Nova Resort Maldives

My husband and I had a wonderful time on our honeymoon at this beach. It truly felt like paradise, with a stunning house reef. During our stay, we were fortunate enough to spot mantas, reef sharks, squids, turtles, and a variety of other captivating sea creatures.

Where do we begin with this hotel, in our opinion, it is absolutely terrible! The hotel falls short of delivering the promised 5-star service and quality. The food is of poor quality and not fresh, the hotel is in a state of disrepair, the service is slow and inattentive, and the staff and management show no care for their guests. Additionally, there is a lack of privacy due to the close proximity of smaller islands, which obstructs the beautiful view of the Maldives waters that can be enjoyed at other hotels. Despite planning to stay for 8 days, my family and I decided to leave after just 2 days due to our unpleasant experience. Surprisingly, the hotel did not offer us a refund, an apology, or any form of compensation for our dissatisfaction. As a family, we have visited the Maldives around 13 times, and this is the first time we have encountered such a terrible hotel experience. In fact, the hotel was so dreadful that we cut our stay short, leaving after only 2 nights instead of the planned 8 nights. The food quality was subpar, particularly at the breakfast buffet where the pastries and items were stale, dry, and old. We gave the buffet a second chance, but unfortunately, the same issue persisted. Fresh juices were not offered, and instead, boxed juices were provided, which is not what one would expect from a 5-star hotel. We even tried ordering food through in-room dining, hoping for better quality, but the steak we ordered was poorly cooked, dry, and tough. We made this order twice, hoping it was a one-time mistake, but both times it was served poorly. Privacy was non-existent, despite booking the highest category room at Nova Hotel. Whenever we looked outside our villa, we would see people crossing, sitting, and walking by, which was quite disappointing. When we brought this issue to the hotel's attention, they offered to place privacy screens, but we declined as it would obstruct our view. The service was practically non-existent, and we encountered numerous examples of this during our short stay. One instance was when we ordered in-room dining and requested the staff to clear our plates. Despite reminding them multiple times, the plates remained outside our villa for a whole day, attracting ants, insects, and creating an unpleasant smell. It was only after informing the top management a day later that the plates were finally cleared, but even then, it took an additional 2 hours. The hotel was also in a state of disrepair, with broken door handles in our villa. We brought this to the hotel's attention multiple times, but they failed to send a team to fix the issue. As a result, our family kept hurting themselves while trying to open the doors. Additionally, the room design was not functional, lacking the standards one would expect from a 5-star hotel. For example, the jacuzzi tub in the room was not properly built-in, but rather a plastic-type material placed in the bathroom filled with water. This is certainly not the way to welcome guests to the highest category room in a 5-star hotel. Moreover, the water in the jacuzzi had an unpleasant odor, rendering it unusable. The hotel's payment and refund procedures were unclear, and due to our terrible experience, we decided to leave after 2 days. However, the hotel and management showed no empathy or concern, failing to offer a genuine apology or any form of compensation for the distress we endured. As guests who have stayed at 13 different 5-star hotels in the Maldives and have never left a negative review before, we believe we have a solid benchmark for comparison, and Nova Hotel falls short of meeting any of those standards. In our opinion, we strongly advise against booking at Nova Hotel if you are expecting 5-star service and quality. You will undoubtedly be extremely disappointed.

My family and I recently spent two weeks at Nova Maldives, hoping to have a relaxing vacation in one of the most renowned natural paradises, the Maldives. In our opinion, Nova Maldives is truly a remarkable destination. Firstly, the island boasts an expansive reef where we were fortunate enough to spot Mantas, Stingrays, and turtles. Additionally, the resort offers newly renovated and meticulously cleaned rooms, which are also impressively designed. Lastly, the staff at Nova Maldives is exceptionally kind and friendly towards the guests. We had the pleasure of meeting James, an extraordinary sushi-maker and an individual who pleasantly surprised us. Many other staff members were equally outstanding. Our stay at Nova Maldives was delightful, and we eagerly anticipate our next visit.

Upon our arrival at the airport, we were promptly taken to the seaplane terminal without any waiting time for our flight. The check-in process was relatively quick, although we were unexpectedly assigned a duplex (family) villa instead of the one we had originally booked. We had to stay there for the first two days since there were no standalone villas available. The villa itself was pleasant, modern, and new, albeit slightly smaller than the typical Maldivian standards. However, the only downside was that the patio in front was shared with the neighboring villa, which felt uncomfortably close due to the manager's decision to place both large sunbeds together, separated only by a small wall, instead of positioning them on opposite sides of the duplex. During our stay, we also had the opportunity to experience a Water villa, which was fantastic. It was spacious, beautifully decorated, new, and impeccably clean - we had no complaints whatsoever. As for the food at the main restaurant, it was not particularly impressive. The dishes all seemed to taste the same, and the quality of the meat provided was rather poor. Consequently, I found myself primarily relying on the wok dishes, as they were the only decent option. On a positive note, the fruit selection was decent, and the fruit itself was of good quality, with the exception of one instance when we encountered a rotten papaya. However, this was only a one-time occurrence. The snorkeling experience at this beach was exceptional, one of the best in the Maldives. While there were occasional currents and waves, accessing the reef could be a bit challenging. Nevertheless, if you are a snorkeling enthusiast, you will not be disappointed by coming here. In terms of service, it was satisfactory. Some of the staff members at the restaurant were very polite, while others were simply polite. Overall, we did not encounter any major issues with the service, although we also cannot say anything particularly outstanding about it.

Everything at Nova is perfect. This is my first time visiting the Maldives and Nova is definitely a great choice that I will recommend to my friends. The staff here are all incredibly friendly and attentive. Some of them even remembered our names and our preferred drinks from our last visit. It created a relaxing atmosphere for me to enjoy my vacation here. Lastly, there are a multitude of aquatic creatures in the vicinity. I was able to spot sharks and stingrays right outside our villa. Absolutely loved it!