St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort [Master Thread]
Jan 13, 2018, 4:39 am
#856
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,210
I believe this is too late to make a seaplane. You won't be out of immigration/customs until 4:00pm
I don't think they will put you in Sheraton. You could book yourself.
The benefit of staying in Male is you can potentially be on the first early morning seaplane out the next day.
I don't think they will put you in Sheraton. You could book yourself.
The benefit of staying in Male is you can potentially be on the first early morning seaplane out the next day.
Better to stay a night and get the first flight out the next day.
Jan 13, 2018, 6:44 pm
#858
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
Jan 17, 2018, 4:18 pm
#859
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Back in Hell
Posts: 4,178
Fantastically detailed report, griffingrowl. Much appreciated.
I just find one thing you mentioned disconcerting and that is how much wood they are going to use if they are carving every single guest's name into wood. Hopefully it's not local wood. I think this is environmentally irresponsible whatever the case.
Regarding the inconsistencies from the Butler service, I wonder if they undergo memory training. Certainly looks like some of them need it.
I just find one thing you mentioned disconcerting and that is how much wood they are going to use if they are carving every single guest's name into wood. Hopefully it's not local wood. I think this is environmentally irresponsible whatever the case.
Regarding the inconsistencies from the Butler service, I wonder if they undergo memory training. Certainly looks like some of them need it.
Last edited by MaldivesFreak; Jan 17, 2018 at 5:07 pm
Jan 18, 2018, 8:45 am
#863
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 25
Review from another lifetime platinum
We stayed over the festive season on points at both a garden villa and overwater villa. I will share some of my thoughts on areas that have not been covered previously.
Garden villa - if you go to the Maldives, don't just stay here. The beach access is difficult and you don't get the feeling that you are in the Maldives. For the price paid, I much prefer the Lagoon villa at the St Regis Bali. You can be in Bali or Phuket, pay less and have a better experience.
Water villa - the entry-level water villa, on the other hand, was amazing. It was extremely modern and large. If you never stayed at a water villa, you would be impressed. I've stayed at numerous water villas over the years in the Maldives and the French Polynesia, and I would say the entry water villa here was probably one of the best out there. However, if you like the traditional maldivian style water villa, this is not the place for you.
Food - the quality was better than expected. It wasn't just the taste, but I found the presentation of the food to be high as well. The price there wasn't cheap though. E.g. a tiny appetizer at the Whale Bar was easily $30. Average dinner here, with a cheap bottle of wine, will easily top $400. One of the chefs (Durai) came over from Vilu at the Conrad. Nonetheless, I found the resort generous and certainly did not nickel and dime with us.
Mandatory gala dinners - we paid around $3,700 for the gala dinners (Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve) for the two of us. They were expensive, and in my mind not worth the money. The dinner over NYE was especially exorbitant - at over $2,500, it became the most expensive buffet dinner we ever had. They did have some expensive dish - e.g. the Iranian beluga caviar from Gourmet House. However, the cost was expected - and I would say the workers put in a lot of effort putting together the dinners. So consider this as giving back over the holiday season.
Corals - this is probably one of the most disappointing aspects of all. The corals are dead. The construction of the resort, together with El Nino last year, really took a toll on the corals. It will take a long time for them to come back. If you've been to other places in the Maldives, you will be disappointed. However, I saw lots of fish around the resort, and I would say back when the corals were alive, the place must have been stunning. Nevertheless, I did see eel, lobsters, eagle ray, turtle, and even squid at the house reef. We did a private charter of speed boat out to the surrounding and some had much nicer corals.
Service - in general, people were very nice. My biggest issue was the inconsistent service here. When the St Regis calls itself the Finest Address in the Maldives, the service should be impeccable. However, a few bad apples really spoilt the experience - and for this there's no way the St Regis is the finest out there. Far from it.
Butler service - I don't buy this concept. The butlers are overworked - esp during the festive season. Being assigned 6-8 villas to take care of was just not possible to deliver the personalized service. Everything was delayed and the bad thing was you would still need to arrange everything through your butler. If they like to promote this, they need to increase the number of butlers at the resort.
Total spend - we spent a little over $11,000 for a 10 night stay on points. Not cheap, but a little cheaper than my expectation considering the 2 gala dinners already cost over $3,700.
Bicycles - unlike griffingrowl's experience, during our stay, I didn't see anyone's bicycle has their names on the wooden signs. The wooden signs (like ours) showed our villa number only.
Expectation management - this is where I feel the resort failed miserably. We received an email from the head butler prior to our stay asking for our expectations for the stay. I wrote back letting them know what we were expecting - but unfortunately very little was done. Don't ask us if you are not going to follow through. It sets the expectations high but only to disappoint us during the stay. I also thought the resort was pretty slow in getting back to me on my inquiries prior to the stay. After the stay, I got a mail from my butler with a cc to the FOM asking for feedback. I wrote back a lengthy mail sharing my thoughts on the pluses and minuses. I even copied Alec Blair (the GM), but I heard nothing from them. Nothing - and no acknowledgement. Is this what you expect from the Finest Address in the Maldives? '
Despite my highly critical or negative feedback, we did have a good stay. We enjoyed the stay. If not for the St Regis, I think the feedback would have been more positive. It was the fact that they called themselves the Finest in the Maldives, and all the hype leading to the stay that eventually made the stay came in below our expectation.
If you have never been to the Maldives - you will have a great time. It was after all a beautiful property with stunning architecture, great food, and nice people.
Garden villa - if you go to the Maldives, don't just stay here. The beach access is difficult and you don't get the feeling that you are in the Maldives. For the price paid, I much prefer the Lagoon villa at the St Regis Bali. You can be in Bali or Phuket, pay less and have a better experience.
Water villa - the entry-level water villa, on the other hand, was amazing. It was extremely modern and large. If you never stayed at a water villa, you would be impressed. I've stayed at numerous water villas over the years in the Maldives and the French Polynesia, and I would say the entry water villa here was probably one of the best out there. However, if you like the traditional maldivian style water villa, this is not the place for you.
Food - the quality was better than expected. It wasn't just the taste, but I found the presentation of the food to be high as well. The price there wasn't cheap though. E.g. a tiny appetizer at the Whale Bar was easily $30. Average dinner here, with a cheap bottle of wine, will easily top $400. One of the chefs (Durai) came over from Vilu at the Conrad. Nonetheless, I found the resort generous and certainly did not nickel and dime with us.
Mandatory gala dinners - we paid around $3,700 for the gala dinners (Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve) for the two of us. They were expensive, and in my mind not worth the money. The dinner over NYE was especially exorbitant - at over $2,500, it became the most expensive buffet dinner we ever had. They did have some expensive dish - e.g. the Iranian beluga caviar from Gourmet House. However, the cost was expected - and I would say the workers put in a lot of effort putting together the dinners. So consider this as giving back over the holiday season.
Corals - this is probably one of the most disappointing aspects of all. The corals are dead. The construction of the resort, together with El Nino last year, really took a toll on the corals. It will take a long time for them to come back. If you've been to other places in the Maldives, you will be disappointed. However, I saw lots of fish around the resort, and I would say back when the corals were alive, the place must have been stunning. Nevertheless, I did see eel, lobsters, eagle ray, turtle, and even squid at the house reef. We did a private charter of speed boat out to the surrounding and some had much nicer corals.
Service - in general, people were very nice. My biggest issue was the inconsistent service here. When the St Regis calls itself the Finest Address in the Maldives, the service should be impeccable. However, a few bad apples really spoilt the experience - and for this there's no way the St Regis is the finest out there. Far from it.
Butler service - I don't buy this concept. The butlers are overworked - esp during the festive season. Being assigned 6-8 villas to take care of was just not possible to deliver the personalized service. Everything was delayed and the bad thing was you would still need to arrange everything through your butler. If they like to promote this, they need to increase the number of butlers at the resort.
Total spend - we spent a little over $11,000 for a 10 night stay on points. Not cheap, but a little cheaper than my expectation considering the 2 gala dinners already cost over $3,700.
Bicycles - unlike griffingrowl's experience, during our stay, I didn't see anyone's bicycle has their names on the wooden signs. The wooden signs (like ours) showed our villa number only.
Expectation management - this is where I feel the resort failed miserably. We received an email from the head butler prior to our stay asking for our expectations for the stay. I wrote back letting them know what we were expecting - but unfortunately very little was done. Don't ask us if you are not going to follow through. It sets the expectations high but only to disappoint us during the stay. I also thought the resort was pretty slow in getting back to me on my inquiries prior to the stay. After the stay, I got a mail from my butler with a cc to the FOM asking for feedback. I wrote back a lengthy mail sharing my thoughts on the pluses and minuses. I even copied Alec Blair (the GM), but I heard nothing from them. Nothing - and no acknowledgement. Is this what you expect from the Finest Address in the Maldives? '
Despite my highly critical or negative feedback, we did have a good stay. We enjoyed the stay. If not for the St Regis, I think the feedback would have been more positive. It was the fact that they called themselves the Finest in the Maldives, and all the hype leading to the stay that eventually made the stay came in below our expectation.
If you have never been to the Maldives - you will have a great time. It was after all a beautiful property with stunning architecture, great food, and nice people.
Jan 19, 2018, 5:22 am
#865
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: BKK
Programs: World of Hyatt Globalist; Marriott Bonvoy LTP; IHG Plat
Posts: 2,234
Thank you for great trip report.
so let's say, if i care about the coral reef and marine life the most, do stay elsewhere. Am i understanding correct?
does W offer better coral reef and marine life?
so let's say, if i care about the coral reef and marine life the most, do stay elsewhere. Am i understanding correct?
does W offer better coral reef and marine life?
Jan 19, 2018, 7:20 am
#866
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: SF
Programs: UA MM, AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTP, HH Dia
Posts: 1,132
It did 7 years ago. I can only assume it still does.
Jan 19, 2018, 9:25 am
#867
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: LAX
Programs: UA 1K MM, AS MVPG, SPG PLAT 100
Posts: 1,497
Dont think that is a fair assumption. Bleaching has been particularly bad in the Maldives in recent years. I've been going to the FSLG annually since 2010 (in Baa Atoll) and every year the coral gets a bit worse (no fault of the resort, just general conditions)
Jan 19, 2018, 1:50 pm
#868
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 95
I've also stayed here during Thanksgiving week with my friend. We might've walked past each other there. Also got 2 nights with cash and points at the Garden Villa. It was very nice. I tried for 4 nights and 5 night free for the OWV but there was no availability. I was offered the Garden Villa instead for points and cash.
The Butler who has astrology experience was Adam. I've read about him and personally asked for him. I believe it was my last night and he bought out the telescope for myself and one other guest. Showed us a clear shot of the moon, it was incredible.
Agreed with you about Head Chef Ayyoub. He's such a nice guy.
My only real compliant is the weather. 4 out of the 5 nights I was there, weather just sucked. Raining and very cloudy. Only the first day we had clear skies.
Jan 20, 2018, 3:23 am
#869
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Dubai
Programs: SPG 100 Ambassador, LH M&M Senator, Skywards Silver
Posts: 250
Just finished a 5 nights stay at the W in Maldives, the property is still amazing and does not show signs of aging, great staff, amazing diving centre (though no starpoints on activities there as it's managed by a different company). As for plat recognition they provide 20% discount on all restaurant and 30% on the spa (gold members also get discounts but a bit lower) - no other significant benefits, I was told they usually do not upgrade anyone - we booked into the OVW villa which is their highest standard room category, but they were happy to show us a couple of different villas so that we could pick the one we liked most based on privacy, distance from island and sun.
The house reef is still very good (we were able to see a couple of turtles, baby sharks and tons of different colorful fish), though as per what the staff said it has also been affected by the bleaching in last few years like at most other resorts in Maldives.
Haven't been at the StR yet, hoping to try that one out this summer so can't really compare, but I'll be more than happy to answer questions regarding the W.
The house reef is still very good (we were able to see a couple of turtles, baby sharks and tons of different colorful fish), though as per what the staff said it has also been affected by the bleaching in last few years like at most other resorts in Maldives.
Haven't been at the StR yet, hoping to try that one out this summer so can't really compare, but I'll be more than happy to answer questions regarding the W.
Jan 20, 2018, 8:57 am
#870
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: LAX
Programs: UA 1K MM, AS MVPG, SPG PLAT 100
Posts: 1,497
Maybe its user error (by me), but I am checking various 5 day blocks for a friend and cannot find any dates with Sunrise OWVs available, lowest priced OWV always Sunset. Is this some kind of yield management, true sell out for next couple of months (unlikely) or is something else needed for spg.com to show Sunrise level availability?