This recent tour made me realise that I really need to consider “Best of the Maldives” posts by price tier. Reethi Rah, Soneva and Velaa may have everything you can imagine, but few of us have the wallets to go there. Now that the sector as tripled in size since Maldives Complete started, you can find just about anything, certainly in the super premium properties. But it remains distinctive when a more modest tiers property offers such a unique or striking feature.
This musing also got me thinking about the core segments that the Maldives resorts have coalesced into. Actually, they are pretty conventional quartiles that you find in many markets (as illustrated in the chart below which compares them to other products):
These price bands play an important role in user reviews like Trip Advisor. Such star-ratings are not based on objective box-ticking criteria like hospitality association ratings (which has a long check-list of requirements for each grading class). Instead, these ratings really reflect performance against expectations. As a result, you can get a budget burger joint getting 5-star ratings because it is the best $3 burger that you have ever had. Conversely, a white-linen, silver setting gourmet establishment can get a 1-star rating if the meat is overcooked and service a bit slow during your $100 meal.
The key to exceeding expectations is (a) tick all of the boxes for your class (the cake), and (b) add a few special bits above the class (treats) that are valued and memorable. For example, Siyam World sits squarely in the Business Class segment, and yet still snared the crown as one of the Top 10 Hotels in the World in Tripadvisor’s 2025 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards 2025. It sits in the comfortable “business class” of Maldives resorts, but adds enough luxury touches to feel distinctive in that class.