Pseudo Nim

If you're two people, you can split a pizza ($45 or so) and maybe a salad ($30). You could have a late breakfast, around 10, eat as much as you can, and just have a pizza at 5-6pm and go to sleep. I think it's pretty sad to be honest, though, so I'd budget at least $100-120 per day on food, and plan on eating at the main restaurant at least once, as the food there is actually rather good (that'll be north of $200 with wine though). Please don't propagate the image of the cheapskate Platinums who have breakfast and afternoon tea and spend no money on food (and bring their own cup ramen instant noodles).

BobbySteel

With maybe one cocktail each per day and a platinum breakfast I still think I wound up about $300 or $350 per day. No wine. Did the seafood buffet one night which was delicious but $250 a head. The wine paring tasting menu thing I think is about $300 a head. A regular lunch or dinner at Alba was usually $125-175 per meal for two.

chinatraderjmr

Don't worry about the food........it's the alcohol you need to watch (same everywhere in Maldives but especially so at the better resorts). I've been going every year for 14 years (usually Four Seasons but next trip is St Regis). I'm not married so have always brought my GF at the time. My last GF is Russian & drinks like one - my bill for the week was $5000 more then the previous year . But even when just going for a week and drinking moderately (a bottle of wine w dinner & a few cocktails during the day & the evening was still the second biggest expenditure (the room rate being #1)

rooivalk

lol. definitely not intending to be cheapskate (or bring any instant noodles). I just wanted to get a sense of whether it was going to be $150 per day, or $300, or $500 - that's all.

I fully intend to have lunch / dinner at the main restaurants daily (since I'm too lazy to bring my own instant noodle), and from what I gather that's going to be $150-200 per person per day, without alcohol?

BobbySteel

Just getting home now but it was a really amazing stay. One of my favorite trips ever really. The service was impeccable and I thought it was extremely well laid out and decorated. I wish the reef was as good as the W was 5-6 years ago but I think bleaching has affected a lot of the Maldives coral now. Wouldn't hesitate to go back here!

Pseudo Nim

If you're looking to do both lunch AND dinner in the restaurant, it'll run you more. Basically:

- if you're OK sharing a pizza for lunch (which is quite large), then figure $45-80 for lunch (if you also order one of the pretty good salads)
- if you want two actual dishes, figure $100 for lunch
- dinner is minimum $150 for two if you have an appetiser and two mains

So if you're trying to be "normal" with food, not too egregious, not too stingy, figure $250 tops per day, maybe a bit less.

VCURamFan

It's pretty difficult to have any dinner there for under $300 if you're having a few drinks each.

Breakfast is the best value by far, and the pizzas were actually decent. I had them twice.

MaldivesFreak

What these guys have been saying is absolutely true. Even without alcohol you'll burn through $250 a day like a knife through butter unless you do pizza and a salad every night for dinner and skip lunch altogether. And if you want to do a special dinner then double it. Good thing is that most people don't have lunch when on a luxury holiday in the Maldives, you just don't need it. Most of us have a huge breakfast late in the morning (or arrive at say 9:00 or 9:30 and eat for 2 hours) and then a nice slow-paced dinner in the evening. Then again if you're doing water sports all day you're going to need something mid-afternoon to keep you going until dinner. I don't know about St. Regis as a brand but at Conrad Rangali for instance, you get a fruit basket upon arrival and it's replenished daily for Diamonds. A snack on the fruit in the afternoon is usually more than enough to keep you going.

VCURamFan

As a plat I got a revolving fruit basket, a candy/snack display upon arrival, cookies daily with coffee in the room. They definitely don't nickel and dime you. Once the Indian chefs found out my love for Indian food I received off the menu special items and they even brought out an extra free entree for me to try at Orientale. That was right after the private champagne sabering they gave us since we said we had missed it the night before.

ual902

would like to bring our own Alcohol into MLE, how strict are they at MLE on arrival, do they open up each bag?

Pseudo Nim

Nobody checks your bags. And yet, you sign a paper saying you understand it's illegal to do it and is punishable by (Sharia) law. So, no thanks. I treated it as two weeks of (much needed) detox.

ual902

After reading some the posts here, thinking maybe I should have done the 18 night SPG platinum challenge, comes out about similar as paying for the breakfasts!!

cshel

Delete

fdem

I was last there around 5 years ago and they scan your bags so don't even think about it. You are going to a strictly Muslim country and have to abide by their rules. If you are worried about drink prices beer is the best bet if you drink it

BobbySteel

Your bag definitely gets xrayed in Male airport so bottles will get taken there unless they're just a couple travel sized ones. The xray is explicitly looking for big bottles.