Baros Maldives

Our stay at Baros truly transformed into an unforgettable experience. After a challenging start, the team went above and beyond to turn our initial disappointment into something genuinely special. We were impressed by how thoughtfully and proactively they handled everything, and we left feeling deeply cared for. The resort itself is exceptional. The breakfast is outstanding with a wide and delicious selection, and the house reef is absolutely breathtaking—one of the most beautiful we have ever seen. Our room was spacious, comfortable, and perfectly maintained throughout our stay. A special thank you goes to our butler, Rau, who went out of her way to ensure our stay was memorable in every possible way. Her attention to detail, kindness, and dedication made a tremendous difference. We also loved participating in the coral reef sponsorship programme. We created our own cast of corals, which will soon be placed into the ocean and is a meaningful and beautiful contribution to the reef’s restoration. We also learned there a lot about corals (who knew they had tentacles!). Another highlight was the fishing trip, which was incredibly fun and well organised. A big thank you to Ahmed and Team for helping us catch so many fish! To end our stay, we enjoyed a romantic dinner on the beach that was simply magical, created by Ahute and Palash. Baros truly redeemed itself and exceeded our expectations. We are grateful for the effort, hospitality, and personal touches that made our trip so special. Highly recommended!

The second visit to Baros was even more wonderful than our first one. Everything about this resort is 5 stars. The Breakfast is about as good as it gets, and all restaurants are in general above par. Same applies to the 2 bars with high quality drinks and very interesting options regarding signature cocktails. The views from the Lighthouse bar for sunset are really impressive. But the most distinctive aspect is in general all the staff. Friendly and making as feel the centre of the experience, as it should be, always thoughtful and ready to help, this are maybe one of the best staff I have ever seen working in the tourism industry. I would like to thank in particular to our Host - Sujata and the amenities cartaker Azmeel for all the professionalism and personal dedication towards me and my wife. They make the all experience feel even more special. In general is absolutely a 5 stars resort and every cent is well spent if you stay in Baros.

We spent the most beautiful two weeks of our lives here with my partner, and this place will forever hold a very special part of our hearts. Everything was breathtaking — the staff, the nature, the peaceful atmosphere, the accommodation, and the food — but what made our stay truly unforgettable was the feeling this island gave us. It felt healing, almost spiritual, as if the whole place was wrapped in a warm, gentle energy we had never experienced before. And at the center of this experience was Bonán. She is a rare, extraordinary soul — the kind of person whose presence alone brings comfort, light, and goodness. From the very first moment, she was there for us with genuine kindness, honest care, and a heart that felt impossibly pure. Every gesture, every smile, every small act of help came from a place of true compassion. She didn’t just assist us; she made us feel seen, supported, and understood. The warmth and love that radiate from her were the greatest gift of our entire stay. She does her work with a level of grace and devotion that is truly inspiring, and no matter what we needed — no matter how big or small — we could always count on her. Meeting her is something we will never forget, and her kindness will stay with us long after we leave this island.❤️🙏🏼

Hands down the best trip we've ever taken. My husband and I decided on the Maldives for our honeymoon and after a lot of research, chose Baros. We are American (for what it's worth) so initially I wasn't sure about going with an independent hotel brand without a recognizable brand name but I'm so glad we took the chance. The service was SO good. You are assigned a butler upon arriving and we were blessed to be paired with Sujata. She was kind, patient, attentive, friendly, professional, and so thoughtful. We communicated with her through WhatsApp and she was extremely responsive, even when we needed something late at night one night. She sent us the agenda every day, with any special events that were happening around the resort. We told her we were on our honeymoon and she incorporated so many special details that made the trip even more unforgettable than it already was. THANK YOU, Sujata! A few details that, while unique to our experience as first timers to the Maldives, will hopefully be helpful... Before Arriving: We filled out a preferences form and communicated with the resort beforehand. They were extremely helpful in answering all our questions and made all our requested reservations beforehand. We told them our flight arrival time so that transportation could be arranged. Thank you, Siman! (See below for our experience in actually needing reservations). Airport Pickup/Drop off: Could not have been more efficient or smooth. There was no wait at customs (we arrived around 7:50am), our luggage came off the belt right away and there was a greeter from Baros waiting for us right when exiting customs. Upon departing the resort at the end of the trip, the transportation team helped us with our luggage all the way through security to the check - in desk... which was much appreciated since you have to go through security before reaching the airline check-in desk. I think we would have been confused without that guidance. Location : This is one of the closest islands to Male. It was only a 20-25 minute boat ride from the airport. This particular island has a house reef absolutely teeming with marine life where you can snorkel directly from your front porch, whether you are staying in a beach villa or over the water hut. We're not divers, but we did see people diving directly from the beach at the resort. The island itself was lush and full of greenery. We would 100% go back to this location for the scenery and snorkeling alone, not to mention the service and food! Restaurants : Incredible. Everything we ate was *very* good. Lime Restaurant's breakfast buffet was one of our favorite parts. I believe it's included with every room and there was everything from the freshest fruit to sushi to a classic American breakfast to cuisine from many other cultures. In addition to the buffet, you can order a la carte items at no extra cost. SO GOOD. We chose to do the Half Board Inclusion where a dinner at Lime or Cayenne is included every night plus a bottle of wine, and one night's dinner at the Lighthouse. This was fine, but we wouldn't do it again. No other drinks (soft drinks or cocktails) are included, the wine list is limited and at Cayenne there were certain items that weren't included that we would have had to pay for anyway. Granted, we would have received a 30% discount on those items with the Half Board Inclusion, but even so in doing it again, we would have just paid for our meals as we went. There were days when we could have skipped dinner and had a more casual late lunch at Sails Bar or something, rather than feeling like we had to have dinner at one of the restaurants each night. A must : having cocktails at sunset on the Lighthouse Lounge upper deck. You don't need reservations at the Lighthouse to have a drink on the deck and the views were insane. Reservations: They told us to make reservations ahead of time so we did, but in our experience, none of the restaurants were more than half full and you can definitely wait to make them when you arrive. Your butler can make all those arrangements for you which makes it seamless and easy. The one exception is the Lighthouse... I would make reservations ahead of time. This is their fine dining restaurant...expensive but worth it!!! The food and experience were among the best I've ever had. Finally, again, while food in general is expensive and you should definitely plan on spending at least $150 per person per day on food and drinks, probably more, we also did not feel "nickel and dimed." There are coolers at spots around the resort with water bottles, they kept our room well stocked with water bottles, coffee, fruit and cookies and anywhere we ordered drinks, there were canapes included that were plentiful and delicious! Spa: This was the one disappointment, and honestly, saying it was a disappointment is a little harsh. It wasn't too bad...just not quite what we expected. The masseuse / masseur both did a great job with our couple's massage - they were obviously skilled and that part was fine. There was no frills or extras though... no quiet room to wait, no music playing during the massage, no sauna or steam room... etc. Overall, it was fine but not quite the fully relaxing experience we were expecting! Gym: Fully equipped, open 24/7, stocked with water bottles and fruit Dive Center: We brought our own snorkeling equipment and we don't scuba dive so we didn't use this much, but we did attend an hour marine biology presentation which was interesting and rented a clear bottom kayak. We found the team there to be helpful and informative! We saw lots of people getting dive lessons, some for their first time. Activities: Unfortunately, although we tried to book in the "dry season" we experienced a lot of rain so we weren't able to do some of the activities we signed up for. We did, however, go on a deep sea fishing excursion which, for my husband, was a fantastic experience. Not really my cup of tea, but I enjoyed the boat ride and they brought tons of food and soft drinks/water for us on board. My husband caught around 6 fish - including massive wahoo and grouper. When we got back to shore, they prepared the fish for us in at least 4 different dishes with tons of sides... we were BLOWN AWAY. Sashimi, sushi, grilled fish, fish curry, salads, fries, rice...and they only charged us the price of the food preparation which was nominal. The fisherman were obviously experienced and made it a good trip but then followed up by a fresh seafood lunch prepared just for us, made it an insanely worth it experience. We reserved the 5AM trip before arriving... while most activities/ reservations seemed readily available onsite, I would recommend booking this one ahead of time. Ambience: This is a resort that is definitely geared towards adults and couples. We only saw one kid there for a couple of days, the rest of the time was couples, friend groups or families with adult children. It was a very quiet, very peaceful island, definitely meant for relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery. There are tons of communal seating areas with comfortable couches where you can enjoy lunch, a cocktail or simply read a book in the shade or the bask in the sun. The staff keeps the place immaculate even with the sand and rain. Housing: We reserved an over the water hut. This is one of the oldest resorts in the Maldives, but you can't tell! I'm not sure when they last renovated but the rooms were modern, clean and super comfortable. We bought plug converters but didn't end up needing them. We plugged an American three pronged charger for a laptop into the wall and there were USB ports on each side of the bed. My hair dryer didn't seem to work (I think it's the voltage) but there was a hair dryer in the room. You can dive right off the back and snorkel all the way around the island. It was such a cool experience to be over the water, but we would have been happy with a beach villa too.... they back right up onto the beach where you can snorkel straight from your villa and there's a lot of greenery in between so I imagine it feels very private. Each villa, whether beach or over the water, is standalone. Check-In / Check-out : We were greeted by a welcome committee, introduced to Sujata and escorted to a pavilion where we were given champagne (could also choose a mocktail). We were then escorted to our room where all payment was taken care of, and our luggage was waiting for us. At check-out - Sujata came to our room and settled our bill and our luggage was picked up and taken to the boat. Absolutely seamless, no waiting, and made the trip feel extra special! Weather: As noted above, we experienced rain almost every day but there were also periods every day where the sun came out even when it was raining quite hard so we still were able to get out and enjoy the resort. On days when it was extra rainy, the resort worked hard to make the experience enjoyable... for instance, they hosted a complimentary mocktail making class to keep us entertained during the rain! Gratuity: A 10% service charge is included so we didn't tip much for meals, a few extra dollars here and there for exceptional service. When dinner is covered under the Half Board, the service charge was not included so we added gratuity around 10-15%. As suggested in other reviews and online, we brought American dollars for additional gratuity like luggage handling, for our butler, and for the deep sea fishing trip (and other excursions that we ended up not taking because of the rain). Overall, not a cheap trip for sure, but so so worth it. 100% recommend Baros and we hope to be back again someday soon!

I absolutely loved Baros, the atmosphere here is so inviting and calming, hard to pick just a couple highlights! We had an incredible dinner at Lighthouse Restaurant, the lobster bisque was highly recommended and did not disappoint, cooked right in front of us too. The house reef was incredible, we went on the guided tour and found four reef sharks, tons of fish & even a turtle! Our guide gave us a quick rundown of the fish we should expect to see and he even took photos & videos for us and shared them after our snorkel! The staff made the atmosphere so welcoming and comfortable. We asked one of the staff members, Azzam to take a quick picture of us and being an amateur photographer, he took time out of his day to give us a mini photoshoot. Our Maldivian night dinner at Cayenne was lovely as well, they have a live grill station as well as a curry station where you can pick and choose what flavours, seafood or meat you want - I'd highly recommend the seafood curry & the Maldivian fried banana dessert. A special thank you to Faisal & Hanaan for making our stay so wonderful!