lagunas2k

We are here now, the weather has been fantastic. Had a few passing showers, but sunny skies and blue water the rest of the time. I have to say the deluxe park pool villa is pretty amazing. Particularly anyone who is traveling with kids or those who want open water views without staying in an over the water villa. I honestly wish I had upgraded my entire stay to this villa. The house reef is generally in excellent condition, and many fish and colorful coral can be seen. BTW there are about 20% of guests who have kids (generally 5 and under, have not seen older kids) here at this particular moment, and they have been treated like royalty. The staff goes out of their way to cater to them. The journey was long, but the destination is worth it. We also did the lucky dolphin cruise the other night and came across a pod of 200+ dolphins. Simply amazing.

nas6034

Do they provide snorkel gear and do they have floaties or should I bring my own? Don't know what the current situation is there.

makavel

The dive shop will let you check out snorkel gear for free. I'm not sure about floaties but I understand that they can provide a life vest for snorkeling. I believe that they charge $10 for the life vest but am not sure as I haven't used one.

imm2b

Life vests are also available in the villa closet.

ronbo83

I believe those may only be for emergency purposes. We just left (waiting for flight to MLE in the new Kooddoo VIP lounge!) and saw many people using blue life jackets while snorkeling. We always bring our own mask and snorkel as they have open top snorkels which we are not used to but we always use their fins which are the same kind we use (Cressi Palau). I do recommend life jackets if you are not a confident swimmer as the current can get strong in fair to bad weather. We saw many people get in without one and have to immediately swim to the ladder and get out. People also got in, freaked out, and then dropped their equipment to swim back. I dove down a few times to retrieve the equipment but it got a little old after multiple people did it. I prefer a clean reef so I did my part but I wish people would either practice before they arrive or wear a life jacket to be safe.

m0hamed

May be of use to some. May not be cheaper than booking direct but it’s all inclusive https://luxuryescapes.com/park-hyatt-maldives-hadahaa-0

ChicagoDave

It’s bring your own floats, but the dive shop will fill it for you.

lagunas2k

The gift shop also has floaties for sale if you end up forgetting some. Just expect to pay 2x normal price.

ChicagoDave

I know this quote is from 2013, but I find it very useful, and wish I knew about it prior to my trip, so I’m adding the info to the wiki.

ronbo83

Only thing I would add is that the app is sometimes out of date so check with the hotel if you don’t see something you want/need. The menus are the first thing that stands out to me from our last trip but the dive shop also has a lot of new offerings that are not on the app.

ChicagoDave

Thanks for the info. I’ll add a note to the wiki, but feel free to update my summary since it sounds like you know this property better better than I do.

ChicagoDave

This is one of our favorite Hyatt properties, and the team is great. Many properties can have great service if everything goes well, but if something goes wrong, it’s very telling how everyone reacts. We had an unexpected issue, and many people went out of their way to correct it. I’m very impressed with how everything was handled and really appreciate their efforts.

On a different note, if you go for a massage, we highly recommend Lia. She is great at what she does, and I get the feeling she really cares about helping people feel better.

Edit: villas 1 - 19 currently have the best beaches

lagunas2k

A few more tips based on our recent stay:

We had the opportunity to stay in a few different villas:

Standard Beach Villa - We had Villa 34, and I will agree that currently this side of the island past the water villas has very little beach. During high tide, you literally hop down from the brush into water. This wasn't ideal, but only stayed two nights here.

Deluxe Pool Villa - The rest of our stay was spent in Villa 2. This was a fantastic villa for us, but might depend on what you are looking for. Villas 1-6 don't have too much privacy given the proximity of the Jetty which gets a decent amount of usage, not to mention the noise of boats, which bothered us very little. That being said, you couldn't even see into Villa 2 from the Jetty, the privacy factor is only an issue in your pool or deck. But keep in mind some villas have had their trees and brushed cleared to make way for an open water view. Given we couldn't stay in an open water villa with our kid, this was the best of both worlds for us. We had the deluxe pool villa for the remainder of our stay and it was fantastic. The cabana made all the difference in the world. The roof of the cabana was slatted and this initially worried me based on pictures, because what's the point of the covering if its slatted? But they have covered the slats with what is most likely clear plexiglass of some sort. Thus, lets in the light, but the slats also provide coverage during rain showers. We spent a lot of time in the cabana. They provide a large L shaped sofa lounger, extra towels, a ceiling fan, a full size table and two chairs. We ordered many room service meals and enjoyed them alfresco in the cabana. I couldn't see eating outdoors in a standard villa. The ants are there, but if you ensure you tidy up and have the food removed promptly afterwards, it wasn't really an issue. The benefit of the pool meant we could wash away any hot spots with a bucket of water. The loungers in the pool were also very nice to use. You are partially submerged and it is very shallow, but still get a great view of the ocean when lounging.

2 Bedroom Pool Villa - On our last day the resort needed our villa as they had another guest checking in before we were planned to leave the island, thus they were very gracious and allowed usage of a new two bedroom pool villa until we left (I think this is very YMMV). I believe it was villa 17. This portion of the island has an excellent beach. It was wide and had plenty of space to stretch out. We were provided only the main villa to use, so I didn't get a chance to peak into the 2nd bedroom, but it is indeed smaller than the main villa. Both bedrooms have separate locked entrances with a small hallway connecting the two and leading out to the main entrance. Walking up to this villa looks like a compound. It is definitely more private and secluded. This particular villa did not have an ocean view, but given the sheer size of the pool and the extra deck, it felt very spacious outdoors and very private.

The staff and service were top notch. That's not to say everything was perfect, but as a previous poster stated, when things go wrong or aren't perfect they go out of their way to make things right or accommodate you. Our host ended up being incredibly helpful for us to coordinate minor issues and to reschedule activities whenever the weather acted up. We had to reschedule a variety of excursions due to weather and it was never an issue. Sadly due to the choppy waters, never got to use the glass bottom kayak at the end of our stay. FYI-these are being listed at $25 an hour to rent, I believe they used to be $50.

Dining - The only specialty dinner we took part in was the Seafood Buffet. I'd say this is worth every penny. Pricey yes, but out of the other specialty dinners, I think this is the best value. Jumbo Prawns, Mussels, Lobster, Scallops, Tuna Sashimi, etc. Available to your hearts content. I also added the wine buffet for $40, and felt that was a good value given a single glass of wine was $15. If you can put away at least 3 glasses during dinner, this is a great option.

Other days were a mix between the bar. the dining room, and room service. Everything was quite tasty. The true standout is their tuna fish curry on the breakfast menu. They even made it for me for dinner on our last night on request. I must have had this dish 6 or 7 times during our stay. It was unbelievably good. Given the location and the fact that their seafood is mostly local, this is your best bet when it comes to food selection. I pretty much stuck with fish or seafood most of my stay and was never disappointed. I will state the burger at the bar was actually very good, and very substantial. My kid absolutely loved the pasta and sauces they made to accompany. Do try the granita at the bar, I only ordered this on my last day and found it so refreshing, I wish I had ordered it sooner, the paired shots also go quite well.

On bringing kids - We had a phenomenal stay. The staff went above and beyond to accommodate me and my family (and little one). Never did I feel discouraged by staff or other guests (at least publicly) for bringing my kid. We also did our part to ensure others experience weren't being ruined when my kid decided to have a meltdown. A quick stroll, a short dip in the pool, or ice cream for dinner always helps
Needless to say if anyone reading this is considering bringing their kids, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. That being said, one does have to have the right mindset and be prepared for the journey here as it is a long one. My kid was laughing during the choppier parts of the boat ride because he thought it was fun. Mom and dad, not so much.

Male Airport - The lounge no longer seems to accept priority pass. We had used our priority pass a few years ago and saw someone declined at the lounge this last run, just FYI. For anyone who DOES travel with kids, we totally missed the playground that was downstairs at the boarding gates. Given our flight was 11 PM, we didn't need to use it, but in case you want to burn some of your kids energy before the flight, this would have been massively helpful.

Overnight in Male before resort transfer - We stayed one night at the Hotel Ocean Grand at Hulhumale. Small hotel, but fantastic staff, clean accommodations, on time airport pickup and dropoff, excellent small morning breakfast buffet included. Since the island was connected, we did not need to take a speed boat shuttle in the middle of the night. This might be a moot point when the bridge to Male opens up, whenever that is. Although given how many speed bumps there are along the way, it probably would have been quicker. Would completely recommend this place if you need to overnight in Male.

There was an app the resort was suggesting we download called Staytus. We found this to be interesting. I used it a few times, but basically throughout your stay, they ping you special offers to entice you to book an excursion or book a dinner. I used one for dining at Island Grill one night. It was a 15% off an entree promo. On a shared platter for two, the savings is decent. Basically I would just scan it in the morning and review the offers. Worth the 5 minutes to download and review if you're going to do the excursions/dinners/spa anyways.

Kilian Zoll

Did you get an idea of what villas currently have more beach in front of them? We have tentatively reserved any of villas 20-25 based on the comments in the wiki, but I realize it may be outdated given how quickly the currents will change the shape of the island.

lagunas2k

I talked to the GM about this, and he stated that honestly it's best to simply leave it to the hotel's discretion when requesting a villa with more beach frontage. As the beach changes and can shift within a few days time. That being said, currently, villas 1-20 have a fantastic beach. I can't say anything beyond 20 as I didn't walk around that part of the island. I did not like the beach or lack of beach I had in villa 34, but honestly we spent more time at the main pool and doing excursions the first few days before switching to the pool villa that it wasn't worth my effort to try to have them move us to another villa with more beach. I was told they were 95% occupied any how. My advice is to make the request before you arrive, check it out when you get there, and then if you are not happy figure out a solution with your host. I did enjoy being on two different parts of the island, and many people seem to switch up rooms mid-stay.