Originally Posted by
5DMarkIIguy
Costco is selling vertical premier grand cru and new vintage every year. Buy and store in the cellar. It is always sub 400 for all vintage every year. Stock up, the 1995 MR was only 270 a few years ago. Just because someone refuse to pay $5000 for a $270 bottle of wine doesnīt make them persona non grata in the Maldives. They cannot point out something so egregious? If they donīt like the upcharge, they should just shut up and stay home?
St Regis Maldives wine menu is the most overpriced menu I have ever seen in my life. If I can get Harlan at a restaurant for only 2x the cost, there is absolutely no reason these wines should be 10x to 15x the actual price. If you like to pay that much upcharge because itīs the Maldives, no one is stopping you. If someone has a problem with the pricing, there is nothing wrong with them being vocal about it. Why do you criticize their very valid complaints?
Costco often sells for less than the makers sell for themselves, a big bone of contention for big brands like Moet Henessey I found.
The simple facts are that in a normal high end restaurant you would expect to pay 4 to 5 times the lowest price you could find an equivalent bottle for locally. You cannot get a bottle of anything locally beyond the hotel for any price. Sure the properties are making a good markup but their tax paid landed price is going to be many times higher than Costco sticker price and then you also need to consider the not insignificant cost of cellaring in an environment like the Maldives.
in a perverse way the cost of everything is probably a good thing as its a big part of what ensures a better crowd of guests around you than you typically find in many other places.