did not give a great first impression. During our stay, she forgot to make our reservation for resort events, never checked on us, and didn’t even bother to help us with check-out or even say goodbye (among many other things). We noticed other hosts regularly meeting their guests, asking about their stay and food, and even coming to the jetty to drop them off (basically providing personalized care), which really elevated their experience. I think the resort should provide training for all hosts to give at least basic attention to the guests.
2. Just so you know, many beach villas were getting a makeover. Plus, two of their main restaurants, Hook and Lagoon, were also being renovated. Sadly, we weren’t given any heads-up beforehand, and it wasn’t even mentioned on their website. This really impacted our stay and sometimes made the Bageecha restaurant quite crowded.
3. Being so close to Male, this resort is super popular, and we once had almost 500 guests at once. You’ll mostly enjoy it, and you can find some peaceful spots on the beach, but restaurants and the swimming pool might get busy sometimes.
4. Restrictive restaurant timings. I understand that to keep the buffet restaurant running full day is quite challenging but opening it for only 2 hours for each meal seemed restrictive, especially on a relaxing holiday.
5. As the resort is big, you are highly dependent on the Golf carts to travel around, especially if your room is farther away from the main building. The waiting time on an average is 15-20 mins, but can be as long as 30 mins and rarely 5-10 mins too. So, planning may become difficult at times. Either you wait for it for 20 mins or you walk down, which will also take 20 mins.
6. The beach villas look dated. Obviously, they are undergoing renovation currently, so I believe they will be better in the next few months, but in the current state they simply do not look upto the standard.
Some tips:
Best site for snorkeling:
1. Snorkelling point (near Italian restaurant), but water here is deep so not for those who cant swim.
2. Under the souvenir shop near overwater villas
3. Under the hook restaurant
4. Under the lagoon restaurant
5. Right on the beach near the ramp for the overwater villas
Best sunset points:
1. Near the pool
2. Crow's nest
Best sunrise points:
1. Overwater villas
2. Shipshape
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