A holidaymaker has revealed how her boyfriend spent £10,000 on a ‘sunset villa’ in the Maldives despite knowing it was rainy season – only to endure howling winds, four hours of sun and weather as bad as London.
Diana Gorenco, from London, says her partner forked out £9,220 for the two of them to stay in a ‘Over Water Pool Villa’ in her ‘dream holiday destination’ from November 25 until December 2.
However, instead of the blue skies, clear water and white sand she expected of the Maldives, the stay-at-home girlfriend was met with clouds, heavy downpours of rain and strong winds.
Diana had hoped to get snaps ‘like the goddesses she had seen on social media’ -despite knowing the rainy season typically runs from May to November.
The 24-year-old claims the biggest issue was that it was cloudy, meaning they were unable to see the sunsets that they had hoped and paid for – at a staggering £1,300 a night.
Diana said the gloomy weather was so bad that instead of flying home on December 2, she demanded they extend their holiday and stopped off in Dubai on the way home in a desperate attempt to catch some sun rays.
Diana said: ‘It was just the two of us. We wanted a romantic holiday. The aim was to get away from London and get some sun. For seven nights it was £9,220 for the best villa they had. We were expecting blue skies, clear water and sunshine.
‘Before we went, we researched if it was a good time to go. We did see online that is was the end of the rainy season. We expected a bit of rain here and there but it was way worse than we expected. We knew that it was going to be bad, but not that bad.’
Diana had hoped to get snaps ‘like the goddesses she had seen on social media’ -despite knowing the rainy season typically runs from May to November
The 24-year-old explained that the temperatures were still a warm 28C to 30C throughout the trip, but the wind made activities uncomfortable
The 24-year-old claims the biggest issue was that it was cloudy, meaning they were unable to see the sunsets that they had hoped and paid for – at a staggering £1,300 a night
When they arrived, the downpours weren’t the worst of the couple’s problems.
Despite waking up at 5am every morning in a desperate attempt to catch a glimpse of the sunrise – and staying in an aptly named ‘sunset villa’ – Diana didn’t see a single sunset, or sunrise, all trip.
Diana said: ‘It rained four times but that didn’t really bother us. The problem was that it was cloudy most of the time – it was literally like London. I calculated looking back how much direct sunlight we got during the whole trip and it was only five or seven hours max during the seven days.
‘The Maldives was my dream holiday destination. I’ve never really travelled outside of Europe, except to go to Dubai.
‘It was fresh and new and I had very high expectations. I bought so many outfits and so many swimsuits. I only managed to get one or two pictures in my outfits and that’s it really.
‘On social media, you see beautiful pictures taken at sunset where women look like goddesses and I really wanted a picture like that – but it didn’t happen.’
The 24-year-old explained that the temperatures were still a warm 28C to 30C throughout the trip, but the wind made activities such as scuba diving uncomfortable.
Diana said: ‘The last three days it was super windy, to the point where I wasn’t really getting in the water, other than to do some scuba diving.
Diana said: ‘It rained four times but that didn’t really bother us. The problem was that it was cloudy most of the time – it was literally like London’
According to Diana, who worked in marketing before becoming a stay-at-home girlfriend, even the locals thought that the weather conditions were ‘unusual’ for the time of year
‘I only did half of it [the diving] because when we moved to the second location the waves were so big and I was so cold I just went back to the boat and waited for everyone to come.’
The couple were unable to enjoy their time outside on the villa’s sundeck, which is described online as the perfect location to ‘bask in the sunshine and enjoy glorious sunsets in total privacy’.
Diana said: ‘Our villa was also the furthest away from the shore. The wind was bad and the water in the swimming pool was moving so you couldn’t even really enjoy your time outside, and that was frustrating.’
According to Diana, who worked in marketing before becoming a stay-at-home girlfriend, even the locals thought that the weather conditions were ‘unusual’ for the time of year.
Diana said: ‘I was disappointed. The locals even said that the weather was unusual for the time of year and suggested we come back in April or May. We thought that we’d planned our trip at the end of the rainy season.’
After sharing a video of her experience on TikTok, Diana was met with comments from other people who had recently travelled to the Maldives at a similar time but been lucky enough to experience blue skies.
Diana said: ‘The funny thing is that someone commented on my video saying that they went at the beginning of November and they had perfect weather. We went three weeks later and we had the worst weather.
‘I feel like even in the rainy season, you can have good days and bad days.’
Despite waking up at 5am every morning in a desperate attempt to catch a glimpse of the sunrise – and staying in an aptly named ‘sunset villa’ – Diana didn’t see a single sunset, or sunrise, all trip
‘I calculated looking back how much direct sunlight we got during the whole trip and it was only five or seven hours max during the seven days,’ Diana said
Diana admits that while she was left ‘disappointed’ by the weather conditions in the Maldives, the trip served its romantic purpose and highlighted to her that her partner is her ‘soulmate’.
Diana said: ‘I feel very disappointed [that we paid so much and couldn’t see the sunrises and sunsets], but it also showed me that love is more important and I did enjoy my time with my partner.
‘I feel like we connected a lot. I feel like the fact that we were in such a bad situation and he’d paid all that money and we still managed to have a good time just shows me that he’s my soulmate.’
It was in the final days of their holiday that the couple – who will have been together for two years at the end of January – decided to extend their holiday.
Diana said: ‘The weather was so bad that we decided to actually stop in Dubai and get some sun and then come back to London. I told my partner “We have to extend our trip. I’m not going home, we barely got any sun”.’
Instead of flying back to London on December 2, the couple stopped off in Dubai for four days until December 6.
Diana said: ‘We were so lucky that we did. Dubai was perfect and we saw the most beautiful, amazing sunsets and then went home.’
Despite it not living up to their expectations the first time round, Diana says the couple are planning on visiting the Maldives again at some point during 2025.
Diana Gorenco, from London, says her partner forked out £9,220 for the two of them to stay in a ‘Over Water Pool Villa’ in her ‘dream holiday destination’ from November 25 until December 2
Diana said: ‘Our villa was also the furthest away from the shore. The wind was bad and the water in the swimming pool was moving so you couldn’t even really enjoy your time outside, and that was frustrating’
Diana said: ‘I think if we go again this year, then we might leave the booking until last minute to see if the weather is good and then we’ll book and go.
‘I would advise everyone to go a bit later – from February onwards. Even then, the weather isn’t guaranteed.
‘I think it’s so funny that people went three weeks before us and they had no rain or wind – it was just sunny – and we went later and we got the worst.’
Since sharing a video of the blustery weather conditions on TikTok, the clip has gone viral, racking up 400,000 views, likes and comments.
The resort the couple stayed at has been approached for comment.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
