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St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort [Master Thread]

St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort [Master Thread]

Old Nov 19, 2018, 1:23 pm
  #1771  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Back in Hell
Posts: 4,178
Originally Posted by EuropeanPete
There’s no cost effective island hopping unless you turn up in your own superyacht. The only exception is some of the resorts close to Male, but they’re generally less interesting.
.....and have jumbo jets flying over them all hours of the day.....ugh!
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Old Nov 20, 2018, 3:27 am
  #1772  
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Originally Posted by MaldivesFreak
.....and have jumbo jets flying over them all hours of the day.....ugh!
That's one thing I disliked about the Taj Exotica.
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Old Nov 22, 2018, 7:57 am
  #1773  
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 114
Just finished up an absolutely stunning trip at the St. Regis Maldives. I wanted to write down some lesser known tips that may help future travelers!

- Best snorkeling: The coral reef here is actually much better than what I expected from prior reports. I've been snorkeling/diving in Fiji, Thailand, Vietnam, Africa, Bahamas, Mexico, etc and I thought this was on par if not better than most. I think many reviewers must have stuck to the areas without coral. You need to find the spots with beautiful coral with lots of fish. These are located off the shore where the shallow sand drops off. It is easy to see from the shore as the part where the "light blue meets the dark blue ocean" It's hard to describe but you can clearly see it on any drone shot of the resort. If you don't swim there, you won't see coral. As you can tell by the aerial shots, if you have an inward facing Overwater villa you are a little bit further from the coral. I recommend snorkelling on the coral 'shelf' in front of Alba or off the first few Sunset Villas. https://www.marriott.com/hotels/trav...ommuli-resort/

- Best beach: The beach by Alba is nice but has lots of shells and generally not the best beach. The best hidden beach stretches from Orientale past the check-in lounge and up to/including the Garden Villas. It is generally very very empty, the sand has no shells, and is definitely the most picturesque.

- Be sure to open ALL the cabinets in your villa otherwise you will miss nice goodies: St Regis Maldives engraved nail clipping set. Full writing set with letters pens, mosquito repellent bands/spray, beautiful glassware, etc.

- Be sure to mention if you are celebrating a special occasion. We mentioned anniversary and had champagne waiting for us on arrival and also had a cake delivered the second day.

- You will get free bottle water in your room. At first it wasn't heavily stocked but once we asked for more, they consistently made sure to place almost double quantities every day.

- Best place for sunset is the Whale Bar. Get there early if you want a prime spot (5:15pm)

- Be SURE to ask your butler to unpack/pack for you. It felt weird to ask but they do this daily and they did such a phenomenal job. I can't explain it, but it really sets the mood.

- There are 2 fruit bats in the trees directly in front of Alba on top of the tables. Keep your eye out and you will probably see them flying overhead in the day.

- There is free SPF 30 and SPF 50 sunscreen at the main pool.

- If you elect to do the private snorkeling tour via speedboat you can structure your time however you want. We did snorkelling for an hour and then the last hour was on a private sandbar in the middle of the ocean. We got some amazing drone photos from this! The other option was dolphin spotting.

- If you elect to do a massage, ask them via email to throw in some time in the Blue Hole. We got 30 mins free in it and it was amazing.

- To save some $$$, you can split a pizza at the Crust Restaurant and feel quite full.

- You REALLY should bring an inflatable pool toy/raft. We really wanted to just jump in one and float to the middle of the lagoon area to relax. They sell them at the boutique for $135 but much better to bring your own.

- Make ALL reservations ahead of time. Especially for massages and dinners, they get booked fast. You can always change it when you get there!

- If you want to do the free yoga, you should also make reservations and be sure to choose a spot in the shade of the building (closer to the door). Otherwise you'll soon find yourself sweating and getting hot.

- If you tip someone via adding it to the receipt it will be added to a general pool for the staff. To reward someone particularly, consider a discreet cash tip.

Overall this property set the standard for what a hotel can be. I was amazed at every turn especially towards the attention to detail.

Edit: Another tip:
- They have a very very cheap photoshoot option for $15! The island's professional photographer meets you on the beach and does a 10min photoshoot at a few different spots. You then have 10 mins to review the images and you get 3 of them edited by him and emailed to you. Total cost is $15 and the photos came out fantastic. Almost like engagement photos depending on how you want to pose. It's great value and it is quick.

- Pay extra attention when walking on the walkway between the island and the overwater villas. Initially we never looked into the water from there but another guest told us to. AFter that we saw saw reef sharks and eagle rays quite a few times as we walked across it.

- You can request the Bentley. I didn't actually get it on my trip, but still worth requesting.

- You are given your assigned overwater villa number when you check-in at the Great Room lounge. If you are not satisfied with it, let them know! We were initially given a villa we didn't think we would like. We asked them if we could change and they accommodated us. I initially asked for a sunset villa (I'm plat) but they were all booked up but they tried to find me another suitable one.

Last edited by rp88; Nov 24, 2018 at 6:56 pm
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Old Nov 22, 2018, 8:34 am
  #1774  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,706
Thank you rp88! Some of the recent FT feedback and TA reviews had me concerned if the StR Maldives was worth the trip.
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Old Nov 22, 2018, 8:59 am
  #1775  
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They offered $369 upgrade from GV to OWV for late January. Since this fee is non-refundable, dan this be done last minute just to be safe? Is the OVW and hotel in general ever full capacity or does it run with plenty of availability usually?

Miz
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Old Nov 22, 2018, 10:25 am
  #1776  
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Hartford, CT
Programs: Marriott LTS
Posts: 195
Originally Posted by manish
They offered $369 upgrade from GV to OWV for late January. Since this fee is non-refundable, dan this be done last minute just to be safe? Is the OVW and hotel in general ever full capacity or does it run with plenty of availability usually?

Miz
You never know for sure - but you can call customer service and ask how many OWV they have on sale and make a determination then. I have been told that as long as one is available for sale they will offer it for cash upgrade.
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Old Nov 22, 2018, 10:52 am
  #1777  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Austin, TX
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Posts: 24
What time is breakfast?

What are the hours of the breakfast buffet in Alba?
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Old Nov 22, 2018, 5:58 pm
  #1778  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 65
Originally Posted by ATX1989
What are the hours of the breakfast buffet in Alba?
piggy backing on this question; can i eat breakfast first thing in the morning, leave to work out, and eat a second breakfast and pay only once?
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Old Nov 22, 2018, 8:53 pm
  #1779  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Back in Hell
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I seriously doubt any resort will let you do that.
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Old Nov 22, 2018, 10:11 pm
  #1780  
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Originally Posted by MaldivesFreak
I seriously doubt any resort will let you do that.
I doubt any hotel would really allow that. I am sure it is possible to sneak in some places, but generally they make a note of whether guests have been there or not
​​​
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Old Nov 23, 2018, 1:55 pm
  #1781  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: MUC
Programs: LH Sen, HH Diamond, IC RA
Posts: 313
Originally Posted by rp88
Best beach: The beach by Alba is nice but has lots of shells and generally not the best beach. The best hidden beach stretches from Orientale past the check-in lounge and up to/including the Garden Villas. It is generally very very empty, the sand has no shells, and is definitely the most picturesque.
Thanks for the very helpful trip report. Are there any sunbeds on this part of the beach? We have a reservation for a Garden Villa on points and were wondering, if there are sunbeds at the nearby beach.
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Old Nov 23, 2018, 4:26 pm
  #1782  
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Rye, NY USA
Posts: 261
Just booked for Xmas - New Year

Plans changed up a bit for Xmas at the last minute so was debating today where to go. Found a good paid business Black Friday fare to Singapore (Through JFK-FRA-SIN so don’t think I will have the business seats, but if anyone know different please let me know) and then managed to get a points garden villa at St. Regis Maldives for December 25 - Jan 3rd (480K points or 53K pts per night). Surprised it was available but folks who are interested in a last minute end of year trip should check as people must have cancelled.

Some quick questions as it is our first visit.
  1. Our flight into Singapore lands at 6:50 AM and then we are going to take the Silkair flight to MLE (10:05 - 11:55). How is the seaplane flight timing likely to work with that? Do they just try to match the time of landing and transport you over to the terminal to immediately catch the flight or will there likely be some sort of delay?
  2. On the return, we are currently on the 12:50 silkair back to SIN. How early do you think they will have us leave the resort? Toyed with the late night (think it was an overnight flight to SIN at 11:50 PM) flight but couldn’t bring myself to do the pink eye flight....
  3. We will have mask and snorkel, I assume they have fins on property? Based on early comments in thread, seems like yes.
  4. For folks who have done 9+ nights there, is there a cadence of dinner reservations they would recommend?
  5. Have not emailed the hotel yet about asking for cost of an upgrade to overwater villas, but assume I just email the hotel and ask or should I wait for them to contact me? Seems like the Xmas upgrade may be pricey based on recent comments in this thread.
  6. Any must do activities while we are there besides lying on the beach / deck?
Looking forward to it. Have spend the last 4 years doing the st Regis in Bora Bora so looking for a change of scenery.

Thanks!
:-)

Last edited by Woodsmit; Nov 23, 2018 at 5:11 pm
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Old Nov 23, 2018, 6:34 pm
  #1783  
kkl
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,023
Better double check but I think you will be locked in for the compulsory Xmas and Nye dinners.

Cant remember the price but it's expensive
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Old Nov 23, 2018, 6:54 pm
  #1784  
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Rye, NY USA
Posts: 261
Originally Posted by kkl
Better double check but I think you will be locked in for the compulsory Xmas and Nye dinners.

Cant remember the price but it's expensive
yep. Good to highlight. I miss the required Xmas eve dinner but get hit with the nasty $900 / person New Years thing. Not much to do about it unfortunately.....
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Old Nov 24, 2018, 12:12 am
  #1785  
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 114
Originally Posted by tom-schmitt

Thanks for the very helpful trip report. Are there any sunbeds on this part of the beach? We have a reservation for a Garden Villa on points and were wondering, if there are sunbeds at the nearby beach.
You're very welcome! We'll each villa had 2 sunbeds with an umbrella literally on the beach in front of the villa. They had towels on all of them.
​This applied to garden villas and beach villas. The beach by alba also has sunbeds for public use.
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