How to choose a hotel on the Maldives?

Having visited more than 12 islands of the Maldives chain, I discovered one curious fact – they are all similar to each other. Oh, yes, the only thing that differs is the price and it differs a lot! The most reasonable variant I met was 130$ per day for an excellent room, the most expensive — 2000$ (and it’s not a maximum for the Maldives). Oh, there was a big Jacuzzi, a huge bungalow with a lot of different items whose purpose were shady even after I’d guessed what they were. There were also the private zones on the beach. The 100-bucks hotel didn’t have it of course, but the rest – palms, perfect sand, turquoise water and infinite set of fishes – was absolutely like in that luxurious hotel.

Myth №1. Stars determines quality. 
Nothing of the kind. It does not work on the Maldives. Some expensive 5*hotels yield to less pricy 4* in many parameters.

Myth № 2. Higher price, better food.
It is also not true. I used to stay in 4* hotels with a fantastic cuisine! The choice was rather wide too.

Low-cost variants

KUREDU
Pros: a beautiful big island, a kilometer long sandy coastline, one of the best coral reefs with a great number of different amenities, price, food. 
Cons: villas with Jacuzzi are old, o lot of sand flies on the pier’s side, their bites are painful (are not always bugged in time)

KOMANDOO
Pros: peaceful and cozy small island, the best coral reef for snorkeling and diving.
Cons: not found

MEERU
Pros: beautiful palm swings, quite big island
Cons: during my last visit there were some problems with service, food and the Internet

BANDOS
Pros: perfect service, proximity to Malé
Cons: narrow coastline, no sandy beaches, unsuitable for photo shoots

HELENGELI
Pros: a tiny island, sitting at the bar you can see the both coasts, very cozy and isolated, wonderful snorkeling
Cons: no food, no entertainment except beach and snorkeling, it is really scary to stay there in a storm! :-)

SUN ISLAND
Pros: for the 4* price you get a 5* hotel with good service and rooms
Cons: not found

KURAMATHI 
Pros: very picturesque island, delicious food, beautiful piers
Cons: not found

Luxury variants

LUX*
Pros: oh yeah, rooms are so cool and sumptuous, you can see whale sharks not far
Cons: to be honest, the snorkeling is average

VELASSARU
Pros: proximity to the airport, good modern rooms
Cons: underwater world is poor, in general the hotel is overpriced, especially restaurants

ONE&ONLY REETHI RAH
Pros: as one of my friends said about this hotel: "渡假村环境私密度高，岛很大，骑自行车从东到西约40分钟", what means – unbelievably cool! :-)
Cons: not found

LILY BEACH REASORT&SPA
Pros: sumptuous hotel with a perfect service, spacious moderns rooms on the picturesque island
Cons: you can go broke on tips :-)

Author’s choice: Kuredu, Komandoo, One&Only

Read also "Choosing a hotel for the wedding ceremony on the Maldives"