| 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Diving | Family | Business | Leisure | Excursion | Restaurant | Bar |
| Overall Rating |
|---|
| Very Good 13 Reviews WRITE A REVIEW ADD PHOTOS |
| Bedrooms |
|---|
Sleep quality: Very Good |
Amenities: Very Good |
Bathroom: Very Good |
| House Keeping |
|---|
Cleanliness: Very Good |
Maintenance: Very Good |
| Public Area |
|---|
Inside: Very Good |
Outside: Very Good |
| Service |
|---|
Check In/Out: Very Good |
Professionalism: Very Good |
Friendliness: Very Good |
Dining: Very Good |
Excursions: Very Good |
| Food and Drinks |
|---|
Breakfast: Very Good |
Lunch: Very Good |
Dinner: Very Good |
Choice of Dishes: Very Good |
Choice of Drinks: Very Good |
| Others |
|---|
Ambience: Very Good |
Value for Money: Very Good |
Expectation Level: Very Good |
Internet: Average |
Love to visit again: Very Good |
Paola
The execpional activities program
First of all: Thank you so much, Maldives Traveller Team and Bandos Island Resort, for allowing me to take advantage of my win "out of the Terms and Conditions' period". This was the first important step to a perfect experience. Early November, when I realized that I was the winner, I had already partially planned and booked my Maldives' visit in March. The possibility just to add this week on my itinerary created 'the unique dream'!
"Early morning on arrival date. Very shortly after our announcement by the polite young man of Bandos' Airport Representative, we are transfered by a scenic 15 minute speedboat ride to the resort. Even after xy-speedboat's transfers in my life, I enjoy the breathtaking view and the salted wind in my hair like a baby! Refreshing welcome drink and towels. Quick check-in formalities and the great announcement that our Jacuzzi Beach Villa (JBV) is already ready to lodge us! Since one of my feet is injured and I can really slowly walk, a buggy is prompt ready to bring us 'at home', this is what I call 'attention to the details' and I deeply love this in the hospitality.
Our JBV # 133: looks outside like a nice, small 'mushroom' and it is well positioned, facing the beach (well, after some vegetation) and not so far away from the main area (this time, because of my injured foot, this aspect is quite relevant). Inside, it is duplex-styled, with living-room, open-air bathroom and small garden with jacuzzi on the ground floor, bedroom and terrace on the second floor. We quickly realize, this will be a confortable, cosy 'home' for our next week.
Dining: since we upgraded to half-board, our main venue is the Gallery Restaurant, but we can also choose with a discount of 20% the Koon Thai Restaurant and one of 15% the Sea Breeze Cafe or Sun Downers Bar. The Gallery Restaurant is spacious, consisting of three pods. A huge, various buffet, plus 'living cooking station'.. So 'no way' of limited choice! We decide to enjoy also one late evenings' snack at Breeze (open round the clock) and many amazing sunsets at Sun Downers Bar, with 'happy hour' drinks, Maldivian appetizers and live soft music. We definetively love this location for sunsets: open view facing the sun, going down, and the immense beauty of the Indian Ocean. A must experience at Bandos!
And now let us talk about the 'strongest' point of Bandos: Activities! I feel like: the time is running against me! We can experience, individually, the beauty of nature: the house-reef is easy to reach. There are well signalised entries/exits and the spectacular, breathtaking underwater life has the power to let me forget that I have an injured foot!! Who cares??!! This goes on a second importance level.. This, I can manage later, in a grey, cold, never ending winter 2013 in Europe!!
Add the small jewel Kuda Bandos, situated nearby and reachable twice a day (except Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) to this passion of mine (snorkelling) and you could easily understand the reason why I feel 'lost'.. A WEEK IS TOO SHORT! Only for this!! Without considering the rest of the incredible, huge activities programme at Bandos: Island Hopping, Male' Shopping, Night fishing, Sunset Dolphin Cruise, Paradise Club, Water Sports, Live Karaoke, Disco, and so on.. a list with NO boundaries!! :O
I swear! The first friend of mine, who dares to state: "Maldives, a week, could be boring for me!!" I will suggest to visit Bandos and take part on all the activities proposed.. I am deeply sure.. This friend will not manage the task.. and 'could be boring' will never again be related with my Maldives!
Plus, please note: there is a particular experience/moment in my days in Maldives (for me a 'must' every day!), which is not to find in a TO DO list! But I warmly suggest NOT TO MISS IT! (at least one morning of your stay..Trust me). It is: to be awake before sunrise and just going around with open senses and.. camera (forget about to be properly styled, just cover your body and go out of bed!). This feeling is unpayble!! There is a strong connection between you and the island.. You will hear a voice calling: "Please catch this moment on your camera for me!!" and animals will pose!!! for you instead of escaping, as usual they do during day time! (Hope strong not everybody will follow my suggestion! Too much human being around is also not good).
At this point, I allow me to tell you something a bit 'private' and maybe also a bit 'difficult' to understand and believe..
"I deeply love Maldives (the nature, the people, the unique hospitality system and also the various aspects, that sometimes 'we tourists/guests' forget to consider).. I love it in a way that (sometimes) hurts the people surrounding me in my real life: I will never accept a negative comment about Maldives without fighting for finding a solution to the 'roots' of this negative statement about! The incredible part of this fact in my life is that Maldives loves me back in the same way! All my visits long there was a person, a natural event or even a 'miracle' showing me this deep love."
Yes, I told you this is 'incredible'.. Now, look back at the title of this review.. and start considering I am not so foolish when I suggest you to love, protect and respect Maldives. We visit for a short period. But in this time we can do a lot to avoid 'damaging' and love. It is a small step?! This doesn't matter! Do it and you will feel better.
By the way: I am an active member of the non profit organisation 'Protect the Maldives'. Interested? Just google it and by the way nr. 2: Bandos joined our project during my stay ;) Congratulations to Bandos Island Resort & Spa for choosing an additional way to protect a treasure. There is no limit to what we can do.. ;)
Stayed March 2013, in room 133
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HongSo
House reef
Paying for mineral water at main restaurant
We were met at the airport by our travel agent office staff.The boat ride was a quick 15 minutes away. They did not insist that we put on the life jacket but it was placed in front of the boat.
On arrival, we were met by a staff who gave us a paper towel and a small glass of welcome drink. It was such a hot day that the glass of drink was really good. We were then given a short briefing on the Resort's Dos and Don'ts.
Less than half and hour later, our rooms were ready. We were lead to the room by the same guy who welcomed us at the front desk. Funny thing was, as we were walking to the room and chatting with him, he suddenly said our room was just ahead and told us to proceed on our own!! It was easy to find ( not straight ahead but we had to take a left turn) so no problem.
Our deluxe room had the biggest toilet that we have ever seen in a resort!, there was an enclosed area for shower- huge, can easily accommodate 6 people! Next to it was a long bath and next to it is the powder area with the the toilet bowls etc. It has tiles on the wall and floor . Basic but very clean and functional.
We had a living area just as we came in. Two armchair and a long chair, the wooden kind. Quite comfortable but the tv is placed in front of the bed so you cannot really see the tv when you are seated at the living area. No partition between the living area and the room. We had two single beds joined together. Huge bed but bed was just average. Sheets were clean. Two huge pillows each and a side desks by the bed too. A wooden cupboard for you to put your stuff, came with some hangers as well.
Outside the balcony there are two chairs and a rack for you to dry your wet clothes. It was quite good as the clothes dry fairly quickly in the hot weather. The only complain was when we hang out some clothes to dry,thousands of ants appeared and started crawling on that particular item. Funny thing was the ants only appeared to like that item. After removing that item, the ants disappeared into a hole in the rack!!
The island is small enough for you to walk around and explore the place. There were at least two great spots for swimming and snorkeling. The house reef is quite close to shore so great for those not so good swimmers. Since this is June, the water can be rough in the afternoon. Apart from that the weather was great for the days we were in Bandos.
There is also a recreation centre in the middle of the island. There is a gym there. It is a fairly well equipped. No problem getting on the equipment of your choice cos it was fairly empty when we were there. There was also a children's club and play area.
We had a great deal from our local travel agent for our stay in Bandos. If there are similar deals in future we will most likely come to Bandos again. According to the brochure there are also free classes conducted on certain days of the week by professionals. There is also an excursion room for you to book all the excursions, like dolphin cruise, night fishing etc. the staff there are friendly and was able to assist with our queries.
Stayed June 2014
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HongSo
Pastries
We were on half board and we chose to have breakfast and dinner. Both were buffets in the main restaurant. Food was really fresh and tasty. For breakfast, there were cereals, fruits, hot stuff, egg station,, etc and most importantly drinks! Yes, this is the only time when drinks are served with a meal. Even though we were each given a 500ml of mineral water each day, at all times in the resort you have to pay for your drinks, even if it was just plain mineral water.
Dinner was sumptuous! We particularly like the pastries..I know some one had reviewed at TA and said that the pastries were nothing to shout about but for the 4 nights that we had our dinner there the pastries were good. The honeycomb cheese cake and banana crumble were really good. We talked to some of the staff and were told that they used quality ingredients for their pastries. One night we had lamb kebabs, this was good depending if you have a just cooked one or one that was overheated too long at the chef station. It went very well with the sauce that they were serving,
There were usually at least 3 types of fruits served with dinners. One night we had dragon fruits, the red and white ones,. We also had pink guava, pomegranates and pomelo to name a few.. It is so much better than to see the usual, apples and oranges. Ok, this is a personal choice, some may prefer the usual fruit. Anyway Well done to the kitchen
We had a great deal from our local travel agent for our stay in Bandos. If there are similar deals in future we will most likely come to Bandos again.
Stayed June 2014
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HongSo
Dolphins
Set off in a big boat with many people. There were three boats that set off together. We met at the Sand Bar at 4.15pm. Some one took attendance to make sure people who had signed up were there.
There were many small kids in our group. We boarded a big boat with many people. We sat outside the covered seat. Initially was a bit concern about the young kids. Later the staff gave life jacket to the kids. The boat went very fast and it was enjoyable ride with the wind blowing on our faces. About 20 minutes into the ride , some people started shouting and clapping and we saw dolphins quite far away leaping out from the water. The boat then moved In a slower pace to catch up with the dolphins. We could see the dolphins at some distance. Actually there were quite a lot of them but not many jumped out of the water. I guess we are so used to dolphins shows with dolphins jumping up and down all the time, that seeing so many of them just swimming around was not so exciting.
Then the boat crew handed out some nice cooling sparking juice to all of us. Did not expect this so was quite a pleasant surprise.
Good trip but could have been more enjoyable if the dolphins were more cooperative.
Stayed June 2014
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Nancy Nais
almost everything
no internet connection in guest rooms, making it difficult for us to file stories / work
The overall experience was great. we the media team stayed in a Jacuzzi Pool Villa which was beautifully designed, although i must say the flooring are very dangerous.
the beach is super clean, visitors can engage with a lot of activities or chose to sit back and relax. the food was great, tried some local Maldivian dishes, almost similar to what we get in Malaysia.
speedboat trip from airport to resort and vice versa was a brilliant too. From the moment we landed everyone we met was friendly and helpful. and i actually returned to Bandos Island again few months later.
Stayed April 2012
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Gina
the carefree atmosphere
The speedboat ride was a mere 20 minutes from the airport and check-in was immediate. My sea-facing cottage was large with tea/coffee-making facilities, bathroom toiletries and bottled water provided. I had a little balcony outside where I could hang wet clothes and it was very convenient to have a tap just there to rinse your feet before coming in.
I stayed on half-board basis (breakfast and dinner) and for me it was convenient to just have snack lunches since I was always full from the great variety of food at each buffet. Everyone was friendly and it was nice to come in on mornings with the waiters already knowing that I liked tea with my breakfast! Drinks were not included and it can get pricey but then this is the Maldives!
My cottage was a little far from the main restaurant, but actually you can walk around the whole island in about 20 minutes. Most of the beaches had nice white sands but were very stony, so bring aqua shoes. Sunbeds were available everywhere, mostly near to the trees/vegetation fronting the cottages before the sea. Waters were clear enough to see the fishes and even sharks that came up near the shore - such a great variety of marine life at your feet! I enjoyed the snorkeling and kayaking; went on a lovely dolphin cruise and only regret I didn't take a trip into town.
I came as a solo traveler and although the resort was full of guests, it never felt crowded - you could always find your own privacy on the island. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and would recommend this place to anyone.
Stayed July 2011
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Stefano Bertolone
Leisure > With friends | 4 April 2013
Very Good
The reef
After having experienced different islands if compared with the one I’m going to review, I don’t hide you I was a little bit curious about it.
Once arrived in Malé and done the practices to have access to Maldives, I went to the Speed Boat zone in order to find the people charged of transfers. Some welcome words, some talks and I immediately felt like at home. They took my luggage and finally we went to Bandos!!
The island (one of the first ones to be a resort in Maldives and this year celebrates its 40th anniversary - what a coincidence!) is located some miles away from Malé, about twenty minutes by speed boat from the airport.
Many people wonder if the proximity to the capital could be considered a disadvantage: in my opinion, as I already stayed in Velassaru, I don’t think it is a problem. However, it’s necessary to consider that the city lights can be easily seen from Bandos by night… I repeat: for me, it was not a problem.
We reached the main jetty where the kind staff of the island welcomed us. We were told to go to the reception and here we began the Check-in.
While we -happy and a little bit hot- began to ask info about the different (and many!) excursions the resort offers, we were offered the standard fresh serviette (really appreciated!!) and a refreshing drink in order to fight the Maldivian hot.
Our room was finally ready and assigned: Jacuzzi Beach Villa #133.
Excellent position, on the half way between the “restaurant-reception zone” and the Sundowners Bar.
The ROOM is really nice: a small living-room with small sofas, TV, mini-bar and safe; on the link side there is a stair (particularly steep but it became soon a habit: it’s good to make some exercise even in Maldives ) leading to the first floor where we found a very wide twin bed, two chairs, a small table and a terrace. Moreover, the room is equipped with double-conditioners: one is located on the ground-floor, while the other one is on the first floor.
Then, on the ground floor, we reach a open-air bathroom, the zone which caught my attention by the Villa: a built-in wardrobe (among the other things, the habit of locating wardrobes in the bathrooms; the same habit is adopted even by other resorts; when you get used to, there’s no problem), two separated basins for guests, the toilet separated from the remaining zone, a shower area equipped with the necessary products (shower gel, shampoo, body creams, etc.); finally, a open-air zone presenting the Jacuzzi zone and another external shower, perfect to have a shower under the stars by night.
Jacuzzi zone is decorated in details: the pool is wide and functional: a pearl for people loving such a style ;-). I don’t like things like that but I should state it sometimes was really nice to relax among many bubbles.
The room was cleaned by the staff twice per day.
The BEACH in front of our room was enough wide: a leaning palm tree framed the transparent and beautiful sea water. In general, the whole beach extending from our villa until the north part of Bandos is really beautiful: it seems one of those we are used to dream, in winter time, when looking at catalogues by travel agencies. Many palm trees, very white sand and a wonderful reef really near to the shore. Well, the REEF: one of Bandos aspects which intrigued me and which did not betray me: it is really wonderful, rich of fishes and corals which are more beautiful than the ones present in many other islands of Maldives; exits are marked with two evident buoys: hence, with a little bit of attention, it’s possible to snorkel and admire one of the most beautiful places of the world: small sharks, any kind of fish, colorful corals. Bandos will not betray you.
With regard to the RESTAURANT, the main one is open every evening from 7 pm to 9 pm. There is a wide range of food: in general, anyone could find something good to eat; there’s everything over there: from Orient-style food, spicy food, pasta, grilled fish prepared in front of you as well as lasagna (!!)
The personnel is kind and pay attention to any detail: they will find you a table among the three available dining-rooms; since that moment, you could try the dishes offered in the buffet.
Just a note: if possible, go to the restaurant around 8 pm; many guests would have finished their meal and the atmosphere will be better and less noisy: everything will be more beautiful.
Moreover, it’s a pity the restaurant is just open for two hours; in my opinion, thirty minutes more will be better.
Breakfast too is served in such area: again, it’s possible to find a wide range of dishes, both salty and sweet ones, eggs with bacon as well as chocolate croissants.
The other restaurants of the island, close to the main one, seemed to be good to me although I did not go too much there: just drinks and fried potatoes… so, I can not say anything more about them.
The Sand Bar offers, indeed, cocktails and fresh drinks accompanied by good music: it is suitable to refresh you during the day, while at nights there is always animation: music, shows such as Bodu Beru (in English), etc. Animation fans will be happy of that. In Maldives, after dinner, I preferred to relax and go to bed early and wake up early to admire the wonderful Maldivian dawns. Do not miss the breathtaking sunsets by the Sundowners Bar: even here, at the aperitif time, cocktails and fresh drinks are served accompanied by music and the sea breeze: you will lose yourself in the beautiful sunsets only Maldives could offer you.
I did not go neither to Spa nor to the other structures but, in general, they seemed to be good, at least from an external point of view.
Near the beach, in the inside part of the island, there is the wide and calm swimming-pool with another bar where you can order something even while you are swimming in the pool.
It is even the zone where the Garden Bungalows are located: really nice. The Diving Center, although I did not use too much, seemed to be well managed; in general, any time I was there to rent the equipment or ask for information, the guys seemed to be very nice and kind.
In general, Bandos is an island different from the other ones I previously experienced and I liked it a lot: beautiful beaches, wonderful and rich reef, good cooking as well as wide and clean rooms… What do you want more than this?
Stayed March 2013, in room 133
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Joanna Lim
The hammocks that littered around the island
The crowd - hoards of tourists who are very loud
I stayed at Bandos during my first trip to Maldives. I like that it's near Male so I didn't have to take seaplane. It's very casual and there are a lot of activities to do - Snorkelling, Day trip to the nearby Male City, Island hopping, scuba diving, Dolphin cruise etc.
I will go back again.
Stayed February 2011
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Kate Wells
new Bandos Footprints repeater programme
This was our 13th visit to Bandos. From the moment we set foot outside the airport we were treated like royalty, the transfer by speedboat to the island took 10 minutes and we were shown to the VIP room for check-in. The forms were pre-completed and only required a signature, then off to our chosen (and requested) room, with our luggage following swiftly behind.
Our room boy had decorated our bed to welcome us and a fruit bowl and a bottle of champagne was also awaiting us.
Bandos have recently launched Bandos Footprints, their new repeater programme. Not only do you get discount on food and beverage, but there are 3 levels of membership depending upon the number of previous stays and at the highest level you also get a complimentary candlelit dinner on the beach, spa treatment, excursion, dive on the housereef and snorkelling equipment. The candlelit dinner was exceptional - 5 courses and the standard of the foot was very high indeed.
The dive centre has had a fair turnover of staff, they now have a chinese speaking instructor, which certainly helps with the large number of chinese guests. They are also trying to protect the reef, with promoting awareness videos again in chinese, to try to get certain messages across. Whilst we were there the dive centre was quite busy and we had many enjoyable dives, but sadly no sightings of Mantas.
The internet is now free to use at the Sandbar, although we did find connection issues during busy times, ie the evenings. During the day was fine, but we prefered to still buy a voucher to use the internet at the sundowners as the speed was much better. There are plans to extend the free internet across the island but this is not yet in place.
The interior furnishings of the rooms are currently being updated and renovated and the old wooden blinds are being replaced with curtains. Our room was kept spotless by our room boy who visited twice daily and he kept us well stocked with water, tea and coffee.
The food in the buffet restaurant was not as good as in previous visits, there were limited choices of fruit and fruit juice at breakfast, which was dissapointing, but the food at sundowners and seabreaze was good quality and on the whole the service was good.
Would we go back - of course we will!!
Stayed October 2012, in room 176
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nic.winstanley.5
Leisure > With partner | 10 September 2012
Excellent
The hospitality extended by the spa staff & seeing female Maldivian staff at the reception.
Not enough time to try so much that's offered
The best thing about Bandos is the amount of available activities. Having heard it was the 'party island' I was somewhat put off as I wasn't really looking for that type of holiday as most Maldives visitors aren't but I was really pleasantly surprised.
It feels like such a relaxed island yet there is so much going on. We didn't spend any time at the pool as the room was lovely and the beach area in front was perfect. The photo's show the room, it's a Beach Villa with Jacuzzi.
I loved the layout of the room with only the bed kept upstairs. The his & hers style bathroom was very well equipped and the jacuzzi was at the back of the private area under a shaded wooden cabana. The only improvement I would have loved is a sunbathing area there too but there wasn't really the space.
The room was kept immaculate considering the amount of sand I smuggled in daily!
The rooms were in a horse shoe style shape but I don't think this jeopardized the privacy feel and it didn't feel over crowded.
We spent most time in the Sundowners bar. I thought this was the nicest location and very relaxed atmosphere. The sea breeze cafe was also a favourite but very quiet during the day when we were there, staff were fantastic though. The seating around the edge provides a nice point to sit back and enjoy the view in peace.
I was very impressed with the shop, it didn't feel like a tatty souvenir shop and the upstairs area had a good range of beach clothing, sarongs and t-shirts. I love cards they hand paint, they are happy to personalise them. The prices throughout the shop and island in general were a little higher than average but the resort I think markets as 4* so it's to be expected.
We were FB and would have loved to see an AI option due to the number of places to experience.
I can't comment on the diving but many rave about the diving at Bandos, snorkeling was perfect and I was so excited to see phosphorescent plankton glowing one evening along the shore line, This isn't common and if you have never seen it before it plays tricks with your mind! The sand is glowing slightly green and when you touch the sand or rub it under foot or between you hands it glows even more, almost like its reacting. After a few drinks you will wake up believing you can't have seen such a sight!
The recreation/sports are fantastic. The whole sports centre and kids club was manned by staff on hand to keep people busy. I wandered through but for me Maldives is a total chill out, if I was on a longer stay I would have probably had to get up and do something at some point but my stay was too short.
There was a well stocked library in the same area with lots of good books and magazines! (That is the only reason I came to be in the sports area at all!)
I went and had a show round in the spa and the staff were so pleasant and helpful even though I was not making a booking. It's such a nice layout inside, all water features and flowers and from the pic you will see the heart shaped bath too. My visit was only a couple of days because of work commitments but I would treat myself in the spa on a longer visit based on the hospitality the girls showed me that day.
Food I cannot fault, the presentation, staff and quality/variety at meal times was second to none. The waiters in particular were the friendliest staff on the island.
Check in and out were both really smooth. The reception team was mixed nationalities and it was nice to see Maldivian girls working there too. Although we didn't take any excursions the procedure seemed very straight forward and the island next door, Kuda Bandos looked stunning. There were Guest Service Agents milling around and they all were approachable but not overpowering.
Overall the stay was too short for how much the island has to offer. If you have never been to the Maldives and aren't used to such a chilled out holiday or worried you'll be going crazy after 24hrs of relaxing then Bandos is the perfect option to ease yourself into it. Saying that, if you aren't there to be active or take part there is no pressure to do so.
I'd also add for a family it would be a great option, if they have already introduced an AI then great, if not I think it would be a good idea, particularly for families. Saying that, during my short stay there I didn't feel the place was overrun with children and the activity areas are quite isolated so it is possible to find places to eat, swim and relax in a relatively child free environment (a big plus for me).
Stayed August 2010, in room 133
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