Bandos Maldives — Hotel in Malé Atoll

My best friend and I stayed at Bandos Maldives for 4 nights and 5 days, and it was truly a memorable experience from start to finish.||We landed at Malé Airport at 9:30 AM. Immigration and luggage queues were quick. Make sure to fill out the IMUGA form online before flying to Maldives so you don’t have to fill it in on arrival. By 10:30 AM, we met the Bandos crew outside the airport and were ready to leave for the speedboat transfer by 10:40 AM. The 15-minute ride was smooth, and we arrived at Bandos around 10:55 AM. On arrival, we were greeted with a refreshing welcome drink, which set the tone for a relaxing holiday. Standard check-in was at 2 PM, so we waited a little while for our villa to be ready after previous guests checked out.||To our delight, we received a complimentary upgrade to a Beachfront Premium Villa. The villa was immaculate, modern, and soundproof, with fresh towels and supplies provided twice daily. The location was perfect – enough plants in front for privacy, no trees blocking the view, and the sunbeds were positioned ideally for tanning (which explains why other guests sometimes “stole” them, haha!). Waking up to serene mornings and stunning ocean views was amazing.||We had originally booked half board but upgraded to the all-inclusive package, which was absolutely worth it. Buffet meals, snacks, and drinks were delicious and varied, making our stay stress-free and enjoyable.||The island itself is a tropical paradise, beautifully maintained, and has a calm and friendly atmosphere. The weather was perfect during our stay, and the live entertainment was fantastic (special shout-out to the band – they made the evenings fun and lively!).||⸻||Pros – Staff:| • Gene at Reception – Exceptionally welcoming, patient, and attentive. She explained all our options clearly and made us feel completely supported throughout our stay.| • Abu at the Gallery Restaurant – Thoughtful and attentive; remembered our daily drink preferences and surprised us on our last night with a beautiful handmade flower arrangement from the garden (santan, kalachuchi, coconut leaves, and other colorful blooms). Truly made us feel valued and special.| • Leandro at Huvan Bar – Kind, courteous, and attentive. Made us feel well looked after.| • Parvez – Absolutely amazing! He consistently ensured we got back safely to our villa each night, which meant so much as I’m very scared of lizards and geckos. After long days of walking and activities, Parvez always came to the rescue, making our evenings stress-free and safe.||Pros – Other:| • Villas: Immaculate, modern, soundproof, twice-daily housekeeping, stunning ocean views, serene mornings.| • All-Inclusive Package: Excellent buffet meals, snacks, and drinks – highly recommended.| • Activities: Snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding; breakwater keeps waters calm.| • Water & Beach: Crystal-clear waters – you can see colorful fish, friendly baby sharks, octopus, and even pawikan (sea turtles) swimming while you enjoy water activities. Soft, powdery sand.| • Entertainment: Live music and shows.| • Location: Only 15 minutes from Malé Airport by speedboat.| • Island Atmosphere: Clean, well-maintained, peaceful, and relaxing.||⸻||Cons / Small Downsides:| • Sunbeds in front of our beachfront villa are often occupied by other guests.| • Standard check-in is at 2 PM; early arrivals may need to wait.| • Balcony wooden railings block some of the view (safety reason).| • No bicycles available for guests.| • Reservations team can be slow to respond via email before arrival. We booked through Booking.com for faster confirmation. Even though direct booking might offer better deals, we were happy with the complimentary room upgrade and decided to take the all-inclusive package upon arrival.||Note on Cons: Even with a few minor cons, we truly loved our stay at Bandos Maldives. These are only suggestions for improvement, not complaints. The island, staff, and overall experience were fantastic, and we would highly recommend it. We would definitely return!||⸻||Traveler Tips:| • Fill out IMUGA online before arriving – it saves time at the airport.| • Upgrade to all-inclusive – meals, snacks, and drinks are excellent. Meals and snacks have set timings; drinks are available anytime. Minibar drinks are included; only snacks are chargeable.| • Bring snorkeling gear if possible ($10/day to rent; life jackets included).| • Use WhatsApp to contact reservations for faster replies than emails or calls.| • Check the weather forecast before booking; our stay had perfect weather, but rain is possible.| • Early arrivals: bring light clothes or swimming attire to roam comfortably before check-in.| • Standard check-out is 12 PM; late check-out is chargeable. Speedboat check-out transfers have set timings (e.g., 9 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM). We opted for the 3 PM transfer to match our evening flight; staying on the island was much nicer than waiting at the airport.| • Mosquitoes & insects: Surprisingly, none inside the villa. Bring repellent just in case. Staff were very helpful in keeping us comfortable.| • Plenty of hammocks around the island to relax in.| • 4–5 days is not enough – there are plenty of activities to...

Bandos is a small island, 15 minutes speed boat ride from the main airport. It has been developed over time into a holiday complex with a selection of accommodation levels on offer as well as restaurants. Being so close to the mainland and airport, the frequent water planes are very noticeable. Everything is changed in US $ and then converted to the local currency.

How sustainable Bandos is, along with all the other such resorts, must be questioned? Bandos uses a huge amount of fresh water that has to be produced, then the waste water treated and removed along with the solids from the treatment. There are also the food items that are consumed by staff and guests alike. Again where and how is all the power used by Bandos produced? There were some solar water heaters evident, but I don't recall seeing any solar panels. One feature of Bandos, that is not really advertised, is the green houses and aviary. It is definitely worth visiting. Given that the Maldives will undoubtedly be affected by global warming and rising sea levels more due to its low elevation, It would be nice if a Sustainability audit was published in the reception, along with a statement on how it is intended to improve the sustainability of the resort.

We were delighted by the friendliness of all the staff from the gardeners working in the midday heat to the waiting and catering staff and the reception staff, they all seemed happy and always helpful. It's sad that there was not an inclusive tip box so that all the staff could benefit from gratuities from the customers. Hopefully if the management read this review they could implement such a scheme.

When you book your stay you can select a choice of inclusivity from bed and breakfast to all inclusive. We selected all inclusive, which turns out is NOT ALL INCLUSIVE. All inclusive allows you to eat in the main self service area and order a selection of beverages. If you want to dine in any of the other restaurants you're charged minus 25%, but tax and service is then added. Also beverages that are not included in the All Inclusive packages and are chargeable. The people who opt for the All inclusive package have a blue band secured around their wrist, this may help staff identify them but it spoils holiday photos, unless you want to spend ages editing them out when you get home. I am sure that nowadays a technical solution is available.

The island also has a dive centre and a water sports centre. Neither of these activities are included in the All inclusive package. I can understand that the powered watercraft and dive centre are expensive to run and therefore an additional cost is necessary, but the additional costs being charged were stupidly high making it very expensive and therefore hardly anyone was using them, which must make them uneconomical to run. Similarly the unpowered watercraft lay dormant because of the high cost. I would have loved to use the small 2 person Topcoat catamaran, but the cost per hour, $102 was again staggering. After spending so much money staying in Bandos, why make extras so expensive?

We had a villa with the bedroom upstairs and a private garden with a hot tub and bathroom, we loved the outside shower. Both levels of the villa were air conditioned. The upstairs level also had a balcony, it would have been nice to have two simple chairs on the balcony so that you could sit and admire the view. There is a television on the lower floor with the usual array of channels. Unfortunately there were only two music channels, one of which didn't work. I would have liked more music channels so that we could relax listening to music in the room.

The sea around Bandos is teeming with fish of all descriptions and sizes, the highest concentration being in the shelf of the island, the array of coral is stunning. Snorkeling is definitely a must, but despite a sign in the accommodation and signage around the resort, we observed a number of guests walking around on the coral looking at the fish.  There is a glass bottom boat. But again...

For my first time going to the Maldives I chose Bandos as it appeared to have more 'going on' than simply relaxation and snorkelling. I booked the most expensive room (the Water Bungalow) and chose the all inclusive package. You pay extra to get a speedboat over to the Island, but this is where our trip didn't get off to the greatest of starts, as after a 10 hour flight we had to hang about in the incredibly hot airport arrivals hall for 45 minutes, whilst we waited for other guests! At the resort we had our own private plunge pool, and could step down straight into the sea. Our outside area was private from the other bungalows, so the only people that could see us when we were relaxing were on the boats that would often pass by. That was until a drone came flying over and stopped right above us for a period before flying off again. When I complained about this, I got no feedback as to where it might have come from and how this had been allowed, and not picked up by security if it was a guest. The 'all inclusive' package turned out to be anything but that. When I visit resorts in the Caribbean, Europe or anywhere else for that matter, the only things that might be excluded from such a package are 'premium' drinks. At Bandos, most drinks are excluded, as is dining at any restaurant other than the standard buffet. You could get one beer (Carlsberg), but any other was chargeable. You could get basic spirits and a limited selection of cocktails. What frustrated me the most, was that fruit juices and milkshakes, despite being cheaper on the menu than a Carlsberg, were not included. What also became a real annoyance, was when we were constantly getting 'sold to' at meal times, by staff trying to get you to sign up for $100+ dinners and chargeable wine / cocktails. I am used to resorts putting the customer first, but this does not appear to be the standard philosophy at Bandos. Diet coke is on the all inclusive, but in our room we only were provided with full fat coke. I phoned and asked for this to be switched, only to be told that wasn't possible! Hilariously we also asked if the plums from our fruit bowl could be replenished, only to be told that this wouldn't be possible which led to another complaint, then for the next few days we received more plums that we could eat! Despite the resort having multiple 'things to do' there are no organised activities for guests for any of the sporting facilities. Indeed the full size soccer pitch, which is an amazing facility, is only used by the staff! I am a keen footballer, and was told that i could take part with them and that there would be a game every night at 9.30pm. I turned up in my kit on the last night of our trip, waited half an hour, and nobody turned up! The resort claims to have a 'sports bar' which I thought was great, as I would be able to watch the UK cup final whilst we were there. This turned out to simply be the 'main bar' which was part of the entertainment lounge, which had a TV. There was limited channels, and so I ended up having to watch the game on my ipad, with it constantly buffering due to poor Wifi. The final insult and by far the worst one, is still unresolved now. I booked the trip in January for our stay in March. At the time i paid in full at over $10K. When we got to the resort, they asked me for my credit card, which i assumed was security for 'extras', and didn't pay a lot of attention. A couple of weeks ago when I got my credit card statement however, i discovered that they had charged me the £10K again! I emailed them straight away, asking that the payment was refunded, and as of today I have still not had even an acknowledgement, let alone a formal response or refund! I have therefore taken the matter up with my bank. I saw this as just indicative of the complete lack of customer care and attentiveness that exists on the resort, where in my opinion they are more focussed in trying to get as much money out of you as possible whilst you are there, rather than leaving you with a positive experience that would make you...