Gayana Marine Resort

The place was amazing. We had a really good time there. It's Maldives on a budget. Can't beat the rooms right above the ocean with tons of fishes and corals in your backyard. They could use a few more shuttles between their sister resort and town. The staff is very friendly. Overall a great experience. One complaint we had was that the Chinese restaurant served us raw chicken. My young kids ate them. Luckily they are ok, otherwise would have been quite serious.

I will not go to Gayana eco resort again. Hotel staff at the check in counter at the Jesselton point is not efficient. It takes for more than half an hour. The boat travelling customers to gayana Eco resort is small and the seats is not comfortable. A hotel staff promised me for room upgrade as for celebrating the wedding anniversary if rooms is available in emails. But then no one help for room upgrade at check in procedure and the hotel staff said rooms is free for stand-by. Actually I don't understand the reason that more than ten spare rooms to stand-by for what. Bed, toilet and amenities in my Rainforest villa is just the same with that in my friends' Lagoon villa. The differences is just a table is provided in the balcony of Rainforest villa. But the price difference is 120 USD. Good in both restaurant is bad. Drinks in the bar is tasteless. Not many fishes and coral can be seen in snorkelling. Swimming pool is small. The wind from air conditioner in villa directly blow towards my head whole night and I got sick at that days. Curtains in villa is useless. And I couldn't see smile from staff at most of the time. The only thing that I appreciated is a few stars can be seen at the night.

Nice hotel in a beautiful spot but spoiled by all the plastic floating around the bungalows. Too bad no energy is put to clean up the water. Could easily be done and for a hotel that is supposed to be 5 stars it would be important. Otherwise the rooms are beautiful and clean.

We loved our three nights here. Every small touch was well considered and we enjoyed the snorkeling and kayaking offered. Only very minor complaint was noisy neighbour ma could be heard through wall of adjoining villa on the first night

I went in April 2016 and it was very quiet so felt like we had the resort to ourselves. I had an ocean hut which was stunning - complete with a deck and stairs leading to the ocean. A breakfast boat delivered our breakfast every morning. Staff incredibly friendly and helpful. Free snorkelling and kayaking, free boat to the mainland twice a day, and also to the sister resort (bunga raya) which has an amazing beach, restaurants and infinity pool. My only very small criticism is alcohol is very expensive, though guests do get one complimentary cocktail in the evening and a free fridge stocked daily with beer and soft drinks!! Food is delicious. There's an eco centre which educates you about reef protection and they breed giant clams. Also a touch pool so you can hold a sea cucumber/ starfish if you want to. More a romantic break for couples and divers rather than a family resort, though kids are welcome. Highly recommend.

Kitchen was really good! Exec Chef Josef Budde really shows his experience with a very broad selection in the menu and consistent delivery. On crowded days/evenings service gets a bit too slow and chaotic though. Ladies in spa very friendly and competent. Our family used them a lot and a big thanks should go to Alicia for alleviating a lot of deep "knots" in my shoulders in multiple sessions ! A couple of house dogs and cats are very efficient "employees" around the resort. They efficiently keep the mice/rats away (cats) and big lizards, monkeys et co (dogs). Bartenders in bar also try hard but are working with a somewhat limited selection of alcohols. For some reason they have discontinued Shisha service which is a pity. Would be great place to do that at sunset. Wifi in room doesn't work reliably. Even after they gave us "MyFi" device it still wouldn't work. Pool area is the only place where proper reception can be found. There is no beach, but you can take a nice 20-30 min boat ride around the island to the sister resort and spend a day on theirs (and cross charge drinks, meals etc). Rooms are big, very clean, air conditioned and have complimentary soft drinks, water and beer. Restocked every day. "Rainforest Villas" are right next to "Waterfront" villas and are identical except they don't have direct access to water, swimming which is a great plus. We really enjoyed our stay and it was not least thanks to the great, friendly staff you encounter everywhere.

A very comfortable resort, with friendly and enthusiastic staff. Great food too. Snorkelling right off the resort with numerous clams, anemone fish, parrot fish and groupers. MERC was a highlight- videos, an aquarium and live displays of reef rehabilitation - especially with respect to coral repair and giant clam breeding.

The people are lovely, the food is out of this world delicious and the location is very picturesque. It's a small and isolated resort without much less to do than it may appear. Great for a few days of relaxing, not so great for the serious adventure traveler. The hotel was undergoing renovations which were slightly inconvenient, but the staff was very accommodating.

The resort was quiet, relaxing and gorgeous. For a family with two young kids (10 & 8) it was ideal. We visited the Marine Ecology Reseach Centre twice, as the kids loved it, endlessly swam and relaxed either in the pool or sea and also completed the jungle/canopy walk at its sister resort, Bunga Raya, via a free boat trip around the island.

I stayed in this resort for 2 days in July, the view is just great. I went snorkeling and kayaking there. There was not many fishes but the water is clear for the first day, however, there are lots of precipitate in water on the second day. The staffs are very friendly and helpful. We were satisfied with the room which was clean, you can hear the tides inside the room.