platbrownguy

Don't get me wrong, if your goal is to drink for a few hours a day, then the $190 per day per couple is not a bad price. There is perfectly serviceable booze available and you can "get your money's worth" if that's your thing. Fifteen years ago I would have signed up for it if I were in the Maldives. But fifteen years ago, if I were on my own dime, I would have been in Cozumel instead of the Maldives.

We were fairly active each day (excursions, snorkeling off our portion of the beach, spa, etc.) and, IIRC, we didn't have any booze before 5 p.m. on any of our 6 days. I think we started with the free globalist cocktail each day except Saturday (when we had the management cocktails), and ended up spending probably $250/day on average on alcohol -- essentially a couple more ($14-16) cocktails at the bar after the freebie, then a $100-200 bottle of wine with dinner (suck up the markup, it's part of the deal!), then maybe a glass of port with dessert or a nice cognac or whiskey at the bar, and then perhaps later in the evening, a drink or two each back at home using the minibar and the amply available ice.

All that was really afterthoughts though. We saw sea turtles on our first snorkeling excursion and after that all we were really thinking about was when we were getting back in the water! (ended up seeing at least 8 sea turtles, swimming with a couple of them for ages, also swimming with reef sharks and an eagle ray, and seeing dolphins on our ride back to Kooddoo).

Martellus

Did you do any scuba diving, or was this all via snorkeling?

platbrownguy

All snorkeling. At the time, the turtles near Hadahaa were maybe a 5 minute swim west from the dusk jetty. Sharks were in various places -- we were in Villa 11 and frequently just got in the water directly from our part of the beach (as long as tide wasn't too low -- there's an app for that) and would see schools of fish, an occasional reek shark.

The "Journey to Island Formation" excursion was something like $700 but worth every penny -- swam with at least 6 other turtles, the ray, and found some better coral, etc; plus it was cool to be able to see a future island (i.e. a coral mass), a sandbank (island in formation), a channel between two formed islands, and then a local island, all in a day (snorkeling at the first three). I'm sure we were lucky that we had the boat and 5-man crew to ourselves but even with another couple or two it would have been great, as long as they were able to swim. Will write it up soon, probably during Thanksgiving week. I used a cheap underwater camera from Amazon and got some pictures too.

clk2018

Sorry if this has been answered but for anyone that did the AI package, were the bar snacks included?

jasonvr

At least on the Premium AI you could substitute food at the bar for a meal. On several instances we did lunch at the bar instead of the main restaurant. Never did it for dinner though

Gioventu

WillSkiGT

AI allows (IIRC) 2 courses per person at lunch. You can substitute bar snacks for one or both of these courses. Generally, lunch is the slowest meal, since Globalists and those on paid stays usually skip lunch and have late breakfast/dinner only.

I had no problem ordering lunch via the menu from the main restaurant and having it brought to the bar/beach area.

Certainly not impossible. We got upgraded on our final night of a 10-day points stay to a Overwater Villa and I am only Discoverist (and only because of the credit card). We did spend around $6-7k at the resort though (AI, excursions, etc), which certainly didn't hurt our chances.

herokitty

Do people have to request upgrades, and how frequently do you check? Do you email in advance or check in with the front desk every few days?

platbrownguy

There isn't really a front desk. You'll have an assigned host who looks out for you. Our host, Shifaaz, was top-notch. When we went on a fishing trip and didn't catch anything, for instance, word made its way to him, and within 5 minutes of our arriving back in our villa, he called to offer a complimentary dinner at the seafood buffet instead of our regular dinner at the dining room. I imagine that an upgrade to an OW villa could work similarly -- if you let your host know that you might be interested in something like that for your last night, and if it happens to be available, I bet they'll make it happen. If you were there for 7 days, I'd probably mention something on day 2 or 3 and then check back in on day 5 or early day 6 if you hadn't heard anything.

skywalkerLAX

Surprised they would upgrade someone for ONE night to a villa that is then requiring a complete refresh on top of the accommodation the guest just vacated.

WillSkiGT

Our host asked us on the 8th day if we'd like to move to a OW villa the following night. There's no front desk or formalized process.

Yeah, certainly unexpected but was a really nice touch.

mikewhyatt

So I just caught the exception on the PH website that says AI rate only applies to globalist members if using redemption nights. I assume this is strict and I have no chance as a WOH member with no status? I was planning on transferring UR points to book...... but this throws a wrench in my plans. The $210/pp was enticing bc my significant other and I enjoy eating drinking and could hopefully find more value then having to worry about skipping meals and spending too much.

platbrownguy

I assume you're referring to this language: "*Meal plan rates are applicable for any hotel published rate and World of Hyatt redemption nights by Globalist members." -- it then says "For enquiries on Meal Plans rates for other bookings, please contact us at +960 682 1234 or email: [email protected]."

Why not send an email and ask what the cost is for Premium AI for a regular member on redemption nights? I am sure they would be happy to sell it to you at some price, presumably just with an upcharge for breakfast (which is otherwise included for paid bookings and for Globalist redemptions).

skywalkerLAX

Can you ask a Globalist to do a Guest of Honor booking for you and just transfer him the points over? Easy peasy and you get the other benefits as well.

synd

-----