Baglioni Resort Maldives review: The perfect paradise island in the world's most romantic country

Except for the favoured few, a holiday in the Maldives is a rare treat, if not a once in a lifetime experience, and with hundreds of resorts jostling for your attention, picking the right one can seem like an insurmountable task. Knowing you’ve picked a winner begins as soon as you land in Male, with the Baglioni welcome team on hand to whisk bags out of your hands, sort check in details for your connecting seaplane transfer and lead you to their comfortable lounge with its chic Italian furnishings and refreshments.

The resort itself is small but perfectly formed, with a lap of the island easily completed in fifteen minutes. In comparison to many of the hotels in the Maldives, Baglioni feels much less 'meddled' with, which makes it perfect for nature lovers. Mesmerisingly clear waters uncover baby reef sharks stalking fish in the shallows, a pre-cursor to discovering a piece of paradise teeming with wildlife. Watch Eagle Rays float under the jetty, make time at midnight to watch a feeding frenzy of fish in the lit-up water of the docks or snorkel the house reef, alive with its own share of the Maldives' 1200 types of marine animals.

If a walk all feels too much, the pool area offers welcome respite. Here chic rattan loungers plied with thick towels and comfortable bolster cushions look out to sea while warm staff ferry cool drinks to the mainly Italian crowd. In fact, you’ll have to get used to feeling somewhat confused about where you might be given the customary greeting of everyone you meet being ‘buongiorno’. It’s a fascinating mix of a Maldivian paradise with a unique Italian edge, a combination also showcased in one of the four onsite restaurants, Gusto. Here local ingredients are used in elevated trattoria style cookery for sparklingly fresh seafood plates with Italian heart. Elsewhere there's an overwater Japanese restaurant as well as a breakfast and lunch buffet in the main hub that toggles between buffet and a la carte dining come the evening. 

The resort benefits from the type of service that is always one step ahead of you. Having been assigned your own guest relations manager, you’ll find Whatsapps pop up from them at regular intervals to remind you about excursion bookings or dinner reservations. With a finely tuned can-do attitude, they help with any questions or requests you might have and appear at meals to check in, organise trips or book you into the on site spa.

The spa, as it happens, is award winning and offers chiilled respite from the heat of the day in tranquil treatment rooms that surround the central yoga pavilion. Here, expertly trained and exquisitely well-mannered staff quietly knead you into a state of pure bliss, just in case the experience of being in paradise hadn't yet left you feeling relaxed enough. 

Come the evening, pull up a seat at the nightly Aperitivo Hour where guests are plied with complimentary pre-dinner canapes. Watching the sunset from the loungers scattered around the main, marble-fringed pool, must be one of life’s greatest pleasures. The clink of a silver stirrer in your cocktail and the hum of Italian conversation being the only thing to pleasantly break your meditative state. 

Baglioni Maldives review: At a glance

A compact jewel of an island decked out in plush neutrals, combining Maldivian charm with Italian style in a unique marriage of cultures.

Rooms: 8/10

At Baglioni you’ll find most of the 85 suites and villas tucked back in the tropical forest fringes that creep out onto the beach on all sides of the island. With large outdoor bathrooms, generous master suites and private terraces, each one gives guest a cool place to retreat to. Some also benefit from private pools. Because of the nature of their positioning, other guests do wander past on their way round the island, so for utmost privacy head out to the pier and one of the Water Villas or the grand 'Residence' suite.

These are everyone’s favourite pitches for good reason. They're vast, Tardis-like spaces offering up cathedral height, pitched ceilings, wrap-around windows offering up your slice of sea view, and spacious bathrooms complete with a deep tub and a double sink. 

There’s a distinct Italian style, with embroidered linens on the bed (which is made so impressively tightly you could bounce a ball on it), expensive smelling soaps in the bathroom and marble accents. Outside, your private terrace includes comfortable loungers, a bistro table and chairs plus a pool in some cases, an outdoor shower, and direct access to the lagoon. Here you might spot the odd fish but for proper snorkelling you’ll have to head up to the beach on the other side of the island to discover the house reef.

Food and drink: 8/10

Despite it being petite in stature (although in no way the smallest resort in the country), Baglioni Maldives manages to never feel crowded. In part this is due to having four restaurants, so that guests are able to come and go at their leisure, near guaranteed to secure a table at their chosen spot. Suspended over water, halfway down the water villa jetty, is Umami. Here you’ll find competent Japanese fare that plays to easy crowd-pleasers. Overlooking the pool back on the main island is Gusto, the Italian flagship eatery that turns out accomplished primi, pasta and secondi. A saffron rich seafood risotto yields rice with bite and a wonderfully comforting flavour while desserts are prettily plated masterpieces from the pastry team. Next there's Taste, where the far-reaching breakfast and lunch buffets are served. With live cooking stations and international options, you could eat something different every day very easily. We stuck to house-made, warm croissants, fruit and eggs at breakfast, venturing on to Thai salads; rotisserie chicken; and even sushi at lunch (not all at once). Here dinner switches between buffet and a la carte in the evening, where the menu is international and offers everything from pizzas through to nasi goreng. Lastly, the Pool Bar serves drinks and snacks all day. 

Service: 10/10

Service is sweet, and very friendly. The more senior managers are a consistent presence with junior team members on hand at the slight turn of your head, and there’s 24/7 attendance at reception should you need anything. Baglioni is the sort of places where the level of service rounds off the experience, leaving you with lasting fond memories of being so kindly looked after by a team of people eager to please.

Things to do: 7/10

The island is small, but hides a whole treasure trove of activities in its lush jungle centre. Here you’ll find a full-size tennis club, a yoga pavilion, spa, dive centre and kids’ club. Spilling out onto the beach there are the resort’s four restaurants, the main swimming pool and various jetties which act as the launchpad for excursions like expeditions to explore nearby sand cays, snorkelling trips or diving with whale sharks. One of our favourite things was a boat ride to the local island where our guest relations officer Khassu showed us round where he grew up. Inhabited by just 300 Maldivians, it offered a unique insight into everyday life and demonstrated the peaceable nature of island existence. Sand strewn streets and sun-bleached houses centred around a colourful school and the three mosques (male, female and historical) as well as a small coffee cart with plastic tables piled up with traditional smoked tuna snacks. It was an option we hadn't found at any other hotel in the Maldives, and we thought that was pretty special. 

Eco efforts: 7/10

Baglioni is currently working towards Green Globe certification. So far, the hotel has implemented reusable glass bottles for water at the restaurants and in the villas. They say they avoid using plastic, eradicating bathroom miniatures and straws, for instance. It’s worth noting however, if this is something you’re passionate about, we were offered plastic water bottles on a couple of excursions. The Maldives has no official waste disposal programme, which makes things a bit tricky, but the team is also currently working out ways to increase their recycling efforts, collaborating with local organisations to troubleshoot the issue.

Getting there: 7/10

Baglioni benefits from one of the prettiest lounges at the seaplane terminal. After being met at arrivals you’re taken here to unwind from your flight, being offered cold towels, food and drink, or even the chance to shower. Once you’re ready to board your seaplane you’re ushered down to the gate for the forty-minute flight that sees you hover over the gorgeous turquoise waters below, dotted with sandbanks, islands, and sand cays. 

Accessibility: 6/10

The hotel will be accommodating as possible for guests with additional needs, offering wheelchair access and facilities. They recommend calling ahead to confirm how they can help you, and you’ll have to keep in mind that the seaplane transfer is small and somewhat awkward to get into, so it may be worth calling Trans Maldivian Airways before you book too. From our brief investigation, they say they can accommodate fold up wheelchairs, and this wouldn’t count towards any luggage weight caps.

Value for money: 8/10

There’s no denying the fact that a week here will set you back a good amount of money. However, once you’re positioned in paradise any hesitation you might have had about the spend will soon disappear. We’d recommend booking on a full board basis, to avoid any spend surprises, with cocktails easily setting you back around £15-20 each, for instance. Do note that some activities, like yoga and tennis are offered free of charge, but other things like snorkelling trips are billable and we found the team to be fairly strong willed on the upsell. 

Honeymoon potential: 9/10

The Maldives might be the obvious choice when it comes to honeymoons, but they say cliches are cliches for a reason and we couldn’t fault Baglioni as a romantic destination. The team go above and beyond to make each person’s trip special, organising everything from couple’s massages and sunset cruises through to private beach dinners and floating breakfasts in your own pool. For somewhere where you can completely switch off from the world and enjoy each other’s company in the most beautiful setting, somewhere like Baglioni leads the pack.

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