Barceló Whale Lagoon Maldives

We have just returned from the most incredible honeymoon at Barcelo Whale Lagoon. On arrival in Male, we were introduced to a representative who escorted us to the seaplane terminal. We felt like celebrities as somehow got to skip the queues! He dropped us off to a lounge which overlooked the seaplanes. The only comment I’d have is that we weren’t told when our seaplane transfer would be, and having not done anything like this before I didn’t think to ask. There were live boards up showing departing planes, but ours didn’t ever appear on there so after waiting around 3 hours we were surprised when someone came and got us and said all the other passengers were waiting for us and it was time to board our seaplane! That’s possibly more a comment for the seaplane company rather than the hotel itself. After a 25 minute seaplane flight we arrived in paradise. We were given a refreshing iced tea and flannel while we checked in, then were taken on a buggy to our room. Our luggage was taken care of and arrived shortly afterwards. We stayed in a sunrise water villa and it was just stunning. Our bed had been decorated with “Happy Honeymoon” and we had bubbly, fruits and chocolates waiting for us in the room which was a nice touch. Outside the water villas is plenty of interesting fish to snorkel with- we saw a young black tip reef shark most days and also saw several sting rays. You can hire a snorkel and mask for free from the dive centre for the duration of your stay. Room service twice a day was lovely; we returned from dinner each evening to our bed turned down. The bed was huge and easily the comfiest I’ve ever slept in. The house keeping staff do a fantastic job at keeping everything clean. The whole island was spotless, you could see how hard the staff work to ensure it is kept a complete paradise. We stayed for 10 days and the food was good- we didn’t find it to be too repetitive as there was always something different to try to suit all tastes. There was plenty of choice in the buffet style restaurant, but you could also dine in the finer dining restaurant, Aqua, and at lunch time at the pool bars, Magic and Breeze. At Aqua the food was delicious- we dined here twice. I enjoyed the sandwiches and chips you could get at the pool bars for lunch but you could also go to the buffet restaurant, Sea Salt. For breakfast each morning I had Eggs royale which was a lovely treat and by the end of the holiday the chefs recognised me each morning and were happy to make it for me which made me smile. Around the lovely pools, the staff often would come and offer you drinks to save you getting up and going to the bar. Our honeymoon was really made by the team at the dive centre who went above and beyond. The main reason we picked to come to this part of the Maldives was to hopefully see a whale shark. After 3 unsuccessful attempts, we and a few others had 1 last opportunity left before returning home. The team took our numbers and room numbers and told us they’

Amazing service, food, villa - our stay was just magical. Couple of things to improve, but announced to the hotel separately.

Excellent bungalows, nice design, loved the outside bathroom with shower. The staff and food were outstanding. Swimming in the ocean was just OK. It's very shallow for snorkeling. Recommend you sign up for the House Snorkel boat tour everyday when you first arrive (fills up fast)

The location, the views, the staff, the rooms, the food - simply wonderful. We've had 10 wonderful nights here and loved every minute. If you get chance to do the whale trip, this was one of the highlights. The couples massage was also amazing. I don't normally come back to the same place twice but its certainly tempting.

Very nice water villa. Very good food and the people were amazing! Very nice. AQUA Gym classes with Robby were great!.......................................................................................................

Everything is wonderful in the resort, the food, the room, the beach, the service, the staff everyone was super friendly, special mention to REJIN ,he made our stay special. We will recommend this place to our friends and we will definitely come back.