The Barefoot Eco Hotel

The Barefoot Eco Hotel is a wonderful place for anyone seeking relaxation and disconnection. The resort offers its guests an impressively thoughtful reduction to meaningful basics; back to the truth and core being. Every single details matters. I personally looked exactly for a place like this and highly recommend. The well trained, professional team — in all areas of the hotel — made my stay perfect. The evening buffet is excellent, very high quality, and fully met my healthy eating requirements. The fact on non-alcoholic servings, no TV availability and no animations has been a big plus for me. The gym equipment did not meet my expectations. It is outdated, inadequately equipped, and, in my opinion, does not fit in with the otherwise high overall concept of the hotel. The professional organization of the yoga classes is particularly noteworthy. I booked a two-week daily privat session with the yoga master Sagar (a certified yoga instructor and therapist). In addition to practicing yoga, I learned a lot of new things about breathing techniques, meditation, and different styles of yoga. I'm very grateful for this experience. The daily morning yoga classes are tailored to the participants' level and are a great way to start the day. Last but not least, a relaxing massage at the SPA perfects the day in this paradise. The Barefoot Eco Hotel is a lovely place to re-energize; I highly recommend.

The hotel is situated in a remote island, without any other resorts or people, so expect highest levels of tranquility, the lack of other islands around also means no overcrowded snorkeling spots, no loud boats or no speed boats chasing the marine life! The set up is beautiful, with a vast garden, which makes you feel like you are in a jungle, I almost didn't see other guests during the day. Striped by a long white beach with a swimming lagune of transparent turquoise water, the hotel also offers many activities, to discover marine life in a human manner - making sure the guests know how to treat the nature and environment around. I particularly enjoyed the food, especially the fresh raw fish being offered everyday. All the staff was very polite and friendly, making my trip even mor enjoyable. It’s a great compromise, you get to experience the beauty of the Maldives without emptying your wallet!

We thought a detour to the Maledives, coming from Sri Lanka, would be a good idea, as the flight from Colombo to Male is only 55 minutes. Unfortunately, it is quite complicated to get to the hotel - so our trip to the Barefoot Eco Hotel took us one day instead of the anticipated few hours. Also when flying back, we were booked on a flight to Male (because other guests needed to catch an earlier Flight) at 6:00am and hat to spend 5 hours at Male Airport before the departure of our flight back to Europe. The Beach and architecture is very beautiful. The hotel’s benefit is the breathtaking view and the very polite service staff around the buffet. Also the housekeeping staff was very friendly and our room was always kept clean. In contrast, we experienced poor communication and arrogant behavior and less motivation by two guys from the reception staff, who smiled our questions away in a passiv-aggressive manner. Still the Maledives profit from a past romantic ideal and narrative of the beauty of marine life. But the reality is sad- mostly dead corals and some lonely fishes gathering around. The hotel‘s dive shop offers diving and snorchling tours by fuel driven Speed-boat (not eco!). It seems as if time stood still somewhen in the 1980ies, where tainning fully sun-exposed still was ignored to cause skin cancer. The only ‚eco‘ we observed in the hotel was the soap (instead of shower gel) and biological desinfection against insects and mosquitos as well as instructional videos showing how not to pollute the area with (plastic) garbage and cigarettes. But except that, we did not discover any engagements making the hotel worth to be called ‚eco‘… the served salmon seems to be imported for the tourists, as well as other incredients served. In how far it is ‚eco’ that the owner needs a jetski is also questionable. In other places, hotels and dive centers engage in helping to rebuild/grow reefs and cleaning the ocean from plastic. Beyond that, we observed many grumpy and unfriendly guests who were acting egocentric and not mindful when approaching the buffet in a ‚me first‘ manner. It got even worse after an italian tourist group arrived and started to block seaside chairs with their beach towels even when not using them. With such attitude and crowd attrackted, the place is compareable to a common all-inclusive hotel anywhere else in the world. But it is not a 4-star hotel. Only the prices are of a 4-star accomodation.

The first morning I woke up way too early, some animal made loud calls- was it a bird or a monkey? Where am I ? The sound of the waves from the nearby sea brought back my memories Ah I’m in the beautiful Maldives staying in a villa all by myself. And was Robinson Cruso really a man or did she just pretend? I bet Freitag adored her... My daily routine starts with coffee by the beach and a quick dip in the water, followed by my morning yoga practice – some sun salutations, stretching, breathwork and meditation. All of this takes place under the watchful eyes of the villagers in the pictures adorning my outdoor living room. The clothes I brought from Europe are far too warm and heavy for this climate. Fortunately, the local tailor is highly skilled, and his fabrics and expertise really highlight my figure. And the fresh flowers the room boy places in the vase on my veranda makes me feel truly special. One of the papayas in my little garden is ripe, and I’ve sprinkled the pieces with fresh lime from the village store. They’ve never tasted so good! The store has everything—from fresh vegetables and local spices to tools and cleaning agents. The ladies there are incredibly friendly; when they see my basket of vegetables and coconut milk, they ask if I’ll be cooking at THE BAREFOOT. Their eyes follow me as I ride back on my bicycle to the resort. The lentil dish I prepare in my little kitchen is decent, but the view of the sea and my feet in the sand make the lunch truly memorable. Yesterday, I went for a two-dive adventure and saw eagle rays, two stingrays, many sharks, and millions of colorful fish of all sizes. Corals of all shapes are thankfully growing back everywhere. Today, I’ll treat myself to an Ayurvedic massage and enjoy an early bedtime. But before I sleep, I ll take a quick walk on the beach under the beautiful starry sky.

The worst vacation we have ever experienced. Overpriced. The journey was unpleasantly long; we even had to wait 5 hours in Malé for the local flight. For a 4-star hotel, this one is really poor. There was a sewage smell upon arrival, an ugly room, ants and mosquitoes in the room, and even a huge cockroach during our stay! There was no TV in the room and the fridge was not switched on. The shower is not air-conditioned and feels like a steam sauna; insects get in through various gaps, and the tap was loose. The furniture was old, chipped, stained, and shabby, with dirty curtains. After the hotel staff arbitrarily sprayed the room with some horrible insecticide, it was impossible to stay inside. For the rest of the stay, the terrace smelled terribly of chemicals, making it unusable. As for toiletries, only two small pieces of soap and a small amount of shampoo of unknown composition in a dispenser were provided. The safe did not work. There are cats in the resort that appear not to receive proper veterinary care. One of the cats had severely scratched, scabbed ears bleeding, most likely due to mange. On the beach (which is otherwise probably the hotel’s biggest advantage) and in the sea, there was plastic waste. The shallow sea was lifeless, with almost no marine life; we rarely saw even a single fish. The full board was of rather poor quality, with not enough fruit (only 2, at most 3 kinds of cut fruit, usually watermelon and pineapple), and no fresh fruit juices included. Even coffee was charged extra (except for instant coffee in the room and filter coffee at breakfast). Only water was included, and even that in limited quantities—despite the fact that tap water is not drinkable. During meals, individual food items regularly ran out and it was necessary to wait for them to be refilled. The inhabited part of the island is neglected, with no greenery at all. It definitely does not invite walks or trips outside the resort. There are only asphalt roads, in some places dusty and full of potholes (including the access road to the resort), bordered on both sides by high, peeling walls behind which ugly, neglected houses huddle. Overall, I do not recommend this place