1250 Broadway, 27th Floor New York, NY 10001

IS THAT A DOG ON MY BED?

During my recent stay, things got pretty "ruff" @ Ayada Maldives.

And while some of the superficial touches were nice, this hotel sadly lacked any substance.

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You'll eat the views at this particular property. (They were certainly quite beautiful.) But, unfortunately, that's about all you'll "eat" or enjoy -- because you'll likely experience a whole lot of needless stress and some pretty serious problems.

Ayada is quite far from Male International Airport. So, after your long journey to the Maldives, you'll need to travel another hour via a domestic flight, then transfer and suffer another 45 minutes by boat .... and, frankly, it ain't worth all that effort, inconvenience, or the money -- unless you care little about food and service.

(Did I mention the rats -- yes, actual vermin -- that will greet you at the local airport? But I digress ....)

Over the course of my 5-night stay, I experienced repeated lapses in food and service -- with delayed in-room dining (up to 2 hours, in some instances) -- meals that often arrived cold and/or were inedible due to feckless preparation or the substandard (canned and frozen) ingredients that were used.

The promise of a "dedicated" butler was an utter fraud. (You often had to call for assistance. And, frequently, those calls went unanswered.)

And little did management care. They merely offered "lip-service" to the complaints.

Do not be deceived, my friends. Ayada Maldives is a low-end summer camp for adults, masked and deceptively advertised as a "high-end," "luxury" resort.

So, if I were you, I would pass on this poor mess of a place, notwithstanding the exquisite views .....

It's truly a shame that this particular company cares little about its customers, product, services ... or even its employees.

Interestingly, it appears that this so-called "resort" has been ridden with problems since its opening. With ownership -- Ahmet Aydeniz Group -- purportedly engaged in a pattern of "shortchanging" and mistreating its personnel. (See an employee's blog posts here.)

Luckily, there are many other options in the vicinity that are vastly superior and a heck of lot easier to get to.

Do yourself a favor, and cross this awful "dog" of a place off your list ... bucket or otherwise.

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