Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa, Thilamaafushi, Maldives [Master Thread]
 

Found several job postings on Marriott's careers website for an upcoming Le Méridien resort in the Maldives. No information I've managed to find online other than this blurb from some of the job ads:

Le Méridien Maldives Resort encompasses the island of Thilamaafushi in the Lhaviyani Atoll. The Atoll is north of Male and can be accessed via a 35-minute sea plane journey. The 150 rooms Resort is surrounded by a beautiful lagoon and coral reef featuring a significant number of over water villas. The Resort offers six restaurants and bar, spa, fitness centre, swimming pool, kid’s club, dive centre, watersports centre among other activities.

Since they're hiring, it's safe to assume that an opening is most likely happening within the next six months. Nice to see more options in the Maldives, and as always, more Le Méridien hotels!

khabah

Interesting, I know there is a RC on the way but hadnt heard anythign about a LeMerdien! Seems the Marriott presence in the Maldives keeps growing and probably in the management contracts cant have any more than 1 property per brand so it makes sense they are using the various options!

There also have been discussions that Marriott is contracting some in house sea planes so there will be dedicated transfers for members between the Bonvoy resorts in the Maldives.

That would certainly be an interesting development. I believe the RC will be a speedboat rather than seaplane transfer which will be a very welcome option over the Sheraton!

Pulled the following blurb from this ITB Berlin page:

Opening Q3, 2020. Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa is a hub for creatively minded travellers who seek enlightening experiences, set against an idyllic island paradise. Nestled on the island of Thilamaafushi, in a picturesque corner of Lhaviyani Atoll, the resort is a scenic 35-minute seaplane journey north of Malé. Teeming with an abundance of flora and fauna, the resort is enveloped by an extraordinary lagoon, infinite horizon and coral reef bursting with marine life. The resort features 140 villas and suites set amongst the tropical greenery and dotted over the Indian Ocean, six restaurants and bars, an integrated lifestyle hub, Explore SpaSM by Le Méridien, two pools, Le Méridien Family program, dive and watersports centre, a private island, and a curated menu of experiences, designed to showcase the beauty of the Maldives, above and below the waves. Inspired by the essence of the Maldives, combined with a passion for culture, cuisine and design, the resort is an imaginative sanctuary for families and couples alike, who seek to encounter the unexpected in a sought after destination.

Good stuff, and all the typical Maldives resort accoutrements. The final name will be Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa, so perhaps the mods could make that small adjustment to the thread title? I also reached out to the hotel's GM, who let me know that there'll be a delay to early 2021 with an as-yet-undetermined date due to the current situation with COVID-19. Since they have key positions filled and are procuring staff, we should hopefully be on the downward slope to opening. I'd expect this one to be a category 7, especially with it being a larger property relative to the other Marriott options and having child-friendly offerings.

khabah

Excited to some pictures of this and the Ritz.

The hotel's website is now live, but a total shell with no photos or descriptions aside from very sparse details on the "Hotel Details page."

Link here. Opening December 2020, but subject to change.

khabah

Listed as opening in September 2021 now, and showing as a category 5 (????)

No way this is a cat 5 -- I'd jump at it even at cat 7! I always preferred Le Meridien over Westin in terms of interior design and decor.

Yeah probably gonna be a cat 7, or lowest cat 6

If this is a CAT 5- even just for the opening couple of months, it would be a very compelling option IF they do proper PLT/Titanium breakfasts, etc. Wonder what their seaplane rate will be also in comparison to the STR, etc.

Could it be due to the fact that rooms at this resort are significantly smaller than other Bonboy ones? The one-bedroom villas range from only 54sqm/581sqft to 88sqm/947sqft.

Thanks for pointing that out. That's extremely small for the Maldives. Looks like the pool would be a mere 5sqm :confused:. I'm still sticking to the St. Regis for now. Until their service goes down, I'll switch. Just booked my 3rd reservation there.

Even if the service were to go down at the STR, there is no way that this Le Meridien is going to be considered an equivalent alternative- these 2 brands of hotels are on a different caliber for starters. Add to that the substantially smaller room and pool size as well as probably many other aspects and were talking about 2 different breeds.

Even still, how can a new Le Meridien be a category lower than the existing Sheraton, which is consistently reviewed poorly? The villas do look a bit small from the pictures here, and quite crammed together...that said, if it's truly a category 5 I'll likely try it since I have some category 5 certs to burn!

Google photos