Very concerned about drones in Maldives
 

I'll be in the Maldives in a few months. I booked, and paid for, the Jumeriah dhavenufushi. Now when I look at their Instagram a lot of guests are posting drone videos where they fly a drone right over other guests room.

This is a MAJOR issue for us. Lack of privacy is a big thing and heaven forbid a video gets posted without anyone's consent.

The Jumeriah hasn't guaranteed that a guest Won't fly a drone.

AM I overreacting here? It seems the only resort without a drone policy is the Gili Lankafushi and possibly Cheval blanc.

This is the first time I have even heard of this.

Everyone has a different risk profile in terms of privacy I suppose. I am not concerned at all because I cannot understand why anyone would want to videotape or photograph me in my resort accommodation, and assume other guests have better things to do on holiday than spy on their neighbours.

I can't seem to get riled up about this...at all.

Plus, drones are so high, doubt your face and/or any identifying features would be up for grabs.

My 02 cents.

i think this will become an issue over time. while i haven't experienced this at a hotel, i have seen drones while on holiday. my issue is not so much privacy (i don't think anyone particularly cares who i am) but they do emit an audible buzz even at reasonably high altitude and are just generally annoying.

Agreed. I can't imagine they do much for the Maldives sunsets.

Coincidentally, there was an issue a few months ago at a luxury residential community here in town where someone was flying a drone very close to people's windows. But it was an outsider, not a resident.

I have to imagine this sort of thing doesn't happen much at such remote properties. For me, the issue -- at a place like that -- would be simply that they're annoying.

Still, I'd rate this is quite low on the list of things I'd get upset over. Would rather have drones than mosquitos, for one thing :)

I'd definitely be annoyed by someone else's drone. But there's a part of me wondering what sort of awesome pictures they're getting from up there. 😊

Not to pick on this poster at all, as several have expressed similar sentiments. A friend mentioned to me that she likes to book a villa with a private pool at high end hotels. She likes to get in it sans swimsuit and not need to worry about packing a wet suit. She feels assured of privacy when she does so. Other women like to sunbathe topless in privacy. Yes, I know Americans are prudish compared too much of the world in this regard. Still, it's an individual choice. Most women I know in these settings would be horrified if a drone flew over them taking pictures.

I had exactly this issue at FS Kuda Huraa with some kids flying a drone around the beach (and next to our villa) for hours. The noise was incredibly annoying. The way I see it, it's only a matter of time until it becomes customary for higher end hotels to adopt no-drone policies.

^^

This is exactly the issue we're having here.

The Jumeriah hasn't been able to guarantee a drone wont fly over the room. Gili and CBR have both adopted no drone policy, Anatara Kihavah may follow soon.

We the hotel called and the gm will Call me in a few hours. No drone ban yet, but they are considering it.

FYI they have had other complaints. So it wasn't the first time they heard about this

Funny you mention this, we were in the maldives last week and had our first experience of a drone. I didn't think too much about it, but my wife wasn't keen at it all due to privacy. Came out for sunset and was way up there.

It would bother me in most situations, partly for the reasons SanDiego1K mentioned, partly because I travel with my kids and I don't want anyone else possibly taking pictures of them. Drones are harmless until they are not. Glad to hear you are engaging the GM.

I didn't engage the gm directly. The hotel reached out to me after I .....ed on Instagram after the hotel reposted a bunch of drone vids. Edit.. These videos were from guests not the hotel and they flew over other villas.

This led to red flags for reasons posted above.

I haven't hear from gm yet but the hotel peoole did way he would call. The only thing Jumeriah hae said was that there's no drone ban yet and no guarantees. They did mention of complaints but no policy is in place yet. Yet.

Sorry, but you're wrong about it Ben. They are able to capture
high resolution pictures and you would be surprised what you can get
from a $200 drone today.
I agree 100% with the OP, it's becoming a MAJOR PITA and I don't see
how this can change any time soon.

IMHO, it's not just drones. It's frigging people wanting to take pictures everywhere of everything. Especially in Asia, it's out of control in some of the resorts. I wish they'd ban photography outright.