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Originally Posted by nauce
(Post 29082743)
Hey gang! I just stayed here and didn't have an awesome experience. Context: 100+ Night Plat; have been to ~20 St. Regis properties worldwide. Went there to get away from the world for a bit. 8-night stay. (Cut it short and left after 5).
The TL;DR here is that they got most of the little things wrong. (And for some of us, those little things are actually big.) I'm gluten-free (celiac), which is noted on my profile and was told to my butler upon check-in. They proceeded to serve me gluten three times in my first two days. Twice with my tea service, and once at breakfast. No Platinum upgrade, but wasn't expecting one here. (And not discounting any stars for that.) What was unfortunate was: I asked for paid upgrade options, and was surprised that they offered options that were higher in price than what was listed on the website. (And called this a special 'platinum upgrade price.') This was the opposite of the two St. Regis's I staid at beforehand and the one I stayed at afterward. I booked an OWB, and they offered me the two bedroom one for $2500++ per night. Didn't feel like a deal. Thematically consistent with the above was that the place felt a little nickel-and-dimey. They can't be blamed for the alcohol import taxes of the Maldives, but the margins on top just sting. We're talking about wine pours (for a single glass) that start out at ~5 times what the bottle costs. (I paid $310 for a glass of decent Bordeaux. Just decent.) The F&B options leave something to be desired, especially given the price points. The decanter dinner with wine pairing was relatively well executed, but at high price-point per person, that's expected. (The price is what I've paid on average for 2-star Michelin restaurants ($525 per-person with tip). And, no, the food is not *that* good. Also, weirdly, they seem to have limited availability at many restaurants on the island. I asked if there was availability for this 'wine pairing' dinner and they said that it was full. I said I'd be interested if a spot opened up. The day of the dinner, they let me know that they were able to 'secure a seat' at the dinner, without confirming that this is what I wanted. At that time, they let me know that it was non-refundable and if I changed my mind, they would charge me anyway. I asked for Calvados at dinner my first night. They said they didn't have any. I was kind of surprised by this and asked the server to double-check. He came with a hard no. The next morning, I casually mentioned it to the manager. He proceeded to come back and show off a nice bottle of Calvados, with a big smile on his face. I wasn't smiling. I wanted it the night before at dinner. It would have gone perfectly with my meal. This might sound like a little thing: but no one ever apologized. No offer for a free pour or even a taste. He just showed off the bottle and walked away. The internet went out in my Bungalow 3 different times. One time was raining hard, so I'll assume that it couldn't be helped on a remote Island. But the other times, it was only sort of handled. I tried to create reproducible steps for them and everything, but they didn't seem to care. The gym leaves quite a lot to be desired. On a remote island, we aren't left with other fitness options. One staff member commented to me that their staff gym is better than the actual customer gym. In summary, the property is gorgeous, but the experience just felt cheap to me. It didn't feel like true luxury. And given the staff-to-customer ratio, I expected the attention-to-detail to be higher than it was. Hope that helps someone else! @Psychiatrist @BESVISOR -- I went solo, and it was fine. Although, I hope that didn't contribute to my not-awesome service. This was totally different than our experience but we also don't drink so some of your issues could have easily also happened to us if we had ordered wine. Adam was our butler and was simply fantastic! Remember all the small details and pro-actively arranged a lot of things for us and canceled without any complaints when asked. No hidden charges. My clients also really enjoyed it but I suppose that only shows it to be inconsistent. Have you tried to write to the GM Alex? he may want to hear your feedback. Cheval Blanc and Soneva are two good potential alternatives .... Four Seasons' hard products doesn't wow like the former two but service is always warm and very consistent (will certainly note your dietary needs!). |
Originally Posted by nauce
(Post 29082863)
@callmedtop -- I'm happy to have helped. The reason I posted it here is because I know that bar of an average FTer is higher than say, a TripAdvisor user. That's why me and the wife always check here first.
I wasted a lot on that trip, and was kind of misled by the average of 4.9 stars on the SPG site. (Didn't realize the sample size was so small compared to, say, StR Bora Bora.) If you have a top favorite spot in the Maldives, I'd love to hear about it (here or in PM). I've only ever been to the StR. I don't drink at all (I get an itchy rash all over after half a glass of red wine) - and I'll only be there for 2 nights. Will post my views after the trip! |
Originally Posted by VAFlyerSAN
(Post 29080042)
The best villa for sunrise would be 508.
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Originally Posted by nauce
(Post 29082863)
@callmedtop -- I'm happy to have helped. The reason I posted it here is because I know that bar of an average FTer is higher than say, a TripAdvisor user. That's why me and the wife always check here first.
I wasted a lot on that trip, and was kind of misled by the average of 4.9 stars on the SPG site. (Didn't realize the sample size was so small compared to, say, StR Bora Bora.) If you have a top favorite spot in the Maldives, I'd love to hear about it (here or in PM). I've only ever been to the StR. The Coravin wines by the glass are going to be expensive, the average wines were OK value for the Maldives we thought and we used the in room wine "cellar" and spirits a fair bit. I don't think it is Nickel & Diming when costs are just high. There are a few rough edges but sitting currently in another Starwood resort the rough edges at Vommuli seem pretty smooth ;) Cheval Blanc would be my choice of alternative resort. |
OK, so here we have a review that seems curiously different from the overwhelming majority of incredibly positive reviews of this property. I therefore apply the same approaches here as I would with a TripAdvisor review that doesn't seem to feel right, either.
(1) Our reviewer @nauce has but 31 posts here on FlyerTalk. That makes me wonder. I don't put much stock in TripAdvisor reviews that talk about staying at tons of other luxury hotels but which have only a few actual reviews, none of which are of luxury properties. Our reviewer claims to have stayed at about 20 StR properties worldwide, but there is no mention of any of those except for a few about the StR Singapore in any of his limited posts since 2011. That does make me wonder. (2) When looking at the other posts from our reviewer, it seems the biggest issue seems to be Plat recognition here and at the StR Singapore, as well as Global Services recognition on United Airlines. My feeling here is that our reviewer was annoyed he didn't get more recognition for being a Plat100 and decided to take it out on the property. (3) Everyone knows that the Maldives has incredibly high food and alcohol prices. Anyone staying at a top luxury property like the St Regis and complains about high food and alcohol prices is suspect to me. This feels more like a regular Plat complaining about not getting the free drinks at the Plat happy hour than a Plat100 enjoying a stay at one of the most lauded St Regis properties in the world. (4) The inability to get it right about gluten I actually believe. That being said, Singita Boulders--one of the most celebrated luxury properties in the world--also got my raisin allergy wrong on 3 occasions. Yet I complained, they made up for it, and I still place Singita Boulders as one of our top 13 stays of all time. Apparently, the reviewer did finally get them to get it right, since the issue was mentioned for only the first 2 days and the reviewer stayed 5 days. But there is no mention of that. (5) The reviewer talking about not getting a Plat upgrade seems to be a major issue IMO--even though he claims otherwise. Asking about a 2 bedroom villa and being surprised that it cost $2500 per night is curious. Saying it didn't feel like a deal is even more curious to me. It isn't a deal. It's a top luxury hotel--it's not supposed to be a deal. They don't discount their rooms as much here because they don't have to. That isn't particularly surprising for any luxury hotel that is incredibly well regarded. This feels like a reviewer who doesn't have much experience at luxury hotels to me rather than an experienced luxury hotel guest. (6) The reviewer finds the high prices of alcohol and dining here to be nickel-and-dimey. The reviewer also manages to claim at the same time that food and beverage leave something to be desired while simultaneously well executed. The truth of the matter is that the reviewer finds the food and alcohol prices to be too high for his tastes--even though that's the blatantly obvious norm for even far less luxury hotels in the Maldives. The idea that others are suggesting the One&Only, Soneva Jani, and Cheval Blanc as alternatives is laughably entertaining as all are as or more expensive than the St Regis and have even more expensive food and dining options. I'd also argue that the St Regs is likely to have some of the best dining quality in the Maldives, but our reviewer is too focused on price point to notice. (7) The limited availability issue at restaurants is of concern. But the other issues I have make me question the nature of this concern from this reviewer. After all, our reviewer asked about the wine pairing dinner and was told it wasn't available...but that he could be wait-listed for it. Then he seemed surprised when they were able to get the wine pairing dinner for him "without confirming" that's what he wanted. I have a sense that the problem isn't the staff but the customer in this scenario. (8) The internet went out 3 times in the reviewer's OWB. Once when it was raining hard, which thankfully he can forgive. Our reviewer tried to create "reproducible steps tor them and everything, but they didn't seem to care." I have no idea what the heck that is supposed to mean. But I don't believe it means what someone thinks it means. For the record, and in stark contrast, when it stormed in Bora Bora, I didn't blow a gasket when the StR Bora Bora villa air con couldn't keep up because it was blatantly obvious that I was on a remote island and there was a massive storm that was creating chaos--and I'm well known for being crazy in requiring air con. (9) Finally, the reviewer's negative comments about the gym put the review fully into perspective. The Points Guy is a known workout fiend, and he takes pains to try and stay fit on the road--and he found the StR Maldives gym to be quite excellent: https://thepointsguy.com/2017/03/st-...es-activities/. As do countless other reviews and photos here on FlyerTalk and on TripAdvisor from people who clearly work out a lot. As a result, it's hard to take anything seriously our reviewer says about so many of the other issues. In short, I have to question the perspective and credibility for this review--just as I would so many TripAdvisor reviews. Applying even a small dose of critical evaluation exposes any number of curious and questionable elements that make me not believe this review has anything to do with most people's experience here. I have no doubt that our reviewer didn't like the property. I do doubt that his experience and qualms have much to do with the experiences of almost anyone else, however.
Originally Posted by nauce
(Post 29082743)
Hey gang! I just stayed here and didn't have an awesome experience. Context: 100+ Night Plat; have been to ~20 St. Regis properties worldwide. Went there to get away from the world for a bit. 8-night stay. (Cut it short and left after 5).
The TL;DR here is that they got most of the little things wrong. (And for some of us, those little things are actually big.) I'm gluten-free (celiac), which is noted on my profile and was told to my butler upon check-in. They proceeded to serve me gluten three times in my first two days. Twice with my tea service, and once at breakfast. No Platinum upgrade, but wasn't expecting one here. (And not discounting any stars for that.) What was unfortunate was: I asked for paid upgrade options, and was surprised that they offered options that were higher in price than what was listed on the website. (And called this a special 'platinum upgrade price.') This was the opposite of the two St. Regis's I staid at beforehand and the one I stayed at afterward. I booked an OWB, and they offered me the two bedroom one for $2500++ per night. Didn't feel like a deal. Thematically consistent with the above was that the place felt a little nickel-and-dimey. They can't be blamed for the alcohol import taxes of the Maldives, but the margins on top just sting. We're talking about wine pours (for a single glass) that start out at ~5 times what the bottle costs. (I paid $310 for a glass of decent Bordeaux. Just decent.) The F&B options leave something to be desired, especially given the price points. The decanter dinner with wine pairing was relatively well executed, but at high price-point per person, that's expected. (The price is what I've paid on average for 2-star Michelin restaurants ($525 per-person with tip). And, no, the food is not *that* good. Also, weirdly, they seem to have limited availability at many restaurants on the island. I asked if there was availability for this 'wine pairing' dinner and they said that it was full. I said I'd be interested if a spot opened up. The day of the dinner, they let me know that they were able to 'secure a seat' at the dinner, without confirming that this is what I wanted. At that time, they let me know that it was non-refundable and if I changed my mind, they would charge me anyway. I asked for Calvados at dinner my first night. They said they didn't have any. I was kind of surprised by this and asked the server to double-check. He came with a hard no. The next morning, I casually mentioned it to the manager. He proceeded to come back and show off a nice bottle of Calvados, with a big smile on his face. I wasn't smiling. I wanted it the night before at dinner. It would have gone perfectly with my meal. This might sound like a little thing: but no one ever apologized. No offer for a free pour or even a taste. He just showed off the bottle and walked away. The internet went out in my Bungalow 3 different times. One time was raining hard, so I'll assume that it couldn't be helped on a remote Island. But the other times, it was only sort of handled. I tried to create reproducible steps for them and everything, but they didn't seem to care. The gym leaves quite a lot to be desired. On a remote island, we aren't left with other fitness options. One staff member commented to me that their staff gym is better than the actual customer gym. In summary, the property is gorgeous, but the experience just felt cheap to me. It didn't feel like true luxury. And given the staff-to-customer ratio, I expected the attention-to-detail to be higher than it was. Hope that helps someone else! @Psychiatrist @BESVISOR -- I went solo, and it was fine. Although, I hope that didn't contribute to my not-awesome service. |
For a place that says it's "“the finest address in the Maldives” this place was a disappointing experience for me as well. Service was very poor at times. Food quality was all over the map as well but mainly below average in my books. The only meals we really enjoyed were the Indian cuisine at Orientale. Breakfast was good but one day there was a significant amount of fruit flies in the breakfast room with the pastries and charcuterie. The following day I still noticed a few fruit flies.
My wife is a plat and we stayed under her name. She was addressed as Mr. in emails before we arrived. I even pointed this out before arrival to them via email. Welcome note also addressed her as "Mr." Housekeeping asked us our preferred times to clean the room and for turndown. Our request was never fulfilled and the rooms were never cleaned at our suggested times. One of the sinks wasn’t draining when we checked in. Luckily this was resolved fast Before we arrived I called the hotel to inquire about the drone policy and was assured they were not allowed. On my first morning while in the outdoor shower I see a drone not even 50 meters away from me. One evening at the whale bar another guest took out his drone and used it for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile the staff didn’t say anything and some even admired the drone The only dinner we had at Alba was well below average in terms of food taste. The shrimp was mushy and the ravioli was not any better. We talked to the chef the next morning after one of the servers brought him out. He offered to make us the same meal again for lunch. After such a poor meal the night before this was the last thing we wanted to try again. At some parts of the resort there was a strong sewage smell, especially right at sunrise. No flutes were given with the champagne welcome amenity, the champagne was delicious and we thanked the hotel for this nice gesture! Lastly after letting our butler know about our issues with the hotel and just minutes before we were going to leave our room for the seaplane ride back to Male (he called us to inquire), room service arrives with one Carlsburg beer. I thought perhaps this was delivered as a sorry for the below par experience we had. Well the server opened the beer on our patio and then gives me a bill. I never even ordered a beer but this was the last string of our less than satisfactory service experiences. When we arrived at the Male airport and were taken to the lounge the staff member inquired if we had ever been to the Maldives before. We have and we mentioned where we have already been and the staff member claimed the St Regis Maldives is far superior to our last hotel. Well it sure wasn’t! Honestly I should have mentioned this stuff earlier in this thread but just wanted to put this sour experience behind us. There were other issues but I will end it here for now. |
Originally Posted by kokinos
(Post 29085834)
When we arrived at the Male airport and were taken to the lounge the staff member inquired if we had ever been to the Maldives before. We have and we mentioned where we have already been and the staff member claimed the St Regis Maldives is far superior to our last hotel. Well it sure wasn’t!
Also, let's remember that all the people taking advantage of the reduced award deal here at the StR Maldives in the first few months of its opening, including you, @nauce, and @JBauer, need to keep your thoughts on service in perspective. You all visited within the first 3 months of opening. Everyone knows any new property will have issues, and those issues will come with both hard product and soft product. That the service wasn't up to snuff in some cases is because it was brand new when you visited! You knew that. You all booked the reduced awards knowing they were reduced for that very reason. And then you complain about the inevitable service shortcomings as if they are a surprise or deal breaker. I call it the "looking the gift horse in the mouth" syndrome. |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 29085999)
Also, let's remember that all the people taking advantage of the reduced award deal here at the StR Maldives in the first few months of its opening, including you, @nauce, and @JBauer, need to keep your thoughts on service in perspective. You all visited within the first 3 months of opening. Everyone knows any new property will have issues, and those issues will come with both hard product and soft product. That the service wasn't up to snuff in some cases is because it was brand new when you visited! You knew that. You all booked the reduced awards knowing they were reduced for that very reason. And then you complain about the inevitable service shortcomings as if they are a surprise or deal breaker.
I call it the "looking the gift horse in the mouth" syndrome. If service is not good enough, doesn't matter what they pay, it's not good enough. Next time you pay a low rate or use points, should you complain if service is not good enough? Of course you would. |
Originally Posted by 5DMarkIIguy
(Post 29086211)
What are you talking about? They didn't offer "reduced awards" because it was a new property. What other SPG hotels offered "reduced awards" because they were new and service wasn't up to snuff?
If service is not good enough, doesn't matter what they pay, it's not good enough. Next time you pay a low rate or use points, should you complain if service is not good enough? Of course you would. How or why the hotel offered reduced awards can be debated. That the hotel was only open for 3 months in February/March when those reviewers stayed is not debatable. Those reviewers knew that and went anyway...probably because of the reduced awards, since they all mentioned those in their reviews. Anyone who stays at a hotel in its first months of being open and is surprised by service or hard product failings is incredibly foolish IMO. You know the risks and usually are attracted by special opening rates, and you accept that the experience won’t be as polished as when it gets the kinks worked out. That’s just as true for a luxury hotel as any other—as evidenced time and again on threads in the Luxury Hotels Forum. Perhaps even more true, since the expectations for a luxury hotel are even higher. It’s just like buying a new model car and being surprised that there are kinks that have to be worked out. Being first to have the new model may make you feel special, but it also means you have to deal with the inevitable new model problems. Those don’t necessarily detract from the new model being an awesome car once those problems are resolved, however. |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 29086268)
Sorry. I couldn’t disagree more.
How or why the hotel offered reduced awards can be debated. That the hotel was only open for 3 months in February/March when those reviewers stayed is not debatable. Those reviewers knew that and went anyway...probably because of the reduced awards, since they all mentioned those in their reviews. Anyone who stays at a hotel in its first months of being open and is surprised by service or hard product failings is incredibly foolish IMO. You know the risks and usually are attracted by special opening rates, and you accept that the experience won’t be as polished as when it gets the kinks worked out. That’s just as true for a luxury hotel as any other—as evidenced time and again on threads in the Luxury Hotels Forum. Perhaps even more true, since the expectations for a luxury hotel are even higher. It’s just like buying a new model car and being surprised that there are kinks that have to be worked out. Being first to have the new model may make you feel special, but it also means you have to deal with the inevitable new model problems. Those don’t necessarily detract from the new model being an awesome car once those problems are resolved, however. 2nd, when you deal with inevitable new model problems, it is more important to speak up about these new model problems. So if someone goes within the first 3 months, they can't say anything bad because it's expected to be bad? What kind of logic is that? They raised some valid points, and had high expectations for a hotel that is offering high expectations. Just because your experience is good doesn't mean theirs have to be good. |
Comments
I perhaps made constructive comments on it, but I loved it and we would go back in a heartbeat.
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Originally Posted by 5DMarkIIguy
(Post 29086301)
They raised some valid points, and had high expectations for a hotel that is offering high expectations. Just because your experience is good doesn't mean theirs have to be good.
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Originally Posted by ps9a
(Post 29086374)
+1. I'm headed there in a couple of days... I appreciate reading both good and bad reviews before I show up, as it helps me anticipate how I may address potential shortcomings. For example, if the internet is notoriously slow at a hotel, and I've read that in advance, I won't waste a bunch of my vacation trying to get them to fix it. If the food or service has been described as poor for a particular restaurant, I'll probably still go there-- I just won't go back to it, or give it a second chance if I, too, have a subpar experience on my first try.
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I'm sitting at the resort now and while the physical build out of the property is excellent, I agree with what some other have said - service is spotty. Communication is also an issue. Nothing that's a deal breaker, but after a couple of nights here my experience at the W a few years ago was better overall.
Not sure why people's reviews are being discredited based on their post count or how many points they used for the room, that shouldn't matter. FWIW the internet has been fine for me so far. Now time to get off of it and enjoy the resort! |
Wine list comparison...they’re all super expensive
Just so everyone can judge themselves, here is the StR Maldives wine list. For what it’s worth, this won the coveted three star award for one of the world’s best wine lists (http://maldives.net.mv/19709/st-regi...-lists-awards/):
http://53e6e95fa523edc2d249-64fa9f17...--20.11.17.pdf And for anyone who thinks it overpriced, here is the Cheval Blanc Randheli wine list: http://linaratravel.com/images/pageS...erWineList.pdf And the Velaa Private island wine list: http://linaratravel.com/images/pageS...viBeverage.pdf And the Park Hyatt wine list: https://maldiveshadahaa.park.hyatt.c...March-2017.pdf And the Shangri-la Villingilli wine list: http://www.shangri-la.com/uploadedFi...ril%202017.pdf And here is the Conrad Rangali Bar list, which includes prices of many wines by the glass and bottle: http://conradhotels3.hilton.com/reso...u_May_2017.pdf I think you’ll notice that most wine in the Maldives will go for 4-5x what a bottle may cost in the USA. The Maldives government heavily taxes the import of alcohol into the Muslim nation, and the hotels obviously pay dearly to ship the wines to such a remote location. The hotels also have you hostage since you’re not allowed to bring in alcohol on your own into the country. But all of the hotels hold you hostage, and all of the hotels charge you a stiff premium. Anyone who already had been to the Maldives would know that, particularly so if one has been to any of its luxury resorts. |
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