ma91pmh

In fairness only 1 of your three examples is close in price. $140 is only 70% of $200.

Taking your own equipment is certainly the exception and not the norm at resorts (maybe not on liveaboards) and the standard is to have daily rates for rental. By way of example at the Conrad the daily prices are less than the per dive prices here.

Don't get me wrong, I love this place to pieces, and the diving is phenomenal, but the prices have been jacked up even since last year and are getting to nosebleed levels. In my case it meant no money left over to tip the divemaster or boatcrew. $512 per day for a couple to do two tank diving is pretty astronomical (that was price after equipment rental less our own wetsuits and taxes)

johbeaker

At Sipidan the dive resorts include all your diving in the cost of the room, so not really comparable (unless Sipidan room rate with unlimited dives = double tank dives for two adults, boat fees, service charges and tax @ Hyatt).

After seeing the Hyatt's dive packages, we switched over to another resort in the same atoll where 13 dives are $559 ($43/dive), and the boat fee is $30 per day, not dive (and they don't add 10% service fee). The Hyatt doesn't have dive packages, but gives you one dive free with 10 dives. We have been to the W, Conrad, and Island Hideaway in the Maldives and none have been quite this expensive for diving (rooms, yes). And of course, a vast majority of the people have no idea what the diving costs are until you arrive at the resort, and have no alternatives.

One other thing, practically all of the hotels in the Maldives offer much better rates if you contact the hotel directly or even better, use a local travel agent. They generally have pay 5 / stay 7 or pay 10 / stay 14 type offers. No Hyatt points, but the savings will more than compensate.

price123

The linger longer promotion is reasonable value, and helps to budget as it includes your meals.

thebluejean

We are going next February and can't wait the day to come. We are doing the Escape package for 5 nights. I do have a question. Should we notify the waiter or hostess which nights we are going to do the free dinner that comes with the package or they will sort them out when we check out the hotel?

ma91pmh

We did the 7 night passport escape and the staff seemed very well versed with it. If you just tell your waiter that you want to use one of the "package" nights they seemed very able to do it.

All beverages were extra including water. I think the T&C state it should include a non-alcoholic beverage but I wasn't going to cause a fuss of $9. You can also take $40 per person credit at the Island Grill which we did one of the nights.

ma91pmh

Unfortunately I think they are trying to subsidize cheaper room prices (points stays, uber-cheap rates like the Etihad/Qatar promos and promos like the one you point out) with more expensive activities. Not sure I like this too much. Bit too socialist for my liking. Those of us who choose to participate in activities like diving seem to be subsidizing those who come on cheap rates/points and don't open their wallets. Jack up prices of activities by 40% and then offer promotion discounts of 25%. I understand they need to make money and it's a balancing act though.

ma91pmh

The 10% service fee is government mandated so I would say either it will be charged or you've just been quoted the price with it included.

Which resort out of curiosity? There are only a handful open in the Atoll (Residence, Robinson Crusoe and Jumeirah and I doubt it is the latter as the prices their are through the roof)

johbeaker

Which resort out of curiosity? There are only a handful open in the Atoll (Residence, Robinson Crusoe and Jumeirah and I doubt it is the latter as the prices their are through the roof)[/QUOTE]

The Residence

ma91pmh

Nice. We passed it on the way to GKK. Looks very big. Of course you can't pay for the room with points We went to the original Residence in Mauritius for honeymoon back in 2000 and it remains one of my favorite hotels in the world.

ma91pmh

I scanned the latest version of the Island map that I took while I was out there, it is here. Note there are 50 villas in total, no unlucky villa 13 for anybody.

I have seen folks ask about which villas are best for ocean views. I can only speak to the North side of the island as I frequently swam and walked along this end. Villas 1 and 6 are FULLY exposed. Personally I would not want either, but if you want full ocean view and full exposure to the beach, these are the ones to go for. Better in my opinion are villas 2, 4, 7, 12 (we stayed in 12 in 2010), 14 and 19 (which is where we stayed this time) which have good open exposure to the ocean but are still hidden enough that you have privacy in your room. In our room 19 for example I could see clearly the ocean (and a good view, not some small oblique view) all the way from the outside shower right at the back of the villa, yet the trees gave a sense of privacy.

Next door, 18 looked terrible with virtually no way of seeing it from the beach (and hence them not seeing the beach/ocean either)

traveling_again

Spending more than US$400 for a couple to go out on the dhoni for two-tank boat dives seemed pricey, so I planned the dive part of my Maldives trip to start with a liveaboard and then go to the PHM to enjoy the resort. For the PHM, I did not get offered any dive packages before, and once there this past Sept, Marco told me they currently do not offer packages.

So why the upcharge? No, not subsidizing cheap rooms IMHO. Its three things, 1) no minimums (the dhoni will go with a crew of 4-5, including DM, even if there is only one guest)-- thats the main "subsidy". 2) The boat dive is also much more than a day boat, not brand new, but spotless-- never seen a dive boat so clean and well fitted. You also get a snack during the SI which really is a full meal (and sodas onboard are free for the whole day). And 3), you are still in the Maldives and an outer atoll. It can't be cheap to produce"flawless" dive services here.

ma91pmh

Yes this is all true. The boat is excellent. We went out 3 out of 5 boat days with just myself and my wife so three boat crew, one dive master to two guests. For the last couple of dives we did surface interval at nearby uninhabited islands with the boat crew scaling trees to get us fresh coconuts. It is very reasonable to talk about the plus side, so my apologies for focusing on the pure cost side which is high.

The fact is we did do 12 dives on an 8 night stay and when if (more likely when) we go back we will do it again. (We did 10 boat dives, one intro house reef dive and on last day did one unguided house reef dive)

I think Marco told us that less than 20% of guests dive, and of those a big portion only do 1-2 dives or are learners.

I think it is also worth adding that the staff at the dive center are all fantastic. Marco was very engaging, and the dive-master Inah is patient, knowledgeable, fun and a great host underwater.

thebluejean

This is very good information. We are definitely looking for a pool room with some vegetation to provide some privacy. So these all have sun raise view I assume.

Did you request your specific room before you arrive? I wonder how accommodate they can be if I try to request a specific room number.

w.sg

just revisiting this post. It's been over a year since my stay at the Park hyatt Maldives and i have been longing to return to it. Had planned to spend my anniversary there but it wasn't quite possible with my wife's 7 month bump.

it looks like i won't ever be able to return to PH maldives soon due to various factors.

- Discontinuation of GP Escape awards (well technically you still have 3 days to book the escape awards)
- Property can no longer be redeemed using stay certificates. (happened a few months ago i think)

skunker

To follow up on the mailing of postcards which was mentioned a few times, my postcards have finally started to arrive. Just got word that a postcard to the East Coast of the US arrived today during Hurricane Sandy. We mailed it from the resort in Mid-February, so eight and a half months later.