We (family of 4 with two kids 7 y.o. and under) came back last week from our second visit to the W.A. Maldives - the kids are spoiled for life and want to go back again!
Transfer
We were directly taken to our boat with very little waiting time. It was great to leave so quickly. They now have individual boxed sets of a sandwich and cupcake instead of fruit platters and sandwiches. Otherwise the 45 minute ride isn't too bad and the yacht has upstairs, indoors, and a small back area for seating.
Villa
We stayed in an OWV 2 years ago and were put in 503 this time. There is a great sunrise view from this side and we saw a few fish swimming around the reef from our "backyard". I've only stayed at one other property in the Maldives and the reef villa is bigger and generally more luxurious in terms of fixtures and finishings. The reef, OWV, and Grand OWV are very similar in layout, differing only in size - sitting area/bedroom, closet area, and bathroom. There are always two sets of swings and overwater nets as well as the personal pool. The Grand OWV has a separate living room and is huge inside though you can't tell much of a difference outside. Our kids were happy just hanging out at the villa a lot. We got white wine, a cupcake decorating mini kit, and huge fruit basket as the Diamond welcome amenity.
Food
A few menus (QR picture below isn't complete and is mostly for dinner):
Tasting Table Breakfast
Tasting Table Dinner
Ledge Lunch
Ledge Dinner
Nava Lunch
Peacock Alley
Happy Hour
Peacock Alley food = Tasting Table food
Nava = some fishes from Ledge, but not the full menu + Pizza bar
Breakfast is fabulous and we always took a while here. There is an East Asian section, Middle eastern section, salad and charcuterie section, cooked foods, fruits, yogurts, and a made to order menu featuring egg dishes and waffles/pancakes. I ordered an off the menu egg paratha but was happy with the Maldivian omelet.
$$$. Luckily if you're a diamond, remember to order off the kid's menu and that entree is free. We got kid's menu items every meal just because it was free anyway. I had to remind the staff several times that kid's items are free for diamonds. My eldest is 7 y.o. going on 8 though so staff don't ask for IDs or anything. But this also meant kids ate fries a lot. There are healthier selections at Peacock Alley/Tasting Table for the kid's menu.
Otherwise, the best "value" IMO is the Ledge. Burnt Ends (Michelin Star and one of Asia's best restaurants) chefs rotate to the restaurant regularly. So you can get some of the famous dishes from Burnt Ends including Peri Peri chicken and leeks with hazelnuts. The Peri Peri chicken is tender and flavorful and great for low carb eaters. The Ledge shares a kid's menu with Nava and has no kid's menu of its own. The kid's menu burger is great and from the Ledge.
Note on timing: dinner starts at 7 pm. If you eat early, go to Peacock Alley anytime, Nava before 5:30 pm or the pizza bar.
Personal Concierge
Our personal concierge was friendly and mostly responsive. I would message him via WhatsApp and he would be responsive from early morning to evening (I mostly messaged from about 9 am - 7 pm though). He told me he normally handles 3 clients though could take up to 5 at busy times. I suggested that perhaps guests could fill out forms or go over a rough schedule daily with the personal concierge so both sides have a better handle on things. I was a little disappointed that he missed out on providing kid's bikes to us a few times, but let it slide. He did get us snorkeling masks from the dive center which we could use for the duration of our stay. Kids' life jackets are supposed to be chargeable but he let us have one for free for a few hours. He can also arrange to have your floats inflated and deflated easily. Overall it was great connecting almost instantly with someone and getting your queries handled.
Getting Around
Buggy service is the way to go, especially if it's mid-day or if you're going to farther flung parts of this pretty spread out resort. It gets hot, as in unbearably hot if you were to walk outside for 15 minutes mid-day. I'd walk from the fitness center to the Ledge or Nava and that's as far as I would comfortably go. Unfortunately you can wait a while for the buggy during peak times. We waited about 20 minutes at about 8 pm one evening and were nervous since we were leaving soon. I gave this feedback to the resort and they said they are increasing number of buggies.
Freebies to Remember
The following activities are free: catamaran, paddle boats, kayaks, and stand up paddle boarding. I wish I knew this the first time, but we only got to go paddle boating this time.
We would have loved to have gone on the catamaran but it was never windy enough.
There are also yoga sessions and small activities on certain days labeled as "Wellness".
Kids Club
It's a great, large kid's club with the biggest and best outdoor facilities I've ever seen. There is a water park, trampoline, playground set outdoors. Otherwise, there are tons of toys and arts and crafts inside.
Overall Service
While there were some misses, the overall service was wonderful. The assistant front manager sat with us for a while to collect feedback before we departed and I let him know about some misses in our requests and the buggy service. They also did two things that really topped it off for us:
1. Put us up on a Grand OWV since we were on a red eye flight. The kids loved this villa and were so happy to have a place to come back to between meals and beach time. They missed the OWV from the first trip and this made up for it.
2. Our kids were sleeping when we went to the airport. This made carrying them and our luggage very difficult. Not only did the transportation staff carry our things, the contact got one of the Maldivian airport staff to whisk us through at least a 20 minute security gate wait. We were eternally grateful because we seriously did not know how to manage everything and my back would have been broken by then.
I'm not a beach/tropical person at all but my family loves it. I loved the overall service though and would definitely visit yet again.