Barceló Nasandhura Malé

Extremely poor experience. I booked a room through Ctrip, but upon arrival, it turned into a group check-in situation. We had to wait for an entire tour group's passports to be processed before they'd help us check in. The service was absolutely terrible. Toiletries in the room were incomplete, and the service phone was constantly unreachable. I booked a sea-view room, but they gave me one with a partial view of the building and the pier.

Arrived in Malé at 5:30 PM and got to the hotel at 6 PM. Waited an hour at the front desk to check in. After finally getting into the room, I found it hadn't been cleaned, as shown in the picture. Absolutely speechless. After talking to the front desk, I was told to go eat and wait. I only got back into a proper room around 8 PM after dinner. Then I discovered there was only one pair of slippers in the room (even though it was clearly stated there were two guests). I called the front desk to ask for another pair, and they said they'd send them, but they never arrived all night. I have no idea why such a terrible hotel has good ratings on Ctrip. The hotel's view is decent for a transit hotel in Malé, but the service is beyond horrible! Absolutely, absolutely do not recommend.

This is supposedly the best transit hotel in Malé, but aside from the lobby looking passable, everything else is a complete mess. The service is slow and disorganized, and breakfast barely fills you up. The sea view is indeed unbeatable, but when I first checked in, the staff tried to pass off a horrible suite with no view as an 'upgrade.' After I showed my displeasure, they immediately switched me back to my original full sea-view king room. Absolutely no integrity. At over 2500 for the room, the sea view accounts for 2000, and the room itself is only worth 500.

They advertised a 'sea-view room,' but all I could see from the window was the building across the street. The balcony offered a view of trash, and only from a very specific corner of the balcony could I barely glimpse a sliver of the sea peeking between two buildings. When I went to the front desk to complain, they adamantly insisted it was indeed their sea-view room. The shower's hot water, even on full blast, was barely lukewarm, cooler than body temperature. Aside from the lobby, gym, and restaurant being decent, this place is absolutely not worth the price.

The free round-trip airport transfer is definitely the most important perk. Facilities: It's on par with a 3/4-star hotel domestically, but this hotel is currently the best transit hotel in Malé. Cleanliness: Spotless, goes without saying. Environment: The hotel entrance opens right up to the sea, offering a perfect island experience. Service: The staff are all incredibly friendly and will fully confirm your destination island and seaplane departure time for you.

Check-in and check-out were very smooth. We sat on a sofa in the lobby, and a staff member collected our passports for processing, returning them afterward. Thanks to Trip.com and the hotel's communication, they knew we were on our honeymoon and kindly sent us a small cake. The room was small, but it was clean and hygienic compared to other transit hotels on the island. The toilet wasn't smart, and the hairdryer was basic, but it was perfectly fine for a one-night stay. The hotel's buffet breakfast was decent, and having breakfast facing the sea was very chill. P.S. The hash browns were the best! Oh, and there's a supermarket less than ten meters downstairs with a great selection of fridge magnets – more variety and cheaper than at the airport. Hope this helps everyone!