The special look and feel of the Maldives is aided by the law that stipulates no building can be higher than the palm trees on its island.
Essentially there are two types of room on any resort: the beach bungalow and the water bungalow (they may also be called villas or suites). A couple of resorts have two storey blocks of rooms and a few upmarket resorts have mezzanine or second floors, but ninety odd percent of resort rooms are single storey with nothing above them. Beach bungalows are land rooms off the beach, water bungalows on stilts over the lagoon.
The best rooms, in my opinion, are those that give you a sense of being at one with of the island; you are close to the beauty of its nature yet cocooned in comfort. That maybe the cosiness of rustic simplicity (harder to find these days in the Maldives) or it may be modernist high design, but it probably isn’t 50” HD satellite television, Bose surround sound, thick concrete walls and heavy draped curtains.
My preferences come through in the top 7 rooms selection.
Location, location, location
It is the case for all rooms, but particularly water bungalows, that you can be a long, long way from the reception, the restaurant or the dive school. This can be a drag, if you don’t like repeating the walk, or a blessing because of the quiet and privacy it affords (a weekend dance night can be loud and long lasting). On the other hand, being close to the action may be what you want or need.
Have a look at the resort map if available and read the resort reviews and guest comments here and elsewhere. And if you get to the resort and you are not satisfied, ask to be moved. Don’t be brushed off with an excuse. If you don’t get good service, or you do, others will want to hear about it.
Other room types
Some resorts have ‘garden villas’, which are not on the beach but somewhere in the middle of the island. These are the economy rooms or given out only when the resort is full.
When the resort is over-full the ‘executive rooms’ come into play. These are rooms that the senior staff occupy but who move out when there is an overbooking situation. They are perfectly good rooms but not on the beach. A further option that some resorts have is a safari boat, which is offered ‘free’ for a night or two.