5DMarkIIguy

A few costcos in the bay area are selling the Chateau Mouton Rothschild for sub 400. St Regis is charging 4950. This is 12x the cost in the USA. Absolutely insanity. Chateau Pichon Lougueville is usually under $100, they are selling for 1250.
It is not cheap, and the mark-up is maybe 3-5x what 3* Michelin restaurants are charging. I think people should know this coming in. The complaint is valid.

VAFlyerSAN

The sun was perfect until ~2:30PM everyday. We were able to enjoy the warm pool during the day. It wasn't the most private location while on the deck being in the middle of the bend, but while in the pool it's very private. I would go for 519 (St Regis Suite) for the most privacy. The sunset villas don't have much privacy as kayakers are allowed between the Dive Center and the John Jacob Estate.

bhrubin

Again, all of the Maldives luxury resorts charge about the same excessive upcharge for wine. So your complaint may be valid, but it is a complaint that should be about ALL 5 star luxury hotels in the Maldives. If you can't afford it, then don't order it or don't go at all. But complaining about the St Regis in a vacuum is nonsense when every other resort does the same thing.

Also, there is no 1995 Mouton Rothschild being sold at Costco for $400--vintage matters. For a 2012 Mouton, it's about $450-700. For a 1995 Mouton, I think you'll find it's tough to get one for less than $1,000 online--as you will discover when you find prices around $700 online that don't actually have inventory. Oops.

And it's $3950 for the Mouton Rothschild at the StR; it's $4950 for the 2008 Lafite Rothschild. Vintage matters, but so does the actual identity of the wine.

The 2003 Chateau Pichon Longueville is $1250 at the StR. It's anywhere from $175-500 online.

Welcome to fairly standard upcharges at a proper 5 star resort in a very expensive market. For those too burdened to look at the other top resort wine lists provided, you will find comparably high prices for almost all of the wines--but less selection at most other resorts. The StR truly has an outstanding wine menu in its range and variety--and price, too, if you don't mind veering off of the regular wine choices. Of course, if you don't like it, then the resort (or having wine here) isn't for you, perhaps.

Of course, most people complaining about the outrageous wine prices for these top wines at the StR or anywhere else in the Maldives wouldn't be spending the money for these outrageously priced wines at home, either--so it's entertaining to watch such outrage. If the upcharges for wine are so outrageous, I think it's fair to say that a luxury resort in the Maldives might not be the appropriate destination for you at which to order wine.

5DMarkIIguy

Costco is selling vertical premier grand cru and new vintage every year. Buy and store in the cellar. It is always sub 400 for all vintage every year. Stock up, the 1995 MR was only 270 a few years ago. Just because someone refuse to pay $5000 for a $270 bottle of wine doesn´t make them persona non grata in the Maldives. They cannot point out something so egregious? If they don´t like the upcharge, they should just shut up and stay home?

St Regis Maldives wine menu is the most overpriced menu I have ever seen in my life. If I can get Harlan at a restaurant for only 2x the cost, there is absolutely no reason these wines should be 10x to 15x the actual price. If you like to pay that much upcharge because it´s the Maldives, no one is stopping you. If someone has a problem with the pricing, there is nothing wrong with them being vocal about it. Why do you criticize their very valid complaints?

MaldivesFreak

You are not hotel management, resident Revenue Manager nor one who makes decisions at Starwood HQ as to why this property (or any Starwood property) has had opening specials. It is in fact (arguably more) foolish to assume you know and base your argument on this. It is plainly obvious by your attack on the poster of the review under discussion that you are biased, just as you think he is biased in his review. Why not just accept the facts that:
a) hotels have opening specials to attract both current and new guests. Attracting new guests from word of mouth, need I remind you, is reliant on the quality of their service and hard product being up to the brand's standard - and such a brand is not nearly as likely to have these specials (and then, because they know there will almost certainly be negative feedback, hope departing guests will leave thinking "Well, I didn't have to use nearly as many points as usual so I won't complain") as other, less luxurious or non-branded properties
b) accept that your arguments are weak; he said he had just stayed there and the resort has already been open a year. And not forgetting that the discounted rates offered pre-opening were bookable well into 2018
c) that this "If you don't mind, can you let us know what the other properties in the Maldives are at which you've also stayed? Thanks." really makes it sound like you are a policeman conducting an investigation and that if his answers aren't up to your standard, his issues won't be as valid

I think we should all just take the review at face value and let each of us judge it on its merits.

bhrubin

First, it would be a very rare restaurant at which one could find Harlan Estate’s even most recently released vintage for a mere 2x the cost. Even our local Mastro’s steakhouse prices the 2012 Harlan at $1500. We should know, as we are on the allocation lists for Harlan, BOND, Colgin, Abreu, Promontory, Hundred Acre, Sine Aqua Non, etc.

Second, the StR Maldives wine menu is the most overpriced menu you’ve ever seen—while you apparently have not yet looked at any of the other wine menus I provided from many of the other top hotels in the Maldives. The Cheval Blanc Rhangelli wine menu is just as pricey if not worse. They all are about as overpriced as each other. So criticizing the prices is fine, but criticizing the one hotel over any other seems patently and hilariously ridiculous.

Third, I find it hilarious that people here in this thread are complaining about prices of the absolutely most expensive wines at a supremely expensive resort when most people would complain about the prices of the same bottles from the wineries. Most Americans do not even spend $400 for a bottle of wine from a store or a winery. So they won’t be considering those wines, anyway. Most of these same people won’t even be paying money to stay at the StR but instead will be using points, so it’s not too difficult to see why the outrage would be so great.

I find this outrage to be pretty ridiculous. You are entitled to find the wine prices ridiculous, and I don’t disagree with you. Of course, the wine prices from the winery can be ridiculous, too, but none are outraged here about those. And of course, every Maldives luxury resort charges the same ridiculous prices for wines, so I find the outrage described here against the St Regis to be ridiculously misplaced. I am entitled to point that out as much as you are entitled to be outraged in the first place.

araknis

With all this complaining about the wine prices, I thought I would let everyone know the best deal on the resort. The ice cream with fresh waffle cone is only $3. They have 3 flavors available every day. My local ice cream store charges $4.29 + tax ($1 waffle cone upgrade) for the same thing.

I hope someone doesn't argue that they can purchase half a gallon of ice cream at thrifty for $2.99 as a comparison..

ps9a

Thanks, bhrubin. Not sure where you found the wine list, but it's really helpful. I'm very unlikely to be ordering bordeaux, burgundy or CA cabs (which probably account for about 90% of my wine consumption stateside) on this trip (with the exception of whatever they may be serving for the decanter dinners we've booked). However, it's always fun to take a look at the list ahead of time. I'm certainly not flying halfway around the world for a reasonably priced wine list. I also think in addition to the cost of importing wine into the Maldives, people may be overlooking /discounting the cost of maintaining a high-end wine cellar in a consistently hot and extremely humid environment. Whoever is ordering their most expensive bottles of wine could very likely be turned off by a label that's peeling off (even if the wine is unaffected), and the resort obviously isn't charging people if and when the wine they serve is corked.

I'm definitely not suggesting that their wine program isn't profitable. I just have no problem with them setting prices where they want. If they're out of line with other Maldivian resorts, people this bothers will stay elsewhere. If they're in line with other Maldivian resorts, which to me it seems they are (though I've only been to the Conrad and W in the past), possibly people looking for better deals on wine at their luxury resorts will be more inclined to vacation away from the Maldives. As a side note, the first time I went to Bordeaux, I was really surprised that it cost me more to drink Bordeaux at a local restaurant than it would cost at a comparable restaurant in SF or NY -- spoiler... French people spend 4 hours at dinner

I'm a little spoiled living in SF, where restaurants have to compete against both other reasonably priced wine lists and people's private cellars (as paying a corkage fee is both legal and common.) I have no doubt that if restaurants near me could get away with charging Maldivian prices for wine, many/most would.

ps9a

While we're on the subject of wine, it seems that the sommelier is in decanter from 9-12 every morning. Website says you can pick out the wines for your stay at a 5-10% savings. I have no interest in visiting the wine cellar each morning, but I'm there for 8 nights, and it seems like stopping by on our first morning could be a good idea. Plus, one can visually inspect whichever bottles he or she finds interesting.

http://53e6e95fa523edc2d249-64fa9f17...--21.11.17.pdf

Land-of-Miles

Costco often sells for less than the makers sell for themselves, a big bone of contention for big brands like Moet Henessey I found.

The simple facts are that in a normal high end restaurant you would expect to pay 4 to 5 times the lowest price you could find an equivalent bottle for locally. You cannot get a bottle of anything locally beyond the hotel for any price. Sure the properties are making a good markup but their tax paid landed price is going to be many times higher than Costco sticker price and then you also need to consider the not insignificant cost of cellaring in an environment like the Maldives.

in a perverse way the cost of everything is probably a good thing as its a big part of what ensures a better crowd of guests around you than you typically find in many other places.

nauce

@bhrubin -- I'm not quite sure how to address your blow-by-blow attack of my review (or of me as a credible individual?). Haha, probably best not to. Suffice it to say I'm not lying about my travel experiences at other StRs and the SPG portfolio more broadly. (If one knows anything about Global Services at United, I hope they can surmise that.) With that said, I sense that your last point may be true -- in that my experience may not be relevant or apply to others. I was traveling alone and was just getting away for a while; not celebrating, etc. I'm sort of a weird dude.

In any case, I do appreciate others who who have defended my review (or my right to review honestly?). (Thanks @MaldivesFreak and @dmbfan222 and @5DMarkIIguy).

If it matters, my stay *just ended*, so I'm not really sure where the assumption of me staying within 3 months of opening (or getting any kind of discounted rate) came from. Neither are true.

It sounds like others have had a great experience here, and that's good to know. Not every stay is going to be perfect, so I recognize that I may have just had an unlucky run there. (Or perhaps my stay started out on the wrong foot and that colored the rest of my experience.) In any case, I hope that my posting a different flavor of experience helps others when making their travel decisions!

EuropeanPete

I was staying out of this conversation, but this is surely one of the least fair claims? You could have got a $30,000 bottle of Chateau Petrus for $50 if you'd just bought it en primeur 60 years ago and stored it. On the positive side, I'm always very aware of this effect as my Gentleman's Club in London does exactly this kind of thing and sells at prices related to cost rather than value.

bhrubin

My apologies for erring on the timing of your stay. I clearly missed that mark. I wrongly assumed based on the comments of some others and lumped you in with those.

I am sorry to say that that anyone’s lack of posts here on FlyerTalk (or lack of reviews on TripAdvisor) does make me question their veracity and/or perspective. While I’m sorry if that offends, there is a reason that both sites include that information. Anyone can post their thoughts on anything online, so having some sense of accuracy, perspecrive, and character helps; having many other reviews or posts helps to ascertain those qualities. Having few posts or reviews makes it much harder to ascertain. Saying one is Plat100 or even Global Services doesn’t prove that point IME, unfortunately. I know too many United GS flyers with entitled perspectives and too many SPG Plat100s who largely stay at midscale and upscale properties that give them limited perspectives, too.

As I said and I think you agree, your perspective doesn’t apply to me or to many others who might consider the StR. Your critique of food and wine prices gives you a perspective that I don’t think applies to most guests at a St Regis Resort property. It’s valid for you, but it likely isn’t valid for the overwhelming majority of such guests IMO. Your critique of the food quality at the StR stands in stark contrast to the reviews of far too many luxury travel bloggers, luxury travel agents, and a ridiculously large number and proportion of reviewers both here on FT and on TripAdvisor (with more than 50 reviews at comparably luxurious properties) for me to take your opinion as seriously as you and some others herein do.

I think it’s great that you have contributed your review and thoughts. I just don’t accept your thoughts (or anyone else’s for that matter) blindly and without consideration. You shared your perspective, and that’s great. I shared why I have problems with that perspective, and I am just as entitled to share my thoughts as you are to share yours. That we disagree is obvious. Disagreement nor questioning are not attacks,

5DMarkIIguy

a few months ago i saw a vertical gift set. 4 for under 3k. Yes, you can get this vintage in store this year. I'm not talking about a 60yo Chateau Petrus. I'm talking about mass produced 1st grand cru. They are making like 10k cases of these wines. Not that rare.

5DMarkIIguy

some people actually think if you don't pay 10x for the wine, you are not typical StR guests. This is reeking elitism. Thanks for the laugh.