Nika Island Resort

Just got back from Nika Island . Was a beautiful place,very quiet not much going on , accommodation was great very private, Staff were very nice , only issue was food? Not the greatest a bit disappointing as this is one thing you look forward to on holidays, 🏝️🏝️🏝️☀️

It is a real shame we flew all the way from London to this paradise island and when going to sleep, we realised our villa was positioned next to one of the island's generators that they turned on during the night, all night until 7.30am which is when it stopped. We went to bed the first night and the noise woke me up. I went to the bathroom and noticed the windows of the bathroom were vibrating. I filmed this. It was shocking. I could not sleep all night. The next day I reported this to Mahmoud, the resident Manager. He was very friendly. He explained the island was full and mentioned "it was probably the wind" what woke me up. I was so concerned we were going to have another sleepless night and unfortunately I was right. Second night, the noise woke me up again. I left the villa and walked to where the noise came from. I saw the generator making the super loud noise. I then walked to front desk ( it was 4.30am, how can I forget? ) There was noone there. I messaged Mahmoud, no reply. It was middle of the night after all. Day 3, I went to front desk and met with Mahmoud and other front desk staff. I was very upset. They then moved me to the same room category but away from the generator noise. I lost 2 nights of sleep. I claimed compensation. I was told the noise was minimal so that was it. I enjoyed 5 of my 7 nights in Maldives. Yes, lovely island, spacious villa, good food (mainly Italian), amazing snorkeling but I feel very dissapointed by the way they did not want to take ANY responsibility for what happened to us and offer any refund. Yes, they surprised my partner with a birthday cake during dinner and put flower arrangements in the room but, do you think that compensate 2 nights of heavy noise, then they claimed the generator noise wasn't that loud and it was probably the wind? That says a lot about the management team. They put me off of going back to Maldives to be honest. If you visit, don't forget to bring your earplugs with you.

The worst vacation I ever had was with the management team at the resort. While the staff were friendly, the overall experience was very disappointing. Firstly, the welcoming and reception process was terrible. When I arrived at my room, I found that even the most basic necessities were not provided. For instance, I had to buy my own toiletries, including a toothbrush, from the shop. Additionally, everything incurred extra charges, including water, which was surprising. It felt like they viewed all the guests as nothing more than sources of money. I would not recommend this resort to anyone, especially considering that the management team was from Italy.

Sweet: The island is simply stunning. Lush vegetation, amazing reef all around with turtles, sharks, mantas and an infinite variety of colourful fishes. We stayed in 3 very different rooms. Lowest category one (on check-out day) called the Flower room, was basic and a bit dark, but had everything you needed, was clean and comfortable. More like a European hotel room than a resort room, but did the trick. The garden room again simple and clean, but brighter and with an outdoor area and outdoor shower. Best one (obviously!) the deluxe beach villa. Massive villa with a living room, a gigantic bathroom (indoor and outdoor showers), an even bigger bedroom and your very own private beach. Beautiful room - if you go, please do pay a bit more to have it, it just makes your holiday so much better! Bitter: 1. Staff and management first of all. The resort is run with a European approach to things, which is far, very far, from the expected Maldivian hospitality. The team doesn't seem to communicate well, younger staff is reprimanded or contradicted in front of guests. The general manager (at least I think he was, as he never introduced to us!) only speaks to Italians. They all rely on WhatsApp to communicate, which is fine, but the info should be accurate (instead of often changing) and above all, shouldn’t substitute human interaction. Please note the above doesn’t refer to our waiter, the barmen and the chef, who despite inputs from the top, were always helpful, professional and delightful. 2. Food (and approach to it) is mainly Italian, with very little local food. Vegetarians and vegans are an inconvenience and are expected to eat pizza, pasta, rice (with vegetables) and salad every day. On buffet days, it was fine - you'll find something to eat, but when there was a set menu, you had to go and ask for another option which was always pasta or rice (curry) anyway. I would have expected them to approach the request and sort it out for me (come up with valid options), as it happened in other resorts in the Maldives. To be fair, I certainly can’t say I didn’t enjoy the food, as it was all good quality and well cooked, but the repetitiveness of options for vegetarians and the approach to the special request were appalling. 3. All inclusive – with too many restrictions for my liking. Their documentation only lists as not included fresh fruit juices and premium brand of spirits. When you arrive, you are told that certain cocktails are included, others (some pretty common and popular ones) aren’t (no premium brands in them!). Only 1 type of wine (1 white, 1 red, 1 sparkling). Smoothies were charged at $12 each plus 26% of taxes… An all-inclusive should definitely only exclude very expensive brands, in my opinion. 4. Smoking policy – you can smoke everywhere. During the aperitivo (whilst you are eating food!!), in the bar, around the resort… I found it incredibly rude and not inline with present times. 5. Excursions – No point in putting your name down on the sheet or request them in advance. The only way to go on excursion is to nag the rep, making sure they know you want to go and hope they don’t reach numbers with bigger groups of Russian or Italian guests, as it means they might go without you even realising it was an option. Very messy system and in all honesty, 60% of the offer is probably not worth the hassle, as you get to see enough fauna by snorkelling around the island. Overall, I sadly wouldn’t visit the resort again, purely because of service. The place is stunning and would be so much better with a different management.

The Maldives how they used to be! Authentic experience as we first visited this island in 1997 and repeating 17 times. We will repeat fir sure. Good diving team, good service, clean and helpful in every question or matters we had. Excursions good too!