The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands [Master Thread]
 

Found this new property announced late March 2020. The fact that it's 10 minutes by seaplane or 50 minutes by speedboat will make it that much more reachable. Marriott's premium and luxury portfolio are really rounding out - there's a Le Méridien coming next year as well.

Opening late 2020 at what will inevitably be Category 8.

khabah

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Marriott debuts in Maldives with Ritz Carlton brand

March 24, 2020 - Marriott International has announced an agreement to debut The Ritz Carlton brand in the Maldives, with a 100-villa resort amid white sandy beaches. The property, to be called The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, is slated to open in late 2020.The company signed the agreement with CPRC (Maldives), a member of Singapore-based Pontiac Land Group (Pontiac Land), which is developing the resort. “We are pleased to collaborate with Pontiac Land in bringing the Ritz Carlton brand to one of the world’s most famous travel destinations,” said Paul Foskey, chief development officer in Asia Pacific at Marriott International.

The property is located at Fari Islands, in the North Malé Atoll of the Maldives, which is a 50-minute journey by speedboat or a 10-minute seaplane flight from Malé International Airport. The hotel is expected to be a part of Fari Islands, an archipelago that features three world-class hospitality brands inclusive of The Ritz Carlton.

Source: https://www.traveldailymedia.com/mar...IMaFP_GajCC8cA

Posted about this on the Bonvoy hotels in the Maldives thread. Heard it could be delayed until 2021 with covid. And being a Ritz, sounds like I’ll have to pay for breakfast vs the ambassador amenity. Interesting that it seems like it will be one resort as a part of a broader resort with three hotels. Wonder how that will work. And will the closeness to Male mean that you see and hear a lot more planes? Look forward to hopefully checking it out next year though. Maybe a luxury collection resort will open up soon too.

https://www.pontiacland.com/hospital...-fari-islands/

is this a picture of the resort

Wow...it looks beautiful. We are booked for St. Regis for next spring so might not be able to check out RItz instead if it‘s not opened this year. Hmmm...if traveling 50min by boat will save me the $750 USD per head to the St. Regis on seaplane, I would much prefer to choose Ritz. I don’t mind paying for the breakfast since Platinum usually don‘t get much benefits from Ritz when I can save the expensive sea plane cost.

I’m sure the boat will be outrageously priced as well

You might be right. Now I just remember that when we went to Four Seasons Bora Bora 10y ago when it first opened, the 15min boat transfer cost USD$100 if I remember correctly. So if this Ritz boat ride is 50min, I guess I will be paying $500? haha

I forget which hotel it is that just recently opened up by an airport but I’m pretty sure the price is the same for the boat and the sea plane. Crazy margins but I suppose there is no other way to get there.

When I was at the STR a few months ago, I heard a number of butlers and staff saying that they’d be applying for jobs at the Ritz to get a change of scenery. Wonder how many of them will get those jobs and how it will impact the STR.

It was the Waldorf. When it first opened, the speedboat transfer was ~$850. Now it's dropped down to $600/person. Not sure if that resort is farther away from Male, but regardless, it's unlikely the boat option will save anyone more than time.

The Ritz looks out of this world. I would love to try it. Pretty sure it will command 100K points per night!

Have no clue if it will actually look like that mockup. Tried some searching on Instagram and haven't really found anything either.

Any idea when this will actually be opening?

Considering the current situation I would imagine likely to be mid to late 2021.

How bad is COVID in the Maldives? Can people still work (construction jobs) or is everything at a halt?

Was supposed to open later this year, so mid to late 2021 seems like a reasonable estimate if they're shutting down construction for ~3-4+ months

I dont think there have been many cases but it was locked down in March and only recently have a few measures been lifted, but certainly I cannot imagine construction will have been going on.

Also resorts in the Maldives rarely open as scheduled combined with the fact that a lot of the building materials / fitting out of a hotel comes from China which is only just getting back upto speed I would imagine there will be serious delays. The other major factor to consider is what the actual tourist levels will be over the next 12 months and if they decide its even a good time to open, certainly I would imagine they will be looking to get things done at the cheapest overall cost rather than spending more to get work completed ontime and in a hurry.