We checked in early and spent the day and night in Male. The owner himself decided it was his responsibility to show us, two females, around, which was nice of him although DO NOT eat at the boutique inn for lunch when he invites you if you are on a budget- he ordered the three of is a simple and nice Maldivian lunch without even mentioning payment, until the next morning when we were handed the massively overpriced bill. The owner had conveniently disappeared and left the non existent wake up call to the nice guy downstairs who pretends to know English. And you don't get blankets, luckily we found two in the kitchen.

I've been to Male two times (2010 and 2011) and stayed in three different hotels. And my general impression is that you have limited options of choice.
This hotel is one block from the main commercial street (Majeedi Magu) and the National Stadium. It is a walkable distance to the Male jetty that serves to/from the airport (if you do not have a lot of luggage to carry...)
Liked: free internet (get a password at the reception); check-in starting at 10am; good AC.
Disliked: very small room (that seems to be the rule in Male); cleanliness could be improved; no box or curtain at the bathroom; only local channels on the TV.
All in all an average option for an overnight stay.

I returned to the Boutique Inn and stayed there on two occasions this past 6 weeks, as I heard it now has new management. It is a much improved place to stay in Male, with almost everything good, especially for a short stay, or overnight customer. The new staff are helpful and very keen to please, especially in the front office and in the rooms maintenence areas. I found Naphiu, the night supervisor and Faisal really helpful and I noticed that everyone, including the manager, chips in to help when a bunch of overnighters arrive. Certainly in better shape than it was last year -- and they are improving all the time.....

We stayed here for one night prior to getting on a liveaboard dive boat. It pains me to write a negative review of this hotel, because the staff were so nice and tried hard, but were incompetent at best. Our room was clean, but that's about it. Checked in and went through a "who's on first" routine with the guy who showed us to our room--I asked for soap, he said "we have soap, but no soap." "So you don't have soap?" "Yes we have soap, but we have no delivery so don't have soap today." "So no soap?" Etc. Finally he went and got soap from another room. Small victory.

Curtains falling down, lightbulbs out. light fixtures broken or missing. No A/C in dining area. Went to sleep only to discover no blanket in room. Breakfast included (don't bother even asking about THAT) but wanted to charge us extra for coffee, which was not included. Swimming pool on roof not only ugly but dirty.

I did speak to the manager/owner the next morning, who recognized weaknesses and said they had just taken over the hotel and were trying to fix all the problems. I hope they succeed, because it's in a decent location for an overnight stay and again, the staff are very pleasant. Perhaps in a few months it would be worth checking out again.