Intro

The St Regis Maldives is such an amazing place, we had such a good time that I am writing my review to show my appreciation. I recently had an 8-night stay at the resort, and I will be sharing my experience/review of the service and resort details.

Booking

Once I had the reservation confirmed I had emailed St Regis to see if they can help me plan a proposal for my girlfriend. I had tried to find pictures or reviews online of packages or special event they might do but had no luck. I emailed over and was quickly assigned someone to help me plan this special event out.

I had decided to do a beach dinner for the proposal. They offered me a Starlight Dinner, Vommuli Magic, Orientale Express, Laccadive’s Dream, or the Cinema Bliss. They all sounded very cool and unique experiences, but I choose to do the Vommuli Magic as its sounded more romantic and secluded for a proposal. They sent me many pictures of how the set up will look like and made sure everything will be kept a secret.

Arrival

Once we landed at MLE we passed through Maldivian security and the temperature check. We got our luggage and we started to proceed to the exit. There we had a St Regis employee waiting for our arrival. We were greeted and he took care of the luggage from there. He escorted us to the sea plane counter and handled the check in process for us.

Once checked in and we had our tickets he took us to the St Regis SUV where he gave us waters, and WIFI access. He explained to us a few things to do at St Regis and how they changed some things around to handle the COVID situation.

We arrived to the St Regis Seaplane Lounge (The Great Room) unfortunately we did not have much time to sit around and enjoy the lounge since our seaplane was ready to depart. They did have to go coffees prepared for us which was a nice gesture. They also gave us a small amenities kit with ear plugs. The views from the air were amazing and one of the most scenic flights I have been on. We saw a pod of dolphins from the air.

We arrived to St Regis and were greeted by the staff and our butler Eddie. We were given 2 fresh coconuts and more water. We also met Ahmed (the director of rooms) where he told us we were checking into Suite 521. I had done my research and knew this room has no obstructed views and it is very private. Some of the best snorkeling on the island is just a few steps away from this room.

All the room are very minimalist with high end finishes. Everything is also remarkably high tech, the lights, AC, and curtains are controlled by an iPad. If anyone wants to see more pictures or videos of this room I have more on my IG. The WIFI on the island was perfect. From the Suite to restaurants, and the gym the WIFI signal was strong and always connected.

Bicycles are available at each room and it was our preferred way to move around the island. Fun Fact: once you go to St Regis Maldives for a second time, they swap out the room number plate on the bike to one that has your initials.

Service and Food

The service was some of the best hospitality service I have experienced. Our butler Eddie was amazing. I feel like he was the best butler with St Regis. Eddie is incredibly detailed oriented, and very proactive with everything. For example, I will begin with when we first arrived, he already had us pre booked for restaurant, and spa treatments. This was a big deal because due to COVID-19 the reservations go fast, and you might end up with nothing to do if the activities get all booked out.

Once in the Suite he explained to us to look over any activities we were interested, and he will line it up for us. He left and shortly after brought us 2 snorkeling gear sets. Trying to beat jetlag I told him I wanted to go to the gym, but he explained that the gym is by appointment only and only 4 guests can use the gym at the same time. Unfortunately for us all the gym opening for our stay were taken up and the earliest gym session would be at 11am. They also need time to clean the gym after every session so it can be clean for the next guest.

I read many reviews before our arrive to the St Regis and everyone talked about the breakfast buffet. I knew the buffet would be closed due to COVID-19, and my expectation were not that high. Being Platinum Elite with Marriott, we were given daily breakfast for 2 every day. They had a digital menu on an iPad with their a la carte options. We were told we could order as much as we wanted, and if we saw something, we wanted not on there we could request it. All the items on the menu were top notch and offered many luxurious dishes and drinks. St Regis offered a western, Indian, Japanese, and Maldivian menu.

The staff is so friendly and nice our waiter Wajjy became our friend day one. We talked about our passion for trying new foods and he quickly started to suggest the best dishes they had. We requested to sit at his table for breakfast and dinner. He would give us good recommendations and explain how the food was made and why all the ingredients went together. It felt like a tasting menu with his service. Towards the end of the trip, he was bringing out custom made juices and select dishes not on the menu for us to try. On the last day he surprised us with a farewell cake at breakfast. We took a photo together and exchanged Instagram accounts to stay in touch.

The major highlight of the trip was the proposal, and this could not have been done with the help of our butler Eddie. He went above and beyond. He made sure everything was taken care of and that I should not worry. He surprised us with a complimentary photographer to capture the moment, which was a nice gesture since I had forgot to ask about this.

When talking to Eddie about the COVID-19 situation and how St Regis changed some of the things they used to do he told me the Champagne Saber could be done at the Suite since they stopped doing it at the whale bar. I told him that I would love to Saber our Champagne myself and he brought me the sword and bucket of ice.

Another example of their excellent service would be on our last day, the seaplane was scheduled for 10:30am but instead of letting us know about that Eddie had arranged a second option. He lined up a speed boat transfer from St Regis to another island and from there take the seaplane to MLE. By doing this we would leave at 3:20pm. We choose the second option to spend more time at the resort. Eddie also checked us into a beach villa since we had to leave our over water suite at 11am. He did this so we could have a place to relax and stay until 3:20pm.

Conclusion

In conclusion I have many other examples of their excellent service, from the Decanter wine tour, to Sunny’s (Sommelier) wine recommendations, to a private tour of the John Jacob Astor Estate. Our 8-night stay has so many stories and positive memories. I feel like our satisfaction was put top priority here, and everyone especially Eddie would try their best to make sure everything was to our liking. Even during a pandemic, they lived up to their reputation. We loved it so much we are currently planning our return. I hands down recommend St Regis Maldives for anyone considering to on traveling to the Maldives.