I don't remember seeing them, I know they are very protective of the waters - so they may be banned. Check with DownUnder. Attached the price list and the activity list for you.

http://assets.wretreatmaldives.com/l...UnderWave1.pdf
http://www.wretreatmaldives.com/w_re...n_under_diving

Visited in January. Plat Amb.

You will not get upgraded; but they treat you quite well - they actually have a picture of each Plat guest posted in their staff room (it's the picture that they take of you on arrival - sneaky, but good!).

The food in the Maldives is average at best - I have friends that have gone to the major upscale hotels (including 4 Seasons) and have all reported the same. To be fair, the wife and I are a bit of snobs when it comes to dining.

In general I would concentrate on the vibe you are looking for rather then the hotel chain. The W has an age restriction, read no kids. The 4 Seasons it a bit more refined, and there are countless others that each have a slightly different angle. You are correct about the Sheraton - but don't rule it out for a transfer night - they have GREAT partner rates with the W.

I will say that I was really impressed with the service levels at the W as well as Wet/DownUnder staff. If you scuba this is the hotel for you - they are one of the best in the world (no exaggeration).

Thank you, fraz2007 this is perfect feedback:
This will be just a couples only trip and no kids would be a good option for us on this trip.

We do not scuba dive but do snorkel, especially if they have a house reef that would be a plus. It's not a deal breaker if they do not, we're just looking for a really nice resort with best over water bungalow rooms close to beautiful waters one imagines of when they think of going to the Maldives. Something in this price range that also offers decent restaurants (we're quite food snobs as well)..

Guess my question is now answered that SPG loyalty doesn't gain anything here other than points for the stays, so I will have to look into similar hotel options within the $1000-$1500/night range

We decided against the W. Maldives after sloppy communication beforehand and no actual advantage beyond points and night credit, which seems too OCD--even for me. Plus the food options actually looked dreadful.

Instead, we opted for the COMO resorts. My impression was that they focused on fresh, healthy food a bit more than the other resorts. A lighter, cleaner and purer culinary touch while lounging about for days on end can be a good thing.

We experienced great personalized service and were upgraded to an excellent two bedroom 'Seascape Escape'. Hands down one of the best upgrades we've ever received.

Thank you Peatisback, sounds like upgrades are luck of the draw. We're looking at going this November-December which is entering peek season so I'll way our options with various other resorts there.

What time of year did you visit?

We are booked for November, so we might see you there!

Awesome, thanks for posting...I'll definitely let you and everyone know if we book at the W along with dates so that perhaps we can meet up :-)

Hello! I have two questions and maybe one of you can help me. would love to visit the w maldives in november but im not sure about a couple of things:

1) are there mostly only couples in the hotel? wanted to go there with a friend or my mom.
2) what about the prices for drinks and food? can somebody tell me more about it ? should i book b&b or halfboard?

would be cool if somebody answers!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi I think going to the Maldives is either a family affair or a romantic honeymoon type destination, but I think some of the other resorts might be better suited to visiting with a friend/mom. Prices are pretty high in the Maldives, I have been to several high end resorts (not W but have followed threads here) and you can 'pay to breathe'. A glass of wine is around 15 - 20 and cocktail 25 US in most resorts and for that it is a basic wine, food prices are high but you can book half board but that is around US 100 per person. Everything needs to be imported into the Maldives hence the high price tag (or so they claim). Don't even think about smuggling a bottle of vodka/wine in as it is strictly forbidden and they scan your luggage and if they find something they confiscate it and return it when you leave.

It is a great place if you like diving, but I think there are other resorts that would suit more if you are going with a friend or your Mum. A long way to get there from US (for us europeans a bit easier).

Sorry if someone already asked this: but when is the rainy season in the Maldives? And how bad is it? (Is it like Bangkok where it showers for an hour and clears or like Singapore where it just dribbles for half a day?)

Thanks much guys

I don't want to put you off, but when I first went to the Maldives we had literally a whole week of rain, straight through. I think we had one 2-3h window of nice-ish weather. We were told at the time that it was quite unusual, also since that was end of Nov. It was still nice though, and we went back a few years later, to much better weather :)
So I guess it can be ongoing, but you have to be quite unlucky.

Btw Singapore is typically also an hour of showers and then stops, but can be overcast for days.

Any recent experience in this hotel? I am booked for 6 nights at Park Hyatt and I still have 5 more nights. I am debating between the W or the Conrad... I will be SPG PLT at that time and I am 0 in hilton (although I could get gold with the CC haha)

this place is a LOT of SPG points ....

I dont really care about points but about the experience. It would be my honeymoon. They are the same price for my travel dates