Bandos Maldives - One Way Transfer FREE for stays from 1st May till 30th Sept 2025 for Bookings from 16 Apr 2025

9.0

Wonderful

975 Guest reviews

9.0

Wonderful

975 Verified Reviews

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Cleanliness9.2/10

Service9.0/10

Comfort9.0/10

Condition8.8/10

Neighborhood8.8/10

Amenities8.6/10

Fantastic snorkelling! Plenty of excursions if you wanted them, and only 25 minutes from the airport by speed boat, super polite and helpful staff!

Our stay in Bandos couldn’t have been better. We stayed in a Superior Beach Villa, 1 minute walk from the beach. Room was very clean and serviced every morning whilst we were at breakfast. We went all inclusive and were very happy with what was included and what wasn’t. Food choices from the buffet were excellent and the restaurant staff were great. As we had a late return flight we booked a massage at the spa and spent a couple of hours before and after relaxing on the sun beds and shower before departure. Risma and Ploy gave us a great massage. We definitely will be back to Bandos - it’s just a matter of saving up!!!!

Paradise on the Earth

It was an amazing stay: a highly maintained two-storied villa, a secluded (almost private) beach, a wide variety of ocean creatures and unforgettable sunsets.

Good stay but the Guests were not very nice.

Lovely stay

From the start very friendly helpful staff. Although the hotel was fully booked it never felt crowded. Rooms in very good condition (Premium Villas) and just a lovely place to stay. Special thanks to Shaamil in the Sunset bar and the buffet dining area: very friendly, helpful and nothing too much trouble!

Not great experience

This was our first time in the Maldives, and we only stayed at Bandos. We've been to most of the Carribean and USV Islands, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka, so we are aware of island prices and economics. But this place felt like they were nickle and diming us every chance they got. Fresh juice? $18-20. Cappuccino with breakfast? Extra. Kids snorkeling mask at the gift shop? $85. Pool table that nobody is using? $6/30 mins. But the worst of it was the fact that they would not give us a late checkout for 3 hours even though we were willing to pay for it. We had a 25 hour flight ahead of us, and with two small kids - a late checkout would've been very helpful. We checked on their website - and there were plently of rooms available. We went to the front desk the day before, but they told us to come back after 8pm because they were still taking reservations. After 8pm, they said the reservation manager had left for the day. The next morning, they simply refused to help us even though we offered to pay $300 for the 3 hours - it was almost as if helping us would hurt them. Mind you, plently of rooms still available on their website for $700 that night. They said their website was wrong, and that they were having system issues, but actually, no room was available. Considering we paid $1000/night for 5 days, it just felt like they could've helped, but actively didn't. Anyways, we were told there are plently of nice places in the Maldives, so we will go back. But probably not to Bandos.

Guru makes best drinks on the entire island!

First time on Bandos and won't be the last. Excellent holiday. Staff were wonderful. Great choice of food and drink on the all inclusive package. The island is pretty and well kept, and surrounding sea is crystal clear which makes snorkeling amazing.

Wonderful Staff

Amazing service

We really enjoyed our stay and can’t wait to be back. Afran who serves at the Grill Bar was AMAZING and gave us the best service all week. 10/10 experience overall & huge s/o to Afran.

It was an experience of lifetime! from scenic views, excellent hospitality and sooooper delicious food, everything was worth every dime spent.

A beautiful island just below 30 minutes from Male. The corals reefs surrounding the island is wonderful. Food could be better - less variety, mostly Malidivian cuisine is served every meal.

Amazing resort and beautiful scenery.

Amazing holiday from start to finish

The whole property is very tired, the rooms we booked were apparently new but in actual fact they weren’t maybe the bathroom was refurbished 2/3 years ago. Photos are not reality at all. Food quality was extremely low, basic at best and NYE €750 for a buffet for 2 adults is a disgrace, if it were Al Carte dining maybe - in essence it was the same buffet that was available daily with a few additions….then to cap it off the remains were brought out the next day!! Very very poor resort

Villas are so old, really the state of bathrooms in our was just not acceptable, we will avoid this property.

Lovely

Excellent location, staff and service. Special call outs to Swapan and Thoha in the restaurant, Habib on room service and Marvel on front desk. Vey enjoyable stay

Good Convenient Choice

a good variety of activities offerred and white sandy beaches and 15 minutes boat ride from Male makes this resort a wonderful place to stay between trips (for us Sri Lanka and Seychelles). We went on night fishing seeing sunset and sunset cruise seeing lots of dolphins. We had half-board and just about right amount of food and varieties to meet all kinds of diet restrictions. Overall room is nice and very comfortable

Beautiful property

Great property! Beautiful beach and landscape. Comfortable rooms. Bathrooms are open air and do not have a roof. May be a bit scary for those who do not like insects and lizards at night. They didn’t enter the room or bathroom though. Food is good but not excellent.

A five star holiday!

Amazing holiday in Bandos! We had such a great time. We stayed in a Beach Villa, which was a great choice, very clean and modern. The resort is beautiful, clean and well cared for. Special thanks to the ladies at the Kokko Kids club for enabling us to use the great services of Sawid and the team at Bandos Dive while our toddler was having a great time at the club and cared for. The shark dive was a once in a lifetime experience! Also Swapan at Sea Breeze deserves extra thanks for always meeting our kid with such smiles and sincere warmth and extra attention! And Rameez at Huvan was awesome as well, so friendly and excellent service. All the staff is five stars. Very very warmly recommend and hope to return!

If you ever dreamt about a romantic stay at the Maledives, Bandos will make that dream come true!

it is the most beautiful place I have seen and it is worth seeing.

Nice friendly staff

Cleanliness

Goods: Really friendly staff, great variety in the cuisine, beautiful beach, room was good. It was my honeymoon and they really catered very well to it. A tiny bit unorganised with a few requests but cannot complain as overall experience was great. Transport to and from airport was top notch. Very interactive clubhouse and multiple lounge areas for a change in setting away from the rooms. Also has a Mosque Drawbacks: It is very expensive, the country as a whole prefers to do transactions in US dollars so be careful of this. The excursions and experiences are very pricey but the service is second to none. Would highly recommend going for a full board - all inclusive as this will probably save you a lot more money. All in all - 9/10

First time in Maldives, we chose Bandos for our 10 day stay. Island is beautiful, with picture perfect beaches, very good for snorkeling or diving. We booked standard room which was big with everything u need inside, bathroom is a bit dated, needs some renovation but nothing bad. Food was delicious, I tried every curry and loved it all. Staff very friendly and polite. Overall we had great holiday and definitely recommend Bandos. I gave 4 stars for cleaning only because i never seen floors being mopped in our 10 day stay. Not the cleaners fault I assume they were told not to mop the floors by management. Only negative thing we experienced was at arrival, we travelled across the world to maldives, haven't slept 22 hours, tired and hungry we arrived at 9am unfortunately we were told that we can not have breakfast and our meal package starts from evening meal, which was at 7pm. No snacks in the room either. First time we were refused food by a hotel on arrival. Not nice. Overall great stay.

The room was a little outdated but was extremely clean! They have so many activities daily for you to choose from and the staff were impeccable… can’t wait to return! Thank you for an amazing 50th!

Great island with fantastic amenities and diving school. Many thanks to the team again for another enjoyable stay!

Great place to stay

Wonderful place Great staff.especially Ibrahim,Jaanu and Thoha.thank you for your help.

I loved our stay at Bandos Maldives. Our sunset water villa was stunning, as was the island itself. We were blown away by the amazing wildlife, too. The staff were so helpful and friendly and the food was tasty and varied. I didn’t want to leave and already want to go back!

Bandos

Very nice Island resort with good eating options. My only 2 issues are that everything is a price then it gets 10% service and 16% VAT added. You are just never sure how much things cost. It was quite expensive and there is no way to work this out before you get there. Also the day trip to Male is only 3 hours and we thought that was no where near enough time. It may have been for some but the two groups we were with wanted longer.

Was good very pricey for what you get charged 30 usd for a coke and mars bar but overall was a good experience. Views and food were amazing.

Booked on very short notice and am happy with the result. From the pictures, I thought the island would have been a little smaller - there are a lot of accomodations. That said, nothing ever felt overly crowded. It was always easy to find a nice beach spot to hang out. Staff was really nice. No pressure to buy or do. Board fare was fine, especially for the price. Only minor complaint was the shower was never hot. Seems they are all heated by solar, and best was lukewarm. Overall enjoyed my stay.

We had a fantastic time here with one of your staff (Mr. Parvez) support!

Peace,serenity and tranquility. Great spot for a wind down.

What i am unhappy about is being forced to depart the island to be dropped at the airport well before checkin is allowed. At the airport they wont allow you to enter until 3 hrs before your flight. Why force guests to depart 6 hrs prior to your flight?

Beautiful and peaceful place to be Superb customer service The staff are so friendly

The staff here is the real draw. Everyone is so lovely and willing to help in any way possible.

Hospitality

Perhaps its time to try a diffeent island.

This was our second trip to Bandos, both times we paid for the all inclusive package, this time there was definitely less drinks and cocktails included in the package. So really not All Inclusive!!!

The property and location are wonderful. The food is repetitive and I think my biggest disappointment is the chick staff in reception. Basically the left-hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing or they did not speak English although basically just too lazy to do what was being asked of them?

Overwhelmed with hospitality

It was amazing experience one of my best trip ever I like the staff they are so helpful and friendly

Not worthy of 5 stars

The only good part of the stay was the nice room, service was sub par quality. Breakfast buffet seemed low quality with not many options available, staff are not friendly, suppose to get a free wine but it wasn't there till we call and ask and eventhen it took them more than 3 hours to bring. The overall vibe is they just to take as much money as they can from you. Everything else needs to be paid add on.

Poor Quality food, which the staff acknowledged. Lack of attention by staff Limited and restrictive times for using water sports equipment. Hot water shared across too many rooms meant there were many times when showers were cold. AC in room was not sized correctly for space or conditions. Location and reefs were amazing. The resort lacked something to live upto its marketing. No somewhere I would return too. From other visitors to the Maldives I am told the resorts can be hit and miss, this was a miss.

Everything was pretty good other than the housekeeping. My villa was tidyed each day but not cleaned. The bathrooms were not mopped and washed down with soap and cleaners each day. The toilets weren't cleaned out either. I would deliberately note dirty areas and they'd still be dirty after Housekeeping 'cleaned.' Because of that, I will not be returning.

Beautiful resort. It’s clean not too far from airport. Beaches are beautiful…. And the staff is very friendly and accommodating.

All inclusive not inclusive at all; "All-inclusive vacation packages claim to include everything, but in reality, they do not cover everything. "Will they serve food while we wait for the boat on the day of our departure?"

Our stay at Bandos was unfortunately not what we expected from a luxury holiday. Despite paying for all-inclusive, it was far from it. Freshly squeezed juices, smoothies, milkshakes, beachside snacks, and a-la-carte dining were all extra costs. Drinks included in the package were not covered in paid restaurants after 6 pm, which was bizarre. The cocktails were poorly mixed and all drinks were often lukewarm. The buffet(only place to dine with AI) had major food hygiene issues: the open-air setting allowed flies to touch the food, and fresh items like fruits and salads were not refrigerated. We mostly ate toast and beans for breakfast and paid for lunch and dinner because of this. The 'afternoon tea' offered a small toasted sandwich and fries, and once our sandwich had plastic in it, to which we received a mere "oh, sorry.". The selection of beachside drinks was limited and confusing. Drinks allowed at the beach bar were not allowed on sun loungers just a meter away. Service was another letdown. Menus were often not brought promptly, and servers rarely returned after taking the first order. We felt more like annoyances than customers. However, service in the paid Grill and Umiyaki restaurants was excellent, as was the staff at the dive center. Our room was comfortable but showed signs of wear and tear, with marks on fabrics and chips in countertops. Hand soap was not replenished, and one day we only received one bath towel for two people. Would reccomend looking elsewhere

Amazing experience and highly skilled staff

Amazing nature, perfect view, nice foods.

Great snorkelling and diving, would like better options for getting to visit other islands

Nice house reef is the only positive. Service is below average. Overcrowded for Maldives. Most views from the rooms are obscured.

Paradise location but an average hotel

The hotel is NOT a 5* as advertised in hotels.com, but is is a 4*.The reception staff totally ignored my VIP status and benefits. I did not get a room upgrade even though there were rooms available, they did not offer me a complimentary bottle of wine - not was I offered a late checkout. The All Inclusive did not feel inclusive, infact there was so much that was not included that it tainted the stay The restaurant staff [particularly Swapan] were great, as were the staff in the Sunset bar area [particularly Geneline].

Bandos is absolutely first class

I loved everything about the property, had trouble with getting the TV to work as it kept saying no signal but to be honest TV was the last thing I cared about as everything else in the accomodation was a dream of perfection

Amazing resort, amazing staff

Stunning resort. Walk off the beach to snokel with reef sharks and stingrays.

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We went for a week and bought all inclusive package thinking it will be good, our package had some water sports included but everytime we went they were unavailable. Usually all inclusive have atleast non alcoholic drinks included but here only some soft drinks and juices were included. We requested the booking department to decor our room at arrival for our honeymoon and they confirmed us but when we arrived their was no decoration and instead they put a fruits saying this is decoration lol not worth the price we paid. Will definitely try different resort next time.

Very good organized Diving Center onsite with medical support. Kind and friendly staff. Very good organization of stay, we were supported by staff from beginning to end of our holidays. Beautiful place, great water and green istand.

We enjoyed our 10years wedding anniversary at Bandos. Breathtaking location, GREAT staff, clean rooms, multiple food options, and a place to enjoy water activities. We will definitly be back for another serene escape at this wonderful tropical paradise!

The staff at Bandos are always super friendly and helpful. They go out of their way to make you feel like a welcomed guest. The rooms are really clean and the housekeeping staff are very attentive. Lohan and the rest of the restaurant staff and cook do an amazing job. The service is great and the food is really really good and they have a great selection.

The island exceeded my expectations. Beautiful beaches, wonderful service, good food, activities for kids, safe and quiet, great pool also. The staf was wonderful, very friendly, helpful and respecful, special thanks to Suraj at the pool :) The trip to Male was great aswell. Bandos island was family oriented and me and my daughter had one really amazing holiday. Hope will come back again someday.

Cleaning environment, quiet and conveniency. What I don’t like commuting from room without transportation especially my room being far away. I had to walk 10 to 15 mins to dining and to main office. The first day I came I had wait for an 1hr before the boat could move Because we had to wait for another travelers. Which is not nice. I had long flights of 19hrs.

We had overall a good experience at Bandos. There was nothing in particular being Expedia vip though, I had to specifically call and ask for the complimentary wine which was part of the stay

Very terrific!

Most beautiful view. Unique 2 floor living design. Very clean and spacious we loved it 😁

One of the best experiences I’ve ever had. The Bandos was amazing. Will definitely go back. Staff was amazing. Food was great. Beautiful Beautiful Island. Natural beauty and wildlife was the best.

Positive: Excellent snorkling Extremely helpful staff Good breakfast Ample daily supply of bottled water to every room Not so good: Dinners at Gallery included in the package have poor meet options for people who don't like fish Expensive sogt- and alcoholic drinks

Nice resort but definitely not close to 5 stars. Four stars at best. Our beach villas were spacious but old and tired-looking. Toiletries were so bad (big jars of shampoo and shower gel, no hair conditioner) that we had to buy our own. Food was the weakest of other Maldivian hotels/resorts we've experienced: limited choices of dishes, almost no fruits and very few vegetables, not very tasty. The a-la carte restaurants were better. Positives: very nice spa at reasonable prices.Great diving center. Many private beach areas with lovely views, never felt crowded. Overall this is very nice resort if you plan on a 4-star vacation and pay decent price.

Staff, were very friendly throughout, also very helpful and knowledgeable when we asked questions. Food was good and service came with a smile. Room was fine, but not luxurious, but then we didn’t expect it to be so no problems there. All inclusive was nice to have. House reef was nice, lots of fish and sharks to see and it was right on our doorstep Special thanks to our waitress and waiters with whom we had a good chat each day.

Overall, the property is really nice and well looked after. Staff is really attentive. Very happy with this. I would love to see a higher quality of the food provided. Besides that, it was really nice.

It was my second time in the resort and I will visit again for sure.

Bandos is a wonderful resort in the Maldives. Food and service were excellent. The nature is amazing both on the island and in the ocean surrounding it. The close proximity to Male airport is also a plus. The villa was great and close to the beach. The shower could be improved with a more modern setup.

Great snorkeling

Loved this resorts

This was our third time in the Maldives having previously stayed at Baros and Kuredu. We had a fantastic time at Bandos. The food was great. The service was superb - special thanks to Jafor in the Gallery Restaurant and Ibrahim in the Huvan who really looked after us. We will definitely be coming back.

Need to upgrade room and washrooms

Not what I had expected the rooms did not have enough amneties . In the washroom there was no bathtub or jacuzzi - shower was broken and had to call maintenance to fix it. Fan was noisy. There was no variety of tea bays in the room whereas even a theee star hotel on Male provided different tea bags

We had an amazing time, and the sea life is very good for divers. Will definitely visit again.

Fabulous staff and great food made this a perfect, restful vacation overall. Snorkelling off the beach on the house reef was good and saved us money on otherwise expensive snorkelling tours off island. The only thing we didn't expect was the number of families there. Not a problem if you're OK with kids on vacation, but if you prefer a mostly adult environment, look somewhere else. Did I mention the fabulous staff ....?

Bandos water villa

Genuine luxury 5 star accommodation and the best service at a very reasonable price. Will be returning soon!

All perfect minus reception team

Contrary to what the reviews said, a few of the reception folks were very rude. Very laid back when you asked for something, but great with excuses. You had to get the supervisor involved for every single task. Rooms were spotless, food was hit n miss, the facilities were superb overall. Highlight was the scuba diving.

Good things: - Snorkelling on house reef was amazing. So many fish. -So many different areas of beach to sit. Lots of loungers in quiet nooks, under palm tress, little private areas of white sand beach where you could be alone or busier areas of beach if you prefer. -Grounds very pretty and well cared for - Breakfast great. - Lovely pool area but beach so lovely not necessary - Room tip: Deluxe beachfront rooms are in much nicer setting than the water villas or premium beach villas. The latter 2 are on a bit of beach that is least pretty, They are too close together, like a housing estate, and on the least pleasant stretch that faces the high rises of Male. Not private or picturesque setting. But the deluxe beachfront villas are in a nicely manicured garden area with very pretty quiet small beach area and far away from bar and music. Recommend those in 270s - adorable private, quiet, beach area opposite. -Sunset at Huvan, very pretty area for drinks - Staff pleasant, unobtrusive, eager to please - great wifi in room Things I didn't like so much - a la carte food except for breakfast wasn't good. Meat was inedible for me so I went veggie. Fish so-so - Some views are unpleasant cos all you can see is Male big ships. So this island doesn't have the middle of nowhere paradise feel of other Maldivian islands (but it is super convenient for transfers has better than average house reef) -Entertainment tacky for me. Sand bar ugly and tacky. Bar at Huvan nice though.

I had a wonderful time there for a week snorkelling, walking and sailing. However, I would like to recommend some improvements : 1. (garden view room) : there is no division on the floor of the shower so that the whole bathroom was wet after a shower; 2) more hooks in the bathroom would be good for hanging wet towels and 3) the restaurant charging us $10 each for a "welcome drink" which is a bit annoyed. Other than that, it is enjoyable as staff are friendly and pleasant.

The reef was good. All else was horrible. Staff and service is horrible, the food is very cost cutting esp for all inclusive. Snorkels and marks are extra charge. Rooms dirty. House keeping unresponsive , the list goes on and on!

The place was very clean, food was good and they were very accommodating with my food intolerances. The response to any request was immediate. Although the occupancy was almost full I believe, there was a feeling of privacy and peace. Everything was very well organized. The only one thing that they missed was information about the airport. Our flight was at 7:10pm and they only have boats taking guests to the airport at 3pm and 5pm(not sure of the timing before or after these two) anyway, we decided to take the boat at 3pm out of fear that we wouldn’t have enough time if we took the one at 5pm. We weren’t told that we wouldn’t be allowed to go to our gate until 3 hours before departure so we got there and had to wait anyway. It wasn’t bad thou, there are several places to eat or have a drink while waiting. But we believe they should know it and tell the guests as general info. Other than this everything was absolutely perfect ❤️

Very nice with good restaurants

I would have rated this resort "poor" except for (2) things. The sunset view at the Haven Restaurant is amazing and the music & entertainment from the local musical troupe is just wonderful. Some of the Staff is nice but they seem unhappy, which makes sense because the restaurants are empty - most of the people staying here seem to go to the buffet. You can't walk in the water, as the coral & rocks come all the way up to the beach, which is comprised of small sections and appears to be fabricated, at that. You should not choose this resort if you like to walk the beach. Many of the people were snorkeling, so the beach condition is not an issue for them. The transportation from the airport was great.

Todo me ha gustado, la playa es encantadora, los alimentos muy ricos en sabor, pero al bufet hay que agregarle más platos fuertes. Aún así les doy 5/5

Bandos is a lovely place to visit. The staff are very pleasant and helpful. Our room was clean and comfortable with a good bed and bathroom. The main restaurant was very efficient with plenty of good meal choices. The alternative restaurants were good too. All inclusive drinks were not as inclusive as other places we have visited but no major complaints except for the house white wine which was awful. We were very upset to be charged $200 for airport to island transfers but that is a complaint we will make to Expedia as they clearly listed the $6 per per per night tourist tax as the only extra that we needed to pay. If you book a package, it should include the transfer as there is no other way of getting to/from the island.

it is a nice hotel to relax and completely disconnect from everything. a 10min boat ride from the airport

Love the dive shop, dive masters and boat team and dives in the area - absolutely fantastic. Property was amazing and clean. Great value for an all inclusive. Snorkeling, pool, gym all great.

Beautiful property and excellent spa. Transportation is good however little overpriced. Staff’s are very nice and polite.

Truly enjoyed our vacation in Bandos! Excellent service, clean, quiet and very safe. A dinner to remember at Umaki with the entertaining & friendly service of Deka & Lepcha. Same with Leandro & Jennylyn at Huvan restaurant.

All inclusive? I don't think so

Where do I begin? I will start with the positives - the beach and the grounds are beautiful, the staff especially The Gallery and Sand Bar staff were amazing - special shout out to Marvel and her other colleague who always remembered our room number, the food ok. Now for the negatives and there are more of them. Not an all inclusive hotel at all - arrived early morning not allowed breakfast, late departure not allowed lunch - we were not even allowed water unless we paid when we checked out at 12 but left at 5pm All inclusive means just that - you eat and drink as much as you want from the moment of arrival to point of departure. We are on an island where we have no other choices. That is what it is in other parts of the world where we have travelled. Here there is zero flexibility - it says all inclusive but it is misleading as it is only certain drinks and food which is only breakfast, lunch and dinner at one place and only type of snack at one place and only at certain times. It is so regimental. It is meant to be a luxury holiday but not value for money at all. The rooms especially some of the beach huts need modernising - they are dingy and the layout of the bathroom is weird. The bath towels are behind the screen next to the toilet, green mouldy tiles - we said it looked like a prison cell. Would I recommend to family and friends - No I would say pay extra and get your money worth. I have never known anything like it. Oh I forgot to add lots of buildingwork

Very nice resort. Beach is amazing and the pool is nice too. However, there was construction while we were there. Also, not a lot of option for food with all inclusive.

We first visited Bandos in 2008, then returned in 2010 and 2017 so 2023 was the 4th visit and our 7th to the Maldives. Bandos is one of the earliest Maldivian resorts established in the early 1970s and has much space for island infrastructure including a medical centre and decompression chamber, the latter hopefully not needed but good to know if you’re diving. Dive school is certainly one of the best and reasonably priced. Diving at manta point is spectacular, always keeping a safe distance from four metre Mantas was unbelievable. Buffet food has plenty of choice but the curries are amazing. Huvan / Sundowners was being renovated this year but no problem as plenty of tables on the beach to watch the sunset. The Sand bar used to have sand in the bar where we previously participated in crab racing but now has tile flooring. I miss the sand was more rustic. Dive Bandos! Needs an exclamation mark. I don’t know what else to say, the beaches are incredible, proximity to the airport is very convenient. There are a lot of Russians there now but I guess they are restricted in where they can travel by global sanctions. Family friendly resort as close to the airport and nice to see it so busy, out of all our visits this was the closest I’ve seen to full occupancy in the rainy season. Spectacular holiday many thanks again, excellent service and staff, I’m sure we’ll be back.

I liked the property no issues But my friend stayed in the most basic room as a couple and he got upgraded to a ocean view villa while I did not, as they were a couple and I was single. What kind of logic is this ? He was not even an Expedia VIP member and I was. I am not happy about this. So I am now penalised for being single ???