My review is based on mine and my husbands experience, it is a detailed review to try and give the most information I can. We stayed 4th Dec 2023 - 14th Dec 2023.
Arrival
We arrived at Male airport around 9.30am where we were greeted by a resort representative. He warmly greeted us and escorted us straight to the resort seaplane transfer bus. I couldn’t believe how quick we were dealt with. Once arriving at the seaplane transfer lounge for Trans Maldivian airlines we were immediately greeted with warm friendly staff who couldn’t do more to help. I am a disabled lady who uses a wheelchair whom they treated with such care and kindness. We waited approximately 2hrs in the luxury all inclusive TMA lounge (which we did not know we were having the use of until arriving there) where they then came to collect myself and my husband to take us to our boarding, where again, all staff were super helpful and friendly. We really felt like our holiday of a lifetime experience had started the minute we arrived in Male.
Once landing at our resort I have one word, WOW. The location Barcelo Whale Lagoon immediately blew our minds, it was stunning. We were helped off the seaplane by staff and shown to a buggy after meeting various staff. This buggy was being driven by Shaamih aka AD, head of transport, whom greeted us with such a lovely welcome. He took us to a lovely air conditioned reception where there were two cool drinks and flannels there waiting to help cool us down. After formalities. Shaamih drove us around the beautiful resort showing us where everything was and then took us to our room where our luggage was already awaiting us. The wow feeling just kept coming.
Accomodation
We stayed in a sea water bungalow with direct lagoon access. I don’t have enough words to explain how breathtaking the room was, all amenities in the room, the most stunning location and incredible view from our balcony. We witnessed numerous marine life from our bungalow, from baby sharks to sting ray and saw lots of beautiful fish whilst swimming/snorkling from our room.
We stayed in sunrise bungalow 302, the first water bungalow on the right, perfect for myself with walking difficulties. The resort had been contacted prior to our arrival requesting a bungalow without too much walking from the main area of the resort and the resort couldn’t have done better for me in placing us in our room. The bed was huge, most comfortable, overlooking the lagoon, with a message placed upon it in petals wishing us a happy Anniversary (it was a 2nd honeymoon/anniversary trip for us) there was also cake and a bottle of Prosecco awaiting us, how wonderful, such a special touch for our dream holiday.
On entering the bungalow there was a hallway area that consisted of an umbrella holder, with umbrellas, a bench, a coffee machine, kettle, coffee pods, various types of tea, milk, snacks (that were the only thing chargeable) and a fridge that was stocked with alcohol and soft drinks free of charge. Cups, glasses, anything you would need. The fridge was restocked once per day, as were the coffee and tea etc. The room was serviced twice a day by our fantastic room service man Shanoon, who attended to all my requests with extra coffee and milk etc. The room was serviced in the morning replacing any used towels, bins emptied, fridge restocked, beds made and then a turn down service in the evening.
The bathroom was amazing, very spacious and luxurious. There was a separate shower room, with an amazing overhead and lower shower, a toilet room and then a his & her wash basin with lights in the main bathroom area where the highlight was a free standing bath right next to the private window overlooking the lagoon, we spent many times in there. As you would expect with 5star accommodation there was shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, sewing kit hairdryer etc free to use, there was also the added luxury of free bath sea salts, even a exfoliating sponge. There was a clothes airer too which became very useful to hang our swim wear overnight on as it was very warm in the bathroom, there was a vanity desk with mirror, a wash basket, flannels, and of course gorgeous soft towels. The bathroom had sliding doors to enter. There was also a laundry service if required.
In the main bed/lounge area there was a filled fruit bowl, desk, chair, sofa, coffee table, two bedside tables, a resort telephone, tv (you could use your Netflix acc on), two wardrobes that lit up when opening them, inside these there were life jackets, a rechargeable torch, great for walking along the beach at night and not stepping on the little crustacean’s minding their own business. There was also two bathrobes and slippers for our use and an easy to use safe. The room was fully air conditioned. Then the main balcony doors opened out onto the stunning area over looking the lagoon, there were two sunbeds and two chairs with table. The steps directly down into the lagoon were safe and there was an outside shower to use once getting out of the sea. The balcony area was spacious and very private. There was good reliable free wifi throughout the entire resort, in fact it was more reliable than our Internet back home in the UK!
Amenities
On the island there was a reception, a small boutique shop, pricey but to be expected when everything is shipped in at huge costs for the resorts, a spa, where myself and husband had the best massage ever by Rani & Kihana (sorry if the names are spelt incorrectly), a water sports hut where you could have free use of snorkel equipment your entire stay, book various chargeable excursions, boat trips, snorkel trips, scuba diving, fishing trips, water sports & you could hire things like kayaks etc. lots to do for a water enthusiast. We went on the spinner dolphin sightseeing trip and were not disappointed, the guys working on the boat knew exactly where to take us to see these beautiful dolphins, the trip was great, we received a free bottle of water and fruit on the trip.
There is two swimming pools, one each end of the island (which could be walked around in 10mins) the beach bar where you could get your all inclusive drinks 10am-midnight, this bar was outside one of the infinity pools nearest to the water bungalows. You could get towels from the side of the pool and put them into a large washing bin when youve finished. The staff here yet again go above and beyond to ensure you are looked after bringing drinks to your sun loungers or table in the bar. A special mention to Dominic & Aryan who looked after me and my husband tirelessly not once leaving us without a drink, they were so friendly and added to our wonderful experience. We didn’t use the other pool simply because I couldn’t walk far enough and we loved the beach bar pool. There was always buggies on hand to call if I had wanted a lift to the other amenities, a member of staff would call me one whenever needed. There was also other bars/restaurant called Magic & Aqua where you could order snacks and drinks from the all inclusive menu, but you would need to pay for any food ordered at these places, with a 20% discount, but the drinks were included in our package. We had the Flash All inclusive package, there were other packages but I don’t know much about these, we didn’t visit the other bars/restaurant due to enjoying the beach bar so much. There was the Sea Salt restaurant, this was the all inclusive buffet restaurant where we would dine every day. Here the food was fantastic, lots of choices and varied every day. There were lovely chefs preparing things to order like eggs, pasta, meats etc, again here the staff were all amazing. All the waiting staff were so efficient, headed by the lovely Issey the restaurant manager. The restaurant area was clean, well maintained and always fully stocked. There was a children’s food area where kids could help themselves or with supervision.
There was a teens room for the kids, we didn’t use this room so I cannot comment on this.
They even raked the sand every day on the beach to make it look so perfect. There was always lots of staff working hard around the resort, gardeners, pool cleaners, resident entertainment manager Robbie who always checked in with us daily that everything was good. I know there was lots of activities he ran the other end of the resort but we liked the quietness of the Water bungalow end.
Every single person we encountered on the entire island was amazing, warm, friendly and helpful. These staff work long hours yet are always so happy to do whatever they can to make your holiday incredible. We were greeted by our names every day at the restaurant/bar and the staff were very good at remembering our preferences for drinks etc. Also a shout out to manager Razeem who always checked in with us that everything was good, we chatted on numerous occasions and he really was passionate about ensuring our experience was exceptional, as did all members of staff we engaged with.
In the Beach Bar they had nightly entertainment, mainly a band called Level Up, Eden & Jonathan, two of the loveliest people I have met. They are outstanding musicians who kept us entertained even allowing me to sing with them a few times over the course of our stay. They really made our evenings wonderful.
On the day before our departure, the restaurant staff arranged for us to have our evening meal on the beach, this was very special. Also the day before we left I realised there was a problem with my seat allocation on our main flight home from Male to Heathrow, I had numerous problems trying to get this sorted myself but straight away Shaamih took charge of the situation and made sure everything would be sorted for me once I arrived at Male airport, he contacted the airport directly, organised someone to be with me the entire time from departing the resort upto checking in at Male. I couldn’t thank him enough for all his help in this situation as I was very stressed and anxious with the seat allocation originally given to me. Due to this man’s fantastic knowledge, efficiency & care, my seats were changed with my Virgin flight which solved my anxiety and gave me a comfortable flight home.
I cannot thank all of the staff enough for our incredible lifetime trip to Barcelo Whale Lagoon, it truly was the best experience of our lives and although we have now ticked off the Maldives from our bucket list we really want to go back again to the same resort. The owners/top bosses should be so proud of every member of staff at this resort, sadly I cannot remember all of their names, only that each and everyone of the staff are simply amazing, I cannot recommend this resort more, you must go and experience it for yourself, it is so hard to explain in words how stunning it was. This is the biggest WOW factor I have ever felt. Thank you team Barcelo for the most incredible holiday experience we have ever had, not only was the location stunning but the entire team were outstanding, Love and best wishes from Carol & Ian.
