I recently got back to the US from this property and wanted to share my trip report with some answers to questions that I had before going. This was my first time ever staying at a resort like this. I booked with points with a GoH certificate attached for Globalist status.

Weeks in advance, I communicated by email to schedule some special events like excursions, a beach dinner, spa, etc. I don't think this was necessary; I could have set things up through my host on the day of (and did so) and I think the only things that might have been unavailable were certain spa appointment times that I would've just shifted to other times of the day. I also confirmed in advance a one-level overwater villa upgrade for $100/night.

At MLE, I met our host just after collecting our luggage. Our bags were overweight and we had to pay a penalty fee at the seaplane terminal, but the bags weren't reweighed for the return trip, so this is a one-time fee. We used a TMA lounge in the seaplane terminal while waiting for the flight; it's pleasant, air conditioned, and has a view of the arrival "runway" in the water for seaplanes, along with some basic drinks, muffins, etc.

The seaplane is tiny. Surprisingly, the seatbelt is longer than any other seatbelt I've seen on a "real" flight, even though the seats are quite narrow. If you can fit into a major airline's seatbelt (or even if you're close), you will be fine in the seaplane.

Upon arrival, our host met us and took us on an island tour before taking us to the villa, which was a sunset OWV. I was pleased to have gotten the "best" upgrade, especially because I had only paid for one level and so I was waiting for a chance to ask about complimentary upgrades, but everything happened so fast that I didn't. In hindsight, I think the Ocean OWVs might be better than the Sunset for a few reasons. The Sunsets have a view of the island itself, while the Ocean get more water in every view, which I think would be my preference. The sunsets are gorgeous, to be sure, but the island blocks the last bit of the low sun. The best views of the sunsets are on the western edge of the island, near the main restaurant and bar anyway, and not in the villas. Finally, the Ocean OWVs seem to be better shaded in the afternoons. On the Sunset side, once the sun hits the top of the sky, the plunge pool will be totally exposed. I got some sunburn from that. In an Ocean, I think the villa would provide some shade for the pool. So, if I came back for another trip, I may ask for an Ocean OWV if I was getting upgraded to a Sunset for free anyway.

One last note about the villas: half of them have plunge pools running parallel to the villa, and the other half's pools stick out at a 90-degree angle. I suppose it's a personal preference which is better. You might consider this when asking.

Throughout our stay, we noticed many of the same people at breakfast, the bar, etc. I would estimate that about 40-50% of the guests were European, and another 30-40% were East Asian. The last 20% or so were mostly Middle Eastern, South Asian, and a smattering of Americans (or maybe Canadians) like us. I think I saw just 3 other couples that I would confidently say live in North America. That was slightly surprising to me although it didn't affect our enjoyment of our stay whatsoever. As far as the staff goes, essentially all of them are South or Southeast Asian, as well as Maldivian, although I think a few hosts were East Asian and paired with guests who spoke their languages, so I didn't interact with them at all. All were extraordinarily friendly and pleasant. I admit some discomfort at being waited on hand and foot by these very hardworking folks, all with smiles on their faces, and all of them presumably making far less money than even the teenager in the US who makes my lattes.

As a Globalist points stay, only breakfast was free. The buffet has lots of fruits, pastries, some breakfast meats, a rotating speciality station (it seemed every other day was an Asian dish vs a Western dish; for example, one day was dosas, the next was croffles) and some fresh juices with sparkling wine. The a la carte menu is unlimited, and pretty good as well with a nice variety, though each dish is pretty small. We tended to hit the buffet once, maybe twice, and then order 3-4 a la carte dishes per person. I think only once did we feel like eating anything between breakfast and dinner. The dinner menu at the main restaurant, Seasalt, was adequate. There's a full page of vegetarian options. Entrees start in the mid to high 20s for basic pastas and run up to the 70s for steak and potatoes, or into the 100s for specialty meals such as their lobster night. Soda is 7, beer is 9. (All of these prices are then subject to both 16% tax and 10% mandatory gratuity, with a line on the receipt for additional gratuity.) I did not expect a tiny island nation to be a culinary revelation, and so my expectations were met. I did not try the high-end East Asian restaurant. I did enjoy the small Italian cafe, though, but it's only open for lunch with the exception of Saturday dinners. The food is good, don't get me wrong, but it is not five-star-hotel quality. Don't come here if your main goal is to eat the best food on the planet.

The spa was quite nice; my partner mentioned it was the best message of their life. It is not cheap. A 90-minute massage is about 200 (plus 16% and 10%, as well).

We enjoyed the excursions. There's things like dolphin cruises, a variety of types of snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboarding, whatever. The sunset kayak was probably our favorite. You can go to the water sports center to pick up snorkeling equipment for free and then swim around with it whenever you want, so I recommend doing this on your first opportunity. The marine life comes right up to the shore, and the reef is quite close as well.

We met a couple who had split their stay between the beach and overwater villas. They mentioned the beach villa had some lizards inside, and they didn't care for the outdoor bathroom. We had no regrets about paying an extra $100 a night for a guaranteed OWV. Our host mentioned the property was running 85-90% occupancy during our stay, which he called "quite full." Depending on the beach vs overwater occupancy breakdown, it's possible that even a Globalist might not have had space for a free upgrade to overwater without having paid to reserve it in advance. We loved being on the back deck of the villa, going in the pool, climbing down into the ocean with snorkeling gear, and spent most of our time doing that. We would not consider staying in a beach villa here; it would have to be overwater for another trip.

The property hosts three weekly receptions. There's a Globalist reception on Tuesdays and Fridays and one for everybody on Wednesday. We learned of the Globalist reception via a piece of paper slid under our villa door a few hours before it started on Tuesday, and we had to miss it. We attended Wednesdays and it was packed, so we didn't get much chance to talk to the resort staff. And we weren't invited to or informed of Friday's reception at all, so I only knew of it from the in-room list of events. Sad, because I would have liked to go to that.

The Wi-Fi was very good and connected all over the island, including the overwater villa pier.

Your host is your point of contact for your stay. Ours gave us his WhatsApp number and we communicated by text. If we wanted a golf cart ride to dinner, he was there in 5-10 minutes. If we wanted to book a kayaking trip or change our time slot at the spa, we just texted him. Very convenient. As with the food, our host was good but not great. We would ask him questions occasionally like where we could buy certain toiletries or what vegetarian options were in the special restaurant barbecue buffet that night, and he would reply that he thinks the on-island store sold them or that the buffet should have some choices for us. Only with a second follow up question would he actually go and confirm whether the shop carried what we needed or what the dishes were in the buffet. He told us (after we asked) that he was responsible for about 10 villas on any given day. I don't think that we monopolized his time at all, and he was responsive to us, but I also think I expected a bit more of a proactive approach from him than we received.

We were informed at about 8:00 PM the night before our departure of the seaplane timing for the next day. Our MLE flight was at 4:00 PM, and our seaplane was at 11:30 AM. At check out, our host took us to the library about 15 minutes before the plane ride to settle the bill. He gave us a bill that had double counted the $100/night upgrade charges by presenting them all together in once place and then as individual nightly charges throughout the bill (interspersed with all of our food, bar, spa, excursion charges). When we pointed it out, he stepped out of the room, fixed the issue, and gave us a new bill - which we really appreciated - but did not apologize or acknowledge the nearly $1,000 error, which we did not! So, make sure to scrutinize your bills. He had the credit card machine at the ready when he handed over the first bill, and I could hear the engines of the arriving seaplane as I was reading it, so I felt like we were in a bit of a hurry, but I am very glad to have taken the time to review closely.

Ultimately, we had a lovely time. If I was in the area, such as on a visit to India, and I had the Hyatt points, I would definitely stay again. Alila would win out over Park Hyatt for me given the guaranteed overwater villa with plunge pool upgrade availability for points stays, because I would consider that to be an essential part of the stay (we loved our private pool). The prices are very high, but that comes with the Maldivian territory. If I was paying cash, I would likely explore some other properties and compare what they have available. I have read that Alila is not quite as strong as other properties in its price range. I can see how that might be the case. But because I was coming in with a stash of Chase points and a GoH certificate, my choices were already down to 2 before I even began to look.

The water is so blue and it goes on forever. That's what will stick in my head.

I'm happy to answer any other questions.