W Maldives

The level of gross incompetence at this resort is mind-blowing. Their 'renovations' are hitting delays over delays and customers learn weeks later when finally getting contacted by them. Zero flexibility, zero interest is making this right. Offering a FAR inferior and much cheaper hotel instead - but don't worry, you won't be paying anything in addition? Seriously? A massive downgrade with zero compensation is the ONLY offer here? Asked to be re-booked for the same time of the year in '26 - nope, not possible. But I can re-book into the cheap wet season this year without any added cost - horrible. They ended up cancelling my stay. In case you are looking for an expensive resort with a completely incompetent management team with the guarantee to get screwed in one or another way - this might be for you. Else, don't bother. Oh, and I have a Marriott Titanium status ... so no, that didn't help either. Read less

Our stay at W Maldives was truly the best experience we've ever had! What makes this hotel so special is, above all, the warmth and hospitality of the staff. As many others have mentioned, the staff are not only incredibly friendly but also very polite and respectful. Even though we’re not fluent in English, we were so happy that both staff and managers would kindly talk to us during meals or training sessions. Their kindness meant a lot to us. We are especially grateful to Mr. Saitosan and Mr. Anise. They took stunning photos for us and often surprised us with little gestures to help create unforgettable memories. They even gave us a heartfelt gift that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Since we returned home, my partner and I have been looking back at the photos every day, reliving our wonderful time at W Maldives. Mr. Marque, the gym trainer, was also incredibly kind. He gave us helpful workout advice and told us the best places to spot sea turtles and manta rays. He always made sure we were having a great time. We stayed for 6 days and 5 nights in mid-March. The sky and sea were unbelievably beautiful—we never got tired of the view. March is said to be the best season, and although there was a brief sunshower once during the day, it stopped quickly. Most days were filled with gorgeous summer sunshine, and it felt amazing. After arriving at Malé Airport, we were warmly welcomed by Aisha from the hotel staff. She helped us with the flight procedures and guided us to the lounge, which was a big help since we were quite tired. We stayed 3 nights in an overwater villa and 2 nights in a beach villa. At first, we wanted to stay in the overwater villa for all 5 nights, but we were pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the beach villa was—it was perfect for snorkeling and had a shaded swing on the second floor where we could nap during the day. Each villa had its own charm, and we were glad we got to experience both. The facilities in both villas were new and spotless. We especially appreciated the TOTO toilet with a warm seat—such a comforting detail! The same housekeeper took care of our room every day, and we were greeted with adorable towel animals and beautiful decorations made with plants. These small touches brought us so much joy and made us feel truly cared for. The food was delicious no matter when or where we ate! The breakfast buffet was so good that we ended up eating too much every morning. And our dinner over the ocean at FISH restaurant was so incredibly special—we’ll never forget that evening. Thanks to every single staff member, we were able to create such joyful and unforgettable memories. Thank you so much, everyone! We will definitely return to W Maldives again someday. Read less

W Maldives was clean, comfortable, and well-maintained, but what really made the stay special was the team. Every staff member we encountered was friendly, helpful and genuinely seemed to enjoy making guests feel welcome. They might not have a kids club but the staff more than made up for it with their kindness and attention. They treated our children with such warmth—remembering their names, chatting with them, and even offering little surprises that made them feel extra special. It’s that heartfelt service that made this trip so memorable for our whole family!! Read less

My wife and I just returned from an incredible stay at W Maldives to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and birthdays. We were fortunate to be some of the first to experience the newly renovated resort, which had just reopened after a major renovation. We stayed 8 nights in an overwater villa, which we booked with Marriott points. The renovated property is amazing. Everything seems to be brand new and the interior and exterior design is gorgeous. The buildings and rooms seamlessly blend with the environment of the island. The main pool (WET) is redesigned and expanded. The gym is also expanded and is well stocked with everything we needed for great workouts. Some construction work was still on going during our stay (March 2025), but it didn’t really affect our vacation other than some occasional noise in the distance and the fact that the Fire Restaurant was not yet open. The resort’s four other restaurants were open and the food was amazing. As other reviews note, the food is expensive, but we felt the cost was mostly justified by the high quality and the fact that you are on an Island and everything has to be shipped in. Also, as a Marriott Titanium member, breakfast was complementary, which helped defray the overall food cost. The relaxing breakfasts were a highlight of our stay with one of the most amazing buffets we’ve ever seen at a hotel. It was as if the chef took the best foods from around the world and brought them to the W for the guests to enjoy. We took advantage of complementary fitness classes (yoga, boxing, core, etc,) which were great and led by the talented instructors at FIT. Snorkel gear is complementary, along with stand up paddle boards and kayaks. So lots of reasons to get out onto the water. The house reef is amazing and we saw tons of fish, turtles and sharks while snorkeling and also while simply looking into the water from the deck at our room. But what really stands out about the W Maldives is the people who work there. I travel often and stay at hotels around the world. I’ve never experienced such warmth and friendliness from a team at a hotel. Within hours of arriving, everyone knew us by name. Everyone genuinely cared about providing exceptional and memorable service. The team delighted in providing little surprises to enhance our vacation and anniversary / birthday celebration. A huge thank you to Christian and his amazing team. Special mention to Cindy, Saha, Koke, Kai (who sent calamine lotion to our room when he noticed my wife had a sunburn), Chunky, Hussain, John / Aquaman (with awesome snorkel advice), Arro (thanks for chocolate wake up drink and Netflix recommendations at breakfast), Isse, who kept our room absolutely spotless, and the fantastic FIT crew of Mark, Tutu and Zarifa (thanks for the great yoga instruction)! The only problem we experienced the entire vacation was that we didn’t want to leave to go home. ;) We are already trying to plan a time for our return visit! Read less

A couple of days ago we arrived back home from the Paradise at W Maldives and we can think about this Resort only with superb opinions. The place itself is amazing. The refurbished villas are really very beautiful, modern and top notch. We booked an overwater villa by Marriott Bonvoy , and as a Platinum member we hoped an eventual upgrade. At the arriving our guide, Aanis showed us our booked overwater villa, which is really impressive, but we were very happy, as he told we could choose a beach villa, if we wanted to. The villa No112 was showed to us, and we liked it immediately. The interior is far more better, than we saw on former pictures. The room is spacious and bright, the bed is very comfy, there is a lot of space to put the belongings. The new and huge smart TV is a pro, we could connect our devices , and see streamings in the evenings. We used the Nespresso coffee- machine everyday. Unfortunately there is no more W Mixbar, but they refilled our minifridge with soda and juices everday. The bathroom is huge and very nice. The shower is very good, the pressure and the temperature of the water is superb. We enjoyed the relaxing and calm sorroundings, the trees and bushes, and the very fine sandy bech as well. We enjoyed the pool outside, (which got a very new surface - not rough any more! ), the sunbeds beside the pool and on the beach. It was only minor negative, that sometimes snorkelers put their belongings on our sunbeds while they were in the sea, because the exit to the reef was near to our villa. I would recommend to the managemant to put something , ( e.g a bank or a table) for this purpose near to this point. We could enjoy the complimentary breakfast every morning. Every dishes are fresh and delicious, and the selection is wide enough. We are very thankful for the whole staff of the Kitchen, especially Celine, who took care of us very kindly, and Wasantha, who was very kind as well. We ordered some times the in-room-dining, which was always very fine and enough. We dined two times in the Fish Restaurant , both were delicious. Some info's about the mealplans: if You have complimentary free breakfast, you have to pay for HB 195 USD/pp/day, for FB 275 USD/pp/day and for AI 390 USD/pp/day. We didn't choose any of them. As our villa lays on the north side of the island, at 4 PM became a little bit shady, so we moved to the main pool, which is very beautiful. The new slide looks very trendy, we didn' try it. The jacuzzi is very fine, but if you look for a really hot tub, this isn't. The staff at the Wet Bar is very kind as well. We got delicious cocktails and even fresh cut coconut as well. Special thanks to Claire , who took care of us , and told a lot of interesting facts about the Resort. She organised for us even a behide the scenes tour , and we vere happy to check out, how the employees are living in the center of the island. Very thank to Amila and Harald, the managers. They were always very friendly and kind with us. We could make good conversations, especially on the Friday party for Elite Members. We'd like to thanks the superb work of Jambee, who was our housekeeper. He is a very kind man as well. It's very laudable how well organised the reception and guide at the Velana Airport and the Seaplane Airport. Fortunately at our arriving to Male we didn't have to wait long , almost immediately departed our seaplane to W Maldives. The seaplane flight was very smooth and enjoyable, however we could hardly see any islands, because most of the route took over the plain water. All in all we felt really very good, and we believe this was our best holiday ever. We would like to return definitely. Read less