For the Maldives you need to ask yourself a basic question - why am I going there? Do I want to snorkel right off the hotel's beach? Or is it simply to swim in a pool, have a spa treatment, spend lots on food and wine. If the former (and personally that's the only reason I would go there) you must choose a hotel with a proper house reef. And I would avoid any hotel with overwater bungalows - they destroy the landscape and they are environmentally damaging.