May 30, 2013, 1:45 pm
Last edit by: razflyer
Best Weather
http://www.holiday-weather.com/maldives/
High season/low season
High season: December to April
http://www.holiday-weather.com/maldives/
High season/low season
High season: December to April
Staying for free
30,000 Hyatt points per night (Cat 7)
This is a “Suite Award Ineligible Property" and a free upgrade is unlikely unless you are a Globalist and the resort has low occupancy.
Paid Upgrades For October 2021
Pool Villa: $200++
Deluxe Pool Villa: $400++ (with direct view of beach, just 3 villas)
Water Villa: $500++
Ocean Pool Villa: $700++ (with small 6ft x 6ft plunge pool)
Two Bedroom Pool Villa: $1,000++
These rates fluctuate depending on high/low season.
Globalist Benefits
January 2022: See https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33815708-post4161.html
Also see https://www.experienceparkhyattmaldives.com/ under 'Experiences' and 'Diving'
Tip: Pre-book diving activities online before arrival for 10% discount (May not be applicable anymore).
Tip: Boat 2-tank day will have to be on day following Orientation Dive (required by law for all divers. Typically done the first full day at 10am; a short in-water abilities test followed by a tank dive on the house reef.)
This is a “Suite Award Ineligible Property" and a free upgrade is unlikely unless you are a Globalist and the resort has low occupancy.
Paid Upgrades For October 2021
Pool Villa: $200++
Deluxe Pool Villa: $400++ (with direct view of beach, just 3 villas)
Water Villa: $500++
Ocean Pool Villa: $700++ (with small 6ft x 6ft plunge pool)
Two Bedroom Pool Villa: $1,000++
These rates fluctuate depending on high/low season.
Globalist Benefits
- Complimentary upgrade to Park Pool Villa subject to availability.
- Late checkout at 1600 hrs.subject to availability.
- Breakfast: Order two main dishes off the menu along with water, juice and coffee. You also have access to the buffet which consists of breads, sweets, cheeses, cold cuts, cereals etc.
- Sundowner- 1 free cocktail (from a limited cocktail menu) & canapes, daily between 5pm and 7pm (August 2016)
- Complimentary Management cocktails on Saturdays from 06:30 pm to 07:30 pm
- 15% off cocktails and wine (by the glass)
January 2022: See https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33815708-post4161.html
Also see https://www.experienceparkhyattmaldives.com/ under 'Experiences' and 'Diving'
Tip: Pre-book diving activities online before arrival for 10% discount (May not be applicable anymore).
Tip: Boat 2-tank day will have to be on day following Orientation Dive (required by law for all divers. Typically done the first full day at 10am; a short in-water abilities test followed by a tank dive on the house reef.)
Spa Menu and Costs
Free Stuff
Snorkle gear for duration of your stay (masks, snorkel & fins)
Use of glass-bottomed kayaks
Back-of-the-house tour
Yoga several days a week
Dining Menu and Costs
Menus (click on specific restaurant, packages under "The Dining Room"): https://www.experienceparkhyattmaldi...t-in-maldives/
Breakfast (current as of Jan. 2022): for those who do not have status/do not have breakfast included in their rate, the options are a la carte items at ~$12-$20 apiece, and juices at ~$6-$8. Or you can order the buffet for $40, which includes two a-la-carte items, the buffet, and drinks.
Transfers and Costs
Domestic flights are operated by Maldivian Air and waiting times may vary from a minimum of 1 hour to a maximum of 4 hours.
The shortest flight from Male Domestic terminal to Kooddoo Domestic Airport is ~55 minutes and the longest flight takes ~1 hour 45 minutes due to a ‘stop over’ in Kadhdhoo Domestic Airport.
A scenic and short speedboat journey of approximately 30-40 minutes (weather dependent) will follow as the final stretch of the journey to our island.
Any last minute name changes on domestic flight ticket are subject to a fee levied by the Maldivian Air. All such changes will be charged at the rate of USD 100 net per person.The exact flight timings are released two days before departure, but tend to be around these times:
- Arrivals (Departure from MLE) : 10:30-11:00, 12:00, 13:40, 17:30hrs and last flight at 23:30
- Departures (Departure from Kooddoo) : 0545hrs, 0800hrs, 1130hrs, 1530hrs and last departure at 1830hrs
Cost (Jan 2021): USD $520 round-trip/adult, $475/child, $175/infant - paid before you arrive via cc authorization form
Luggage restriction
Transfer prices include the baggage allowance of 32 kg per passenger (20 kg is the domestic airline allowance and 12 kg will be covered by The Resort as a courtesy service) and hand luggage of 5 kg per passenger. Excess baggage will be charged and is subject to space availability and terms and conditions of the Air Carrier.
Map of the resort
Best Villas
Water villas: Generally the higher number the better. #51 is the most private
How to save money during stay
Have late breakfast (breakfast is free for all guests except if you are redeeming points), skip lunch, and only pay for dinner
The Saturday free cocktail social (manager's reception) is at 6:30pm
Bring family?
This resort is not orientated for children. No kids club, pool is not suitable for young kids, and you will need to pay the transfers for each child, and plenty of PDA.
That said, some families have loved their experience here. http://travelsort.com/blog/park-hyat...hadahaa-review. If you bring children the Hyatt does provide sitting service for $20/hour.
Also note that the resort charges $250 per child age 3 and up per night (even if the child does not require an extra bed). Only kids 2 and under are free. http://travelsort.com/blog/park-hyat...a-bed-fee-ever
This resort is not orientated for children. No kids club, pool is not suitable for young kids, and you will need to pay the transfers for each child, and plenty of PDA.
That said, some families have loved their experience here. http://travelsort.com/blog/park-hyat...hadahaa-review. If you bring children the Hyatt does provide sitting service for $20/hour.
Also note that the resort charges $250 per child age 3 and up per night (even if the child does not require an extra bed). Only kids 2 and under are free. http://travelsort.com/blog/park-hyat...a-bed-fee-ever
Wifi
As at January 2022, the resort's wifi speed is 10-12Mbps.
Tipping
The management views employees as each part of a team, with no one more important to the hotel's success. No one wants to order room service if the groundskeeper or housekeeper has not created an inviting place to enjoy it for instance. So employees share equally the 10% service charge added into everything, including the room charge. Tipping beyond that is not necessary, but at your discretion. Unlike the service charge which is shared with all employees on the entire property, if you choose to add additional gratuity to the bill for a meal or an activity, that money is shared amongst employees of the department responsible for that meal or service (e.g. additional gratuity on a dive center bill will be shared amongst those employees, while additional gratuity on a Dining Room bill will be shared amongst the food service employees). Employees are also allowed to keep cash tips that they receive directly. Employees are rewarded with trips and other gifts when their outstanding service is brought to management's attention. A great way to reward a good employee is by letter to management.
See this post which provides more details http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22508516-post1525.html
Ipad App
There is an Ipad in each room that has an app with a lot of useful / interesting information. If you have an Ipad, you can search & download the app for: Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. It doesn't work on an iPhone due to the page size. Some info may be out of date or missing, so check with the resort.
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Property Email
Property Email
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Reviews
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20409958-post93.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20409962-post94.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20409958-post93.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20409962-post94.html
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfr...ahaa-maldives/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20345989-post813.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20194512-post756.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19700966-post16.html
http://milesabound.com/miles-to-the-...ty-facilities/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18400856-post354.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18326860-post328.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20345989-post813.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20194512-post756.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19700966-post16.html
http://milesabound.com/miles-to-the-...ty-facilities/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18400856-post354.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18326860-post328.html
Park Hyatt versus other Maldives resorts
Park Hyatt Maldives REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Apr 18, 2012, 4:45 pm
#361
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 2
Beware that dining options are limited.
We probably spent 3-4 hours snorkeling each day, and it never got old (the sunburned backs did, however). If you bring your own dive gear, they'll store it in the dive shop by default. Just walk from your room towards the dive center and ask for your snorkel and mask, and be on your way. No need to store gear in your room.
We did a total of 5 dives, and this was by far the most expensive component of our trip. A guided orientation dive of the house reef is mandatory, at $70 per person (not including 10% service fee and 6% tax). I would recommend against spending a lot of time and money diving the house reef because the snorkeling is so spectacular. The reef is fairly shallow, so you can float just a foot or so above it and see an incredible diversity of marine life. The reef drops off quite steeply, and so while scuba diving at 30 feet or so, you're below the bulk of the coral. Besides, the water above the reef is intoxicatingly warm. My dive computer showed 81 degrees at 50 feet, so you can imagine how warm the surface is. One day when the water was incredibly glassy, the tide was low, and the sun was beating down, the water above the reef must have been 90 degrees. I'd suggest an early morning, pre-breakfast snorkel session; these were reliably the best in terms of conditions and organisms seen.
Rather than diving the house reef, spend your money on boat dives. They aren't cheap; a 2-tank boat dive is $200 per person excluding fees and taxes ($70 per dive plus a $60 boat fee). We did 2 channel dives and 2 reef dives. The reef dives were unreal...I can't even describe how spectacular they were. The channel dives were hit and miss. We didn't see much during the first channel dive, but the second was a whole different story..we saw a school of 2-300 tuna, a handful of sharks, 2 turtles, schools of barracuda, eagle rays, and 2 Napoleon wrasses. Maldivian law dictates that you cannot spend more than 57 minutes below the surface, so the argument upthread about air utilization is sort of moot. Service during dives is just as spectacular as it is on land. By the time you arrive on the boat, your gear (if you brought your own, otherwise this isn't surprising) is set up for you, and one of the employees is always around to lift your bc/tank for you. I probably spent a grand total of 2 minutes under the weight of my gear between all 5 dives. During surface intervals, you're presented with sandwiches, fruit skewers, and your choice of beverage.
On our last night, we went fishing ($150 per person), but didn't catch a thing. If you're successful, they'll prepare your fish for dinner for $25. If fishing isn't your thing, I'd still urge you to go on the fishing trip, as it enables you to be on the water at sunset and motor back to the resort under the stars. So it's essentially a sunset cruise, but is cheaper.
We probably spent 3-4 hours snorkeling each day, and it never got old (the sunburned backs did, however). If you bring your own dive gear, they'll store it in the dive shop by default. Just walk from your room towards the dive center and ask for your snorkel and mask, and be on your way. No need to store gear in your room.
We did a total of 5 dives, and this was by far the most expensive component of our trip. A guided orientation dive of the house reef is mandatory, at $70 per person (not including 10% service fee and 6% tax). I would recommend against spending a lot of time and money diving the house reef because the snorkeling is so spectacular. The reef is fairly shallow, so you can float just a foot or so above it and see an incredible diversity of marine life. The reef drops off quite steeply, and so while scuba diving at 30 feet or so, you're below the bulk of the coral. Besides, the water above the reef is intoxicatingly warm. My dive computer showed 81 degrees at 50 feet, so you can imagine how warm the surface is. One day when the water was incredibly glassy, the tide was low, and the sun was beating down, the water above the reef must have been 90 degrees. I'd suggest an early morning, pre-breakfast snorkel session; these were reliably the best in terms of conditions and organisms seen.
Rather than diving the house reef, spend your money on boat dives. They aren't cheap; a 2-tank boat dive is $200 per person excluding fees and taxes ($70 per dive plus a $60 boat fee). We did 2 channel dives and 2 reef dives. The reef dives were unreal...I can't even describe how spectacular they were. The channel dives were hit and miss. We didn't see much during the first channel dive, but the second was a whole different story..we saw a school of 2-300 tuna, a handful of sharks, 2 turtles, schools of barracuda, eagle rays, and 2 Napoleon wrasses. Maldivian law dictates that you cannot spend more than 57 minutes below the surface, so the argument upthread about air utilization is sort of moot. Service during dives is just as spectacular as it is on land. By the time you arrive on the boat, your gear (if you brought your own, otherwise this isn't surprising) is set up for you, and one of the employees is always around to lift your bc/tank for you. I probably spent a grand total of 2 minutes under the weight of my gear between all 5 dives. During surface intervals, you're presented with sandwiches, fruit skewers, and your choice of beverage.
On our last night, we went fishing ($150 per person), but didn't catch a thing. If you're successful, they'll prepare your fish for dinner for $25. If fishing isn't your thing, I'd still urge you to go on the fishing trip, as it enables you to be on the water at sunset and motor back to the resort under the stars. So it's essentially a sunset cruise, but is cheaper.
I want to do some fishing. What kind of fish are you after there? How long does the trip last? How many are in the group?
Apr 18, 2012, 4:56 pm
#362
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
The snorkeling is excellent, but IMHO snorkeling can never be as interesting as diving. Diving is a vastly superior experience where you see a much wider variety of life. Compare going on safari. It is like driving around the edge of a game reserve. You will see whatever happens to come close to the boundaries. You won't see a whole host of species that are within the range itself.
Apr 18, 2012, 5:25 pm
#363
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 152
I learned to dive in early March (departed for our trip in late March). If you have the luxury of having a local dive shop, don't wait! Get certified there for a fraction of the cost of getting certified at the resort. I was certified for just over $300 here in California, whereas IIRC a PADI Open Water certification will cost you $570 at the resort (plus 10% fee and tax). My guess is that the dives required as part of your cert will actually be "guided dives" which a la carte cost $70, but are probably included in the cost of the certification course. But I don't know.
Fishing lasted for about 2.5 hours. There were 2 fish caught on our trip, both red snappers. There are plenty of other edible reef fish that are typically caught (or so they say). We had probably 9-10 people as part of our fishing group, but it 2 kids and a "large" group. The odds are pretty good that you might end up by yourself on the fishing trip (as we did during one of our dive trips), but there's a pretty good chance that you'll end up with other folks. Key: Ask BEFORE you book how the fishing has been. It's pretty variable, but AFTER we got skunked the boat captain and a couple other folks told us that fishing had been quite poor lately.
The fishing trip at $150 is probably still worth the cost, as there's food and drink available, you get to fish (don't expect a rod -- apparently Maldivians don't use them), you spent a couple hours anchored in Indian Ocean, with the Southern Cross rising as the sun sets (crossed off my bucket list, now). To top it off, you can lay on the roof watching the stars as the dhoni returns to the dock. I recommend it, and fish would have been icing on the cake.
Last edited by thtsapaddlin; Apr 18, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Apr 18, 2012, 5:28 pm
#364
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 152
I forgot to address this. I'd argue (and maybe others on this forum would back me up) that the snorkeling on the house reef is better than diving the house reef because it's so shallow. At this particular reef, diving down 30-50 feet actually puts you below the bulk of the corals and sea life. At $50 per dive, I couldn't justify diving rather than snorkeling. In fact, if diving the house reef were free, I'd still probably rather snorkel.
On the boat dives, however, they take you to some places with absolutely breathtaking corals and animals well below 30-40 feet and some channels with fantastic sea life right about 60 feet.
On the boat dives, however, they take you to some places with absolutely breathtaking corals and animals well below 30-40 feet and some channels with fantastic sea life right about 60 feet.
Apr 18, 2012, 5:47 pm
#365
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
I forgot to address this. I'd argue (and maybe others on this forum would back me up) that the snorkeling on the house reef is better than diving the house reef because it's so shallow. At this particular reef, diving down 30-50 feet actually puts you below the bulk of the corals and sea life. At $50 per dive, I couldn't justify diving rather than snorkeling. In fact, if diving the house reef were free, I'd still probably rather snorkel.
On the boat dives, however, they take you to some places with absolutely breathtaking corals and animals well below 30-40 feet and some channels with fantastic sea life right about 60 feet.
On the boat dives, however, they take you to some places with absolutely breathtaking corals and animals well below 30-40 feet and some channels with fantastic sea life right about 60 feet.
Apr 19, 2012, 4:16 am
#367
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: In the heart of Europe
Programs: some
Posts: 1,114
Diving is actually 150 (taxes included) per dive with rental equipment (70 for the Dive 30 for the Boat, ~30 for Equipment and the rest is taxes). They chare equipment rental per dive - a praxis haven't encountered anywhere else.
Apr 19, 2012, 4:59 am
#369
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
As posted by Orion2185 the dive prices are available here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68773343@N03/
I calculated that all in, including boat, equipment rental, tax etc it will be $100 per dive assuming as likely we will do 12-14 dives each time doing the morning two tank dive trips.
I had Conrad's price list too who use Sun Divers who have a lot of "branches" all over the place and are a pretty average dive outfit. While their base dive price was better I found that all in for the same amount of diving it worked out ever so slightly more.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68773343@N03/
I calculated that all in, including boat, equipment rental, tax etc it will be $100 per dive assuming as likely we will do 12-14 dives each time doing the morning two tank dive trips.
I had Conrad's price list too who use Sun Divers who have a lot of "branches" all over the place and are a pretty average dive outfit. While their base dive price was better I found that all in for the same amount of diving it worked out ever so slightly more.
Apr 19, 2012, 10:43 am
#370
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA & DL / SPG & HGP
Posts: 1,723
Regarding all the talk about expensive diving prices:
If you're a beginner diver, or novice, this place is expensive for diving, sure - would you expect anything more of Maldives?
For an experienced destination traveler diver, this property is not so expensive. These divers bring their own gear (so no rental price), do enough dives to get a volume discount (if you book in advance 14 or 15 dives - I forget the exact requirement - you get a 10% or 20 discount, again I forget the exact amount... contact the dive shop in advance, ask for Arrabelle/Zeus), and will do unguided shore dives (which while not free like some places, are still cheap and again, this is Maldives).
In the end, I did 15 dives on my trip, including I think seven days of two tank AM boat diving, and my total diving cost came out to something between $100-150 per two-tank boat dive trip. That's not horrible (it's Maldives), I would never expect anything less than $80-90 even in the cheapest locations for two-tank boat dive trip.
If you're a beginner diver, or novice, this place is expensive for diving, sure - would you expect anything more of Maldives?
For an experienced destination traveler diver, this property is not so expensive. These divers bring their own gear (so no rental price), do enough dives to get a volume discount (if you book in advance 14 or 15 dives - I forget the exact requirement - you get a 10% or 20 discount, again I forget the exact amount... contact the dive shop in advance, ask for Arrabelle/Zeus), and will do unguided shore dives (which while not free like some places, are still cheap and again, this is Maldives).
In the end, I did 15 dives on my trip, including I think seven days of two tank AM boat diving, and my total diving cost came out to something between $100-150 per two-tank boat dive trip. That's not horrible (it's Maldives), I would never expect anything less than $80-90 even in the cheapest locations for two-tank boat dive trip.
Apr 19, 2012, 10:51 am
#371
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
as shown in the link posted above, dive prices with BCD, regulator and weights (we like to dive but are not active enough to have our own equipment) ranges from $60-70 per dive depending on number of dives. two tank dive boat fee is $40. in terms of additional equipment you probably want to rent a dive computer - add $6 as the average person won't have this. So taking the mid-range price on number of dives you are paying ($65 + $6) * 2 + $40 = $182, then add 10% service and 3.5% VAT comes at $206.57. So $103.29 per dive.
A house reef nightdive is $80. So a little bit more, but this is likely something you'd only do once to experience (we did it last time and will probably do one other this time for fun)
I also note they don't charge for Nitrox, unlike many other places. I use that as I'm a heavy breather and it helps me stay down under for a good 50 minutes without reaching run out limits
A house reef nightdive is $80. So a little bit more, but this is likely something you'd only do once to experience (we did it last time and will probably do one other this time for fun)
I also note they don't charge for Nitrox, unlike many other places. I use that as I'm a heavy breather and it helps me stay down under for a good 50 minutes without reaching run out limits
Apr 19, 2012, 1:57 pm
#372
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA & DL / SPG & HGP
Posts: 1,723
as shown in the link posted above, dive prices with BCD, regulator and weights (we like to dive but are not active enough to have our own equipment) ranges from $60-70 per dive depending on number of dives. two tank dive boat fee is $40. in terms of additional equipment you probably want to rent a dive computer - add $6 as the average person won't have this. So taking the mid-range price on number of dives you are paying ($65 + $6) * 2 + $40 = $182, then add 10% service and 3.5% VAT comes at $206.57. So $103.29 per dive.
A house reef nightdive is $80. So a little bit more, but this is likely something you'd only do once to experience (we did it last time and will probably do one other this time for fun)
I also note they don't charge for Nitrox, unlike many other places. I use that as I'm a heavy breather and it helps me stay down under for a good 50 minutes without reaching run out limits
A house reef nightdive is $80. So a little bit more, but this is likely something you'd only do once to experience (we did it last time and will probably do one other this time for fun)
I also note they don't charge for Nitrox, unlike many other places. I use that as I'm a heavy breather and it helps me stay down under for a good 50 minutes without reaching run out limits
And a non-guided shore dive, with one's own equipment and free tank, if not exceeding 10m, could last for the better part of an afternoon.
It's like with F&B at the property, one can do a trip here and have it be very expensive, or do it somewhat (for Maldives) economically.
