Serene Sky Guest House

Karam, Ibrahim, and the rest of the staff made our honeymoon perfect. They met us at the harbor and carried our luggage to the apartment in Block B, about three minutes away. Everyone was kind and friendly, and they could arrange all sorts of activities, including snorkeling, manta watching, dolphin trips, and scuba diving. We loved our clean, comfortable room, and got fresh towels, sheets, and drinking water every day. The island felt like heaven on earth, with beautiful beaches where tourists can wear bikinis.

Our holiday ended up full of regrets. We'd visited Thoddoo the previous year and came back in August 2019, but this time stayed at Serene Sky Guest House after seeing its excellent TripAdvisor reviews. The room was basic, without guest amenities, and the water from the shower and tap smelled like sewage. My kids wouldn't eat the food after seeing meat thawing on the floor, covered in flies. They only felt safe eating stale bread and canned tuna. My wife and I got stomach flu. There is no doctor on Thoddoo, so after three days we checked out and stayed at Hulhumale Inn. We complained to staff, who said Karam, the owner of Serene Sky, would address our concerns, but we never saw him. They kept saying Karam was busy. The previous year, we'd gone diving with Serene Ocean. Maison and his dive master were professional, friendly, and extremely patient with the kids, and made that holiday great. We were looking forward to seeing him again, but Serene Ocean was no longer operated by Maison. Karam had taken over the dive center. I don't think Padi (Professional Association of Diving Instructor) should allow these people to run it.

Fresh, flavorful food was a highlight, and Chef Anji deserves special thanks for making healthy dishes tailored to me each day. I also want to thank Vittoria, the in-house photographer, for capturing unforgettable moments with such a great eye. I'll treasure those photos. The staff were warm and made sure I felt welcome and cared for throughout my stay. As a busy professional based in London, I wanted somewhere to properly unwind, and this hotel in the Maldives did that for me. Right in front of the ocean, the views were breathtaking and immediately calming. The peaceful atmosphere made it easy to step away from everyday life. I left rested, recharged, and grateful, and can't wait to return.

This is a warning to avoid this guest house. We were sexually harassed on the public beach on Thoddoo, and the complete lack of concern for our safety, that of other Serene Sky guests, and of other female travelers on Thoddoo was shocking. My mum and I were properly dressed on a local beach when, within 15 minutes, two local men came over, disturbed us, and masturbated in front of us. Karam, the manager, told us he wouldn't report it to the council or police. He said he didn't want police from another island to come because it would damage Thoddoo's reputation, make the news, and hurt tourism. We knew exactly what the men looked like, and on such a small island it should have been easy to find them. They are still wandering around Thoddoo, and nobody has done anything to find or punish them. Because of that, Thoddoo no longer feels safe for solo women travelers. Karam also offered to arrange an extension of our visas because we wanted to stay longer, before the beach incident. We trusted him and thought it would be easier. We knew it took two working days, but we didn't get our passports back for two weeks. He had given them to an agent in Male without telling us beforehand. Neither of them paid or cared about the extension. Karam kept saying each day that he'd paid and that officers were responsible for the delay. When we called immigration 12 days later, we found out the fee hadn't been paid, despite what Karam had told us, and the officer couldn't proceed with the application. We called Karam straight away and made him pay and arrange it. Had we not called the immigration office that day, our visas wouldn't have been ready before we left the Maldives. Our time at Serene Sky block C - Relax Residence was a nightmare. Someone read messages on our phone while it was charging in the room as we went snorkeling. People from Ibrahim's family kept coming into the plot, sometimes sitting there late at night. They often entered without saying hello and acted as if we weren't there. The bathroom only had cold water because something was wrong with the boiler, and they didn't fix it after we told Karam. After five days, we asked staff to clean the outdoor space and kitchen. They came shouting in front of our room at 7 a.m., so we told them not to come again. Raifa, who was meant to bring breakfast, tried to enter our room at 7 a.m. one morning while it was locked. She returned at 8, knocked very loudly for no reason, then ran away. We saw her through the window. Some mornings there was no breakfast, and once they gave us old, moldy bread. They gave us rainwater to drink without telling us, and we got sick. The list goes on. When we complained to Ibrahim, he called us f***ing liars. If we'd had our passports, we would have left the island much earlier. Once we got our passports back, we moved to another guest house. After everything that had happened, we decided to pay only for the small amount of breakfast food we received and the electricity we used. Karam got furious, screamed at us, threatened us, and called my mum an old filthy woman. Then he came closer aggressively and wanted to hit her. Fortunately, the manager at the guest house we moved to protected us. If he hadn't stood between us and Karam, Karam would have beaten us up. The last thing we heard from him was, “I don't want any money from these two lesbians.”