If anyone has insight here, let me know :)
Also, how much of an upgrade is the St. Regis Overwater Suite vs. the Villa, for those who've seen both?

Is the platinum breakfast only good for the buffet or in-room as well?

Best

There is basically zero way to see into the neighbouring villas. You have to go out of your way to do it. I cannot see anything except the sunset.

IMHO, I actually prefer the first villa on the walkway. In Thalasso, it was the worst one, because you neither had a view, nor did you have any privacy. Here, it's the opposite: you're more or less facing the sunset, AND you get to see the "back end" of the sunset (the pink clouds etc that come alive when the sun drops beyond the horizon). If you're in one of the middle villas, I suspect you're less likely to see the back end of the sunset.

This is what it looks like:

http://imgur.com/a/7YqLI

Thanks a lot! Still trying to figure out the sun-route :) I guess the downside is you're closer to the bar/restaurant and people can see your deck?

What's your view on the St. Regis suites at the very end of the other dock (particularly the one that is stand-alone, facing the ocean)?

Privacy is important to me, so is the amount of sun the deck gets during the day, too. Should I be worried about being able to sunbath all day in my villa when I choose the suite/side of villas=

Thanks!

Honestly, the St. Regis suite is nice but I certainly wouldn't say it's worth the extra (what is it, $650/night?).

I toured most of the room categories last week, and yes it's bigger and has a few more features, such as jets in the pool, but for that price...just not worth in IMO unless you're REALLY set on a slightly bigger room with bubbles in the pool. Keep in mind the standard villa is already quite .......

If you draw a line perpendicular to the walkway and through the centre of the first villa, the sun sets to the right maybe 17-20 degrees.

People from the Whale Bar can see you indeed, but it's VERY far: if you're simply sunbathing or whatever, you'd need binoculars to gain any useful information about you (and it would look a bit odd if someone stood with binoculars at the whale bar). Obviously, if the goal is naked sunbathing or R-rated activity, one of the other suites may be a better choice, though. :)

The St-Regis suite is obviously larger, but I wouldn't pay the $650 upsell they're asking for on points. If you're booking on cash, it's $3,400 or so vs. $3,200, so that's a no-brainer upgrade (as long as you get the *sunset* version of it), but I wouldn't do it otherwise.

Thanks! This is all very helpful. Do you get sun during the day from there as well?

Any insight on the platinum breakfast benefit? Does that include room service breakfast too?

Thanks

Sun begins around 11 (well... it ended around 12 and it's been pouring since, hah) and shines all day. So definitely LOTS of sun.

I've been meaning to ask about the breakfast. I feel like they'd do it, but there's so much stuff on the menu at Alba that it's well worth going. Also the breads and cheeses are just spectacular. So even in a tropical rainstorm we had a buggy come drive us.

Ouch, hope weather will be better in a few weeks!
Has the Alba breakfast menu been posted? What's the policy for plats, order anything you like as often as you like? :D

If it's not posted above in the wiki, I can post it.

It's as much as you want of anything. I like to sample various foods so I keep ordering stuff, so at one point when I get up to go to get more food, two of the waiters go "Thanks for coming, sir!" and I kind of raise an eyebrow and walk towards the buffet door, they correct themselves "Oh, you're going to get more!"

The service isn't 100% polished yet, I must say. :p :D

Ha! Ok. Haven't seen the menu yet.
On another note: is there a sound system in the villas/on the deck to connect with your phone?

The connectivity is seriously impressive.

First off, there's a wall panel that'll take HDMI (but no cable, so bring your own, what the hell), headphone jack or Bluetooth input (i.e. you pair your phone).

Second, there's an AppleTV that you can AirPlay to, or an Android whatever they call it that you can cast to.

There's likely a USB accessible port too (there are at least 10 USB ports around the room, I don't know if any of them are data).

The only thing is... the TV is very weird. I can't figure out what's wrong with it. It's a wild Bang & Olufsen that you can make rotate with an iPad, so the pointless luxury element is totally there, but something is wrong with the picture that I can't quite grasp. It's like it's too sharp, or the framerate doesn't match what I have in my source (which doesn't make sense, because a TV just displays content.... but maybe its signal processor is weird?...); basically, something is imperceptibly odd. I watched a TV show episode yesterday night, and I couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong: do you know how a professionally made TV show is different from the afternoon made-for-TV drama that looks like it was shot with a handycam? It was that. It's like the "film" effect was artificially missing from my episode, making it feel incredibly fake and irritating. This is really a bizarre way to explain it, and I'll watch a few more, different, shows to see if I can replicate it, or if that particular episode just ran out of money (but it seemed fine on the laptop...)

Ok, odd, but the B&O TVs do that sometimes .. I know what you mean.
So there's a proper sound system that works in the villa and the deck? Great to hear re all the connectivity options.

Anything else to know, be aware of?

Oh yeah, sorry, I was so involved in writing up the B&O complaint that I missed the original question. There isn't a separate sound system - only whatever's built into the B&O TV (it's a decent speaker system, though).

That's the soap opera effect
http://hometheaterreview.com/what-is...ke-it-go-away/

There should be a setting somewhere for gaming mode that would sort it out.

Yeah, it is definitely soap opera effect, I don't know if you can disable it though, there's no normal remote control, just the iPad which fully automates everything.

Ooooooh!

I learned something today.


Challenge accepted! I found a stash of unopened BeoVision 14s, maybe i can find a remote too :)

[edit] I was too optimistic. No remote in sight, and "the IT guy" (as the butler called him) refused to help because "the TV only has one setting" (this is after consulting with a "manager" for half an hour).

The TV, along with the glass door toilet that can be seen from the working desk, the entrance, and the bathroom, are the two major failures of this suite. I can't believe they didn't just set it to some sort of defaults and not put smoked glass on the toilet door.

I was a bit afraid of this-- I'm one of those that spent 72K points/night for the St. Regis Suite.

But what the hell, bubbles sound worth it, to me! :)
Isn't the daybed on the deck larger for the suites?

We'll be doing the first night in the Garden Villa, the second night in the Beach Villa, and nights 3 through 7 in the Suite.

Fiancee hasn't seen pictures, thinks we're flying coach both ways, and isn't expecting an overwater room. Can't wait to surprise her! ^

By the way, really appreciate all of your guys notes. TylerC and Pseudo, thank you!

I doubt you'll ACTUALLY be in the beach / garden villa. I would expect that the hotel will upgrade you all nights to the St Regis, especially if you're Ambassador. Garden Villa is seriously lame, though :D

As for pictures - wait till I post breakfast pics. I'm seriously taking one for the team here and ordering a new trio of mains every day! You know, for glory of science.

So, I've heard from others "I don't know why anyone would book a beach villa here" ... I haven't actually been inside the beach villa, but having walked around the entire island now, the sand behind the beach villas is MUCH softer than the 'main beach' by the pool which is intended for the overwater villas.

The main beach is artificial, which in this case means the sand is course, and full of dead coral. There are also some really really nice seashells on the artificial beach, so that is cool, but absolutely see the appeal of the beach villas. If you are like my wife and in love with seashells, the artificial beach should be a fun playground.

If you go for a beach villa though, you should Definitely request something that is near the reception area or the Caroline Astor estate, as the beach is much deeper there. The ones closest to the overwater pier have only a couple of feet of sand between the villa and the ocean at high tide.

We went snorkeling around by our villa yesterday, and while there were some colorful fish, the reef was basically 25% dead, 60% bleached, and 15% recovering from bleaching, but still not healthy.

I've heard that the reef closer to the Caroline Astor Estate is supposed to be the best one on the island, and plan to check that out tomorrow.

Tonight, we go on the dolphin cruise.

.....

Has anyone stayed in the Garden Villa? We chose that one for the overall privacy and bc we'd prefer to sit on the beach vs the sun deck. I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts.

The problem is the garden villas face north so I'm not sure how much sun you'd get. Also, we already get tons of mosquitoes even on the water, so i shudder at the thought of how many of them are in the jungle.

No mosquitos out at my water villa on the north pier, but we've encountered the mosquitos at Alba, and yeah they are brutal. For whatever reason, they don't like my wife but they love me.

Today the staff was fogging the island for mosquitos, so perhaps it will be better in a few days.

Thanks for the heads up. Hopefully as monsoon season winds down they die off.

On the other hand we may just have to take one for the team and upgrade :)

@Some Dude: Awesome pics! Will take your advice on the Beach Villa. Are those pics from that Sony camera you recommended?

Speaking of mosquitoes, how big of a concern is Zika in the Maldives? Haven't done the research yet, but what have guys heard?

@Pseudo: maybe I'm just weird, but I'm looking forward to trying out the 3 different rooms. The mosquitoes are a bummer...

Nothing weird about it - but if you actually want to try them, I advise you to reach out to them ahead of time to NOT upgrade you, as i'd expect they would otherwise.

They don't think you love the wildlife (like your wife does) enough.....so they bite you! :p

There has been at least one reported case of Zika in the Maldives. Source: http://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-...tries-Zika.pdf

I'm still not sure about which room/suite to take. Of course, the sunset villas sound amazing, but then the water/reef there doesn't look very nice and inviting (close to the dark blue ocean that my gf is scared of ;) )...the water on the inside concave looks a lot nicer and more "maldive like"....there's a couple of st. regis suite at the very end of the pier which could be nice. any advice here from people who stayed at the sunset villas re the water over there?

@Ants1: No, I ended up bringing my SLR - Canon 5D Mark 3 along with some prime lenses - including the 100mm f/2.8L macro which I used for those seashell photos.

Totally normal to have 3 different rooms in one trip -- I did two rooms when I did Conrad Maldives a few years back, Beach Villa and Over Water Villa, and I enjoyed both.


We didn't see anything on the dolphin cruise yesterday sadly, but I did do more snorkeling today, both by the beach villas (from reception area up to the over water pier/beach area), and from the pool / beach area (near Crust) all the way around the sunset water villas, past the John Jacob Astor Estate, and up to my room (one of the last on the northwestern side).

I think the best snorkeling I've seen so far on this trip was along the sunset overwater villas -- the coral was healthier (though still not in great shape), but lots of colorful fish, and stars. I did the swim at high tide, and while there was a very reasonably deep area close to the villas for swimming, the area where the reef is (about 20 feet from the villas) is VERY shallow at parts, maybe 3 feet or less, which requires being at least a moderately good swimmer in order to stay off of the coral. I did it just fine, but I don't think my wife could. Took about 40 minutes to do the whole swim at a moderate pace.

I plan on checking out the lagoon side of the over water villas and perhaps the family beach villa area tomorrow.

Figured I'd post a mini review since I've stalked this thread since it was opened. My wife and I are currently at the resort and it's truly breathtaking.

Villas-

We are staying in an overwater villa on the lagoon side facing basically directly east. Looking at the map in the wiki, I believe we are two villas north of the St Regis suite. We have sun on the deck till about 3. I believe the lagoon villas just south of us the sun will disappear slightly earlier and the lagoon villas north are basically in the sun all day. The villas are amazing and I can't think of one substantial complaint.

Snorkeling-

Snorkeling has been solid. Water clarity is maybe a 7/10 with visibility around 30 feet I would say. Snorkeling in the lagoon side is a waste of time as it is all died off coral. That being said, it only takes an extra minute to swim towards the drop off past the sunset villas into the coral rich waters. We did see some dolphins cruising just outside the ledge as we were walking to our villas but haven't seen a turtle or any sharks as of yet.

Gym-

Gym is smallish but sufficient with dumbbells up to 30 lbs, a trx, smith machine, and few other machines. Few treadmills and stationary bikes as well. Didn't bother with the yoga but they offer plenty of classes at various times.

That's all for now, ill check back if anyone has questions I'll gladly answer.

This place rocks.

So far, is there anyone here on FT that has stayed there with cash?

Ah so it was you guys who told us to look at dolphins today :D Thanks!

Lol. Nope. But i've (so far) counted four FT couples including us, and I have suspicions on two more. :D

Plat Happy Hour?
 

Any idea if there is a happy hour for SPG Platinums?

If you're a good swimmer, the best reef I have seen so far here is beyond the Spa jetty, in between the spa jetty and supply jetty, and beyond the supply jetty. If you want to do that snorkel trip, you would have to start at the beach by Orientale and end by the Dive center, since there is a rock beach in front of the Knickerbocker villa, it's not really a good way to come back to shore.

Nope.

@Pseudo Nim

Did you end up doing a tour of Malé on your way out? Did you see the Great Room lounge? Bentley?

Recommendations on what to do on the final day?

Hey,

I did do the Male tour. Quite honestly, if you've never been, it's well worth doing, even though you WILL go to the three mosques and the two or so sponsored souvenir shops. To be entirely fair, I don't really like seeing people hop into the MLE airport, immediately shuttle out to the pristine islands, and never even visit the city proper - it's not fair to the people who make it run. Also, it's just a fascinating place - THAT many people in THAT small an area is just an interesting experience. Of course, as even my own butler put it, it's a place worth seeing once - after that, it's not worth the time anymore, so if you've been, then skip it. Incidentally, the stories about dressing hyper-moderately, etc., are not necessarily entirely true - I saw a number of Western and Asian tourists dressed FAR more revealingly than even we were, and nobody seemed to mind (though obviously, mosques are off limits). Having dinner in the city is also a good option, since, well, the airport lounge is really not amazing (it serves EVERY airline, so it's full of people and the choice is rather paucit).

The Great Room is operational as of... yesterday. There's absolutely nothing there besides wifi and some juices :D Everything is spectacularly new, though the water doesn't smell of glue, haha.

The Bentley is STILL not operational. Maybe in a week or so, but it seems like importing just about anything into the Maldives takes forever, so I wouldn't hold my breath for it.

Any complimentary beverages or anything?

Beyond the welcome drink and the anytime tea/coffee, nope.

That said, their tea service is AMAZING. Besides TWG, their mint is made with actual mint leaves and pu erh is loose as well. Simply excellent.