lagunas2k

I have reached out to the PHM, but they have yet to respond to that specific question. They also haven't been able to provide an actual picture of the deluxe villa yet as they said they are finishing up final touches.

I'm definitely mindful of those that are there on their honeymoon etc. Part of the reason I'm really considering the pool upgrade. That being said, it doesn't seem like many people even use the main pool much during the day. Even without the extra family amenities, my kid is pretty content with a bucket and shovel to play in the sand.

pkerr

First let me say I have 3 kids (all grown now) so no judgement here.

However I am curious as to why you would take a 2 year old on a trip that involves so much travel and possible transportation issues. I can't imagine it would be very relaxing for you. When my kids were that young and we would go to the beach or some other place for that matter, it was fun, but not what I would call "relaxing".
Hope it all works our for you.

lagunas2k

This will probably be my kids 25th or 26th flight, just a few months after his 2nd birthday, so yeah, he's pretty seasoned. He's had global entry since being 3 months old. That being said, it's part of a multi-stop trip. We'll be coming from Hong Kong, so it isn't an all day of travel flight. We did Hyatt Ziva in Cabo this year specifically for him, and it was fun, but we're not going to stop traveling to places we want to go, just because we have a kid. Sure, it's not the same (we want to the maldives on a babymoon), but he loves traveling, loves airplanes, loves boats, loves beach and sand, so yeah PHM fits the bill.

Also what transportation issues do you speak of?

ronbo83

I am not aware of what the other poster may be thinking of but the trek once you reach MLE is far from over. Depending on the routing, you may end up at one of two local airports. This is also on a noisy turbo prop plane that may effect a young child’s ears and you may have multiple stops with each one having to go through the heavy vibrations of the plane taking off. You then take a boat from the local airport which can be 20 to 45 minutes depending on which one you fly to. Factor in waiting times and the inevitable delay on Maldivian and this trip may take 5-6 hours from the time you arrive at MLE (it has for us on a few occasions).

It’s also a little hard not to judge when you say you want your travel habits to remain the same even while having kids. Based on what you wrote, I am not entirely sure that your explanation that this trip is for your 2 year old is really all that accurate. Sounds like you guys want the trip and may not be factoring the difficulty of this trip on a 2 year old. I am sure he will remember this trip for decades to come!

lagunas2k

This thread is for information not judging one another’s travel habits. I don’t need to divulge my entire travel plan or my lifestyle to anyone. There is so much thread crapping on people bringing kids to the Maldives when clearly there are a significant portion of people who do. Of course my travel style changes with a kid, I’m not an idiot, but I shouldn’t need to feel banished to going on carnival cruises and club med.

If you are really that concerned or judgemental my entire family is flying J, we are staying overnight in Male and taking the morning flight as I dont want to be flying and taking a speed boat in the darkness with a child. My kid is very accustomed to wearing noise cancelling headphones. The turbo prop plane is way quieter than a seaplane would be (hence we chose to stay at the Park Hyatt vs. Mirihi where we stayed last time). Also I never said this was for solely for my kid. We would have went back to Cabo two hours away for that. We are also going to a variety of other countries for a variety of reasons and the Maldives is simply one stop along the way. I’m very well aware of the transfer requirements and nuances.

I asked informational questions to hopefully receive informed answers to people who have stayed at this particular property. Not parenting lessons.

ronbo83

No need to justify yourself here, you can do as you please but if you don’t want people to weigh in, perhaps you shouldn’t post on the internet. I have stayed here 3 times and offered my feedback, if you don’t like it you don’t have to respond. You seem to know that this is where you want to go and you have already booked travel so I am not sure what kid activities you want to confirm as they either have it or don’t when you arrive. My advice was to reach out to the new GM but if you want to engage in discussion on an internet board, you may want to have some thicker skin. I am sure you guys will have a great time so why not ask the hotel if you want to know or enjoy the ride when you get there!

lagunas2k

I do appreciate the info but so far I really simply had questions about the pool or the new deluxe pool villa and instead only was questioned on deciding to go all the way to phm with my kid. My basis was choosing whether or not to upgrade to a pool villa. That seems to be the question that comes up here every other page. The family oriented posting I saw on some blogs were just curiousities. Given people stay here all the time, I figured someone might have more up to date information.

I used to be the guy in business class giving others the stink eye every time I saw someone bring their child into business. Now I’m that guy, and receive stink eyes all the time, but life is too short to really care. I’ll reach out to the GM. Cheers.

lagunas2k

I've received the following information from the staff:

Upgrade prices for November 2017:

Park Pool Villas: Upgrade Supplement- USD 258.72 per night tax incl.
Deluxe Park Pool Villa : Upgrade Supplement- USD 381.92 per night, tax incl.
Park Water Villa: Upgrade Supplement- USD 505.12 per night, tax incl.
Park Sunset Water Villa: Upgrade Supplement- USD 751.52 per night, tax incl.
Two Bedroom Park Pool Villa: Upgrade Supplement- USD 1724.8 per night, tax incl.

Official pictures are still not available, but hopefully someone can post them soon, very eager to see the new updated villas. I've been told currently the deluxe park pool villa numbers are 2, 4, and 10. Based on the floorplan I've received, the deluxe park pool villa's pool is more than 2x the size of the standard pool villa.

For anyone else planning to bring their kids to the PHM, I've been told that children's amenities and babysitting is provided complementary when a couple books an activity or spa treatment together.

nas6034

What regular villa should I request in December due to beach erosion? Want to be in-front of the most beach possible?

Also, what is the recommended Overwater villa to request if upgrading?

WillSkiGT

Yes, I believe they are inclusive of tax.

We're there for 10 nights. All-inclusive package (per person) is $256/day, so well over $5k for the 10 night stay. Alternatively, it looks like we could stay in a pool villa and still have $250+ per day left over. Wonder if that's enough to cover food/drinks for two?

nas6034

Hi all, I'm going in December so for this time of year what regular villa and ow villa (not sunset) room#'s should I request?

lagunas2k

Has anyone booked photo shoots on site? Do they provide all of the digital prints for the fee they charged? Also do they come out professional-ish (I assume it is a staff member armed with a prosumer SLR)? I'm still bringing my tripod to take some family pics, but wondering if anyone has had good experience with their on site photographer.

makavel

We were recently at the Park Hyatt Maldives and learned some interesting information about ongoing upgrades during the Back of the House tour!

Longer-Term Upgrades
- All villa AC units will be replaced in the next year as the R-22 refrigerant currently utilized will no longer be legal in the Maldives.
- Seawater cooling system that can augment the AC in the water villas will be tested.
- The resort is considering the addition of plunge pools to water villas.
- The resort hopes to build a 2-3 bedroom Presidential Villa with a large plunge pool at the end of the water villa pier on the space that is currently unoccupied.

Additionally, the hotel was kind enough to show us the renovated villas and let us take some photos. I was told that all work on the new villas should be completed by ~November 15.

Deluxe Park Pool Villa
Three villas are being converted to Deluxe Park Pool Villas, which will have an enlarged plunge pool with infinity edge, submerged chaise lounge chairs, and an outdoor covered area with seating. It's a stunning transformation of the outdoor area! The interior of the villas is unchanged so I didn't ask to see that or take photos.


Plunge pool at Villa 2


Looking from Villa 2 to toward Villas 3 (standard Pool Villa) and 4 (Deluxe Pool Villa)

2 Bedroom Park Pool Villa (Family Villa)
Three villas are being converted to 2 Bedroom Park Pool Villas. These villas have a new entryway with the original villa door to one side, the new bedroom door to the opposite side, and a glass door to the pool area straight ahead. The second bedroom has two single beds that can be combined. It utilizes the same size AC as the original villas, so it should cool effectively because it's a smaller space. The second bedroom also features a full bathroom with indoor shower and toilet enclosures. There's no outdoor bathroom space for the second bedroom. The family villas also feature the new enlarged plunge pool with infinity edge.


Original villa on the left and new bedroom on the right


Family villa plunge pool

makavel

After utilizing paid upgrades over multiple stays at this resort, it seems that there's a pretty simple method for you to calculate the upgrade price for your yourself without needing to contact the hotel to ask. For the date(s) that you wish to upgrade, look at the Standard Rate for the Park Villa and the villa category that you'd like to upgrade to (in this example, I'll use the Park Water Villa). Find the difference in price, then multiple by 1.1 (10% service charge) and then by 1.12 (12% GST). That'll give you the upgrade price.

Example: November 12, 2017
Park Villa: $700/night
Park Water Villa: $1,110/night
Difference: $410
Total Upgrade Cost/Night: $410 * 1.1 *1.12 = $505.12 (this amount exactly matches lagunas2k's quote)

For what it's worth, in my experience, the cost differential between villa categories seems to be quite stable over time, but the price of the base Park Villa goes up and down, which affects the price of the other villas.

I hope this helps!

ga8riel

Thanks for those pics- I was there in late sept and construction was still going on. I was wondering what was gonna go at the end of the pier-- thought another restaurant and that would ruin the privileged #51 .