Just finished up a stay at the Ritz, 5 nights in a beach villa, moved us to an over water villa on day 6 for the day as we had a late flight out of Male. My only other experience in the maldives was actually earlier this year in April at the St Regis.

The rooms are stunning. Very modern and simplistic, my preference. But my wife would say she liked the style of the st regis rooms better. In my opinion, a design flaw, the pools do not get enough sun and are a little cold for my taste. Our villa was on the grand sunset beach, and I believe sunset pools get less sun than sunrise pools. The two bedroom villas dont have a problem as the pool is separated from the villa and don't have the awning. On our first day (and thankfully only the first day), there was a strong wind coming in from the sunset side. This made the ocean slightly rough, not the beautiful see through waters you imagine and the sea and pool felt even colder due to the wind on the body. If weather was like this the entire time, this would have absolutely ruined it for us; but thankfully, we had near perfect weather the rest of the week. I am not sure if this is something that is seasonal, but i've seen other previous posters have noted this, only time will tell. Note: the over water villas at the end of the island in the circle seem to have fairly calm water regardless of the wind.

The food was very very good. Everywhere. Iwau was jaw dropping. Arabesque & Summer Pavilion were fantastic. Summer Pavilion is no longer a set menu. Order what you want. They do have a quasi-set options where you pick 4 tapas plus a desert. The main restaurant, La Laconda, was average, their menu is just relatively small. They put on a lobster themed dinner on the beach every thursdays....do it. Make reservations in advance. Iwau only seats 8 guests total and has two seatings, a 7pm and 9pm.

I was actually surprised at the number of foreign staff. Spain, Portugal, Chile, Italy. Everyone was nice and genuine. Service was good while we were there (Although good luck getting them to respond to emails in advance...my Ambassador had a hard time receiving responses). From what I gathered, they had been under staffed over the summer and had a very fast ramp up. They were basically at full occupancy while i was there. Our Aris Meeha/Butler was fantastic. When we arrived she was only looking after 4 or 5 rooms, but by the time we departed, it was closer to 11 or 12. They currently only have 6 or 7 butlers, but are looking to triple that; just staffing issues.

The one downside to the resort is the wild life. Snorkling onsite is non-existent. We did a snorkling excursion, and that was almost an hour boat ride away, and oddly timed. The snorkling excursions go out at 9AM, which means need to be at breakfast early, and yes, mimosas are included