Hotels on local islands

Since 2009, Maldivian residents have been allowed to host tourists. At first, these were rooms in their own homes. Today, many islands have perfectly decent little hotels, and some are substantial hotels in their own right. Some have 3–4 rooms, others have dozens.

But the essence of this kind of holiday has not changed. You are a guest of a Maldivian host. You live among local people, in their village, rather than in a tourist complex created especially for you.

Sometimes this is very noticeable. Next to a lovely little hotel there may be an unfinished building, an ordinary local yard or a street that has nothing in common with your idea of a paradise island. :)

I remember our first visit. They gave us a room with a window onto the corridor. I complained that there was no window to the outside, and our host was genuinely puzzled: “But Peter, what do you mean there's no window — there it is!” I did not find it funny at all at the time. A day later, I no longer cared which way the window faced.

Over the years, the hotels have been getting better and better. Rooms have air conditioning, a private bathroom and the necessary comforts. But there are still big differences between places. And in my view, more depends on the owner and how they treat their guests than on the furnishings.

To me, it is still a kind of “village tourism”. It is just that the village is in the middle of the Indian Ocean. :)

I have stayed in a nicer hotel and come away with fewer happy memories than from a very ordinary little place.

Because, to my mind, the feeling of the Maldives does not come from the room, the bed or the luxury. It comes from the beaches, reefs, ocean, excursions and the people you share it all with.