Jan 2, 2019, 3:02 pm
Last edit by: Jaffar
:-: Welcome to the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi Wiki! :-:
Notes: All prices are in US Dollars and are exclusive of taxes unless specified (by ++)
Tax Information
• 10% Service Charge (levied by resort. For info on this and how it's distributed, see this post)
• 16% T-GST (Tourist Goods & Services Tax, levied by the Maldivian government, current as of Jan 1, 2023). Old 2022 rate was 12%.
• Total tax is 27.2%, not 26% as one would think. Example; $100 + 10% = $110, then add 16% on to $110 for a total of $127.20.
• Tip: To work out prices before the 27.2% taxes, multiply by 0.7862, i.e; 127.2 * 0.7862 = 100
• A Green Tax of $6pp/pn (levied by the Maldivian government) has been introduced starting from 1 November 2015. Points/Redemption bookings are exempt from the tax for up to two guests per room
Booking with points
• Bookings must be cancelled 30 days prior in order to avoid one full night's charge at BAR. (some days cancellation period is 14 days check your reservation details for the exact applicable cancellation policy)
• Website and phone agents state that a cash deposit equivalent to the BAR per night will be taken when booking stays with points. This is an error. NO CASH DEPOSIT IS TAKEN WHEN MAKING A POINTS BOOKING
• Free night certificate: The phone agent states that a cash deposit equivalent to the BAR per night will be taken when booking your free night. This is an error. NO CASH DEPOSIT IS TAKEN WHEN USING YOUR FREE NIGHT CERTIFICATE
• This hotel is extremely popular. Rooms are released to be booked with points about 1 year in advance. It seems to be a partially manual process so it's not an exact science. After being released those rooms get booked within a matter of minutes. If you have specific dates you want you need to book them one at a time a year in advance, or risk booking last minute. Yes that makes it hard to use the 5th night free. You can book 5 individual nights and cancel them all to rebook getting the 5th night free, but there's only about a 50% chance the rooms go back into inventory so it's risky. There is no secret, just check Hilton.com all the time. If you don't want to do that, someone else will and they'll get the rooms.
Transfers To and From Resort
• Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi is located in South Malé Atoll, 23km southwest of Malé and Velana International Airport [MLE] (also known as Malé International Airport, previously known as Ibrahim Nasir International Airport)
• Transfer experience includes personal service for your group after luggage pick-up until arrival on the yacht; yacht includes dedicated server for champagne, non-alcoholic beverages, and light snacks. Departure experience on the yacht is the same, and your group be personally escorted through airline check-in until airport security.
• Pricing in 2021 is $650++, 2020 is $600++ per person, and 2019 it was $350++ per person per way ($1724.80 return inclusive of taxes for 2 passengers). The price for kids 5 and under is complimentary while kids 6-11 years old are charged $300++ per person. If the yacht is not available, a speedboat will be provided by the resort. If this happens, you may be refunded the yacht transfer fee.
• Pricing for 2022 will increase to $730++ for adults and $365++ children 6-12, see website by clicking here.
• Pricing for 2023 will increase to $780++ for adults ($995.28 nett) and $390++ for children 6-12
• The resort offers the ability to redeem Hilton Honors points for your transfer, .strValue1=all&promoGroupList[1].strValue1=en_US&qt[0].type=fieldsearch&qt[0].name=panname_country_s&qt[0].value1=MDV&rc=24&sort=timeleft_asc]click here.
• See this post for a detailed review of the yacht transfer (Courtesy of jphripjah)
• Third party transfers are not permitted by the resort.
• Transfer to / from Conrad Maldives Rangali Island: A private seaplane transfer from the Waldorf to the Conrad, taking approximately 25 minutes, is approximately USD 8,125++. Most guests travel between the resort booking the standard round trip seaplane from Male to Rangali and then the Yacht transfer round trip from Male to Waldorf.
Time
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi time has been set one hour ahead of Male’ time to give an extra hour of daylight each day. For ease, set phone or Dhaka Sri Lanka time zone.
Resort Information / Spa / Activities
• WA Ithaafushi is made up of three islands (95% man-made)
• There are 2 standalone OWVs (Over Water Villas) and 121 villas in total
• Click here (Hilton's website) or here (dedicated website) to visit the resort on the web
• The kids club (one of the biggest in the Maldives) is for children between 4 to 11 years. Click here for detailed information and here for the schedule. Click here, here and here for basic reviews and comprehensive sets of pictures (All courtesy of Traveler Dave)
• See this and this post for info on the Christmas Eve and New Years Eve Gala Fee
• Click here to visit the resort's listing on TripAdvisor
• Tennis courts: See this post
• For a new map of the resort click here
> For the old map of the resort click here * Note that this map is orientated north and so the SUNRISE and SUNSET written on it are incorrect. Also note that you receive a black and white map when you arrive and this is not as good nor as detailed as the one posted here. For comments on the quality of the map, click here
• Snorkelling spots and other info 3e4sd:Link to post: (Courtesy of AirForceFlyer)
• Scuba Diving pics :Link to post: (Courtesy of Traveler Dave)
• Activities Brochure (prices as of July 2019)
• Spa pics and review :Link to post: (Courtesy of Traveler Dave)
• Wellness Programme :Link to post: (Courtesy of AirForceFlyer)
Resort Information - F&B and Menus
• The resort has 11 restaurants / bars
• Kids under 6 eat free when ordering from the dedicated kids menu (all restaurants except the adult only ones have kids menu; does not apply to in-room dining)
• Some restaurant menus are available in PDF format on the resort's website. Click here to visit the relevant page on their website
• Menus for most restaurants as of early October 2020: See this post
• For pictures of most of the menus: Part 1 and Part 2
• Dining Programme / restaurant opening times: See this post and the post below it
• IVD (In Villa Dining) menus: See this post
• Yasmeen - Menu version discussion here.
• Terra is $298.00++ per person. As of December 2019, the set menu includes Amuse Brioche (3 selections per person), a starter (tuna, avocado, caviar), 2 courses highlighting lobster and wagyu beef with a pallet cleanse in between, a dessert course, then finishing with 3 additional sweet selections per person.
• The Ledge - See this post. Note that this menu changes daily but there are probably only 2 for each day and 14 in total (7 for lunch and 7 for dinner). Chefs rotate to the resort from Burnt Ends in Singapore.
+ Peacock Alley 1/2 priced drinks daily after 9:30pm. High-quality cocktails and liquors available at a very affordable price ranging from $13-$15 post discount
+ Tasting Table full buffet breakfast with made to order entrees and complimentary Champagne for $65++/person or Free for Hilton Diamond / Gold
+ Glow and Yasmeen wine selections are priced in the $65 - $85 ++ range per bottle.
• Lunch can be purchased at the main pool or beach from Nava or The Ledge. The majority of lunch entrees cost $30-$50++. Lunch is also available at Tasting Table, Tangled, or In Villa Dining.
• A new pizza oven was flown in from Italy to replace the original oven installed at Nava, and an Italian chef traveled to the resort to work with the team to elevate pizza quality in early December of 2019.
• During festive season 2019, the resort introduced a lobster & champagne dinner on the beach, including tasting stations, free flow champagne, and a live band for $298++ per person.
Miscellaneous Information
• Villa pool depth: See this post
• Best snorkelling spots: See this post and this post
• Complimentary water (in villa): See this post
• Walking / getting around the resort: See this post
• Sunset / Sunrise at the resort: See this post and this post
• Power outlet configuration: See this post
Elite member benefits:
Accommodation:
At opening the resort defined Beach Villas as the lowest category of accommodation (only this category bookable with points). The next highest category was Reef Villas then above that, the Overwater Villas. Note: villas on the Private Island do not count.
This will change in 2020. Quote from the resort "Please be informed that for next year we have changed our villa category. Kindly note that the Reef Villa will be our base category, next will be the Overwater Villa and then the Beach Villa. Basically the Beach Villa will be a higher category compared to reef Villa and Overwater Villa."
See this post for the conversation related to this. Pricing has changed as well to reflect this. See below for 2020 pricing.
Note that as of August 2019 the BV is still available to book on points in 2020. This may change, however.
Prices - Accommodation (2020):
***** March 2020 Figures *****
• Beach Villa USD 2630
• Overwater Villa USD 2430
• Reef Villa USD 1930
Prices - Accommodation (2019):
***** July 2019 Figures *****
• 2 Bedroom Beach Villa with Pool USD 3850
• 2 Bedroom Over Water Villa with Pool USD 4350
***** October 2019 Figures *****
• Beach Villa USD 2100
• Grand Beach Villa USD 2300
• Reef Villa USD 2300
• Grand Reef Villa USD 2500
• Overwater Villa USD 2500
• Grand Overwater Villa USD 2700
***** Upgrade Costs - Jul 2019 *****
• Two Bedroom Beach - US 2000
• Two Bedroom Grand Beach - US 2200
• Two Bedroom Reef - US 2200
• Two Bedroom Overwater - US 2400
***** Upgrade Costs - Oct 2019 *****
• Reef Villa USD 200
• OWV USD 400
Villa Types and Abbreviations used in this thread (listed in order from most basic to most luxurious)
-- BVs (Beach Villas) --
BV (Beach Villa)
GBV (Grand Beach Villa)
-- RVs (Reef Villas) --
RV (Reef Villa, the Garden Villa category shown in the pre-opening promo video)
GRV (Grand Reef Villa, also a type of Garden Villa shown in the pre-opening promo video)
-- OWVs (Over Water Villas) aka Ocean Villas in rewards booking --
OV (Overwater Villa)
GOV (Grand Overwater Villa)
SMR (Stella Maris Residences)
-- Occupancy Information --
See this post for maximum occupancy of each villa type
Villa Selection
• See this post and this post
• Privacy - Beach Villas: For pics, info and opinions, see the following posts; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Travel & Safety Information
• The Maldives is listed in Category 1 (the highest category) on the
WHO Zika virus classification table. However, don't let that scare you because as of April 13, 2017 there has only been one confirmed case of Zika in the Maldives
• Click here for information related to the single Zika infection in the Maldives (reported in January of that year)
Contact
• General Enquiries: [email protected]
• Reservations Department: [email protected]
• Tel: +960-4000-300
• Click here for hilton site and click here for Waldorf Maldives website
Weather:
Note: since the resort is close to Mahibadhoo (where there is a weather station), I have added this info from the Conrad Maldives thread as both resorts are close by and the weather will be the same as far as forecasts go (MaldivesFreak)
• General info on weather in the Maldives: Link 1 Link 2 (Maldivian government website)
• Recommended Android weather app: eWeather HD. See this post for detailed info on the app, settings, tips and general weather info (Courtesy of MaldivesFreak)
• Want to get an idea about the weather in the month of August? Click here to read a post from a FT member that spends 2 weeks at Rangali during this month (Courtesy of Splotly)
Pictures - Resort under construction:
• January, 2018 :Link to post:
• June, 2018 :Link to post:
• Approx October, 2018 :Link to post:
• January, 2019 :Link to post:
Pictures & Videos - Post-opening:
• General pics of the resort (July, 2019) :Link to post: (Courtesy of jphripjah)
• The Stella Maris exclusive! :Link to post with links to videos: (Courtesy of alanslegal)
• Breakfast buffet at Tasting Table - Post #1 :Link to post: (Courtesy of alanslegal)
• Breakfast buffet at Tasting Table - Post #2 :Link to post: (Courtesy of jphripjah)
• Breakfast buffet at Tasting Table - Post #3 :Link to post: (Courtesy of Traveler Dave)
• Breakfast buffet at Tasting Table - Post #4 :Link to post: (Courtesy of Another Getaway)
• IVD(in villa dining) :Link to post: (Courtesy of Stivelio)
• Terra (views from all 7 'cages') :Link to post: (Courtesy of jphripjah)
• Terra and Family Pool :Link to post with link to video: (Courtesy of alanslegal)
• Reef Villa with sunset view :Link to post: (Courtesy of Stivelio)
• Views in the direction of Male (night & day pics) :Link to post 1: (Courtesy of wekxbrainx) :Link to post 2: (Courtesy of jphripjah)
• Bicycle tour :Link to post:
• Various resort and villa pics from a stay in November 2019 :Link to post: (Courtesy of aspenedelen)
Reviews:
• Review by Jermyn
• Review by goldelite8
• Review by escape4
• Review by Falcons05 (text only)
Historical Information for high rollers:
+ $135 shisha, Check out this post
+ If you do NOT have Gold/Diamond status with Free breakfast AND you decide NOT to pay the $65++ for full buffet at Tasting Table, then you may or may not encounter a $35 charge for a single egg
+ 106,000 dollar bottle of wine: Click
here for a picture of the wine menu (reactions follow on subsequent pages)
Notes: All prices are in US Dollars and are exclusive of taxes unless specified (by ++)
Tax Information
• 10% Service Charge (levied by resort. For info on this and how it's distributed, see this post)
• 16% T-GST (Tourist Goods & Services Tax, levied by the Maldivian government, current as of Jan 1, 2023). Old 2022 rate was 12%.
• Total tax is 27.2%, not 26% as one would think. Example; $100 + 10% = $110, then add 16% on to $110 for a total of $127.20.
• Tip: To work out prices before the 27.2% taxes, multiply by 0.7862, i.e; 127.2 * 0.7862 = 100
• A Green Tax of $6pp/pn (levied by the Maldivian government) has been introduced starting from 1 November 2015. Points/Redemption bookings are exempt from the tax for up to two guests per room
Booking with points
• Bookings must be cancelled 30 days prior in order to avoid one full night's charge at BAR. (some days cancellation period is 14 days check your reservation details for the exact applicable cancellation policy)
• Website and phone agents state that a cash deposit equivalent to the BAR per night will be taken when booking stays with points. This is an error. NO CASH DEPOSIT IS TAKEN WHEN MAKING A POINTS BOOKING
• Free night certificate: The phone agent states that a cash deposit equivalent to the BAR per night will be taken when booking your free night. This is an error. NO CASH DEPOSIT IS TAKEN WHEN USING YOUR FREE NIGHT CERTIFICATE
• This hotel is extremely popular. Rooms are released to be booked with points about 1 year in advance. It seems to be a partially manual process so it's not an exact science. After being released those rooms get booked within a matter of minutes. If you have specific dates you want you need to book them one at a time a year in advance, or risk booking last minute. Yes that makes it hard to use the 5th night free. You can book 5 individual nights and cancel them all to rebook getting the 5th night free, but there's only about a 50% chance the rooms go back into inventory so it's risky. There is no secret, just check Hilton.com all the time. If you don't want to do that, someone else will and they'll get the rooms.
Transfers To and From Resort
• Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi is located in South Malé Atoll, 23km southwest of Malé and Velana International Airport [MLE] (also known as Malé International Airport, previously known as Ibrahim Nasir International Airport)
• Transfer experience includes personal service for your group after luggage pick-up until arrival on the yacht; yacht includes dedicated server for champagne, non-alcoholic beverages, and light snacks. Departure experience on the yacht is the same, and your group be personally escorted through airline check-in until airport security.
• Pricing in 2021 is $650++, 2020 is $600++ per person, and 2019 it was $350++ per person per way ($1724.80 return inclusive of taxes for 2 passengers). The price for kids 5 and under is complimentary while kids 6-11 years old are charged $300++ per person. If the yacht is not available, a speedboat will be provided by the resort. If this happens, you may be refunded the yacht transfer fee.
• Pricing for 2022 will increase to $730++ for adults and $365++ children 6-12, see website by clicking here.
• Pricing for 2023 will increase to $780++ for adults ($995.28 nett) and $390++ for children 6-12
• The resort offers the ability to redeem Hilton Honors points for your transfer, .strValue1=all&promoGroupList[1].strValue1=en_US&qt[0].type=fieldsearch&qt[0].name=panname_country_s&qt[0].value1=MDV&rc=24&sort=timeleft_asc]click here.
• See this post for a detailed review of the yacht transfer (Courtesy of jphripjah)
• Third party transfers are not permitted by the resort.
• Transfer to / from Conrad Maldives Rangali Island: A private seaplane transfer from the Waldorf to the Conrad, taking approximately 25 minutes, is approximately USD 8,125++. Most guests travel between the resort booking the standard round trip seaplane from Male to Rangali and then the Yacht transfer round trip from Male to Waldorf.
Time
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi time has been set one hour ahead of Male’ time to give an extra hour of daylight each day. For ease, set phone or Dhaka Sri Lanka time zone.
Resort Information / Spa / Activities
• WA Ithaafushi is made up of three islands (95% man-made)
• There are 2 standalone OWVs (Over Water Villas) and 121 villas in total
• Click here (Hilton's website) or here (dedicated website) to visit the resort on the web
• The kids club (one of the biggest in the Maldives) is for children between 4 to 11 years. Click here for detailed information and here for the schedule. Click here, here and here for basic reviews and comprehensive sets of pictures (All courtesy of Traveler Dave)
• See this and this post for info on the Christmas Eve and New Years Eve Gala Fee
• Click here to visit the resort's listing on TripAdvisor
• Tennis courts: See this post
• For a new map of the resort click here
> For the old map of the resort click here * Note that this map is orientated north and so the SUNRISE and SUNSET written on it are incorrect. Also note that you receive a black and white map when you arrive and this is not as good nor as detailed as the one posted here. For comments on the quality of the map, click here
• Snorkelling spots and other info 3e4sd:Link to post: (Courtesy of AirForceFlyer)
• Scuba Diving pics :Link to post: (Courtesy of Traveler Dave)
• Activities Brochure (prices as of July 2019)
• Spa pics and review :Link to post: (Courtesy of Traveler Dave)
• Wellness Programme :Link to post: (Courtesy of AirForceFlyer)
Resort Information - F&B and Menus
• The resort has 11 restaurants / bars
• Kids under 6 eat free when ordering from the dedicated kids menu (all restaurants except the adult only ones have kids menu; does not apply to in-room dining)
• Some restaurant menus are available in PDF format on the resort's website. Click here to visit the relevant page on their website
• Menus for most restaurants as of early October 2020: See this post
• For pictures of most of the menus: Part 1 and Part 2
• Dining Programme / restaurant opening times: See this post and the post below it
• IVD (In Villa Dining) menus: See this post
• Yasmeen - Menu version discussion here.
• Terra is $298.00++ per person. As of December 2019, the set menu includes Amuse Brioche (3 selections per person), a starter (tuna, avocado, caviar), 2 courses highlighting lobster and wagyu beef with a pallet cleanse in between, a dessert course, then finishing with 3 additional sweet selections per person.
• The Ledge - See this post. Note that this menu changes daily but there are probably only 2 for each day and 14 in total (7 for lunch and 7 for dinner). Chefs rotate to the resort from Burnt Ends in Singapore.
+ Peacock Alley 1/2 priced drinks daily after 9:30pm. High-quality cocktails and liquors available at a very affordable price ranging from $13-$15 post discount
+ Tasting Table full buffet breakfast with made to order entrees and complimentary Champagne for $65++/person or Free for Hilton Diamond / Gold
+ Glow and Yasmeen wine selections are priced in the $65 - $85 ++ range per bottle.
• Lunch can be purchased at the main pool or beach from Nava or The Ledge. The majority of lunch entrees cost $30-$50++. Lunch is also available at Tasting Table, Tangled, or In Villa Dining.
• A new pizza oven was flown in from Italy to replace the original oven installed at Nava, and an Italian chef traveled to the resort to work with the team to elevate pizza quality in early December of 2019.
• During festive season 2019, the resort introduced a lobster & champagne dinner on the beach, including tasting stations, free flow champagne, and a live band for $298++ per person.
Miscellaneous Information
• Villa pool depth: See this post
• Best snorkelling spots: See this post and this post
• Complimentary water (in villa): See this post
• Walking / getting around the resort: See this post
• Sunset / Sunrise at the resort: See this post and this post
• Power outlet configuration: See this post
Elite member benefits:
Hilton Honors GOLD MEMBERS:
- Full breakfast at Tasting Table
- In-villa VIP welcome bottle of wine and fruits
- Complimentary daily afternoon delights (see here for pic) with a fine selection of beverages crafted by mixologist and sommelier from 16:00 to 17:00 at Peacock Alley. Note The afternoon delights have been removed and replaced with a bowl of nuts or crisps for example
- 50% special offer on selected beverages at Nava Beach Club from 22:00 to 23:30
- Full breakfast at Tasting Table
- Free item from the kids menu for kids under 6 y.o. (staff are somewhat flexible on this age limit)
- In-villa VIP welcome Champagne, sweet and savoury amenities, note this could be downgraded to a bottle of red wine.
- [Diamond only benefit] With a selected 60-minute massage, enjoy a complimentary additional 30-minute at Waldorf Astoria Spa
- Complimentary daily afternoon delights (see here for pic) with a fine selection of beverages crafted by mixologist and sommelier from 16:00 to 17:00 at Peacock Alley. Note : The afternoon delights have been removed and replaced with a bowl of nuts or crisps for example
- 50% special offer on selected beverages at Nava Beach Club from 22:00 to 23:30 (January 2021: Currently at Peacock Alley as Nava closes at 7pm due to Covid-19 service changes)
Accommodation:
At opening the resort defined Beach Villas as the lowest category of accommodation (only this category bookable with points). The next highest category was Reef Villas then above that, the Overwater Villas. Note: villas on the Private Island do not count.
This will change in 2020. Quote from the resort "Please be informed that for next year we have changed our villa category. Kindly note that the Reef Villa will be our base category, next will be the Overwater Villa and then the Beach Villa. Basically the Beach Villa will be a higher category compared to reef Villa and Overwater Villa."
See this post for the conversation related to this. Pricing has changed as well to reflect this. See below for 2020 pricing.
Note that as of August 2019 the BV is still available to book on points in 2020. This may change, however.
Prices - Accommodation (2020):
***** March 2020 Figures *****
• Beach Villa USD 2630
• Overwater Villa USD 2430
• Reef Villa USD 1930
Prices - Accommodation (2019):
***** July 2019 Figures *****
• 2 Bedroom Beach Villa with Pool USD 3850
• 2 Bedroom Over Water Villa with Pool USD 4350
***** October 2019 Figures *****
• Beach Villa USD 2100
• Grand Beach Villa USD 2300
• Reef Villa USD 2300
• Grand Reef Villa USD 2500
• Overwater Villa USD 2500
• Grand Overwater Villa USD 2700
***** Upgrade Costs - Jul 2019 *****
• Two Bedroom Beach - US 2000
• Two Bedroom Grand Beach - US 2200
• Two Bedroom Reef - US 2200
• Two Bedroom Overwater - US 2400
***** Upgrade Costs - Oct 2019 *****
• Reef Villa USD 200
• OWV USD 400
Villa Types and Abbreviations used in this thread (listed in order from most basic to most luxurious)
-- BVs (Beach Villas) --
BV (Beach Villa)
GBV (Grand Beach Villa)
-- RVs (Reef Villas) --
RV (Reef Villa, the Garden Villa category shown in the pre-opening promo video)
GRV (Grand Reef Villa, also a type of Garden Villa shown in the pre-opening promo video)
-- OWVs (Over Water Villas) aka Ocean Villas in rewards booking --
OV (Overwater Villa)
GOV (Grand Overwater Villa)
SMR (Stella Maris Residences)
-- Occupancy Information --
See this post for maximum occupancy of each villa type
Villa Selection
• See this post and this post
• Privacy - Beach Villas: For pics, info and opinions, see the following posts; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Travel & Safety Information
• The Maldives is listed in Category 1 (the highest category) on the
WHO Zika virus classification table. However, don't let that scare you because as of April 13, 2017 there has only been one confirmed case of Zika in the Maldives
• Click here for information related to the single Zika infection in the Maldives (reported in January of that year)
Contact
• General Enquiries: [email protected]
• Reservations Department: [email protected]
• Tel: +960-4000-300
• Click here for hilton site and click here for Waldorf Maldives website
Weather:
Note: since the resort is close to Mahibadhoo (where there is a weather station), I have added this info from the Conrad Maldives thread as both resorts are close by and the weather will be the same as far as forecasts go (MaldivesFreak)
• General info on weather in the Maldives: Link 1 Link 2 (Maldivian government website)
• Recommended Android weather app: eWeather HD. See this post for detailed info on the app, settings, tips and general weather info (Courtesy of MaldivesFreak)
• Want to get an idea about the weather in the month of August? Click here to read a post from a FT member that spends 2 weeks at Rangali during this month (Courtesy of Splotly)
Pictures - Resort under construction:
• January, 2018 :Link to post:
• June, 2018 :Link to post:
• Approx October, 2018 :Link to post:
• January, 2019 :Link to post:
Pictures & Videos - Post-opening:
• General pics of the resort (July, 2019) :Link to post: (Courtesy of jphripjah)
• The Stella Maris exclusive! :Link to post with links to videos: (Courtesy of alanslegal)
• Breakfast buffet at Tasting Table - Post #1 :Link to post: (Courtesy of alanslegal)
• Breakfast buffet at Tasting Table - Post #2 :Link to post: (Courtesy of jphripjah)
• Breakfast buffet at Tasting Table - Post #3 :Link to post: (Courtesy of Traveler Dave)
• Breakfast buffet at Tasting Table - Post #4 :Link to post: (Courtesy of Another Getaway)
• IVD(in villa dining) :Link to post: (Courtesy of Stivelio)
• Terra (views from all 7 'cages') :Link to post: (Courtesy of jphripjah)
• Terra and Family Pool :Link to post with link to video: (Courtesy of alanslegal)
• Reef Villa with sunset view :Link to post: (Courtesy of Stivelio)
• Views in the direction of Male (night & day pics) :Link to post 1: (Courtesy of wekxbrainx) :Link to post 2: (Courtesy of jphripjah)
• Bicycle tour :Link to post:
• Various resort and villa pics from a stay in November 2019 :Link to post: (Courtesy of aspenedelen)
Reviews:
• Review by Jermyn
• Review by goldelite8
• Review by escape4
• Review by Falcons05 (text only)
Historical Information for high rollers:
+ $135 shisha, Check out this post
+ If you do NOT have Gold/Diamond status with Free breakfast AND you decide NOT to pay the $65++ for full buffet at Tasting Table, then you may or may not encounter a $35 charge for a single egg
+ 106,000 dollar bottle of wine: Click
here for a picture of the wine menu (reactions follow on subsequent pages)
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi {MDV}
May 22, 2022, 8:57 pm
#2506
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 40
By the way, I had tried ordering the house still water for dinner and still ended up with a $5 charge per bottle. Maybe they changed it recently so it’s no longer a loophole for free water.
May 22, 2022, 10:50 pm
#2507
Join Date: May 2022
Posts: 3
I am just back from 6 days and 5 nights at the WA. Appreciated all of the comments upthread, so I thought I would post my experience and perspective.
I booked 4 award nights at the old 120,000 point rate a year ago for a 5 night trip. I booked a very reasonable business class trip on QR from Chicago (which was the motivation for the trip).
Leaving from Chicago T5 always a pain -- and even more so now as there no lounge for QR passengers. I survived by hitting the AA Flagship lounge (as I positioned in from MSP) and I bought up to
the Al Safwa First lounge in DOH (recommended if you have the time). QR had swapped out Q-suite equipped 777 for a dry leased CX 777.
Upon arrival in MLE, we met a WA greeter who walked us across the street to the yacht. We shared it with 2 other parties who evidently were also on our flight. Although it was early, it did not seem like it and we enjoyed multiple glasses of wine on the 45 minute trip. They also put out a bowl of mixed nuts, but no other food. We were met on the pier by our concierge for the week Samir. He was friendly and responsive to our needs, but was not intrusive. He have us a quick whirlwind tour of the island on a golf cart and then delivered us to our villa 502 (which was ready for us). Despite some concerns upthread, we liked the spot. Easy walking distance to key things (like Peacock Alley, Li Long and Tasting Table), great unobstructive views and pretty quiet. On our 4th day we were asked if we mined moving to accommodate our late check our (9 pm flight out of MLE). We were moved to a Grand Over Water Villa (119) which we could have until our 7 pm departure to MLE (which was fantastic). The Grand Villas have an extra sitting room and a larger pool, but otherwise quite similar. I echo the comments upthread -- I prefer the reef villa (better location, quieter). But it was nice to try both and both were great.
We were offered a free 30 minute aqua therapy in the Spa aqua therapy pool.... It is sort of like a circuit you move through effectively getting a water massage. After a long flight it felt great and I would highly recommend taking advantage of it. Great to shake off the jet lag. Later in the week my wife did the 60+30 massage and loved it.
The breakfast is well covered here and great. We are early risers and Tasting Table is relatively quiet before 9am..... But we ate so well, we often skipped lunches as we were not that hungry.
The food in general is quite good. And with the number of restaurants on site there is no problem of choice or need to repeat much. Wine.... no surprise that mark ups are high. Bottles were marked up 5-10 times over high street pricing..... there was no rhyme or reason to the pricing... But it was not like all the cheap wines were on the high end, or all of the vintage wines. Several of the wines we asked for were out of stock (even though the beverage list is a digital pdf and could be updated on the go). So have a back up or two in mind. And while the menus are easy to access online, I could not do that with the individual restaurant lists. There is a master wine list but I was warned wines from there could take 30 minutes to arrive.
Glow: Food was solid. White asparagus soup was great. Also had the Maldivian reef fish.
Yasmen : I loved it as I love middle eastern food. The meal for 2 is a lot.
The Ledge: Good for dinner. Lunch was better when you can get the Wagyu Steak Sando (that was crazy good).
Li Long: Probably our best (and most expensive -- we did the 7 course tasting menu) dinner.
Tasting Table: Does a solid dinner. Lots to choose from and excellent service. Ate on the beach.
Nava: Did lunch there.
Ordered the "house" water for all of the meals.
My most controversial comment will be Happy Hour at Peacock Alley. The timing is tough. at 3:30 you need to stop what you doing, change into some now swimwear and head over there.
The drinks are fine. I didn't really care for the spicy nuts.... odd flavor and soft. If you skip lunch you drinking on an empty stomach. In any case afterwards you have 2 hours to kill before you can think about dinner. I wish they pushed this back an hour or two.
Service is another issue. Some days it was excellent. One day we sat down at 4 knowing what we wanted. We ordered 2 drinks and actually some Satays (as we had skipped lunch). The satays came and were consumed. The drinks hit our table a 4:37. It was not that busy. They apologized for the delay and I am not sure what happened. The table next to ours got their drinks even later. I think if I go back I will just skip the happy hour and enjoy the afternoon. We did that the last 2 days.
We did not do too much but relax by the pool. We had some windy days that made water toys difficult. I did snorkel twice.... once by the dive center and once on the wall next to the 100 series overwater villas.
Plenty of variety for fish, but most of the rock/coral is wrecked from the construction.... Did see one giant clam. But otherwise it was about the fish.
All in all it was a great trip. And happy to report that my charges triggered the 2022 More Nights, More Points - Triple Points promotion.
I booked 4 award nights at the old 120,000 point rate a year ago for a 5 night trip. I booked a very reasonable business class trip on QR from Chicago (which was the motivation for the trip).
Leaving from Chicago T5 always a pain -- and even more so now as there no lounge for QR passengers. I survived by hitting the AA Flagship lounge (as I positioned in from MSP) and I bought up to
the Al Safwa First lounge in DOH (recommended if you have the time). QR had swapped out Q-suite equipped 777 for a dry leased CX 777.
Upon arrival in MLE, we met a WA greeter who walked us across the street to the yacht. We shared it with 2 other parties who evidently were also on our flight. Although it was early, it did not seem like it and we enjoyed multiple glasses of wine on the 45 minute trip. They also put out a bowl of mixed nuts, but no other food. We were met on the pier by our concierge for the week Samir. He was friendly and responsive to our needs, but was not intrusive. He have us a quick whirlwind tour of the island on a golf cart and then delivered us to our villa 502 (which was ready for us). Despite some concerns upthread, we liked the spot. Easy walking distance to key things (like Peacock Alley, Li Long and Tasting Table), great unobstructive views and pretty quiet. On our 4th day we were asked if we mined moving to accommodate our late check our (9 pm flight out of MLE). We were moved to a Grand Over Water Villa (119) which we could have until our 7 pm departure to MLE (which was fantastic). The Grand Villas have an extra sitting room and a larger pool, but otherwise quite similar. I echo the comments upthread -- I prefer the reef villa (better location, quieter). But it was nice to try both and both were great.
We were offered a free 30 minute aqua therapy in the Spa aqua therapy pool.... It is sort of like a circuit you move through effectively getting a water massage. After a long flight it felt great and I would highly recommend taking advantage of it. Great to shake off the jet lag. Later in the week my wife did the 60+30 massage and loved it.
The breakfast is well covered here and great. We are early risers and Tasting Table is relatively quiet before 9am..... But we ate so well, we often skipped lunches as we were not that hungry.
The food in general is quite good. And with the number of restaurants on site there is no problem of choice or need to repeat much. Wine.... no surprise that mark ups are high. Bottles were marked up 5-10 times over high street pricing..... there was no rhyme or reason to the pricing... But it was not like all the cheap wines were on the high end, or all of the vintage wines. Several of the wines we asked for were out of stock (even though the beverage list is a digital pdf and could be updated on the go). So have a back up or two in mind. And while the menus are easy to access online, I could not do that with the individual restaurant lists. There is a master wine list but I was warned wines from there could take 30 minutes to arrive.
Glow: Food was solid. White asparagus soup was great. Also had the Maldivian reef fish.
Yasmen : I loved it as I love middle eastern food. The meal for 2 is a lot.
The Ledge: Good for dinner. Lunch was better when you can get the Wagyu Steak Sando (that was crazy good).
Li Long: Probably our best (and most expensive -- we did the 7 course tasting menu) dinner.
Tasting Table: Does a solid dinner. Lots to choose from and excellent service. Ate on the beach.
Nava: Did lunch there.
Ordered the "house" water for all of the meals.
My most controversial comment will be Happy Hour at Peacock Alley. The timing is tough. at 3:30 you need to stop what you doing, change into some now swimwear and head over there.
The drinks are fine. I didn't really care for the spicy nuts.... odd flavor and soft. If you skip lunch you drinking on an empty stomach. In any case afterwards you have 2 hours to kill before you can think about dinner. I wish they pushed this back an hour or two.
Service is another issue. Some days it was excellent. One day we sat down at 4 knowing what we wanted. We ordered 2 drinks and actually some Satays (as we had skipped lunch). The satays came and were consumed. The drinks hit our table a 4:37. It was not that busy. They apologized for the delay and I am not sure what happened. The table next to ours got their drinks even later. I think if I go back I will just skip the happy hour and enjoy the afternoon. We did that the last 2 days.
We did not do too much but relax by the pool. We had some windy days that made water toys difficult. I did snorkel twice.... once by the dive center and once on the wall next to the 100 series overwater villas.
Plenty of variety for fish, but most of the rock/coral is wrecked from the construction.... Did see one giant clam. But otherwise it was about the fish.
All in all it was a great trip. And happy to report that my charges triggered the 2022 More Nights, More Points - Triple Points promotion.
Mind if I ask if you were offered breakfast on the day you checked in? I am also arriving quite early.
May 23, 2022, 3:54 am
#2508
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 104
I have been checking to add on to an upcoming stay. After checking the dates for a while, I finally see some dates where a reef villa just started as showing as available, but it’s doesn’t list a point value to book by points. Anyone Seen this before? Any sense if it will be available for points soon? I have a couple FNC’s burning a hole in my pocket.
May 23, 2022, 5:26 am
#2509
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Minnetonka, MN, USA
Programs: DL Diamond 2MM, AA ExPlt
Posts: 936
That is when breakfast ends. And it is a 45 minute ride to the resort.
So, no, we did not get breakfast as we arrived too late.
;30
May 23, 2022, 8:26 am
#2510
Join Date: May 2022
Posts: 3
Well we arrived MLE at 8:30. QR took its time getting the baggage offloaded. We did not board the yacht until around 9:30 -- which is 10:30 island time.
That is when breakfast ends. And it is a 45 minute ride to the resort.
So, no, we did not get breakfast as we arrived too late.
;30
That is when breakfast ends. And it is a 45 minute ride to the resort.
So, no, we did not get breakfast as we arrived too late.
;30
May 23, 2022, 8:56 am
#2512
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 190
I have been checking to add on to an upcoming stay. After checking the dates for a while, I finally see some dates where a reef villa just started as showing as available, but it’s doesn’t list a point value to book by points. Anyone Seen this before? Any sense if it will be available for points soon? I have a couple FNC’s burning a hole in my pocket.
May 23, 2022, 9:05 am
#2513
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,328
I just got an extra night for our stay in a couple of weeks. It does seem like as the dates get closer there are some single dates that pop up with a certain amount of regularity.
May 23, 2022, 10:50 am
#2514
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 40
Used to but not anymore. We came from another resort yesterday and WA told us it wasn’t needed. But you should double check with them before your stay as you never know when things may change.
May 24, 2022, 2:27 pm
#2516
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 190
I was finally able to add my last days for a trip about a month out. The reef villa availability had shown under cash bookings the last few days but they didn't open any points booking. Finally today they enabled booking by points. Just keep checking a few times a day and hopefully it opens up!
May 25, 2022, 12:41 am
#2519
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 19
I have a 6-night stay booked from 21 to 27 September, which we might be looking to cancel (postpone). Would those dates suit?
May 25, 2022, 2:37 am
#2520
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,328
In the end I extended our stay by a night and changed flight to the following evening. We did an early start from Conrad to catch a similarly timed flight and it was a grim morning. I realise from the WA with yacht vs seaplane it would be a more chilled experience, but we just didn't fancy it in the end.