Belena Maldives

"A very nice, new hotel with a small pool, Maldivian-style rooms, stylish renovations, new showers and fixtures, cozy grounds, and helpful staff who will pick you up, drop you off, and bring you back. Thoddoo Island is small, but everything is close by, including cafes and shops. We went for dinner to Seli-Poeli, 5 minutes from the hotel. The hotel breakfasts are European-style: sandwiches, eggs, toast, beans, steamed vegetables, sausages, tea, coffee, local roti flatbread, tuna with coconut, yogurt, pineapple, and watermelon. Nothing fancy, but you won't go hungry."

Belvedere Thoddoo

Ambra Maldives

"We stumbled upon Ambra Maldives while staying elsewhere on the island. It looked new, immaculate and appealing, unlike many other establishments on Thoddoo. We ended up having lunch at Ambra every day, thanks to its proximity to Bikini Beach. The friendly general manager showed us one of the 6 new villas, which can sleep up to 5 people. Ambra has only been open since April 2025 and is operated by a team who have experience in some of the well known Maldivian resort brands such as The Four Seasons, which generally adhere to a much higher standard of tidiness and cleanliness than what we saw elsewhere on Thoddoo. Ambra is part-owned by Italian investors, and this is reflected in the menu, which features a number of Italian specialties that would have been good for dinner, such as Chicken Cacciatore and Lasagne. For lunch, we stuck with the delicious tuna burger, falafel flatbread and Caesar salad, along with blueberry smoothies and bitter lemon. (Authentic Italian pizzas would a nice addition to the menu.) It was a relief to have chilled water provided free of charge; our guesthouse only provided water at ambient temperature (i.e. 28C+), which wasn’t appealing, and no other beverage options besides tea and coffee. If we were to visit Thoddoo again, we’d definitely look to stay at Ambra Maldives, which is close to but outside the town centre and closer to the beach than any other places we saw. Well done, team Ambra, and keep up the high standards!"