I’m always getting myself in trouble over this.

“Are you sure you want two entrees, Sir?”

”Yes thanks, i’m not that hungry”

I could have eaten for a week.

This property set a new tier of standard rate. To my knowledge, this is the only Hilton property with a standard rate of 120,000

We arrived yesterday afternoon, here are some thoughts so far:

- Arrival at MLE: friendly and competent staff. We waited 20 or so minutes for the boat to arrive, which was fine and the staff was enjoyable to talk with and they explained to us (accurately) when the boat would arrive.

- Transfer: again, friendly and competent staff. The ride was about 40 mins. Amenities are basically non-existent or an afterthought, but the boat ride was nice after the long flights.

- Check-in: this was disorganized and we wound up waiting about 15 minutes for a specific person to arrive. This should be done on the boat from the airport, or if not they need to be ready to move once guests arrive (especially when there is only one party arriving). I asked about the cost of upgrading our room, was told by the attendant that she would look into it, she didn’t so I asked someone else. Welcome bottle of champagne was in a bucket with nearly room temperature water.

- Resort property/room: it is very well done. The rooms are spacious, very well designed and they have paid good attention to the details. Definitely an A+.

- In room dining: we were tired last night and decided to stay in. The food arrived in about 25 minutes. The set up presentation was bizarre (only one placemat, flatware set up in a different spot from where the food was placed, no condiments or water were provided). The burger was very underwhelming (especially at $56+ or whatever it was) but the mushroom risotto was excellent.

- Breakfast: beautiful facility and lots of high quality choices. The staff seemed a little aloof, and we had to ask for various aspects of how things worked, for sweetener for coffee after it arrived, etc. For example, after speaking to our server, we went to the buffet area and I asked the attendant behind the counter if they had eggs. He told me they could be ordered at our table. Upon returning to our table I asked for the menu card, which our server then went to get for us. Why he didn’t bring it initially I have no idea. In any event, I ordered an omelet and it hadn’t arrived 30 minutes later, so we left after we finished our other food. Not a big deal and a pleasant experience otherwise, but strange.

- Time at the resort: one thing I haven’t seen mentioned here is that they have the resort on Male time +1 hour. Apparently this is to give guests a longer day. Our devices (and the room tablet) all say it’s currently 8:25 am, but if you ask the staff it’s 9:25 am.

Overall impression so far is very positive but they have some work to do on various aspects of the service.

In room dining:

It sounds like poor service in cheap hotel, not one of the most expensive Waldorf.