I read in a post a few pages back that SPG gold get comp upgrade?

Has anyone actually had any experience getting this upgrade? Is it guaranteed upgrade or based on availability?

TIA

The last seaplane leaves at 3pm (depending on weather and possibly demand). We’ve seen 4-6 seaplanes arriving each day. That may be do to higher occupancy during a holiday week but it seems like they do a good job of working with the airline to let guests maximize their stay.

This sounds like a miscommunication. The prices online are correct you just need to clarify between private vs. group excursions.

They said they no longer do Snorkeling Hopping by Speed Boat (2 hours US$95 as listed in brochure) - the only option is to do it as a private trip by speed boat (2 hours US$450). Boo.

Other option is the Coral Garden (2 hours US$80) and uses the hotel Dhoni and only visits one snorkeling spot. That's fine with me actually - the Dhoni ride seems more interesting.

I'm here now and can confirm they still offer the $95 group option!

Oh really! Let me email them again. I'm coming over next week.

This was their email to me:

Dear Dr. XXX,
The snorkeling hopping by speedboat mentioned in the menu has been amended to a private hire now due to demand by guests. However I can offer you the option of going for the Coral Garden Trip for USD80 . the difference is that you will be snorkeling in only one location unlike the snorkeling hopping.
My apologies for the confusion this has caused.
We are awaiting a reply from you.
Warm Regards,
Shaha,
Butler Service

They just got back to me to confirm:

Dear Dr. xxx,

I am in contact with the base leader of Dive center in regards to that and he has confirmed to me that the dive center no longer offers the combined snorkeling trip of 2 hrs for USD95.

My apologies for the confusion caused.

Warm regards,

Shaha,
Butler Service



I’ll settle for the Coral garden trip in a Dhoni.

Our seaplane left a little after 4pm. It’s really impossible to know the time until the day before when they figure out passenger list and timetable etc.... resort is on MLE time.

I’m a bit mixed feeling about the property. After 5 days I was more than ready to leave. Lack of food option really left me with a bad taste in my mouth, no pun intended.

First, daily breakfast at Alba... they have a lot of variety of pastry for buffet as well as “noodle bar” but really puzzled as to the variety of combination bar you can make.
You can also order off the menu and believe me, ive ordered everything at least once....
Sushi and sashimi, which I had my eye on, was a huge disappointment. Sashimi was passable but rolls were cold and reminded me of rolls you can purchase at the market....
the 100g rib eye steak was super thin and tasted like something you can get at NORMS. (Or Denny’s).
All the omelette were huge disappointment as well....

Dinner at cargo was huge disappointment as well. Maybe this maybe because I had predisposition against middle eastern cuisine so I can’t really hold it against them.

Oriental was so so, nothing extraordinary or worthy of mention.

Missed out on decanter and dinner at alba.

Everyone said great things about the pizza at crust and I couldn’t agree more. I think I had pizza at least once everyday, via Crust or roomservice.
I think most value can be had at room service but if you are staying for more than 3 days, you can start to run out of options.

Did you try any of the new special dinners/buffets? The price seems reasonable compared to the ala carte costs. But, I imagine the quality would be even lower.

Property is beautiful but the marine life on property is bare minimum. The schools of fish you’d expect are non existent here. You may find pockets of small swarms here and there but nothing to wow you.

Service is perfunctory but once again, nothing to wow you.


Overall the property would score 8 out of 10. IMHO


As for OWV choices, the once’s facing east 501-519 warm up earlier in the day and they remain warm even through the nights. We had no trouble swimming and even jumping into the ocean past midnight.

Second, the Grest Loung is useful for arrival AND departure. When you are departing, they will let you stay until 2-3 hours before your flight. Food option here is VERY limited to some sandwiches, burgers and pizzas. They do serve Ice party tea which I found to be very delightful.
I would stay here than the lounges in the airport.

I slept through 2 dinners on my initial stay and missed those buffets. So I can’t say anything about them. Food quality overall was reallllllly disappointing....

why would anyone go to the Maldives where you have to pay for a boat to snorkel?! There are so many better options in the Maldives. Can’t believe that they don’t have a house reef. I would try the Soneva group, much more ‘maldivian’, unless you are redeeming points, life is too short to have substandard travel experiences, especially if. Coming from North America which is a hell of a long way.

Any thoughts on tipping here? It seems service charges are included everywhere. But, surely a tip for the butler is warranted.

Tip what you you feel comfortable ....
i tipped my butler $20 every other day....compared to some other butlers I heard, mine wasn’t as great or proactive.
I did not tip for my meals as there was a prolonged discussion earlier regarding the service charge that is added as being tip, so essentially would be double tipping.

As for the comment on life being being too short for substandard travel...life is really too short for anything, if you take that route


Couple of things to mention, this hotel does participate in Kids Pass. For $30 a day children under 12 are fully covered for morning buffet and all day kids menu purchase at any of the restaurants. This is a bargain since kids buffet alone cost me $45 after tax and other charges. My second child, who is 3 was not charged for morning breakfast buffet at all.

Second, hotel offers complimentary snorkel gear rental during your stay.

Third, a jump into the “blue hole” at the iridium spa usually costs $85 a person, which to me is totally
not worth it, however, if you talk to your butler, he or she may arrange a complimentary session. It’s basically a jetted swimming pool with sea water.