Baros was our third visit to the maldives, after staying in Filitheyo and Moofushi the years before. As a 5 star resort which tops several lists in tripadvisor my expectations where high.
Reaching the resort was a pleasant experience. We were welcomed at the airport by a representative of the resort and had a fast speedboat for ourselves. We had expected a sort of James bond trip (considering some reviews i read before), but that wasn't exactly the case: no champagne or yacht but we did have quite a fast trip indeed (with a glass of juice).
At the resort we were welcomed by a complete team who guided us over the island and helped us with a smooth check-in.
the villa:
We booked the beach villa, which was nice and ok, but nothing we hadn't already seen in 4-star resorts like Moofushi for instance. The room and beach were kept immaculate during our complete stay. we stayed at the lagune side, which is nice as it has the sunsets, and.. no wall. No snorkelling however, and the view was a bit cluttered with the watervilla's, the diving center and a number of boats. A dream if you have never been to the maldives. Seen better in Moofushi and Filitheyo however.
The (outdoor) bathroom was very large and never a bug in sight. Fruitbats however... :-)
Beds of very high quality but extremely hard.
the water:
The house reef was simply amazing. We have been in several good spots already (curaçao, Egypt, maldives,...) but it beats them all easily. Especially the reef at the watervilla's: the water is clearer, and more chance to see turtles and/or white tips, and stingrays.
We were also very happy to succeed getting our Open Water certificate (tx Regis, Kikko and Ahmed !)
The food:
Well,.. here we have the only issue we experienced in this resort.
how's the food ? Breakfast is a buffet. Choice was ok, and quality was also very nice. In the evening dinner is served at your table.
If you booked HB you are supposed to have a 4-course dinner at the Lime restaurant. Quality is okayish, and IMO better than most buffets. but... it costs more than 100$ to book HB, and that is (much) more than a 4-course meal costs ! If you want to eat in the lighthouse restaurant, which in my opinion should be the standard in a 5 star resort you only get a reduction of 45$, so... where did my 60$ go then ? There is only one word for it: a ripoff. So if you wanted to remember one thing of this review: do NOT book the HB with your trip, it is cheaper at the resort. A 4-course meal costs around 75-85 $ (without drinks). The 4 most expensive courses would amount at around 115$..
yes: incredible and i had never experienced such a thing before.
Service:
as you should expect on a 5 star resort in the maldives: impeccable. I always had the impression that every wish could be made true.
Would i recommend Baros ? sure, roomprices are not that expensive considering the rates at other 5* resorts, but just stay clear of the HB ;-)

We visited Baros on the second leg of our holiday, and it was everything we expected and more!
After our tourist-filled first leg, all we wanted to do was relax and take in the scenery.
We stayed in a Beach Front Villa (amazing), and we loved having direct access to our own "private" beach. We spent every morning and evening on our lounge chairs, and it was perfect.
We ate at each of the restaurants and did several activities, all of which we would recommend to others.
**Food: There are 3 restaurants on the island. All offer GREAT vegetarian options!
Breakfast was served buffet style every morning, and there are several options. This is the only time you'll see all of the island guests btw!
The Lighthouse was a great place to have what feels like a private fine-dining experience.
Both Cayenne and Lime were nice to spend an evening at, but we avoided the buffets that were offered a few times a week.
Room Service, this is the BEST thing we found about the entire trip. Although there is a separate menu for In-Villa Dining, they do allow you to request certain dishes from all of the other restaurants. We enjoyed this because we were able to have dinner on our back porch and listen to the waves. We did this twice, and it was definitely the most private and romantic option available (at no extra charge)!
**Spa: Although a bit overpriced, the spa services were great. The Balinese massage is great for those with stress and tense shoulders.
**Activities: We chose to do activities based on the days they were offered. TIP: Book activities as soon as you arrive as to ensure availability.
Scuba: I love diving, but my boyfriend isn't certified. They had a great package course that allowed us to dive twice together. He got more one-on-one attention, and we were able to enjoy the experience together! Beautiful reefs and the dive instructors were very friendly!
Snorkeling: Snorkeling is completely free, and it is very worthwhile. We were able to walk straight out of our room and explore the reef right along the beach. We saw nearly as much here as we did diving!
Maldivian Hand Trolling: This was a very fun activity. It was great to be on the boat during sunrise, and most of us caught fish. After, they offer to cook the fish for you for lunch, which we turned down because we aren't fond of tuna. However, the other guests on the boat took our fish!
Sunset Dolphin Cruise: We didn't get our hopes up about seeing dolphins on this trip, but we thought it would be nice to go out during the sunset. Wow were we wrong! We saw tons of dolphins. This trip ended up being really excited and fast-paced. Perfect way to end our trip!!
**Staff: The staff was always very friendly, and it seemed like everyone knew our names. We had no problems, and anything we asked for was quickly done.

We felt like we were completely alone on the island, which is exactly what we wanted. I would recommend this to honeymooners, couples, or anyone wanting to get away from reality.

We went for our honeymoon a few months ago and although we did have a great time I feel that there are several things that the management of the hotel needs to improve.

Service: Service was great, everybody on the island is really polite and helpful. I did not have a single complaint for any of the employees, which is actually rare while staying 9 days there and being with them all day
Reception: Good reception, waiting for the guests to arrive and taking them for a tour of the island.
Island: The island itself is really nice, however it is rather small - you can do a full tour within 5-10'. For me it was OK, however some people might be looking for a bigger island.
Snorkelling: Snorkelling is fantastic, just outside your villa. This is one of the biggest positives of the island.
Nighlife: Simply put, none. It was perfect for our honeymoon, however if you are looking for night activities you won't find anything besides once per week that they had live music that was nice.
Rooms: We stayed in a water villa which was spacious, comfortable and had direct access to the sea. However the villas are (or at least look) really old. This is the only part of my stay that I thought that I was actually paying too much. Having wrecked decks/stairs, or doors/windows that do not open is quite unacceptable for such a resort. In general, the room was nice but it did not worth that money. Some of the villas are actually geting renovated, adding a pool too, so I would suggest to choose one of these.
Food: Breakfast was really good with many options. Regarding lunch/dinner, there are 3 restaurants. Service in all of them is nice, the food was good, however I would expect to have more options in the menus.
Spa: If you have been to other places in Asia you won't be that excited, however it was a good experience overall
Scuba: You should definitely try it since Maldives is probably one of the best places for Scuba.
Activities: I could not comment since I did not choose to do any, however none actually looked that exciting to make me book it and they seemed a bit expensive.

If it is your idea to get away from it all and be pampered thoroughly then this is place to be. For me it was a bit of a mixed bag - not really because of the hotel but I think we should have stayed at a slightly more energetic place as we had our two boys along. Besides snorkeling there was not much else for them to do and not much company either as we were surrounded by older couples or honeymooners for whom this place is a perfect fit.
The day we left the weather was rough and on such days it may be difficult for tweens and teens. Many of the movies and books available are in German so be sure to carry something with you - the boys were happy that they could play on the iPad and had books on their Kindle.
My husband and I enjoyed both the place and the hospitality. The only thing that rankled was that my watch went missing - it wasn't an expensive one but I had more of a sentimental attachment to it.
We went on a dolphin spotting cruise from Baros. Though we saw a quite few dolphins, it fell short as there was nobody to help identify the dolphins or explain their habits and behavior.
All the same we returned home rested and rejuvenated and boys could tell their friends at school that they swam with sharks!