Oct 18, 2021, 1:46 pm
Last edit by: dgreen12
Feel free to add to this wiki
.
.
.
.
June 2023 Item of Potential Interest: Link to thread alleging rape of solo female Chinese tourist at the property..
.
Main details.
(Dec 2022) The RC Maldives has its entire "Sales Kit" online, incl. pricing for
activities, spa, weddings; and maps/pictures/video/logos/floor plans: https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...Ad23r_g_CovQo_
Some useful maps at these posts:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33274629-post89.html - also lists types of villas available
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33275048-post95.html - map with villa #'s
cmhsieh54's 8-page trip report (Dec 2022), in post #1204
Food & Beverage service
*There is no free breakfast amenity at this property for Marriott Bonvoy Platinum/Titanium/Ambassador.*
(Dec 2022) There is also no 'elite hour' (i.e. Happy Hour) or daily 'afternoon tea'.
(Dec 2022) The extremely comprehensive RC Maldives F&B guest webapp is here at this link, incl. all rest. menus
and room service prices:
https://mi.vserve-protecht.com/welco...JCZmpFZz0/1001
Unfortunately a scary-looking link, but it's legit. See post #1167.
Email address [email protected]
Transfer Prices
Shared Speedboat (45mins) - $901 per adult, $339 per child 3-11, 2 and under free
Private 48' Speedboat - $2800 per person
Yacht transfer no longer offered as a paid option as of February 2022, but there are reports of the
hotel offering it at their discretion
Shared Seaplane (10 mins) - $1,400 per adult, $700 per child 3-11, 2 and under free
Private Seaplane - $9.500
This cost applies to all guests, regardless of cash booking vs. points booking.
All prices are roundtrip, before 23.2% tax. See this website for latest updated
transfer prices: https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotel...iew/directions
Miscellaneous
Island time: The resort has the clock set one hour ahead of Malé, so the time is GMT +6 hours. Many resorts in the Maldives do this for sunset viewing purposes.
The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands [Master Thread]
Jan 31, 2022, 8:51 am
#466
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC SE, WJ Gold, Bonvoy Titanium Ambassador
Posts: 134
As noted in my post above, we just returned from a 6-night stay and this property and our trip was, simply put, amazing. Granted, this was our first trip to the Maldives so I can't compare our experience to other resorts.
Basics:
Bonvoy Gold
Booked a 1-br ocean pool overwater villa via Bonvoy points.
Check-in:
We arrived at 9am ish on check-in day and our 1-br ocean overwater villa (aka the sunrise side) was not yet ready. They comped us breakfast and lunch until it was ready, so we just chilled at the Beach Shack.
At check-in around 1:30pm, we were upgraded to a lagoon overwater villa (the sunset side). I'm not sure if the upgrade was because of the delay in having our room ready or because I am Bonvoy Gold. Probably the former.
Being Bonvoy Gold gave me a 15% discount on certain meals at some of the restaurants.
Room:
Our room was amazing. Plenty of space for two of us. Since the resort is new, the hard product in the room was new and felt fresh. Being on the lagoon side, we did not experience any wind issues and as others noted, the pool warmed up as the day passed. We were told that the wind shifts based on the monsoon season and that starting in February, the lagoon side will start to experience more wind.
Dining:
Generally thumbs up about the food but it is quite expensive. As one noted previously, a strategy is to fill up at breakfast and then cruise off of the free honor bar snacks until 4pm tea. I think the best restaurant meal we had was as Arabesque. Summer Pavilion had small portions.
My only negative comment about the restaurants is that they rotate as to which one is open and at least one of them is hosting a special (i.e. expensive) meal each night.
Activities:
We did the turtle snorkeling and shark snorkeling trips. Both were fun and we saw turtles and sharks, as advertised.
My wife did a discover scuba and felt very comfortable and, more importantly, confident in the water based on the high quality of the instructors.
I did three dives. The visibility was quite good and saw some decent wildlife. If you're a certified diver, I would highly recommend becoming Nitrox certified before you get here. I was not and they basically said "Do your nitrox with us or you will have about 5 minute bottom times for our dives today." So, I'm now nitrox certified, which was an unplanned expense.
The snorkeling off of our villa was not great and, depending on the conditions, could have some current. However, there is a dock in deep water parallel to the 2br on the lagoon side with a decent reef. We swam out there and saw several lobster, a turtle, and some rays. We recommended this reef to some other guests and one later told us he saw the same fish plus a decent sized black-tip reef shark.
Extras:
This trip was my wife's birthday and the resort went out of its way to make her feel special. We were supposed to have her birthday dinner at Iawu, but due to scheduling issue on their part, we could not. Instead of just shrugging and saying sorry, our aris meha arranged for a private beach dinner with a private chef at the cost of the Iawu dinner. When we returned to our villa, she had laid out a special birthday presentation with some small gifts and a special cake.
Our beach attendant, Ammu, made her a drawing as a gift along with some champagne.
I've read some comments here about issues with the service and while we did experience the occasional service "fail", the staff would go out of their way to remedy any whiff. Unlike some resorts, the staff here seems empowered to solve problems on the fly in order to ensure the guests have the best experience.
Will we come back? 100% Would we recommend this resort to our closet friends? 100%.
Happy to answer questions etc.
Basics:
Bonvoy Gold
Booked a 1-br ocean pool overwater villa via Bonvoy points.
Check-in:
We arrived at 9am ish on check-in day and our 1-br ocean overwater villa (aka the sunrise side) was not yet ready. They comped us breakfast and lunch until it was ready, so we just chilled at the Beach Shack.
At check-in around 1:30pm, we were upgraded to a lagoon overwater villa (the sunset side). I'm not sure if the upgrade was because of the delay in having our room ready or because I am Bonvoy Gold. Probably the former.
Being Bonvoy Gold gave me a 15% discount on certain meals at some of the restaurants.
Room:
Our room was amazing. Plenty of space for two of us. Since the resort is new, the hard product in the room was new and felt fresh. Being on the lagoon side, we did not experience any wind issues and as others noted, the pool warmed up as the day passed. We were told that the wind shifts based on the monsoon season and that starting in February, the lagoon side will start to experience more wind.
Dining:
Generally thumbs up about the food but it is quite expensive. As one noted previously, a strategy is to fill up at breakfast and then cruise off of the free honor bar snacks until 4pm tea. I think the best restaurant meal we had was as Arabesque. Summer Pavilion had small portions.
My only negative comment about the restaurants is that they rotate as to which one is open and at least one of them is hosting a special (i.e. expensive) meal each night.
Activities:
We did the turtle snorkeling and shark snorkeling trips. Both were fun and we saw turtles and sharks, as advertised.
My wife did a discover scuba and felt very comfortable and, more importantly, confident in the water based on the high quality of the instructors.
I did three dives. The visibility was quite good and saw some decent wildlife. If you're a certified diver, I would highly recommend becoming Nitrox certified before you get here. I was not and they basically said "Do your nitrox with us or you will have about 5 minute bottom times for our dives today." So, I'm now nitrox certified, which was an unplanned expense.
The snorkeling off of our villa was not great and, depending on the conditions, could have some current. However, there is a dock in deep water parallel to the 2br on the lagoon side with a decent reef. We swam out there and saw several lobster, a turtle, and some rays. We recommended this reef to some other guests and one later told us he saw the same fish plus a decent sized black-tip reef shark.
Extras:
This trip was my wife's birthday and the resort went out of its way to make her feel special. We were supposed to have her birthday dinner at Iawu, but due to scheduling issue on their part, we could not. Instead of just shrugging and saying sorry, our aris meha arranged for a private beach dinner with a private chef at the cost of the Iawu dinner. When we returned to our villa, she had laid out a special birthday presentation with some small gifts and a special cake.
Our beach attendant, Ammu, made her a drawing as a gift along with some champagne.
I've read some comments here about issues with the service and while we did experience the occasional service "fail", the staff would go out of their way to remedy any whiff. Unlike some resorts, the staff here seems empowered to solve problems on the fly in order to ensure the guests have the best experience.
Will we come back? 100% Would we recommend this resort to our closet friends? 100%.
Happy to answer questions etc.
when was your stay ? I thought they had got rid of the F&B discount ?
Jan 31, 2022, 12:48 pm
#468
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: UA GS, AA PLAT, DL PLAT, EK SILVER
Posts: 250
@waspypants Thanks for the great review! We're headed there in March, also from Boston. Can you let us know about the testing on departure? Flying home through DXB with only a layover in airport.
Last edited by SvenB1414; Jan 31, 2022 at 12:49 pm Reason: Quoting the original review
Jan 31, 2022, 3:47 pm
#470
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 26
@waspypants Thanks for the great review! We're headed there in March, also from Boston. Can you let us know about the testing on departure? Flying home through DXB with only a layover in airport.
For our outbound leg, because we we're uncertain that we could get PCR test results back in time for departure to the Maldives, we paid for Drip Hydration to come to our house and administer the PCR test with a 24 hour guaranteed turn around.
For the return home, the RC has an on-site doctor who administered a rapid antigen test about 90 minutes before our ferry to the airport. As of now, the U.S. will accept an antigen test and you do not need a PCR. RC does offer a PCR but I don't know their turn around times.
I don't know the length of your layover in DXB but ours was 10 hours. While we spent that in the EK business class lounge, in hind sight I wish we had gotten a room at the airside hotel in the Dubai airport.
Jan 31, 2022, 3:58 pm
#471
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 26
Can’t really argue with much in the review by @waspypants
In terms of dining, I was generally disappointed by Summer Pavilion - the dim sum was very expensive but not great quality, we are talking $35-40 for four small pieces but pitched way below the quality of a good chain like Din Tai Fung. Arabesque I agree was good, in particular the truffle hummus was so good I nearly ordered a second portion. Iwau a la carte at Eau Bar was my favourite - it is modern/slightly fusion Japanese but the quality was really excellent to the extent it actually felt genuinely good value, if I was served that meal in a Nobu-type restaurant in a major city I’d walk away happy, let alone getting something like that in the Maldives. Breakfast is good but not exceptional or super fancy, just standard five star resort fare. You aren’t getting lobster eggs Benedict and caviar on your omelette like you are at some very high-end Maldives resorts without paying a lot extra, that’s the one area of F&B I’d change other than Summer Pavilion. Cocktails were very good everywhere I ordered them and felt good value at normally around $20 (+23.2%) compared to wine and other alcohol.
In terms of dining, I was generally disappointed by Summer Pavilion - the dim sum was very expensive but not great quality, we are talking $35-40 for four small pieces but pitched way below the quality of a good chain like Din Tai Fung. Arabesque I agree was good, in particular the truffle hummus was so good I nearly ordered a second portion. Iwau a la carte at Eau Bar was my favourite - it is modern/slightly fusion Japanese but the quality was really excellent to the extent it actually felt genuinely good value, if I was served that meal in a Nobu-type restaurant in a major city I’d walk away happy, let alone getting something like that in the Maldives. Breakfast is good but not exceptional or super fancy, just standard five star resort fare. You aren’t getting lobster eggs Benedict and caviar on your omelette like you are at some very high-end Maldives resorts without paying a lot extra, that’s the one area of F&B I’d change other than Summer Pavilion. Cocktails were very good everywhere I ordered them and felt good value at normally around $20 (+23.2%) compared to wine and other alcohol.
Agree on Summer Pavilion. FYI - the Iwau chef did work at Nobu-Cape Town, so pretty close!
Jan 31, 2022, 4:20 pm
#472
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,183
Jan 31, 2022, 5:49 pm
#474
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,183
Just ended a 6 night points stay this past weekend. I have now been through the trinity of points hotels in The Maldives. St Regis, Waldorf Astoria, and the Ritz Carlton. So I have a bit to compare.
In terms of being in a secluded private resort, the St Regis is clearly the one, though I have to say I find the seaplane transfer rather cumbersome compared to the WA and RC transfer. The St R also had the best a la carte items for breakfast, but over all the weakest F&B of the three. Not weak in absolute terms, but relative.
The Waldorf had the best transfer option with free flow champagne on the yacht, and the pool deck of the reef villas was a clear winner.
I found the staff at the Ritz more engaging and more attentive than the other two resorts, in some ways the Ritz standards came through. Though the usual survey question of "were you always addressed by name?" would be a no.
A nice touch about the Ritz, where ever you sat down, bars or restaurants, they would always bring still or sparkling water free of charge, no charging the customer for fancy sparkling water.
We got a sunrise side villa on the Lagoon Quay, while that meant the pool was a bit chilly, the swimming in front of the villa was great, and a lot of fish and rays came around the villa mornings and evenings. And the deck was shaded, which we did appreciate. The ability to open the sliding doors in the room completely and integrate room and pool deck was fantastic, and we basically had the doors open whenever in the room. Except while sleeping.
One night the wind picked up and was quite strong, napkins would fly of the table in Summer Pavilion, but at no time was the wind bothersome at the room. During the other days, there was a nice breeze on the sunrise side, where as the sunset side, felt significantly warmer as there was little wind to cool you down.
Of the bloggers and vloggers I have come across, they all got prosecco as the welcome bottle, I don't know if we were lucky or it has changed, but we got a bottle of Bilecart Salmon Brut, along with a huge fruit basket, chocolates, cookies (apart from the honour bar biscuit jar), and macarons. The soft drinks and snacks in the honour bar was refilled rapidly, never seemed to take long.
The F&B was great, and with a lot of variety. While the concept of the Fari Marina might be seen as a bit antithetical to the concept of the private resort experience in the Maldives, it did add extra options to the F&B. The Patina F&B outlets over there do charge for water. 24++ for a bottle of San Pellegrino. The best F&B experiences were the Summer Pavilion dim sum lunch (skip breakfast that day if you go), Arabesque, Brasa, and Tum Tum for lunch. We also had dinner at Summer Pavilion, Fari Beach Club, and a light arrival meal dinner at Eau Bar. The ice cream stand at Beach Shack was great. One thing about getting reservations for the Patina outlets at Fari Marina, and the Patina resort itself, the confirmations never seem to come back, but we spoke to the manager of Fari Beach Club, and he said just come don't worry about it.
Ranking the 3 resorts is difficult, and it will depend a lot on what your specific priorities are. But we would be least likely to go back to the St Regis, and might rank the RC ahead of the WA, the main things would be the variety and quality of F&B and the staff. But all in all, I would be happy to go back to any of the three resorts, and I could see reasons why other people might put any of the three resorts as their number 1.
In terms of being in a secluded private resort, the St Regis is clearly the one, though I have to say I find the seaplane transfer rather cumbersome compared to the WA and RC transfer. The St R also had the best a la carte items for breakfast, but over all the weakest F&B of the three. Not weak in absolute terms, but relative.
The Waldorf had the best transfer option with free flow champagne on the yacht, and the pool deck of the reef villas was a clear winner.
I found the staff at the Ritz more engaging and more attentive than the other two resorts, in some ways the Ritz standards came through. Though the usual survey question of "were you always addressed by name?" would be a no.
A nice touch about the Ritz, where ever you sat down, bars or restaurants, they would always bring still or sparkling water free of charge, no charging the customer for fancy sparkling water.
We got a sunrise side villa on the Lagoon Quay, while that meant the pool was a bit chilly, the swimming in front of the villa was great, and a lot of fish and rays came around the villa mornings and evenings. And the deck was shaded, which we did appreciate. The ability to open the sliding doors in the room completely and integrate room and pool deck was fantastic, and we basically had the doors open whenever in the room. Except while sleeping.
One night the wind picked up and was quite strong, napkins would fly of the table in Summer Pavilion, but at no time was the wind bothersome at the room. During the other days, there was a nice breeze on the sunrise side, where as the sunset side, felt significantly warmer as there was little wind to cool you down.
Of the bloggers and vloggers I have come across, they all got prosecco as the welcome bottle, I don't know if we were lucky or it has changed, but we got a bottle of Bilecart Salmon Brut, along with a huge fruit basket, chocolates, cookies (apart from the honour bar biscuit jar), and macarons. The soft drinks and snacks in the honour bar was refilled rapidly, never seemed to take long.
The F&B was great, and with a lot of variety. While the concept of the Fari Marina might be seen as a bit antithetical to the concept of the private resort experience in the Maldives, it did add extra options to the F&B. The Patina F&B outlets over there do charge for water. 24++ for a bottle of San Pellegrino. The best F&B experiences were the Summer Pavilion dim sum lunch (skip breakfast that day if you go), Arabesque, Brasa, and Tum Tum for lunch. We also had dinner at Summer Pavilion, Fari Beach Club, and a light arrival meal dinner at Eau Bar. The ice cream stand at Beach Shack was great. One thing about getting reservations for the Patina outlets at Fari Marina, and the Patina resort itself, the confirmations never seem to come back, but we spoke to the manager of Fari Beach Club, and he said just come don't worry about it.
Ranking the 3 resorts is difficult, and it will depend a lot on what your specific priorities are. But we would be least likely to go back to the St Regis, and might rank the RC ahead of the WA, the main things would be the variety and quality of F&B and the staff. But all in all, I would be happy to go back to any of the three resorts, and I could see reasons why other people might put any of the three resorts as their number 1.
Jan 31, 2022, 6:42 pm
#475
Join Date: Nov 2021
Location: SFO
Programs: United Premier Platinum, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 65
Just ended a 6 night points stay this past weekend. I have now been through the trinity of points hotels in The Maldives. St Regis, Waldorf Astoria, and the Ritz Carlton. So I have a bit to compare.
In terms of being in a secluded private resort, the St Regis is clearly the one, though I have to say I find the seaplane transfer rather cumbersome compared to the WA and RC transfer. The St R also had the best a la carte items for breakfast, but over all the weakest F&B of the three. Not weak in absolute terms, but relative.
The Waldorf had the best transfer option with free flow champagne on the yacht, and the pool deck of the reef villas was a clear winner.
I found the staff at the Ritz more engaging and more attentive than the other two resorts, in some ways the Ritz standards came through. Though the usual survey question of "were you always addressed by name?" would be a no.
A nice touch about the Ritz, where ever you sat down, bars or restaurants, they would always bring still or sparkling water free of charge, no charging the customer for fancy sparkling water.
We got a sunrise side villa on the Lagoon Quay, while that meant the pool was a bit chilly, the swimming in front of the villa was great, and a lot of fish and rays came around the villa mornings and evenings. And the deck was shaded, which we did appreciate. The ability to open the sliding doors in the room completely and integrate room and pool deck was fantastic, and we basically had the doors open whenever in the room. Except while sleeping.
One night the wind picked up and was quite strong, napkins would fly of the table in Summer Pavilion, but at no time was the wind bothersome at the room. During the other days, there was a nice breeze on the sunrise side, where as the sunset side, felt significantly warmer as there was little wind to cool you down.
Of the bloggers and vloggers I have come across, they all got prosecco as the welcome bottle, I don't know if we were lucky or it has changed, but we got a bottle of Bilecart Salmon Brut, along with a huge fruit basket, chocolates, cookies (apart from the honour bar biscuit jar), and macarons. The soft drinks and snacks in the honour bar was refilled rapidly, never seemed to take long.
The F&B was great, and with a lot of variety. While the concept of the Fari Marina might be seen as a bit antithetical to the concept of the private resort experience in the Maldives, it did add extra options to the F&B. The Patina F&B outlets over there do charge for water. 24++ for a bottle of San Pellegrino. The best F&B experiences were the Summer Pavilion dim sum lunch (skip breakfast that day if you go), Arabesque, Brasa, and Tum Tum for lunch. We also had dinner at Summer Pavilion, Fari Beach Club, and a light arrival meal dinner at Eau Bar. The ice cream stand at Beach Shack was great. One thing about getting reservations for the Patina outlets at Fari Marina, and the Patina resort itself, the confirmations never seem to come back, but we spoke to the manager of Fari Beach Club, and he said just come don't worry about it.
Ranking the 3 resorts is difficult, and it will depend a lot on what your specific priorities are. But we would be least likely to go back to the St Regis, and might rank the RC ahead of the WA, the main things would be the variety and quality of F&B and the staff. But all in all, I would be happy to go back to any of the three resorts, and I could see reasons why other people might put any of the three resorts as their number 1.
In terms of being in a secluded private resort, the St Regis is clearly the one, though I have to say I find the seaplane transfer rather cumbersome compared to the WA and RC transfer. The St R also had the best a la carte items for breakfast, but over all the weakest F&B of the three. Not weak in absolute terms, but relative.
The Waldorf had the best transfer option with free flow champagne on the yacht, and the pool deck of the reef villas was a clear winner.
I found the staff at the Ritz more engaging and more attentive than the other two resorts, in some ways the Ritz standards came through. Though the usual survey question of "were you always addressed by name?" would be a no.
A nice touch about the Ritz, where ever you sat down, bars or restaurants, they would always bring still or sparkling water free of charge, no charging the customer for fancy sparkling water.
We got a sunrise side villa on the Lagoon Quay, while that meant the pool was a bit chilly, the swimming in front of the villa was great, and a lot of fish and rays came around the villa mornings and evenings. And the deck was shaded, which we did appreciate. The ability to open the sliding doors in the room completely and integrate room and pool deck was fantastic, and we basically had the doors open whenever in the room. Except while sleeping.
One night the wind picked up and was quite strong, napkins would fly of the table in Summer Pavilion, but at no time was the wind bothersome at the room. During the other days, there was a nice breeze on the sunrise side, where as the sunset side, felt significantly warmer as there was little wind to cool you down.
Of the bloggers and vloggers I have come across, they all got prosecco as the welcome bottle, I don't know if we were lucky or it has changed, but we got a bottle of Bilecart Salmon Brut, along with a huge fruit basket, chocolates, cookies (apart from the honour bar biscuit jar), and macarons. The soft drinks and snacks in the honour bar was refilled rapidly, never seemed to take long.
The F&B was great, and with a lot of variety. While the concept of the Fari Marina might be seen as a bit antithetical to the concept of the private resort experience in the Maldives, it did add extra options to the F&B. The Patina F&B outlets over there do charge for water. 24++ for a bottle of San Pellegrino. The best F&B experiences were the Summer Pavilion dim sum lunch (skip breakfast that day if you go), Arabesque, Brasa, and Tum Tum for lunch. We also had dinner at Summer Pavilion, Fari Beach Club, and a light arrival meal dinner at Eau Bar. The ice cream stand at Beach Shack was great. One thing about getting reservations for the Patina outlets at Fari Marina, and the Patina resort itself, the confirmations never seem to come back, but we spoke to the manager of Fari Beach Club, and he said just come don't worry about it.
Ranking the 3 resorts is difficult, and it will depend a lot on what your specific priorities are. But we would be least likely to go back to the St Regis, and might rank the RC ahead of the WA, the main things would be the variety and quality of F&B and the staff. But all in all, I would be happy to go back to any of the three resorts, and I could see reasons why other people might put any of the three resorts as their number 1.
Jan 31, 2022, 6:46 pm
#476
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: UA GS, AA PLAT, DL PLAT, EK SILVER
Posts: 250
No prob! Jealous of your trip.
For our outbound leg, because we we're uncertain that we could get PCR test results back in time for departure to the Maldives, we paid for Drip Hydration to come to our house and administer the PCR test with a 24 hour guaranteed turn around.
For the return home, the RC has an on-site doctor who administered a rapid antigen test about 90 minutes before our ferry to the airport. As of now, the U.S. will accept an antigen test and you do not need a PCR. RC does offer a PCR but I don't know their turn around times.
I don't know the length of your layover in DXB but ours was 10 hours. While we spent that in the EK business class lounge, in hind sight I wish we had gotten a room at the airside hotel in the Dubai airport.
For our outbound leg, because we we're uncertain that we could get PCR test results back in time for departure to the Maldives, we paid for Drip Hydration to come to our house and administer the PCR test with a 24 hour guaranteed turn around.
For the return home, the RC has an on-site doctor who administered a rapid antigen test about 90 minutes before our ferry to the airport. As of now, the U.S. will accept an antigen test and you do not need a PCR. RC does offer a PCR but I don't know their turn around times.
I don't know the length of your layover in DXB but ours was 10 hours. While we spent that in the EK business class lounge, in hind sight I wish we had gotten a room at the airside hotel in the Dubai airport.
Perfect, thank you. Our layover is 9 hours, and yes, will likely get an airside room. That being said, I was concerned that there are reports of EK not accepting antigen testing - although that may ONLY be departures originating in DXB.
Jan 31, 2022, 6:57 pm
#477
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,724
Just ended a 6 night points stay this past weekend. I have now been through the trinity of points hotels in The Maldives. St Regis, Waldorf Astoria, and the Ritz Carlton. So I have a bit to compare.
In terms of being in a secluded private resort, the St Regis is clearly the one, though I have to say I find the seaplane transfer rather cumbersome compared to the WA and RC transfer. The St R also had the best a la carte items for breakfast, but over all the weakest F&B of the three. Not weak in absolute terms, but relative.
The Waldorf had the best transfer option with free flow champagne on the yacht, and the pool deck of the reef villas was a clear winner.
I found the staff at the Ritz more engaging and more attentive than the other two resorts, in some ways the Ritz standards came through. Though the usual survey question of "were you always addressed by name?" would be a no.
A nice touch about the Ritz, where ever you sat down, bars or restaurants, they would always bring still or sparkling water free of charge, no charging the customer for fancy sparkling water.
We got a sunrise side villa on the Lagoon Quay, while that meant the pool was a bit chilly, the swimming in front of the villa was great, and a lot of fish and rays came around the villa mornings and evenings. And the deck was shaded, which we did appreciate. The ability to open the sliding doors in the room completely and integrate room and pool deck was fantastic, and we basically had the doors open whenever in the room. Except while sleeping.
One night the wind picked up and was quite strong, napkins would fly of the table in Summer Pavilion, but at no time was the wind bothersome at the room. During the other days, there was a nice breeze on the sunrise side, where as the sunset side, felt significantly warmer as there was little wind to cool you down.
Of the bloggers and vloggers I have come across, they all got prosecco as the welcome bottle, I don't know if we were lucky or it has changed, but we got a bottle of Bilecart Salmon Brut, along with a huge fruit basket, chocolates, cookies (apart from the honour bar biscuit jar), and macarons. The soft drinks and snacks in the honour bar was refilled rapidly, never seemed to take long.
The F&B was great, and with a lot of variety. While the concept of the Fari Marina might be seen as a bit antithetical to the concept of the private resort experience in the Maldives, it did add extra options to the F&B. The Patina F&B outlets over there do charge for water. 24++ for a bottle of San Pellegrino. The best F&B experiences were the Summer Pavilion dim sum lunch (skip breakfast that day if you go), Arabesque, Brasa, and Tum Tum for lunch. We also had dinner at Summer Pavilion, Fari Beach Club, and a light arrival meal dinner at Eau Bar. The ice cream stand at Beach Shack was great. One thing about getting reservations for the Patina outlets at Fari Marina, and the Patina resort itself, the confirmations never seem to come back, but we spoke to the manager of Fari Beach Club, and he said just come don't worry about it.
Ranking the 3 resorts is difficult, and it will depend a lot on what your specific priorities are. But we would be least likely to go back to the St Regis, and might rank the RC ahead of the WA, the main things would be the variety and quality of F&B and the staff. But all in all, I would be happy to go back to any of the three resorts, and I could see reasons why other people might put any of the three resorts as their number 1.
In terms of being in a secluded private resort, the St Regis is clearly the one, though I have to say I find the seaplane transfer rather cumbersome compared to the WA and RC transfer. The St R also had the best a la carte items for breakfast, but over all the weakest F&B of the three. Not weak in absolute terms, but relative.
The Waldorf had the best transfer option with free flow champagne on the yacht, and the pool deck of the reef villas was a clear winner.
I found the staff at the Ritz more engaging and more attentive than the other two resorts, in some ways the Ritz standards came through. Though the usual survey question of "were you always addressed by name?" would be a no.
A nice touch about the Ritz, where ever you sat down, bars or restaurants, they would always bring still or sparkling water free of charge, no charging the customer for fancy sparkling water.
We got a sunrise side villa on the Lagoon Quay, while that meant the pool was a bit chilly, the swimming in front of the villa was great, and a lot of fish and rays came around the villa mornings and evenings. And the deck was shaded, which we did appreciate. The ability to open the sliding doors in the room completely and integrate room and pool deck was fantastic, and we basically had the doors open whenever in the room. Except while sleeping.
One night the wind picked up and was quite strong, napkins would fly of the table in Summer Pavilion, but at no time was the wind bothersome at the room. During the other days, there was a nice breeze on the sunrise side, where as the sunset side, felt significantly warmer as there was little wind to cool you down.
Of the bloggers and vloggers I have come across, they all got prosecco as the welcome bottle, I don't know if we were lucky or it has changed, but we got a bottle of Bilecart Salmon Brut, along with a huge fruit basket, chocolates, cookies (apart from the honour bar biscuit jar), and macarons. The soft drinks and snacks in the honour bar was refilled rapidly, never seemed to take long.
The F&B was great, and with a lot of variety. While the concept of the Fari Marina might be seen as a bit antithetical to the concept of the private resort experience in the Maldives, it did add extra options to the F&B. The Patina F&B outlets over there do charge for water. 24++ for a bottle of San Pellegrino. The best F&B experiences were the Summer Pavilion dim sum lunch (skip breakfast that day if you go), Arabesque, Brasa, and Tum Tum for lunch. We also had dinner at Summer Pavilion, Fari Beach Club, and a light arrival meal dinner at Eau Bar. The ice cream stand at Beach Shack was great. One thing about getting reservations for the Patina outlets at Fari Marina, and the Patina resort itself, the confirmations never seem to come back, but we spoke to the manager of Fari Beach Club, and he said just come don't worry about it.
Ranking the 3 resorts is difficult, and it will depend a lot on what your specific priorities are. But we would be least likely to go back to the St Regis, and might rank the RC ahead of the WA, the main things would be the variety and quality of F&B and the staff. But all in all, I would be happy to go back to any of the three resorts, and I could see reasons why other people might put any of the three resorts as their number 1.
Jan 31, 2022, 7:54 pm
#478
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,183
Sunrise side the pool was definitely on the chilly side, coming back from a day time trip to Patina and Fari Marina where the temperatures felt like a melting pot, it was just perfect to jump into. The sea was actually warmer than the pool most days
Jan 31, 2022, 9:46 pm
#479
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Seoul, KR
Programs: MAR Titanium, HH Gold
Posts: 572
CPH-Flyer Appreciate your great review on this property. But I don't presume you would recommend the RC to a couple who prioritises snorkeling around the villas while not interested much in F&B? If I visit the RC, it would be a year from now but I am not sure if the property has 'potential' to grow decent marine life by then.
Jan 31, 2022, 10:02 pm
#480
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,183
CPH-Flyer Appreciate your great review on this property. But I don't presume you would recommend the RC to a couple who prioritises snorkeling around the villas while not interested much in F&B? If I visit the RC, it would be a year from now but I am not sure if the property has 'potential' to grow decent marine life by then.