Baros — Local services in Malé Atoll

We spent 8 days at Baros in both water and island villas. I must admit we did go with very high expectations, considering the positive reviews, which is why we left on some accounts slightly disappointed - therefore only 4 stars.

The rooms are wonderful inside - spacious and beautifully decorated! We preferred the island villas for more space & nice shade during the day which is really welcomed during the mid day hours, as well as the beautiful outside bathroom! There is a bit of a hit and miss here though, as the location of some of the villas is net superior to others - the East of the island with the reef and beautiful wide beach is definitely the winner but reserved for returning customers we gathered. The North is quiet but a very short strip of beach - I did not get the Maldivian feeling on this side. Water villas are better towards middle of arch for views and sunset, but very hot in the day and a bit dated inside - so choose wisely :)

Food: Breakfast is outstanding - nothing missing here! The restaurants are good but I found it quite funny how both quality of food and ambiance is really different to justify the different price levels: from expensive to excruciating! :) (this coming from being used to Swiss prices and a regular of fine dining). The Lighthouse is at the same mark as Caminada's 3 star in CH - one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. Even the position of the Maldives does not justify such prices! The included candlelit dinner is a bit of a 'fartsy': food is very mediocre and setting very sad, on a small beach next to the restaurants and toilets (the smell of sewage included). There is a half board option but you need to do lots of eating for this to turn into a good ROI which wasn't suited for us.

The service is overall attentive but not outstanding. People don't go out of their way with anything. You need to ask multiple times for some things and in general it's a bit sloppy (e.g. beach beds not cleaned for ages after people leave, our anniversary forgotten, etc). The villa host concept would be nice if it wouldn't be fully focused on selling activities. Once you have an actual problem, you get left to deal with it on your own (we got to spend half the day with the technicians trying to sort a problem in the bathroom). After complaining, we were offered a gesture to make up for it - but in the end it would have just been better for it not to happen. Overall a bit lazy. On the flip side: airport team is great!

Island: Advertised as the most romantic island in the world or something of the sort - here I must really say it's nothing like that. The island is not adults only and is very small. So the only privacy is in your own garden where you get many people passing by or on your water villa deck. In general the population is averaged at 50+ and many retirees which seem to be returning guests from many moons ago. They behave and feel like home, which kind of kills any romantic mood altogether. We had a couple next to us playing cards over dinner.....

The reef is really nice - great marine life, coral and a wreck! The marine center however did not struck me as professional - probably just our experience as I read many positive reviews. We were given extremely poor snorkelling gear (fins were absolutely destroyed with scratches) and old dirty masks which kept fogging up. We made the mistake of not bringing our own as we were used to other 5 star resorts with own marine centers which provided outstanding gear, disinfected and packed for each guests. While we tried to change these, we got something similar in return and gave up - to the extend of dropping the intend to dive with this team. There would have been no way I would have dived with such equipment. Shame!

Overall Baros will remain a beautiful memory of visiting the Maldives. I am not sure if we were just a bit unlucky with our overall experience but it would definitely encourage us to try somewhere...

My husband and I recently went on our romantic getaway to the Maldives to celebrate his birthday and our 20-year wedding anniversary and stayed at the Baros Maldives resort. To make this a very special celebration, I booked an over the water villa with a private pool and excellent room views.

From the moment we reached the Baros resort, the staff welcomed us personally. They were already waiting for us at the end of the dock as we approached by speedboat. They introduced themselves one-by-one, handled our bags and offered us complimentary drinks while they made sure our room is ready.

Baros resort has the perfect blend of historic charm and modern facilities. The entire island is a dream and a paradise complete with superb attentive staff. They went above and beyond to help make our stay enjoyable. Their exceptional hospitality, elegant villas, and safe and secure environment were just one of the best parts of this amazing resort. The exceptional customer service at this resort impressed us way beyond our expectations. They were always friendly and asked how our stay was going every time we walked around the resort.

A few shout outs to these individuals that made our stay truly memorable, touching and unforgettable.

Anas - our assigned and dedicated personal butler. He was always available for anything we needed, such as, special amenities, restaurant reservations, resort activities, etc. He also made my husband's birthday extra special by leaving a birthday cake surprise in our room.

Jamil - (apologies if I misspelled it) - in addition to being a dedicated housekeeper, he is also very artistic! He decorated our bed with a birthday wish to my husband to which I can only imagine took him a very long time to do since he had to cut and shape each piece.

Kayla - I enjoyed the morning conversations as she cut and prepared my fruits of choice every morning during breakfast.

April - who was very thorough and passionate about ridding me of my stress during a very relaxing and refreshing spa visit. The premium amenities with spa and wellness facilities offered us an excellent experience.

Anees - was so friendly and helpful at the airport. He met us as we got off the speedboat and handled our airport check-in, our bags and made sure we got to our gate on time and properly. He even stayed and waved at us until we got to the top of the escalator and disappeared into the midst of airport crowd.

We received first-class service from the moment we arrived at the resort until the moment we left. The prime location of the hotel is a big plus, only a 30-minute boat ride from the airport. The facilities were top-notch, and the views from our room was simply stunning. The efficient check-in/check-out process left us thoroughly impressed. Overall, we had an amazing, wonderful and unforgettable experience with the Baros resort and it's exceptional and friendly staff. From the luxurious accommodations, serene surroundings, and attentive staff make it a perfect place for a getaway and relaxation. From delicious dining options to cozy rooms with stunning views, everything exceeded our expectations. The attention to detail in each aspect of the experience truly sets it apart. Thank you so much for making our trip one to remember for many, many years! I can only think of one thing to improve our memorable time at Baros ... longer stay!...

I have just spent two weeks in Baros first in a Water Villa and then in a Water Villa with Pool. Both are identical on the inside, with the difference being a pool added as an extension to the latter on the outside. During my stay I had the opportunity to visit a land Villa as well. All were nice and spacious, perhaps not as spacious as some of the newer luxury resorts, but frankly still pretty spacious.

The villas are comfortable, but in need of renovation. The electricity adaptors for continental European plugs did not charge well, the in-room entertainment system was not user friendly and mostly did not work; it took several technicians to get it to work in the first villa and we knew better and gave up in the second villa. However, Internet was generally reliable throughout all the island. Furthermore, the AC was not working properly the first 24 hours after we arrived until it was properly fixed. We spent a lot of time outside on the deck, but unfortunately there was the constant and incessant noise from the neighbouring villa’s AC machine (321), which was quite unpleasant.

The premises are quite stunning with various secluded and beautiful locations on the beach. The three restaurant were quite good. Cayenne Grill was our favourite although we also enjoyed the Lighthouse, the resort’s signature restaurant (just avoid the Black Cod ... literally the only plate I found disappointing). The bar/lounge on top of the Lighthouse is lovely for sunset and has good cocktails. Also, the Sail beach lounge has a very nice selection of drinks and light meals. I was only disappointed by the Lime restaurant, not for the food, which is good, but for the set-up. A raised pool was built blocking the infinity view to the beautiful sea.

My partner took a diving course, which he thoroughly enjoyed. I used the gym on a daily basis and was surprised to find it quite good compared to typical resort gyms. The island has a beautiful choral reef and we enjoyed snorkelling and dining while watching friendly sharks swim by our table. We booked a private boat to snorkel one afternoon. It was quite pleasant as we saw lots of manta rays. I tried a Balinese massage at the Spa, but found it disappointing. Pity or I would have been there every other day.

The staff are quite friendly, attentive and very pleasant to talk to. They all went out of their way to welcome and take care of us. Mr. Azzam our guest host for most of our stay, really went out of his way to welcome us. So did Mehri (Mohamed) from Cayenne restaurant and frankly all the staff were really nice.

I leave having spent a memorable two weeks and looking forward to my next visit to the Maldives. I would not hesitate to stay at Baros again if the villas are renovated and better insulated for machinery sound on...