Met House

Deciso per una settimana di vacanza alle Maldive, abbiamo scoperto grazie al suggerimento di amici questa guest house sull’isola di Thulusdoo a mezz’ora circa di barca da Malè ed è stata un’esperienza meravigliosa. La struttura è direttamente sulla spiaggia composta da adorabili camere di legno arredate in stile balinese curate in ogni dettaglio, dal letto si vede il mare… accoglienza amichevole direi addirittura affettuosa da parte di Matteo, il giovane proprietario di questo luogo incantevole dove le Maldive diventano un’esperienza e nn solo una vacanza… l’isola è tranquilla e offre uno spaccato della vita reale dei maldiviani. La spiaggia che accoglie la guest house è bellissima ma a 10 minuti scarsi, consiglio la stupenda Dream Beach, ovvero l’incarnazione dell’immaginario collettivo di queste isole dove i colori pazzeschi del mare sono irripetibili… oltre il bello, il valore aggiunto di questo sogno a occhi aperti e’ la disponibilità e l’accoglienza di Matteo e del suo staff…. Si può mangiare insieme agli altri ospiti, tra l’altro una cucina locale veramente gradevole, ma soprattutto fare un’esperienza indimenticabile.. Se cercate una vacanza che vi curi anche un po’ l’anima, andateci e ci lascerete il cuore! Ovviamente se la vostra idea di vacanza è quella della libertà e di voler fare un’esperienza meno “finta” rispetto al resort! Grazie ancora a Matteo e al suo staff!!!

All'arrivo siamo stati sistemati in una camera decisamente non all'altezza delle aspettative e delle foto pubblicate, c'era cattivo odore e in bagno scorreva acqua dal tetto. Il giorno successivo ci hanno dato una camera migliore. La colazione è abbastanza deludente così come lo staff, scarsa collaborazione e gentilezza. Per le escursioni ad esempio rivolgetevi direttamente a chi le organizza. Non hanno un proprio ristorante e si appoggiano alla struttura a fianco (Samura) dove abbiamo cenato solo una sera, cena scadente per 20 dollari a persona. Per fortuna avevamo prenotato solo BB e quindi abbiamo mangiato nei vari ristoranti dell'isola, mangiando molto meglio e spendendo meno. La spiaggia è carina, ma lettini di plastica e panorama rovinato da una scogliera e da un terribile palazzone che stanno costruendo proprio a fianco alla struttura. Meglio andare a Dream Beach a circa 20' a piedi. In generale la vacanza a Thulusdhoo ha il vantaggio che ti consente di vivere il villaggio, però non bisogna aspettarsi la classica iconografia maldiviana, per quella devi andare a fare le escursioni. Thulusdhoo comunque è una buona alternativa per chi non ama i resort e per chi ha la curiosità di scoprire un luogo interessante al di là del mare e delle palme. Un consiglio: scegliete la formula BB e andate a scoprire i ristoranti dell'Isola, non tanto per il risparmio ma perché troverete cose diverse e di migliore qualità.

DO NOT BOOK WITH MET HOUSE where do I even begin? We booked a three-night stay at the Met House, arranged months in advance with the manager, Matteo. Communication included confirming payment details, three weeks before arrival, and an email on the day of arrival to confirm the check-in time. However, upon responding, Matteo informed us of an issue with the accommodation. By this time, we had arrived to Thulusdhoo. Matteo had double booked our accomodation and could now only accomodate us for the first night, and said we would need to stay at a neighbouring hotel for our remainder two nights. We specifically chose to stay at Thusuldhoo for the experience of staying at Met House, and to step out of our front door directly onto the sand of Bikini Beach. Once we arrived to Met House, there was no staff except for one local who contacted the supervisor, Joy. Joy said on the phone that he would be 20 minutes. So we waited. Once Joy arrived, we had him call Matteo to speak to him directly. I have never been so disgusted in the customer service upon a company’s own mistake. Matteo tried to claim that he was unable to get in contact with us, so he assumed we were no longer coming, therefore cancelling our booking. There was never any mention on our end of cancelling in our entire communication thread. Matteo eventually admitted on the phone it was his mistake “but it is what it is and there’s nothing he could do about it”. Matteo’s skills to diffuse the situation were awful. He lacked compassion, understanding and was incredibly defensive and let his ego get in the way of his management. He was incredibly rude and said if we didn’t like his solution then to just leave. At this stage, we had been trying to resolve this issue for almost two hours, and it was almost dark. For two young female travellers, an incredibly unhelpful and potential dangerous situation which left us feeling abandoned. Joy, however, attempted to find us other hotels to stay for the other two nights- which was our only option. The one night that we stayed at the Met House was in the Superior room. The view was undoubtedly absolutely stunning. The bed was comfortable and it was clean. However, there was no fresh water- the showers are salt water only. The wifi did not work at all in our room- we needed to leave to the common sitting area for it to work sporadically. We were told breakfast would begin at 8am- we waited until 8.30 and there was no signs of breakfast, so we left. There was no staff around, ever. This made wanting to book any offshore excursions to other islands, or help with speed boats transfers next to impossible. The superior room really lacks privacy. We had people walking past on Bikini beach able to look directly in to the suite. The entire experience made our first taste of the Maldives horrific, however, with the help from the staff at Panorama Hotel, a couple do doors up from Met House, they saved our experience with fantastic service and

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Met House. The rooms were well decorated and comfortable. The staff welcoming and helpful. The location is very convenient. Transfer from the speedboat was ready and waiting on our arrival. However, I would describe this property as overpriced in the current market. Overall for $190 for a single night stay, I’d expect a lot more. The breakfast was poor. There was active building work going on outside our room. There are better options on the island, but if the price doesn’t bother you and you can find breakfast elsewhere, it is a comfortable place to stay.