bhrubin

Yikes. I think it’s now been well established in previous posts that (1) the StR doesn’t charge 10x as you continue to exaggerate, as it’s more like 4-5x, (2) the StR charges wine prices in the same 4-5x range as almost every other luxury resort in the Maldives, as evidenced by the multiple other Maldivian luxury resort wine menus I shared and which you seem to consistently ignore, and (3) the charge of elitism is laughably obvious with a resort that charges upwards of $2000+ a night.

I think the laugh may be on you. I’m not quite sure what point you’re trying to make with this continued charade that the St Regis is somehow not supposed to charge a premium as a 5 star luxury resort in one of the most expensive luxury resort markets in the world.

MikeFromTokyo

I can’t wait to try StR Vommuli. The wine list is fantastic, and on the contrary I find it totally reasonable given the location. I guess one upside of living for many years in countries where wine is already very expensive, and being an habitué of top restaurants, bars, and hotels had sufficiently desensitized me to “sticker shock” when it comes to food and wine. It would take a lot more than the StR Vommuli wine list to make me bat an eyelid.

Of course, the budget conscious need not order Romanée-Conti in the Maldives! I’m far more interested in the prices of the bottles I’ll likely order, and what I see are plenty of appealing bottles in the $150~$1,000 range. Which, again, is reasonable for a resort setting like this. People also all too often overestimate profit margins. Everything is imported, subject to tax, etc... Getting wines delivered to remote places in proper temperature controlled conditions is very costly and logistically complicated.

Land-of-Miles

As an interesting context point I am currently in resudence at the Westin Mauritius.

a double shot (10cl) of the rather nice pink pigeon rum works out to be circa 960 MUR coincidentally the same price as a bottle (produced in Mauritius) fully landed in the UK with taxes delivered to my door by Anazon. I suspect it is considerably cheaper here in MRU. Nonetheless despite having much high quality locally bought rum in my room I have still consumed almost a bottle of this rum at the bar despite the circa 1000% markup.

isnt this just normal in a resort? Even beyond the Makdives you can sit in your room and drink your own stuff or you can choose to enjoy the ambience of a bar and entertainment and pay considerably more!

5DMarkIIguy

i gave my examples. 10-12x. You seem to miss the point here just like all other points. StR can charge whatever they want. The contention is their markup is way over.
First, the "discounted awards" for first 3 months stay. Second, all the bickering about guests should feel priviledge to pay StR prices.

MikeFromTokyo

LOL. If you think StR prices are “nickel-and-diming” you will not be any better off at One&Only or Cheval Blanc. StR Vommuli or the Soneva resorts/Gili Lankanfushi F&B prices are very reasonable by comparison.

bhrubin

Yes, it is quite normal for a resort. It’s even more pronounced and normal in the Maldives and for Maldivian luxury resorts.

But you can’t drink your own stuff in the Maldives because it’s illegal to bring alcohol into the county at all—and they strictly enforce that. Making it all the easier for Maldives hotels to charge more for alcohol.

Anyone who has visited luxury hotels in Muslim nations is familiar wit this, though the Maldives is even stricter and obviously far more remote.

Some people are having a tough time accepting this pretty obvious reality for all luxury hotels in the Maldives, unfortunately. I guess it’s time to ignore those who can’t accept that pretty obvious reality.

SeeTheLights

I agree with bhrubin. Maldives is just not a place for a budget or moderate traveler. Everything is expensive. If you are able to book a room on points, then take advantage of the extra money you are saving on the Room and enjoy the food and drinks. At least that’s my philosophy. I haven’t been to the St. Regis but have stayed at the Four Seasons Park Hyatt, and One and Only a few times (we like to dive) Excited to try this out soon!

Epicura

FYI: food at Soneva Jani was significantly cheaper than food at Gili Lankanfushi. IIRC I even mentioned that in my quick trip report on the luxury subforum not too long ago (not that you are supposed to remember that ). On the other hand I am not sure if there's any reason to even compare the resorts you have mentioned (and it is also my understanding that this is exactly what @nauce is pointing at).

Anyway, from my point of view his review is only the confirmation of what I suspected and what made me opt for Soneva Jani over St Regis not too long ago. Both had very similar pricing although I suspected that they eventually are not in the same league (hard product and service). I do realise that there's a lot of positive feedback in this thread but I also know that many of those reports are from people who were able to stay on a very favorable rate on points. People who actually went on a 2K a night rate are not in the majority in this thread.

Price wise the St Regis tried(*) at least to position itself with Velaa, Cheval Blanc and Soneva Jani. The rates for my recent trip to Maldives were very similar for these 3 resorts. Given that I already had too many disappointing experiences at other St Regis resorts I chose to spend my money elsewhere. In the end I can not comment on the St Regis Maldives as I did not stay. Perhaps others should also refrain from commenting or questioning reviews as long as they did not actually stay?

(*) At least I have noticed a quite significant drop in rate at Vommuli recently. For your reference the base rate for next week is "only" just over 900 USD where St Regis still wanted to charge me more than double for a stay last July. At this new price point I am fairly confident that the St Regis will offer a good experience. At 2k a night I am not too sure about that (compared to others in the same price league) and I think that is exactly the point the reviewer was trying to make.


This...

I am sure @bhrubin did not mean to question your right to review but at least that was also the impression I got from his comment. He just might be too sensitive for overall criticism on St Regis, coming from another subforum where people tend to burn certain properties just because they belong to the SPG chain .

bhrubin

Excellent points.

I welcome the critiques of any property. But when I see inconsistency or what I consider to be illogical or problematic evaluations, I always will seek to point those out. I found many of those in that review.

For me loving many StR properties, I also was quite harsh on the service and hard product at the StR Washington DC and just as harsh on the service at the StR Dubai. I call it like I see it and am not beholden to a brand. Even the StR San Francisco, my favorite city hotel in the USA, had given me service headaches on one particular stay a few years ago which I noted in that thread and in the review where they tried (and succeeded) in making it up for me. I therefore think i have amply demonstrated that I don’t have a problem with criticism of a St Regis. I do have a problem with criticism that I think is unwarranted or is based on such a narrow perspective as to be ridiculous for most. That was the case in this example.

Oxon Flyer

Folks, I suggest we take a timeout. This thread (and a few other similar ones recently that have followed the same trajectory) doesn’t make particularly enlightening reading.

FT doesn’t work at all well when members show intolerance and seek to grind away in post after post to systematically and forensically take apart and discredit anyone who posts experiences and opinions that differ from their own.

Please, make your own point, then step back and allow others to do the same.

Respect our diversity.

cshel

Thanks!

MikeFromTokyo

I was quoted rates of over $3,000 for overwater suites in February. I also decided to wait for rates to normalize a bit before I go. Perhaps a year or to later rates will fall into equilibrium. A problem with point redemption is that it can obscure the actual going rate for an hotel, and result in inflated rack/published rates that are not in true equilibrium with the property’s ADR.

I am very interested in this property, but will have to target a time when the price is right.

griffingrowl

I am in the middle of a six night stay at St. Regis for our honeymoon. I will post much more information soon but overall a great experience. The resort is beautiful and just so elegant.

One thing I have noted is that the hotel seems to be playing with their rates substantially to maximize yield. For example, I have been playing around with different dates from now until February 2019 and first week in December 2017 I was seeing sub $900 for a garden villa. Good for them - am glad to see them doing this.

onlysuites

I am sure I have asked this before but can't seem to find the answer so hence. What time usually is the last sea plane departure back to MLE? Is the resort on MLE time on an hour ahead? Got an option of a 1525 or 2045 to CMB for a night stay. I am guessing the 1525 they will put us on the 10am flight back to MLE?

Psychiatrist

Not happy ...

Snorkeling Hopping by Speed Boat (2 hours) is listed as US$95 in the activities price list on here:
http://www.stregismaldives.com/divewatersportsmaldives

I email them and I'm told it's now US$450 - it's counted as a 2 hour private speedboat hire.

No thanks!