m0hamed

Yes they should have answered you more promptly. Hyatt central, like all hotel and airline chains have extreme response times atm.

Delaying to make your reservation when any seasoned traveller knows pricing is dynamic is your fault. Other then the fact that rates often change each year, inflation and revenge travel demand mean they can increase their prices significantly.

They do not have to discount a package intended for two people. I’m fact, this package looks like excellent value for a beach villa, all meals and a large number of experiences https://www.experienceparkhyattmaldi...vedic-package/

You're clearly unhappy so vote with your wallet.

Finally, welcome to FT.

Laineycakes

Hello! I'm going to PH at the end of April and was wondering if I should purchase travel insurance. Any suggestions on what coverage I may need? Thank you!

edit by peteropny: edit I lieu of approval

alkrodien

Trip Report to PH Maldives:

First ever trip to the Maldives on points redemption - ~34,000/night average for 6 nights in March, Globalist GOH benefit. I went with a few friends and it was a really good experience overall. Our emails prior to having a confirmed reservation went unanswered (for several weeks), especially from the activity center. But once we had a reservation number, the responses were quicker - between a 1-2 day turnaround... Who knows. Service was overall excellent, you're assigned a host for the duration of the stay and it's easy to communicate via whatsapp. That said, forget about getting any wifi if you're outside of any building (villa or restaurant) if you need to reach someone. I had no reception either, and it was fine.

Male to Kooddoo:
- Immigration was smooth, was met after picking up luggage by a Hyatt rep and taken to the lounge (also accessible with Priority Pass in the domestic terminal) for our 2 hour layover. It was an uneventful 2 hours, nothing exciting at the lounge, average food and drinks, Sea plane seats appeared to be assigned at random/in order of check-in. Flight was smooth, waited about 20mins+ for bags at airport for Kooddoo for whatever reason. Boat ride from Kooddoo to PH Maldives was the highlight of the day; we saw many dolphins along the way, delighting the 5yo on our boat.

PH Maldives Rooms:
- They were shockingly at 90%+ occupancy during our time there, so we did not get an upgrade till Day 4 of our stay to a Beach Pool Villa (set back from beach a tad) from a normal villa. Our friends got Beach Pool Villa #1 closest to the jetty with a pool right on the beach and it was absolutely gorgeous so we hung out there most days. Absolutely loved the outdoor shower and room size and layout. I slept on a rollaway bed and it was a very comfortable twin size, thick mattress, cosy bed.

Globalist Benefits:
- Absolutely rocked. Free canape and (1) cocktail for each person between 5-7pm at the Pool Bar which we went to every single night. Breakfast was also amazing - you could select (2) items from the menu, along with the buffet which had a good mix of western and eastern foods, and fruits/continental breakfast items. There was even sushi and smoked salmon. Room upgrade to Beach Pool Villa was also great.

Activities:
- Between everyone in the group, we snorkeled on the house reef, did discover scuba dive with one open dive, night snorkeling, traditional maldivian fishing, and the turtle discovery snorkel. The instructors for the most part were great; the scuba diving was way more expensive than expected, and the snorkeling was a great experience, especially the night snorkeling. For a 5-star resort however, I was pretty surprised and disappointed by the snorkels - masks were constantly fogging and snorkel did not have the one-way valve. Glass bottom kayaks were novel and are now charged at $20/kayak/hour. Best done on a sunny day however.

Food:
- Friends were on half-board package so they had dinner at the main restaurant every night; you can pick a starter, main, and dessert - more than enough options over the 6 nights we were there. A couple also ventured out to eat the Maldivian BBQ which was a whopping $160++/pax. We also caught some fish on our fishing trip and had it grilled by the restaurant. We were expecting slightly more unique/interesting dishes with a more obvious thai flair given the background of the chef; the fish curry was excellent when spice was doubled (heh), but otherwise the rest of the food was just good enough for equivalent prices. The prices have also increased by 12-15% as we were sometimes given a Dec 2021 menu by accident, and we were able to compare them.

Covid-19:
- Since we weren't returning to the USA, we had to use the on-property PCR test conducted by the on-island doctor - yes, there is one! It was $120+/test... Guests did not have to mask, while every employee on the island did, and we all felt incredibly safe and fortunate to be able to experience this, really appreciate the employees taking the care to remain masked. By the time we left, however, there was no longer a negative-test required to enter Maldives; so the risk of catching it while on vacation is likely higher. We had bought travel insurance that would cover $100/day in quarantine if needed and never had to use it.

aumarosa

The AC in the overwater villas was working fine when we stayed there in November/December last year. We did have significant problems with the power going out in villa #2 (deluxe beach pool villa) over several days. It was a newly renovated villa but clearly the electrical was still outdated. The renovations seem to be limited to repainting and new furniture.

hsk

Staying here now so happy to answer any recent questions.

The hotel location, hardware and server staff are great - this is the reason to come here. Unfortunately the food at the Dining Room and Island Grill is a sorry let down - average ingredients cooked seriously below the Park Hyatt standard you expect, especially at Park Hyatt prices. Breakfast is just OK - expect all inclusive 5 star food, or good quality 4 star standards. Dinners bad - cooked wrong. Didn't try the Japanese or Vegetarian (fully booked). Apparently food is a known concern and Michelen chef is being hailed as an incoming hero.

Fortunately hotel is very private - looks to be half capacity and will slow down further in coming weeks. Upgrades are priced at Beach Pool Villa:250++; Overwater Villa:350++; Deluxe Beach Pool Villa:500++.

Edit: Stayed in overwater villa and AC is new and works great.

levelnine

Is there a new chef coming to the resort?

Laineycakes

Do they have universal adapters in the rooms or do we need to bring our own?

cabb

My recollection is the plugs in the bathroom required an adapter for US style plugs. There are plugs in the top of the baseboard of the bed that support multiple plug types. I don't recall what the desk had because it had USB so I didn't need to use a plug for what I charging there.

hsk

Apparently so. Mentioned by check out staff after stating not-so-happy dining experiences.

lerasp

question about domestic flight MLE-Koodoo. From the Maldivian Airlines website, it shows schedule with flight leaving 6am(ish) and the next one at 2pm. maybe flight schedules are not adjusted until closer to the day? We will be coming from Dubai and can pick any flight. I'm interested to take the Emirate 2:30am flight that arrives MLE at 7:30am. Has anyone done this and do you really have to wait till 2pm or is there an earlier connecting flight? The other option is to take 9am flight from Dubai, but that means we'll be getting to the hotel around 6-7pm. If we can get there earlier (arrive MLE 7:30am), is the hotel ok about earlier arrival? I'm ok not to have our villa ready and happy to just hang out by the pool, have lunch and relax rather than spend the time in the air flying from Dubai.
Any other advice on best connections/flight combo coming from Dubai? We'll be in Dubai for a few days prior, so can really pick the best flight that would get us to the hotel as early in the day as possible without spending half a day in MLE.
thank you!

Laineycakes

I just got back and our domestic transfer flight was at 11:50am. We arrived at Male at around 8:40am so it was perfect. The Park Hyatt arranged the transfers and we did not find out the time time of our flight until the day before we arrived in Male.

cabb

Don't worry about the getting from Male to Koodoo. The PH will take care of it. It sounds like the Maldivian flights are not really finalized until within a week of the flight. It wouldn't surprise me if they add flights if needed. It seems like most of the morning flights are there by 9:00 am based on what I saw going through immigration. I was on Qatar and they had three flights arriving by 8:40 am. I'm confident that you will not need to until 2 pm. When you arrive, the PH will meet you and take you to a lounge in the domestic terminal. They will check you and your luggage in while you wait in the lounge. When it's time to leave they will come up and get you.

FlyerStef

They will get you there as fast as they can, but my understanding is that tickets really aren't finalized until you physically show up.

The schedules change, plus the flights are very susceptible to weather. We left DXB at 4am (I think) and landed in MLE around 9am (also hoping to get the earlier flight out), and yes - we were unfortunately stuck waiting in the lounge for about 5 hours. We also nearly missed our flight out of MLE on the return due to flight delays. The need for the local flight + boat is honestly the only reason I do not think we will return to the Park Hyatt, it can take far too long to get there, and it is all luck of the draw.

orca1114

Regarding the new chef, just heard from the GM that this is the new chef as of late April:
https://th.linkedin.com/in/fernando-...4-4d5fcca82d74

He has a website as well... food looks good: https://chefferdi.com/

I'm hoping for a return to more Maldivian favorites on the menus and some more "interesting" options on the menus, because the ones posted on the website now look like the most generic Western hotel menus I've ever seen... a big departure from what used to be the high standard for great food at this property. We've stayed 3 or 4 times before, under multiple different exec chefs who all had great visions and executions for their menus. Hoping it changes a lot by our visit in late June-early July. Would love to hear what others who stay here say over the next month or so about F&B program and improvements.

hsk

Sums up our experience in April. Felt we were eating at an airport Hyatt Regency lunch and dinner - far from a Park Hyatt, especially a flagship.

I see foam, deconstructed cuisine, etc (not a fan personally) on the new chef's site but the issues today are more basic - improperly and inconsistently prepared items/ingredients. Hope steak cuts, seafood cleaning (dirt/sand), and tuna curry tasting different from one day to another can be fixed.