Originally Posted by
FTstudent
I'm planning a trip for August. Lucky to come across this thread.
Last weekend I barricaded myself in my office and plowed through the details on as many resorts as I could stand to look at. Same as the earlier poster, I’m arriving in the evening, so I gave preference to a speedboat transfer. I ended up picking O&O too, and booked a water villa with pool a few days ago. I will make sure I look at the other recommendations from everyone else.Here’s my shortlist. (not all of them are speedboat)- One and Only Reethi Rah
- Huvafen Fushi
- Baros
- AYADA Maldives
- Milaidhoo Island
- Hurawalhi Island Resort
I might have gone with Huvafen, but I was disappointed with the size of the villa pools. BTW - I saw another reviewer very critical on the F&B prices at Huvafen. I am very curious about Baros. It looks like a good all-around option, maybe not as fancy.
We have visited Baros 3 times in the last 3 years and it is probably our favorite hotel in the world. We did 2 stays in an overwater bungalow with pool and 1 in their premium pool villa (to be honest we preferred the premium pool villa, mostly because we liked that there was a covered outdoor area that we were able to enjoy in the rain).
Other bonuses for us:
-It is a boat transfer from the airport- during our most recent visit there was a pretty bad storm that came through that delayed/cancelled sea plane flights for I think 2 days of our visits, so people couldn't get to their resorts and were stuck at the airport/Male.
-No kids under the age of 8 guarantees a more peaceful time
-Marine biologist on staff at their dive center and a house reef (albeit with unfortunately common bleaching), but we have seen turtles and sharks on every visit. Marine biologist led the night snorkeling "experience" which I loved, but my husband did not.
I actually think the staff is more attentive than some true "luxury" properties we have stayed at. I like the food, we generally ate a late breakfast, had a lighter lunch then did a bigger dinner, and there was a nice enough variety of food that we didn't get bored with the options. We did a nicer meal each trip, and I think the food is very good given the location. I have done 1 spa visit over our trips, I liked the massage/spa but much happier to be in the water snorkeling or diving while there. Happy to answer any other Baros specific questions you have.