South Palm Resort Maldives

We went there for our daughter’s birthday. The staffs went above and beyond to make this special day into one of the beautiful memories that we could give to our daughter. The kids really enjoyed their time in this property.

From reading the previous reviews we were a bit worried but from the minute we landed in Male, we were met by a blue bay travel rep who took our luggage to get checked in and then took us to the lounge to wait for our flight to Gan and while you waited in lounge there was free refreshments and food to help yourself until you are called to your flight. Once we arrived in south palms we were treated like royalty, the staff were all so welcoming and couldn't do enough for us throughout our stay, a big mention to Sully who was our waiter throughout our stay, if your lucky enough to have him he will make your holiday, very knowledgeable and experienced and a friendly face. Our room was one of the palm villas (208) and from walking around the island we can 100% say we had the best side of the island!! We walked straight out onto the sandy beach and we had the clearest of waters to cool down in, our side of the sea had no seaweed in unlike the other side of the island. The rooms are very spacious, air con was good, there is a mini fridge that is stocked with drinks but you get charged if you drink them so we didn't bother as they were quite expensive. Our room got cleaned twice a day with 2 fresh bottles of water and towels each time the cleaner came. The food was OK. It was quite repetitive, alot of seafood and curries for lunch and dinner. For breakfast you had choices of different pastries, cereals, fruit and omelets, however the drinks were all watered down, the only thing that wasn't was the diet coke which came out of a can, so I stuck with that. I would definitely suggest bringing with you beach shoes as going into the sea is full of coral which is sharp and a snorkle mask. Bring snacks as there is no snacks throughout the day and factor 50 is a must!!! If you get chance the dolphin trip was brilliant!! We saw so many dolphins and they swim straight up to the boat. We had a brilliant holiday here, very chilled and relaxing we loved the staff but the only reason why we would not return is because of all the travelling, it took us 27 hours in total to get there!! So would recommend staying in Dubai for couple of nights to clear jet lag and tiredness!!

We went as a family of 3 adults on 13 th March 2025 for 10 nights. We landed at Male airport on 14 th at 4.55 am where we were supposed to be met by representative from South Palms but he was not there. We asked other hotel reps who said he will come soon and asked us to wait or go to information desk. Information desk gave us resort’s phone number. Called resort they told us he will there soon. Finally rep showed up at 8 am whilst we waited in hot humid waiting area. There was no apology and he took us to domestic airport lounge and told us he will be back at 10.30 am to check us in flight to Gan. He did not show up at all so we went to check in at gate. Luckily there was airport manager who checked us for flight departing at 12 pm. Blue Bay do not provide any documents for transfer from Male to Gan! So after 25 hours journey we reached the resort. The resort is absolutely stunning but the management let it down. We were staying in beach villa which was basic but had everything you needed. The beds are rock hard I have returned with backache. The resort manager came to meet us in the evening because I had emailed Blue Bay because the trouble we had at arrival. The manager kindly offered to upgrade us to water villa or to pool villa but both of these were unsuitable to us. The water villa is nice but has no sun cover , the sun bed is for 2 people and the access to sea is unsuitable. The pool villa has pool with no seating area,the seating area is room with window and door with no view to sea or pool. The pool is also enclosed by walls on all 4 sides so no views. Not sure how is one able to relax on bean bags in a room with large window and no air in the stifling heat. The manager then offered us 2 bottles of J P Chenet bottles of wine. I had to sign a document which stated that “ by accepting these 2 bottles of wines I will not be claiming any compensation for the troubles we had on our arrival”.! This was demoralising and very petty. There is one restaurant at this resort it is huge with no air conditioning and few working fans. When we went for our dinner we were not allowed to seat to where we liked we were told that these were reserved and showed us to table with no fan above and not near a window. So we had our dinner because we were exhausted. Next day we asked for a better table and after tipping we were showed to a table of our choice. We have visited numerous hotels and resorts all over the world but have never experienced such behaviour where the resort staff stipulate where we can sit. These table was assigned to us for the rest of our stay. The restaurant has minimal choice of food where you can find something to eat. The food is not refilled, no one checks and when you ask it takes about 10 minutes for it to be refilled. Couple of times we were told they have run out! This was not near closing time either. The deserts is bare minimum, they never refill fruit. The fruit offered is either water melon or pineapple nothing else