South Palm Resort Maldives

The best part of this stay was the boat ride out of this resort. 😬🫣We actually booked one night in the beach Villa and second night in the overwater bungalow. We departed the second day and skipped out on the second night overwater Villa…that should tell you something I cannot think of a single reason one would stay here. I based my original reservation decision about a month prior to arriving in reviewing the four star and even five star reviews, none of which were accurate. Even based on the most simplest taste, the basic issue is safety and health. Yet this resort still charges ungodly rates over water is $500 in Beach Villa is 250. I would pay at maximum $80 for the beach Villa and 150 for the overwater bungalows. This property needs to stop pretending to be a five star resort. I would give it zero or actually negative stars if that was possible on here. This place actually looks like the March 2020 Covid pandemic lockdown. The dining area for dinner when we arrived had no one else besides us. And breakfast there were only two other couples. What was served at the buffet would not pass even the lowest health standards. There was a cold room in which we enjoyed some air conditioning where there were condiments and seasonings. This resort is falling apart, actually it is completely in shambles. There’s no lighting on the main path. Air conditioning was not prepared in the room at all in fact, even after three hours the room still was at 24°C even though the air conditioning is set at 18°. We were shown a move to a different room, same issue with the air conditioner. Overwater bungalows we looked at and it is even hotter at 30C with the same situation in terms of lack of room preparation. The management here has given up on maintaining this property. A few staff are here do provide and try hard, but they are unable to function. This is not a vacation. The other sign that you’ll notice is that the management does not respond to any of the reviews here on TripAdvisor. final thought. There are some one star reviews on certain properties that are nitpicking small things. This is absolutely not one of them. This place gets zero stars because you are unable to relax and have a enjoyable time because you’re worried about your own safety in the darkness, or sweating in the room or the dining area. There are not any activity centers open. The Dive center did not respond to our outreach. Fitness center is closed. Tennis court is overgrown with weeds. The only place with nice air conditioning was the gift shop 😆

After reading great reviews we have decided to book this hotel with Blue Bay Travel. We didn’t expect much because it is a more ‚budget’ option for Maldives but definitely did not expect it to be THAT BAD. All the recent reviews are true. This resort looks like it barely survived a zombie apocalypse. Everything is old, tired and in need of maintenance. FOOD IS VILE. Cold, disgusting and cross contaminated. The restaurant doesn’t have aircon so you eat food prepared by sweaty cooks and then try to eat it without drowning in own sweat. Great experience 🫣 no fruit, food is not labelled properly. Restaurant had Christmas decorations out (IN MAY) so it just shows that it’s not cleaned properly. I was watching a bowl of mustard every day and everyday it looked worse and worse and nothing was done about it. The manager is very rude and basically laugh at me when I have complained and said that I didn’t pay much so what do I expect and that there are out of season so food is limited. Rooms/villas are tired and in need of revamp. Staff were really nice and polite and did what they could, I actually felt really bad for them. Spa is closed so we couldn’t redeem the massages/spa credit we had. Children’s play area is a disgrace, half collapsed, overgrown, not safe at all. Badminton court has weeds all over it. Seriously I would give it zero stars if I could. If you have this hotel booked - change it. It’s a nightmare not worth the 24+ hrs travel. I wish the true reviews were posted in time for me to change the hotel, so my dream holidays wouldn’t turn into shambles. I seriously could go on and on about how horrible the experience and I truly believe this hotel should be closed, management changed and completely revamped as the island itself has a lot of potential.

The best part of South Palm Resort 🌴 is the Boat trip leaving this Island and even that broke down , we arrived in March and the first thing we got to do was visit the restaurant, we got there at 8pm and every pot was dried up and bare , every other cooking station was smothered in flies , hygiene is just a no no , they even asked us how we would like our Chicken cooked?? we complained the first evening after just 2 hours of being there to the reception who told us there wasn't a manager available, after asking for the telephone so I could call the agent in the UK all of a sudden 😀 a manager appeared, we asked him why the restaurant was so bad he couldn't answer ! We asked him if we could be moved he said it wasn't down to him it was the agents issue but when we emailed the agent the agent said it wasn't their problem it was the hotel managers issue and if we wanted to leave the island it would cost us £3500.00 we tried for 4 days to get moved and all we got off the manager was an offer of a bottle of JP Chenet wine, The room was basic but clean , the bar was the same basic drinks definitely not 4 star we would give it a 2/2.5 at the most , Evenings walking out and about we saw plenty of rats 🐀 running around even trotting past the restaurant window one evening along the sea wall . After failing dismally trying to get moved off this island on the 4th day we just gave up , the holiday agent was just not accepting liability and the manager thought nothing was wrong 😑 We finally left after 11 nights of hell on the boat at 2.30am after 10minutes into the journey the boat broke down ! Not one person saw a life jacket including 2 children on board , not one member of the crew spoke English after 15mins of bobbing around in the pitch black of the Indian ocean they managed to get it started but limped all the way a journey that should of been 20 minutes took 45mins Totally unacceptable never been to such a place and we have travelled all over the world 🌎

Whoever wrote the positive reviews, have you even visited this hotel? I don't even know where to start. What should have been a holiday of a lifetime really was the most disappointing and depressing holiday ever. What was advertised by Blue Bay was a 4* resort promising a floating spa, entertainment, good food, beauty beaches and an unforgettable experience. In reality it's a mostly derelict, rundown resort, spa that's closed, second restaurant that's closed, no entertainment, vile cross contaminated food that's cold and never replenished, beaches with rubbish dotted all over and unforgettable due to the sheer dissatisfaction. When the complaint was expressed to the hotel staff we were just told, "we understand". Nothing more! A staff member even told us that a large number of staff were refusing to leave their accommodation due to not being paid and bad work conditions. The staff try their hardest to make everyone happy but they can only do so much, and unfortunately that is just not enough. This resort has so much potential and to know it's merely 5 years old is absolutely shocking! Leaking restaurant, closed spa, half finished children's play area, sun loungers being held together by gaffa tape and cable ties, piles of rubbish along the beaches and in bushes. A real spoiled part of what should have been paradise. Please, if you have this resort booked, change it! I felt so sorry for those guests arriving after us, looking so excited, expecting paradise but having reality hit them then second they get off this boat.

This hotel is not as advertised. All the bad reviews are spot on. I spent money on what was meant to be a dream holiday that became a nightmare. The childrens play area is derelict, tennis court overtaken by weeds. No aircon in restaurant. Food is terrible. Meat & fish cooked on same hot plate. No fresh fruit. Warm coke. No entertainment. No speedboat. No spa. Towels are grey , stained and thread bare. No 24 hr butler. No mini bar. Note that there have been no response from a manager. Do not go there.