Just completed a 7 night award stay. Here are my thoughts...

I was welcomed at Male airport by Mahu who was very friendly and professional. He escorted me to The Westin Welcome Lounge and completed my check-in and saw me to my seaplane transfer. The seaplane flight was about 35 minutes.

When I arrived I was warmly greeted and provided a tour of the resort by golf cart. As a Titanium Marriott Member I was upgraded (without using SNA's) from a beach villa (lowest category room) to a heavenly over-water villa (107) with a pool located on the most outer edge of the resort. The villa was beautifully decorated with modern furniture and bathroom fixtures. My welcome gift was a bottle of Rose from Italy ($90 USD as listed on menu) and some sweets.

Everything in the villa was in excellent and working condition. The bed was very comfortable and the bathroom had the largest tub I've ever seen. The resort uses refillable ceramic toiletry bottles and they also use refillable glass bottles for drinking water instead of plastic. Both "green" initiatives are long overdue... wish more hotels would follow suit. There was also an orange juice press with oranges replenished daily and a Nespresso coffee pod machine. From the deck of my villa I could see there was A LOT of marine activity. I saw large pods of dolphins, jelly fish, colourful fish of various sizes. At night, I could see rapid streaks of light in the water which I was told are squid. I personally felt intimidated to jump in the water even though I can swim and have even dived and snorkelled in Great Barrier Reef.

The only downside to my villa was that it had a wrap around deck which means you could walk from the front door and around to the back. There is no gate or partition to stop someone from accessing your villa which is what happened on day 2. Someone decided to walk around and try and jump off my deck however when they saw me they quickly walked back.

Regarding F&B... I chose breakfast as my welcome amenity but after seeing the prices of entrees I upgraded to half-board for $80. For example spinach salad with boiled shrimp was $32 USD, braised chicken was $48 USD and tiramisu was $28. Sparkling and still water was provided with each meal. Food over-all was over-priced (as expected) but very good. Having said that, I thought the selection was somewhat limited. Buffets were not offered (due to covid) including at breakfast. I personally enjoy buffets because they offer variety and if you don't like something you can try something else. When ordering off the menu it can be hit or miss especially if it's something you haven't tried before. For example, on my first night I thought I'd try the Maldivian theme which was a tuna curry and some red cabbage salad.... NOPE. AWFUL. And I enjoy chicken and chick pea curry but tuna curry? Never again.

The resort did a very good job in retaining the lush vegetation and incorporating it in the design of the property. There was bright, beautiful, tropical flowers, large plants and fruit bearing trees. Mature palm trees with coconuts lined along the beach provided the backdrop for perfect, postcard photos.

The staff was very pleasant and friendly. My only "complaint" is I felt they really went overboard in thanking me for being a loyal Marriott Bonvoy member during every interaction. It was the waiter, the hostess, the chef, the room attendant. And this was throughout my stay... breakfast, dinner etc... after the 2nd day... It just didn't feel or sound sincere anymore.

In regards to covid - all staff were wearing masks at all times. The resort did provide on-site pcr tests with results the following morning. The cost was $120USD plus tax.

Over-all I really enjoyed my stay, I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful villa. It was luxurious with stunning ocean views and sunsets. The only things I would improve would be to get the buffet running again even if it means guests wearing masks within the buffet area and that staff keep the loyalty acknowledgment limited to the front desk staff.

Having said that, I would definitely return.


Lots of marine life in and out of the ocean

Lush vegetation

View from villa deck

Sunset

Breakfast

Pool villa

Main resort pool

Evening

Sunset

Beach