Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi {MDV}
 

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Kiwi Flyer
Hilton HHonors forum moderator

Hi, newbie here! I've been a longtime follower of this thread and got so much good information! I have a quick question. This is my first time going to the Maldives and I have 6 nights booked at WA on points in February! My question is, when I booked the flight it said the requirement is to have $100 USD per day to cover expenses. Are we required to carry $100 USD cash per day? So $600 cash per person if it is for 2 people??

Also, I guess most people say that preferences form is useless that the hotel concierge emails you. But since I'm filling it out anyway, any villas you recommend? We have booked 2 nights in OWV and 4 nights in Reef Villas. Any recommendations are appreciated!!! :)

Only been to the Maldives once, but no one every asked how much money I had. Have seen this asked in other countries though. Those rules are set to make sure backpackers don’t show up and run out of money.

I’d bag the OWV and just stick with the Reef Villas. They cost less and are closer to everything. But still very private. Once you are behind the gate of your room you will not be able to tell if your room is OW or or attached to land.

TD

I can’t decide on whether to do a 7n stay or a 10n stay.. any thoughts to sway me in either direction?

We stayed 10 and wish we could have stayed another week!

TD

Where as I stayed 6 nights and thought that was just right. Each to their own and only you can tell what your personal preference would be.

I’m wondering if anyone with a small-ish child has asked for a Free upgrade to a BV from an RV (point redemption) for safety reasons, and what the outcome was? Or has anyone stayed in a RV with a five year old and how did you feel about it?

I am taking my 5 year old to the Maldives in Feb this year, we will be in both types of villas during our stay. I really do think it really depends on the child/parents, also whether your child can swim, will follow rules, be safe etc, only you can decide whats safe for your child.

Mostly true however the OWVs and Ocean villas include a glass floor in the closet area that allows you to look at the fish swimming under your Villa. Small thing not in the reef villas that we enjoyed :)

I recently finished a stay in both villa types (3 nights OWV, 2 Reef) and compared the two a few pages up, though technically both were upgraded to a "grand villa". I recommend splitting it the way you have just to get the experience of both. If I was going back a 2nd time I would probably prefer the Reef as it's a bit more private (especially if upgraded to a Grand Reef which has a front facing window) and closer to everything. As far as the move itself, the staff I chatted with remarked that it's a fairly regular occurrence that guests split stays between villa types - they had no issues moving everything for us (even said it wasn't an issue if we left clothes on the hangers). Just to be on the safe side I recommend confirming the timing of the switch when you arrive w/ your concierge (or in advance via email).

Can't go wrong either way, though - enjoy!

Anyone know what happens if one gets Covid while at the resort. Do you have to go to a government facility or stay at same hotel. What rate would they apply? I doubt an insurance company would cover $28,000 in room charges.

Heard a rumour that someone got it and were charged $20,000 recently at a Hilton resort in the Maldives.

Thank you so much for the info!! That makes me feel a lot better about splitting the stay!

When you check in they will take a deposit of this amount on our card. Then when you get final bill at checkout they will refund if any wasnt used (unlikely).

Just managed to switch a 6 night point booking at the Conrad in Feb to a 5 night point booking at the WA from 3/11 to 3/16. I was getting skeptical about traveling in February and was looking for availability from March to December for the Conrad daily with no luck but somehow managed to find an uninterrupted 5 night stay in a Reef villa so jumped on it. I have a Free night certificate from my Aspire card that I was hoping to use for the trip but looks there's no standard reward availability even though a King OWV is available for booking with cash on the day before and after my current booked dates so guessing I won't be able to use the free night certificate unless standard award availability pops ups?

If so, any recommendations for monitoring award availability? I read back a few pages and saw https://openhotelalert.com/ mentioned but this site doesn't appear to work anymore as there's no option to track Reef villas or OWV for those dates from what I can see.

Also, I saw a few people mentioning having trouble using the $250 Aspire Resort Credit at the WA no longer appears on the list of resorts eligible on the website (https://www3.hilton.com/en/resorts/i) but appears on the map view on the same site. Has anyone had recent success using this credit? TIA

Keep looking daily. If not multiple times a day. This is when being a “points person” pays off, but you have to do the work. I have been able to put together 3 weeks trips all on points to Bora Bora and Maldives the last 4 years. You just have to be diligent.

I have tried some of those sites in the past that send notifications, but found the hard to get resorts get booked before the notice arrives in my inbox.

TD