Originally Posted by
KL808
I'm booked here this November as well. Would you be able to tell us for beach villa what would be a good location? Sunset or sunrise?
Was the dive shop operational during your stay?
I prefer sunrise, it'll heat your pool up earlier in the day and you won't have the harsh afternoon soon.
The dive shop was operational and they have one dive instructor, Egor, who was great and friendly. Service is provided by eurodivers, which also operates diveshops on a dozen other properties, but means it won't count as eligible hyatt spend unlike at the PH. The pricing is on the higher side for the Maldives, and higher than the Amari (where Alex previously was the GM at and Laith also owns and uses eurodivers as the diveshop operator). They said it was due to Alila brand demanding a higher commission, but they aren't unreasonable and you can find the pricing and options
here. I definitely got a sense from them that on a lot of things their hands are tied, and is the reason why a lot of the decisions and design is very Alila but doesn't make sense for the Maldives. The example they gave was the reservations building, which is fully open air and never used, but is required by Alila and they're not allowed to enclose it so their computer gets drenched and fried every few weeks during rainstorms.
Originally Posted by
OregonTransplant
i see above where it's reported to cost 600pp RT for the seaplane transfer, however where is it on the website or officially documented? i can't seem to find it.
Not sure if it's posted online but Venu, the reservations manager who came over from the PH, will confirm the price by email after booking. At the time of my visit during opening week, it was $600 per adult and $300 for kids 3-12 and free for infants. But he did mention that prices could change without notice due to unpredictable fuel prices.