weld3z

Thanks for replying ..
This is new hotel with small info ..great reviews on TripAdvisor !

maxw97

Wow this forum is really quiet. We're visiting in mid-May. Would love it if it's quiet and semi-private!

weld3z

I'm on my way wait for full report..

weld3z

Ok This is my second night here ..
Arrived male from DXB 8:30 AM we wait at seaplane lounge for two hours then direct to westin flight time was 30 min service here is great our Butler Kenan well make every thing to make sure you're happy and having good time.
Upgrade my self from island suite with pool to over water suite with pool for extra $ (its worth it)
Food price is good compare to other resorts to be honest i don't like the food in the japaneese restaurant don't get me wrong I'm expert in sushi and this type of food but they don't know how to do it.
Main resturant is the best in my opinion.
This resort have a fantastic spa and gym with brand new machines.
No seabob yet, jet sky snorkeling paracaling and diving are fun try them all.
Resort very quiet with 30-40% if you love night life this not for you..last order for dinner at any restaurant is 10 PM
​​​​overall we are enjoying our time here ready for any questions .. have so many pics but put them here well be difficult..

yes if you plan to visit Maldives i advice you to visit the Westin.
​​​​

maxw97

Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing! We are planning to split our stay between Island Suite (2 nights) and Overwater (3 nights). Is the Island Suite very underwhelming?

I guess my other questions are:
- Do I need to book anything before our stay (restaurant, spa, excursion, etc.)?
- Do you think their boarding plans are worth it ($100 for half-board and $160 for full)?

Thanks again and enjoy your stay!!

weld3z

Welcome sir and i hope you enjoy your upcoming stay..

First night we stayed at the island suite with pool its a beach suite from your room to the beach around 20-30 meter.
To be honest we love the over water suit with pool more, the island suite not bad ask them for room 149 or similar..
No you don't need to book before you arrive but you need to book the water sports but its ok when you arrive first thing go to the sea activities center and book with them, by the way snorkeling items are free (they well give you anything you need) you can do it any time around the resort and yes its amazing..
Some area with big stones because the resort new but its ok if you snorkeling..


yes 160 worth it main restaurant have big menu and in my opinion the best food, food is not that expensive ( if you visit Maldives before you well know) so my advice to try the 3 restaurant you well feel bored if you eat 5 nights in the main restaurant or take the full board for 3 nights only, if you can.

​​​​​Note: the big difference between the island and over water is the privacy and better for snorkeling .

gba

Can I ask how much they charged you for the upgrade and whether you confirmed it in advance or on arrival? Did they allow you to upgrade part of your stay or was it all-or-nothing?

weld3z

[QUOTE=gba;31023758]Can I ask how much they charged you for the upgrade and whether you confirmed it in advance or on arrival? Did they allow you to upgrade part of your stay or was it all-or-nothing?[/QUOTE

The difference between normal room and island suite with pool was 123 plus tax/night and to upgrade to the over water suite with pool 250 plus tax /night ..
You can upgrade part of the stay but try to let them know at check in or before because the over water always full and they are not much only 15villa except if you want the one without pool (over water suite without pool) on the spa side..
They are super friendly just let them know what you want they well do it our Butler Shenan he was amazing with us try to keep you happy even after check out, our flight was 11pm he send us his friend to take us to male from 5 to 9 to kill the time charge us $50 ..

maxw97

Thank you for all the information! This is extremely helpful and I appreciate your sharing with us!

maxw97

One other question (sorry!) - is snorkeling equipment free to rent? Or should we bring our own?

iluvdoco

Is the seaplane lounge here a private one like what the St.R Vommuli uses?

maxw97

Nope. It's shared. It's well ACed and well equipped, but dark. And bathroom is outside of the lounge.

maxw97

I just came back. Our vacation there was perfect. Below is my TA review. Ask me anything!

TL;DR: St. Regis experience at Westin price. I highly recommend this place.

My parents and I spent 5 nights here in early May 2019. Despite some minor room for improvement (which I will get to), from the beginning to end, our stay was so perfect that I decided to take the time and write this review (and I have stayed at many hotels and resorts around the world before).

The most impressive was the room and the facility. Since this is a new resort, everything was new. We stayed in an over-water villa. The room was thoughtfully designed, with dividers that can split the massive loft into four sections - living room (where the sofa bed would be), dining room, bedroom, and bathroom. Note that the bathroom on its own does not have an AC, but it didn't bother us at all - just keep that divider open. The bed is very comfy, the shower door is all clear, and the toilet door has a clear section so you can see the ocean while sitting on it - everything is very thoughtfully designed.

We got room 107, which is one of the best rooms on the resort, since it's on the end of the aisle and therefore has an extra glass wall on the side, versus the regular concrete wall (the other rooms with such glass wall are 106, 133, and 146. Of these four, 106 and 107 have unobstructed sunset view, and 146 has a massive 'private' ocean area to swim in. 133 and 146 have a more wavy ocean while water around 106 and 107 is calmer). Before you email the resort and request for these rooms, I should inform you about two down sides about them. One, it gets very sunny and hot (at least in May) every day 10 am - 4 pm. With the extra glass wall, expect your room to be warmer than ideal, even when the AC is set to max. Two, with the extra glass wall, the floor plan also included a special pathway around the villa - something great to have until we found a curious hotel guest who wandered onto our deck one day. Since then, we started locking all our back sliding doors when leaving the room. We didn't mind it, but it would be better if there was a sign to keep people off our deck.

The staff was delightful. Our butler Shinan was very attentive and extremely helpful. Joey (from China, as my family is) was very personal and considerate. She made us feel like home and went the extra mile accommodating our needs at Island Kitchen. The food was great. The buffet breakfast was well made with a great menu. The rotation of the buffet selections was minimal, but we were perfectly fine with it. The dinner menu offers a big selection, but after 5 days it might get boring too - a problem with all resorts in Maldives. The gym was new and spacious (looking at you, St. Regis), with sauna rooms and steam rooms.

Some reviewer complained that the prices are high. To me they were not. I did a lot of researches beforehand, and the prices of food, spa, and activities at this Westin is on par with all other Maldives hotels. Plus, there are abundant food options, cheap and expensive. While a steak was priced at $95, a spawn pizza was priced at $35, which I thought was reasonable, considering this is an isolated island and everything was imported. For the same reason, please, please pack thoughtfully. I usually am not an over-packer, but boy, things are expensive if you were to buy them on an isolated island. For example, my gopro memory card broke during our trip. The diving store on the resort sells them for $60 ($12 on Amazon). I settled for a waterproof phone pouch for $40 ($5 on Amazon). I guess it's impressive that the store carries them to begin with.

Update: I no longer see the single person fee on Marriott's website as of 5/22/2019.

Someone complained about 'surprise charges' in their review. It seems to me that they got charged for the 'third person fee', which, after a lot of research, most Maldives resorts charge ($200-$300/person/day). There also is a 'single person fee', meaning if you are a solo traveler, you would need to pay extra for the potential excursions/food that the resort misses making money from. Both fees are standard in the Maldives and should be in your reservation confirmation when you book the hotel, so take that into consideration when doing your budget.

Some people mentioned the lack of reef/fish for snorkeling. I will say this - do yourself a favor and get the over-water villa. The 'public' area towards the center of the over-water villas did not have much reef, that I totally agree. And water both sides of the beaches were pretty wavy and therefore not ideal for snorkeling. But from our deck, the water was calm and the reef was vivid. Towards the edge of the island are even more fish, including stingrays, but we didn't see turtles or dolphins like someone else did. Of course, the ocean is public and you are more than welcome to snorkel to these areas, but having them under your deck is just amazing. You've flown so far and spent so much money to get to Maldives - why not just chip in some extra and stay over the water? The other reason I recommend the over-water villa is that, since it's so hot and sunny for the majority of the day, sunbathing on the beach for hours is not quite an option. If you stay inside during the hot hours in a beach villa, based on my observation from the beach, you pretty much won't have a view.

Our stay, as my mother said repeatedly, was perfect. All three of us in our family have stayed at many beautiful resorts before and we unanimously agreed that this vacation is hard to top. I bet there are even more luxury resorts out there in the Maldives, but I would chose this Westin over St. Regis (which I also researched on) for a few reasons: 1. the Westin is brand new; 2. the staff is just as warm and attentive, if not more; 3. the room, food, and activities are cheaper. I truly believe that we received a St. Regis level experience paying Westin price. Thank you, Westin Maldives! I strongly recommend this resort.

iluvdoco

Thank you maxw97 for your review! Good to know about the Miriandhoo having a single person *and* a third person fee. The StR did not have a single person fee. Reassuring that they sell memory cards.

maxw97

Thank you! I played with Marriott's website when I was booking and saw this single person fee. I just played with it again and no longer see it. Either I remembered it wrong or they got rid of it!

The third person fee still applies, though. Am I correct that this third person fee is common in the Maldives? Do you know any that doesn't have a third person fee?