savekenny

We ordered three Asian dishes and one egg dish today so luckily they didn't enforce the 1-1 pp, but sad to say, quality was disappointing...

Also when we visited, 10 out of 12 parties were mainlanders. Prior to that, I was at the gym where it felt like I was at a wet market -- it was very, very loud (talking, not music), kids running around screaming and machines nicely lubricated with sweat after being used.

If anyone wants to experience China without the visa, they should just come here. For those who want to escape it, well...

hakzai

I try to sit further away from the large groups and away from the buffet area, its usually quieter.
Breakfast is usually its quite quiet before 930am.
Also Happy Hour is quiet by the bar/beach
I try to do activities based on what mainlanders don't do. ie Sundowners, diving, early breakfast, dining at the island grille

guppies

Hope this won't be the case when we go in a couple months.

Erasmus

Tomes have been written on this hotel, so there's not much new to say, but I wanted to add a couple of quick notes from our recent stay that I hadn't seen spelled out explicitly before.

1) The reef off the water villas (especially the higher-numbered ones) is amazing. I am a certified diver, and have been to several of the world's top spots. Snorkeling just outside my villa rivals all but the best of them. I have no idea how they managed to construct the jetty and villas without destroying the surrounding reef, but it is teeming with life, both in terms of fish and healthy coral. We even saw a reef shark, eagle rays, and squid off of our ladder.

The mandatory check-out dive on the house reef is similarly spectacular. We literally jumped off the jetty and into a pod of dolphins. Admittedly, we saw more on boat dives (sharks, rays, turtles, etc.) but you won't be disappointed with your "warm up" dive.

2) The clientele is not at all what we expected. I suspect it has to do with the fact it is deep off season, but the vast majority of the guests are large families (think two-dozen+ people of at least three generations). The kids are generally well behaved, but it is hard to avoid them and their iDevices (which never seem to be accompanied by headphones). Incidentally, of the half-dozen "romantic" couples we've seen (it is likely many are holed up in their villas and never come out), I would say its an even split between gay/straight. Seems like a very gay-friendly destination.

3) Finally, +1 to the voices who say the "sunset" water villa upgrade is not worth the money. We booked a regular villa but were upgraded to a sunset villa. While it is lovely, the difference between ours and the villa five or so back is not worth $250/night. (I will say, however, the first 2-3 villas do seem to lack much of a reef below them, so I would make sure to request a villa numbered higher than 40.)

3rdworldresident

Currently staying here on my 2nd night (total of 5 nights).

getting here was a pain but once i arrived, it was blown away.

My park villa is nice, spacious, well appointed and perfectly fine for a solo traveler like me. (apparently no upgrade for lowly platinum member)

The house reef is truly spectacular. Just step into the ocean in front of my villa, it is one of the best spot for snorkeling in the world. The white sand beach is amazing. The sea water is crystal clear.

breakfast was a bit disappointed though. quality of both a la carte dishes and mini-buffet were not up to 5 stars hotel standard (they allowed you to choose 2 additional a la carte items from the menu). in-villa dining was my choice for dinner but it took quite some time for delivering and the food was not that great.

overall services was okay. most of staffs seemed nice and friendly.

for the cost of 354.55+++ $/night, this stay is fine.

ps. sorry for my poor english.

tyvoodoo

Did this hotel change to a cat 6? It is now showing as a cat 6 on Hyatt's website.

lotrbfme

OMG yessssssss I called and they said yes and I checked my account and I got,refunded automatically 40K points!!!!

LivelyFL

Thank you tyvoodoo! I just rebooked 4 nights!

The agent I spoke to said: Yes, I received an email re: the category change on that property.

tyvoodoo

I am wondering what the reason is behind the change, short lived as a Cat 7.

Gold Passport Concierge

Hello Flyertalkers!
The Park Hyatt Maldives has changed to a Catagory 6 as of July 23rd. We will be going through all Gold Passport reservations and adjusting the points. We appreciate your patience as we process the changes.

imm2b

Awesome Thanks GP!

I just logon my account and saw 40K returned for the 8 nights I've booked.

Erasmus

What does the credit look like? I'm trying to figure out whether the 5K points that just hit my account are the 20% back promo, or the downgrade between a category 7 and 6 hotel...

lotrbfme

It doesnt appear as credit rather the previous -240,000 points its gone and now there a new for today as -200,000

ILGfly

This is awesome. Glad to see it confirmed as official. We were planning to do 5 nights in September 2016 as part of our 'round the world honeymoon tour.' Those 25k UR points saved will be put to good use towards an airline transfer partner.

tyvoodoo

Seems like this hotel is a pretty good deal as a C+P booking. I would imagine that the C+P space will dry up pretty quick.