Originally Posted by persoid

The reduction of food at the gold/diamond happy hour should not come as a surprise. I was at CRM in 2013, 2018 and 2019. During the first and last visit (2013 and 2019) the happy hour was exactly the same - drinks and the really small appetizers (In 2013, the afternoon tea was served at Mandhoo, and available only to Diamonds). What I witnessed in 2018, though convenient, was disgraceful. Guests were essentially substituting "dinner" with the offerings of the afternoon tea, and while this would be ok to do in a civilized manner, there was this sense of a "rush to get full while the food lasted". A tray of mini-sandwiches would come out, and within one minute they would be gone. Same went for everything else that was served.

This time around, while attending, I felt that service at Vilu was outstanding. Yes, the alcohol quality for the daily cocktails was not top-shelf, but this is a free hour of bottomless drinks. You would essentially get a "yes sir" for any reasonable refills you asked for. And mostly, I didn't have to ask. My wine glass stayed full for the duration of the 1.5 hrs I would spend there.

As for the state of repair in some of the OWV, I have to agree, but I was a little more forgiving given their impending refurbishing project this year (Mar - Oct).

As far as service went, I felt that I was reasonably accommodated with all of my requests, perhaps a little more so than the other previous two visits (though the buggy and dhoni service was not quite as reliable).

I spent 3 nights at the WA, right before the Conrad visit this year, and while the property is spectacular, and service is impeccable, the island's natural beauty left to be desired. I think it'll get better once the vegetation grows. To me, all of the above shortcomings of the CRM are negligible given the house reef and the spectacular views, especially those from the quiet zone.