I don't know if it was the state of my being after the long flights/layover from NYC but the first few hours at the Sheraton wasn't good. Being told a room wasn't ready when we arrived @ 9AM or being told to hang out at the lobby or the pool for 3 - 4 hours fully clothed in not so correct attire for the weather/resort or the lunch buffet that was not so good or be surrounded by heavy smokers at the pool and inhale the smoke as we waited all added up to not so pleasant first experience. I know some of this is not the hotel's fault but still it negates the experience.

From the reviews I read, I knew this was just an average property in Maldives and didn't set high expectations. As the Sheraton was just a "stop-over" hotel for 2 nights before we moved on, we didn't mind as much about the very average food, atmosphere (or lack thereof), the not so soft beach, and just the overall average feeling about the resort. This resort also seems to heavily market to the Chinese travelers as they are the majority and most of the printed materials are printed in both English and Chinese and some food selection seems to be catered to their liking.

The staff, overall, are good and nice but I didn't feel they were exceptional. The room service is quick and good. We stayed in a beach bungalow which is the 2 story building that houses 4 guest rooms. The mattress made some noise and probably needs to be replaced. There are 4 buildings (rooms 301 - 316) that I believe are the best location for the beach bungalows if you were to get that room type as they are located right by the beach. We did have a perfect beach view right outside our ground floor room. Overwater bungalows are also located on this side. Other beach rooms are located more inland and appear to have no ocean views (same for most of the island cottages). The ocean villas (Room 400s) are the nicest kind which I didn't get to see but they appear to be the furthest from the main area. If you want the seclusion and exclusivity, you may like the ocean villas but...

If you are short flight away from Maldives and wanted to just get away to a beach resort, then Sheraton could serve the purpose. However, if you are looking for that special honeymoon type of destination, I would not recommend this resort. The overall feeling, facilities and service are somewhat lacking to be that special destination. Other than seeing the overwater villas, it felt like it was just another typical beach resort. No feeling of that we are at some place special that you imagine and dream about Maldives. The Maldives that you see in the postcards is not found at the Sheraton (or I just didn't discover in my short stay). The extra cost to get to and stay at the more exclusive island/resort will be totally worth it in my opinion.

Sheraton is a decent hotel to stay 1 or 2 nights to get over the jetlag but nothing more.

I don’t even know where to begin narrating our near-heavenly experience at the Sheraton Full Moon Resort, Maldives. The resort is in a stunning location about 15-20 minutes speedboat ride from the Male airport. The resort property itself is very elegant and classic contemporary, and completely exudes an unmatched tropical charm.

Our stay was for 5 days in December 2011 and the weather was just perfect. Due to my SPG Plat Status, we were extremely fortunate to have been upgraded (the resort was at full occupancy) to one of the water bungalows which obviously further enhanced our experience at this resort. The water bungalows are roomy, very classy and have a private deck with stair access right into the water underneath it! The layout is simply amazing and gives you a strong feeling of calmness especially when you are hanging out on your private deck watching the sting grays and exotic fishes swimming by in the shallow crystal clear waters around and under the bungalows.

The resort is extremely well laid out and offers different areas of entertainment such as snorkeling, gymnasium, billiards, fitness center, spa, internet café, restaurants, bars and lounges. It was so much fun just walking around and exploring the resort itself. We opted for the resort conducted snorkeling excursion. I was a beginner in snorkeling but Rameez, our instructor and his entire crew very great and very patient with us and were always around us in the deep water, to ensure safety. After that, we went snorkeling several times (the snorkel gear was free rentals) in and around the resort on our own, the remaining days. My spouse even snorkeled right around and below our water bungalow which had clear blue water and schools of pretty fishes.

Everyone at the resort including guests and staff were super friendly to say the least. As a result, we ended up making friends with 2 other honeymooning couples and we continued to meet and hang out with them occasionally during the rest of our stay.

Since we are big foodies and actually big food snobs too, we tried out almost the restaurants while we there. Baan Thai, where we dined the first night has phenomenal Thai food (the closest we came to tasting authentic Thai food outside of Thailand!!) Sand Coast has such absolutely delicious food and also the most romantic restaurant for dining by the beach, that we ended up there 2 nights in a row! Their curries were incredibly yummy and authentic. Sea Salt has a great vibe and is great for a lounge/bar atmosphere - We had lunch there couple times. Feast has a ginormous spread of breakfast everyday and was totally great. All in all, every restaurant including room service served amazing food – huge kudos to the chefs who prepare with such attention to detail and all the serving staff who were so respectful and accommodating for us being vegetarians. I know a lot of people have said that food is expensive in Maldives but we really didn’t find it to be any different than any other island resort… It was about the same as Hawaii or any of the Caribbean islands to me.
Although all the staff members throughout the resort were extremely courteous and always willing to help out, there were a few in particular who stood out – Wilson (dining services), Laxman and Abdul (Sand Coast). Folks in the hospitality industry around the world could learn a thing or two from the finely trained, friendly and chivalrous staff of this resort run by an extremely warm, friendly, professional and gracious General Manager, Ursula Schoefl. P.S. - We had a chance to interact personally with her one evening, at a welcome reception cocktail hour for SPG guests, and thereafter ran into her several times during our stay. Each time she would spend a few minutes chatting with us and entertaining us with some of her many many stories she has to share about her experiences running this island resort as well as running other hotels around the world…
My spouse and I are world travelers and have stayed at several exotic Starwood properties around the world including Hawaii, Thailand, Italy, France, Bali, Puerto Rico, Spain etc.. The pristine location, blissful waters, coupled with the unparalleled hospitality of the GM and her staff at this resort have totally compelled us to want to go back to experience this all over again in spite of being halfway around the world for us. I couldn’t have dreamed of a more perfect holiday experience and I am simply amazed that anyone could ever complain or rate this property anything but a perfect 10 on 10!!!

The staff and the Danish Head Chef get a golden star !! They made our stay . The Hotel is suppose to be newly renovated ? I did not see that ! Did not like the interior at all did not get the feeling we were in the Maldives. Very bad snorkeling !

My husband and stayed at Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resport and Spa at the beg. of Jan. for 8 days and I have to say that we had a wonderful, relaxing holiday, filled with not-such great weather, but still warm, sportive holiday and good food. I am surprised to read that a couple of people who were there on their honeymoon (same as us), got a complimentary dinner because we have not receive anything complimentary at all, but I guess there is no firm policy on this. We also had a half-board option where the breakfast was delicious, esp. the fruits and cooks fixing pancakes+egg meals, where the dinner was fine, but a little bit too boring. Same dinner basically every night and way too much Chinese food. Every night, there were Chinese noodles/rice, etc. I love Chinese food and I know that the majority of tourists are coming from China, but why not more seafood for an example? Curry was absolutely excellent though as well as that peanut-butter cake, for which I would love to have a recipe of...yum!

As for events, they were all overpriced. Food was overpriced at all other non-package incl. restaurants, or if you just wanted to have a bite to eat for lunch, which is sad b/c there is no other choice where to eat on the island. We went on a dolphins cruise too which was a waste of money (paid approx. $116 for two) for a 'race' by a very shaky, uncomfortable boat where 4 people were vomiting from the motion and waves, and we managed to see the dolphins for approximately 30 seconds. I think in this circumstances, when the weather is not great or when the group does not manage to see the dolphins, they should either cancel the tour or return 50% of the money spent just to be fair!
We also took a diving package where the diving team was wonderful, so supportive, so nice, so friendly and knowledgeable despite the costs involved (over $900) and that is one thing we would def. do and pay for anytime again.
All staff are super friendly, rooms are extremely clean and both beach+water is wonderfully clear and approachable.
Flying from Austria to Maldives is quite expensive but we loved our vacation and would go there gladly again once we save enough cash :) One thing is for sure, you won't regret staying at this hotel!