Originally Posted by n2bspld

I think we'd rather do a day trip, like you're talking about but we would be up for a sunset cruise or a luxury cruising dinner maybe...we're open to something "reasonable" (it's the maldives after all, lol)

Originally Posted by lost_in_translation

Cool! Unfortunately I didn’t make it yet given there has been unlimited free flow champagne at events the last two nights. Are there many people there?

Originally Posted by godbreath

What were the events that served free champagne?

Originally Posted by lost_in_translation

You can get mimosas with breakfast every day but I’m not sure what they make them with - I forgot to ask!

Originally Posted by LiquidHonesty

Aloha all, here is the latest price guide for activities as of today 4/22/2022 includes price to book each of their boats....

Ocean of Discoveries

Originally Posted by lost_in_translation

The Manager’s Reception every Thursday offers champagne and cocktails (decent champagne - seems to be a blend of Veuve Clicquot and other stuff). Then over Easter there were special events with free flow champagne, performers etc to celebrate, but normally this is just once per week. You can get mimosas with breakfast every day but I’m not sure what they make them with - I forgot to ask!

Originally Posted by LovetoTravel83

So not a great end to our stay at the Ritz after py first post above. We had to cut it short and transfer our stay to Patina.

It seems like the resort are still going through some issues here and there around F&B. The place is great, and I will definitely return, but until they resolve their whole F&B issues, I'm sure the resort will be one of the best if not the best.

Beach Villas on the sunrise side have a much private beach than the one on the sunset side. Approximately 5 to 6 Villas in each beach. The ones on the sunset side has a wonderful huge beach, and if the weather is behaving go for them.

The kids club is amazing and our daughter had a wonderful time over there.

Now with the issues we faced. We couldn't have a decent meal at any of the restaurants except for the main restaurant (La Locanda). Our first time going for lunch was at Beach Shack which is a great place, but their services are very much lacking. We had a seat by the corner but no one ever showed up to serve us, and once someone came around 15 minutes later after I hollered, they couldn't get the curtains down (due to the high wind). However, every single other curtain was done. So we decided to just dine in the Villa.

Our 2nd experience was at Summer Pavilion for dinner, and this is their Cantonese restaurant. They only serve set menu's, however, starting from tonight they will serve a la carte, I was unhappy hearing about this as I would've preferred going for the A la carte rather than the set menu as the set menu was meh. The appetizers are great, but the main course can be taken at any $5 Cantonese restaurant in San Francisco. Just average. The sommelier is great and did a wonderful job for us, but sadly the food didn't go well with it. And towards the end we had an issue with the table next to us smoking. It seems like the restaurants do have smoking/non-smoking areas. But sadly it is not enforced. So we just got up and left as our child was about to sleep on the couch.

The next day the hotel manager showed up Louis who is actually managing the Ritz in Singapore and is absolutely a delight. He completely understood our issues and in no was was he defensive and we had a great time talking to him, especially that he was a away for the past few days to experience the St. Regis. So we decided to give them a 2nd chance.

around lunch we were told that Beach Shack has a brunch and we decided to go there and ordered a mini burger for our little one with fries (As usual). We waited for a while until the fries showed up but to our surprise they brought wedges and were told that the whole resort was out of French Fries. I mean do not insult my intelligence please, Did you make the wedges with a Tomato?! Again, I'm it's fine if you don't have it at this restaurant, just let us know in advance so we can make other arrangements. Louis wasn't happy with this and tried to make it right but it was our last straw and had to leave.

Again, we will definitely return, but as any resort/hotel, it needs to be opened properly and not have a trial period with some guests. Louis tried but I didn't want to waist over $2000 per night and these small issues aren't fixed. The staff are fantastic, smiles are everywhere. But their F&B needs a whole lot of work. I recommended to get Sunny from the St. Regis as he is just amazing, but I highly doubt Vincent will ever let him go.

For now, if you want to stick to an Overwater Villa, go for the STR. The food is great and the treatment is above and beyond. The Ritz have wonderful beach Villas which are way better than the ones at STR, and I'll go for the Ritz rather than STR in terms of beach area. However, I'll give the Ritz 6 months post opening until everything is straightened out.

Originally Posted by LovetoTravel83

So as mentioned last August, we were always very eager to return to the RC. We're planning to be there next week for a week and we are booked in a 2 bedroom sunset beach villa.

We had an issue when the welcome email recieved as it mentioned a Rate different than what was on the booking (around $1K higher) after I have clarified to them that it was different than what was in the conformation email, they replied back that the rate sent was certainly incorrect due to not adding the service charge, and they replied with an even higher rate (now its $2K higher). I then asked for a call as this was not a great start to our plans and I was seriously thinking of moving to the STR. However, a wonderful service rep from the resort called me and we spoke about the issues that I had last year and the miscommunication that happened via emails and asked for a couple of days to get things right.

Thankfully they came through and they even confirmed the Villa location that we wanted. He also asserted that all of the issues that we had last year will not happen this time and for sure things are much better now.

Originally Posted by ek7

We’re almost having the identical issue, travelling early May for a week and staying in a 2 bed sunrise beach villa booked with points and cash.

On the confirmation from Marriott Bonvoy it says estimated Government Taxes & Fees are $300 per night but when we received the email from the Ritz asking for advanced payment in full this had almost doubled (an extra $2,000+ for government taxes & fees).

I know it says estimated but can it really be double the original amount on the Marriott Bonvoy site and the confirmation email?

Originally Posted by LovetoTravel83

It's due to the rate not having the service charge added. In my case thry messed up a bit when they sent back an email with an even higher rate. You basically need to multiply the room rate with 23.2% and then add the transportation fees, that's how much you should pay.

Originally Posted by ek7

Thanks for the quick reply, I guess I was hoping cash + points reward rooms would have some different tax element (and that the marriott bonvoy platform would display pretty accurate tax rates at the time of booking).

One other quick question, which 2 bed beach villa would you recommend to request?

Originally Posted by mynameisdmoon

Does RC allow you to be picked up and onto the resort early (regardless of the villa being available)? Trying to decide between a 2:30 pm arrival or 8:30am arrival.

Ideally would like to spend as much time on the resort as possible but if they're just gonna leave us stranded on the island until later in the day, might as well opt for the later arrival time.

Originally Posted by NEfan22

there’s another couple that was transferred over from the st regis with us for the same dates. They haven’t posted to the ritz thread yet, but that’s possibly 8.