stephanos99

Checked in yesterday also (12/2); here for 8 nights in an OWV with Pool. And RMPearl is supposed to arrive here today. What are the odds that 3 FT members would be at the same hotel over the same days without planning it?

RMPearl

Our flight out of JFK was delayed on Thursday so we missed our connection into MLE and got stuck in Doha for 15 hours. We finally arrived into MLE this morning and got into the hotel before Noon. Because the notification to the hotel was so late we got “charged” for Friday night (on a points reservation). We are in an overwater without the pool.

I was disappointed to learn about the discontinuation of the Plat/Titanium discount as well.

TravelerIT

To the 3 ft members that are staying there right now: any advice on the beach erosion situation? Beach villa location suggestion?

stephanos99

I am staying in an over-water villa so can’t offer very specific suggestions for a location. I didn’t notice any beach erosion when walking around. There seems to be some distance between the villas and the waterline, though that varies with the tides. The north facing villas have more distance to the water than the south facing ones. They also have some “view”, as there’s an uninhabited island across the way. It’s just open water to the south, though I’d guess they feel more private, since it’s harder for others to walk in front of them. The north facing ones have to contend with the arriving seaplanes as that’s the typical approach line. But they take off away from them so you only have to deal with landings. Hope this helps.

Canadiantraveller11

Have been looking at the Westin for about a month for our Honeymoon in July '22. Have finally attained enough points - via Amex bonus - for a combined stay of three beach villa nights and two overwater private pool. Now, I go to try to book the overwater private pool with points and it's not gone? I called to look for that room for the last two nights, tried on the app with nights ranging from 1-5 in that room with points, and it never shows up. In all cases above, when I choose cash as the option, the room now appears. What gives? Did they take that room away from being able to be booked via points? Anyone else see this?

hdogan

Welcome to FlyerTalk, Canadiantraveller11! Unfortunately, that means that there are no more OWV in the award inventory (which is different from sales inventory) for your period.

Also, that's not the best usage of your points, as 5th night booked on points is free, but only if booked in a single booking - e.g. for 5 nights in the beach villa, you'd only be charged 4 nights on points.

Canadiantraveller11

Bummer! May just go with 5 nights in the Beach Villa. I'm Platinum. Are you familiar with that property? Good chances of getting upgraded when we arrive? And thanks for the welcome.

Sam P. Goodman

Might make sense to book 5 night award in beach villa and reach out to the hotel about a paid upgrade for part of your stay.

hdogan

If you're Platinum consider also using your SNAs for the booking (if you have 5 left) - that might get you into an OWV for the whole stay

AYellowBelly

Looks to be a popular amongst FTers. We arrive tomorrow; anyone still here?

Rewards booking and SNA's applied. SNA's cleared last week but room type still showing as a Deluxe Family Room (no OWV for us with kids of this age). Is this one of the larger rooms mentioned bookable separately?

Lastly, to clarify, Titanium benefit is now breakfast only and no discount on F&B? Half board / Full board packages are discounted to acount for us already getting breakfast?

Hopefully see some of you for a drink at the bar!

stephanos99

We left on the 10th, and I know one of the other 2 left on the 9th. The 3rd person never gave their departure date (nor did he try to connect).

Hope you're having a good time there. Yes, the HB/FB prices are adjusted if you choose the free breakfast as your welcome amenity (which has probably been explained to you by now).

Which room category did they end up upgrading you to? I doubt they would've upgraded you to an OWV, even if you wanted one, given that those are sold out most of December. They had to move us to a beach villa at regular checkout time to honor our late checkout privilege (we had booked an OWV with pool).

KE81

My wife and I visited back in October for our honeymoon and I have been meaning to post a review, as I found other reviews so helpful in planning our trip.

All in all, we had a lovely stay—it was our first time in the Maldives, and although it would have been nice to splurge at the StR, I share Sam P. Goodman 's appreciation for both value and nice things (I also largely agree with his review above). The Westin ended up checking most of the things we were looking for off our list: Beautiful overwater villa with privacy/unobstructed ocean views, decent snorkeling and other activities, good service and elite recognition, and not having to break our (modest) bank in order to enjoy ourselves.

Booking and Pre-Arrival

I booked a base-level beach villa for five nights for 240,000 points (4 x 60,000 points + 1 night free) and applied five SNAs for an overwater villa with pool. About a month before our arrival, I reached out to the hotel to inquire about an upgrade, noting my loyalty status (Platinum) and that I had already applied SNAs. I know that individual properties don't have much if any control over the SNA process, but I thought it couldn't hurt to make contact early. Unsurprisingly, I was told that upgrades were subject to availability upon arrival. Nevertheless, I noticed about a week and a half before our arrival that the hotel had indeed upgraded us to an overwater villa with pool. Since we were well outside of the five-day SNA window, I emailed and asked if they still wanted me to keep the SNAs attached to the reservation, and surprisingly they said I could just remove them as I had been upgraded based on my status alone.

I'm not proud to admit that I did inquire at that point about whether certain villas were available (more on this below), to which I never received a clear response (perhaps rightfully so, given the already generous upgrade).

Arrival

Things didn't get off to a great start, as there was no representative waiting to greet us at MLE. I ended up asking someone from another Marriott property if they could help, and they said they would call the Westin representative and that we should wait at the Westin booth (which was shared with the Le Meridien and the W, and perhaps others). Someone did show up about 5-10 minutes later, and everything went smoothly after that point—she escorted us to the seaplane check-in desk where we dropped off our luggage, and then we took a luxury van to the Westin lounge located near the seaplane terminal. We enjoyed some espresso drinks while the representative confirmed our check-in details. After about a half hour or so, she escorted us to the main seaplane waiting room, where we waited another 15-20 minutes before boarding. Although I generally love flying and the views were spectacular, it was hot and cramped in the seaplane, and I was grateful that we were the first stop. We were greeted by several different staff, including our "butler," who completed the check-in process with us, took us on a golf cart tour of the island, and then brought us to our villa.

Villa

We were assigned villa 103, which is on the northern side of the jetty on the western part of the island (the side that looks like a fish's head). Although I was grateful for the complimentary upgrade, I was a little bit concerned as I had heard complaints about seaplane traffic on that side (for that reason, one of the pre-arrival inquiries I had made was about the availability of villas on the southern side). Ultimately though, it wasn't a problem, as we were still a decent ways away from the arrival jetty (I would not have wanted to be in villa 101, which is closest to the arrival jetty) and there was only a handful of seaplane arrival/departures each day (I imagine there are more during busier times). And it was actually pretty cool seeing the seaplanes take off! I'll also say that this is one area where the Westin has somewhat of an advantage over the StR—I believe all of the OWVs at the Westin have an unobstructed view of the ocean, i.e., don't face other villas or other parts of the resort.

The villa itself was wonderful: it was huge, beautifully appointed, and very clean. That said, I do echo Sam P. Goodman 's observations about wear and tear/exposure to the elements, especially on the deck, where some rust and other cosmetic issues were visible. Again, it was my first trip to the Maldives so I can't say how things compare to other resorts. I did see folks repainting/repairing some of the villas on the southern side (perhaps that is why they were unable to assign one to us) and we noticed that someone had cleared some of the barnacles/seaweed/etc. off of our ocean ladder at some point during our stay, so I can't say it's for lack of trying!

Another thing I'll note is that our first night there was very stormy, and the rain actually seeped into our villa under the sliding doors. It wasn't a huge issue, as we just put some towels down (which were promptly replaced the next morning). But it would be a little tough to deal with on a consistent basis, as the sliding doors also rattled some with the wind and rain. And speaking of rain, TV channels were quite limited and there were no streaming services installed, so if those things matter to you, I suggest bringing something to hook up one of your devices.

As far as housekeeping goes, the villa was serviced like clockwork twice per day—they were pretty good about doing it while we were at breakfast in the morning and at happy hour/dinner in the evening. Glass bottles of water are complimentary and are replaced with each service.

Dining and Drinks

Overall, we were pretty happy with the food. A la carte breakfast each morning at Island Kitchen (free with my status) was probably the highlight for us (no buffet while we were there due to COVID and perhaps also low occupancy, although I believe this has changed now). One of the servers also came by the first few mornings with fresh coconuts to thank us for our loyalty, although they stopped doing this after the second or third day (we could also have just ordered these as part of our breakfast, but I thought it was a nice gesture!). We usually ate enough that we had no desire to eat a proper lunch—we either munched on snacks we had brought from home, or had an appetizer at the pool bar or the Sunset Bar. For dinner, we mostly alternated between Island Kitchen and Hawker. Hawker is usually only open for dinner on Monday nights, but they also sometimes offer a rotating regionally focused dinner as well. While we were staying, they were offering a special Vietnamese menu, which was pretty good if not a little expensive.

One thing that threw us for a bit of a loop was how empty both restaurants were. Breakfast tended to be a bit busier than dinner, but it was not uncommon for us to be the only guests for long stretches of time. Not that I'm complaining, but the emptiness was a bit eerie at times.

Anyway, back to the food. I'm not sure if this was just because of the low occupancy or what, but the staff kept telling us we could order anything we wanted and they would try their best to make it, so we took them up on that on a few occasions with great results. Our favorite meal was an Indian-themed dinner prepared by the chef at Island Kitchen (Chef Gaurav). He also prepared us an Arabic-themed dinner that was excellent as well. The chef from the Pearl (Chef Ed) also made us Japanese breakfast one morning (including okonomiyaki) after Chef Gaurav saw us eyeing it being brought to another table. We were also pleasantly surprised to find that these meals were very fairly priced—I believe the Indian and Arabic dinners were around $40 or so per person, and the Japanese breakfast was included as part of my elite breakfast benefit. The 20% elite discount was still active then as well.

Drinking-wise, we took full advantage of the Sunset Bar happy hour. Limited selection of discounted cocktails, but I was plenty happy with the mai tais and mojitos. Plus the bartenders there (Ramesh and John) were great. I also sampled some of the speciality cocktails at dinner, which were all good and on par with NYC prices.

Besides the Japanese breakfast (which was actually served at the Island Kitchen), we didn't try the Pearl. The prix fixe menu just didn't see worth it to us (although we were told on our next to last day that we could also have ordered a la carte).

Activities and Amenities

We actually thought snorkeling on the house reef was pretty good. Yes, the reef is a bit bleached, but we were both really impressed by the amount of sea life down there. No turtles but I did spot a reef shark on a couple of occasions. We felt comfortable going straight off of our deck using the aforementioned ladder, but I can see how the water can be too choppy sometimes (also likely depends on villa location...I believe the villas on the eastern side of the island have choppier water). As noted by others, the beach behind the dive center is also a good launching spot.

We also took part in two organized activities—snorkeling with manta rays in Hanifaru Bay and a Discover SCUBA course—and enjoyed both. The boat ride out to Hanifaru Bay was lovely, and we saw probably a dozen or so mantas (including one that came within inches of me, despite my efforts to give them plenty of room). Discover SCUBA was also surprisingly fun—I know it's probably a joke for folks who actually dive, but for us first-timers it was a blast. Llewelyn from the dive shop ran both activities and he was a good guy to chat with in addition to being an excellent snorkeling guide and diving instructor.

We did spend a bit of time at the main pool, which was a good change of pace from our deck. There was some sand in the lower pool (where those floating circular chairs are) but it otherwise seemed pretty clean and well kept.

If we were staying longer we might have taken advantage of the gym and/or the tennis/basketball court, both of which seemed pretty nice. We also didn't use any of the spa/massage facilities, although they looked pleasant from the outside.

Service

Everyone was gracious and polite, and we really enjoyed meeting and chatting with a few folks in particular. That said, with a few exceptions, I wouldn't exactly call the service warm, authentic, or especially professional, as most folks seemed to just be going through the motions. Not that I can blame them—working in the service industry is tough, especially in these times, and as I've noted a few times now, occupancy was extremely low during our stay, which was probably more boring for the staff than relaxing. But service is probably one of several areas where the difference between the Westin and more "luxurious" properties is most stark (at least based on what I've read about those properties!).

We didn't end up bothering our butler all that much, but he was exceedingly helpful when we decided to extend our stay by one day. We had originally planned one final night at the Sheraton near Male, as we had a late-night departure and wanted to avoid a lengthy stay at the airport. But our butler noted that it was possible to arrange an evening flight out of the nearby domestic airport (which we would travel to by speedboat), and so we ended up canceling our Sheraton reservation and making an additional one-night booking under my wife's account, as she had a free night certificate to burn. Even though we again booked only the base-level beach villa and my wife is only Gold, our butler arranged for us to keep the same OWV for the extra night, which we were very grateful for.

Departure

Unfortunately, our butler called us on the day of our departure to let us know that the aircraft we were supposed to take for our domestic flight had a mechanical issue, and the airline had rebooked us on a seaplane that departed a couple hours earlier. We were bummed to miss one final happy hour at Sunset Bar, but it was still the latest possible seaplane departure of the day. It was also somewhat of an adventure, as we were actually taken by speedboat to a dock in the middle of the ocean somewhere, where folks from another resort were already in the process of boarding.

Upon arrival at the seaplane terminal in Male, we were greeted by a friendly Westin staffperson who escorted us to a luxury van that brought us to the main terminal. As we still had a number of hours to go before our flight, he advised us that check-in was not yet open for our flight, and so we could wait outside of the terminal, use the landside Priority Pass lounge, or take a bus to a local hotel. The Priority Pass lounge ended up being full, but he kindly arranged for us to use it in an hour's time. In the meantime, we said we would wait in one of the outdoor seating areas, which was actually quite nice and right on the water. After the hour had passed, he returned to escort us to the lounge, and asked whether we wanted him to escort us through security later, but that seemed unnecessary so we let him go on with his day. Ultimately, the lounge ended up being crowded and uncomfortable so we just waited out the rest of our time in the outdoor seating area until our flight opened for check in.

Final Thoughts

Again, I know there are more luxurious places to stay in the Maldives, and I imagine the experience can be quite different during higher occupancy periods, but the Westin treated us very well at a price we were comfortable with.

naumanrahim

Hi Soy, can you share your experience with kids? which room type did you booked and were you able to get the upgrade. I have a similar family and planning a visit next month.

Thanks,

soy

Sorry, never got to go in the end

naumanrahim

Hi, How was your experience in back in June. Can you please share? thanks