2 days of rain is better than being at work. Thanks for the info

Has anyone managed to Transfer between Conrad and the W Maldives? I have stays in each and I have tried to reach out to the hotels but so far no reply, but just wondering if anyone has done it, how much was it? and was there any issues? I will be doing the first 5 nights at Conrad and the second 5 at W Maldives iA.

Currently in the seaplane departure lounge. Landed from SIN around noon, got here by 12:30, seaplane is at 2ish. Not ideal but not too bad.

Was advised that the F&B discount for titaniums is 20% -- but for food and non-alcoholic beverages only, and only at the restaurants (no in-room dining).

Flight back out (on QR) is at 8:20 p.m. -- sounds like they run seaplanes as late as 5 p.m., which is better than expected.

Weather is beautiful. Can't wait to get in the water ^

Be aware that just because they run seaplanes that late doesn't mean you'll get one that late, unfortunately. When I was there it seemed that people on redeyes / very late departures out of MLE got priority for the last seaplane, while people departing earlier in the evening were often sent to MLE in the mid-afternoon. But, all likely depends on how much demand there is on a given day, so hopefully it will work out well for you.

The property has a habit of skimming off the points they need to post for stays based on past posts in this thread and my own experience.. Make sure you get a folio when you depart that includes EVERYTHING including the "local fee" (which is not a tax), don't let them combine folios, etc.

I had a stay for 2 weeks back in June/July booked on a combination of free night certs & points. 2 of the 14 nights came from my spouses bonvoy account. The property helpfully combined our folios under my wife's name (who is a platinum, while I'm a titanium) on checkout. End result is they credited 2 nights to her along with the points for the charges from the last 2 days of our stay. My 12 days along with all associated spend, extra person fees, extra breakfast fee (for 4th person) were not credited. Despite my folio's balance being transferred into my wife's folio the associated points were not credited to her (not even getting into the bonus discrepancy in my being Titanium and her being a Platinum). Getting them to fix it is proving difficult. Been trying for 2 weeks now...e-mails are ignored. Calling is not an option @ $1.50+ per minute on skype and whomever answers the phone and keeps you on the phone racking up the charges with the end result of "I've escalated this...we will get back to you shortly". So far "whatsapp" seems to be the most effective method of communication but I'm not getting very far there either.

For as wonderful as they stay ways I'm DEEPLY ANNOYED at how ineffectual they seem to be in properly administering their end of the loyalty program. The property owes me approximately 175,000 points based on our "on property" spend, not to mention the 12 stay credits.

The FT Lurker crew is usually good at sorting this kind of thing out. [email protected]

Just call the Platinum/Titanium line. I'm not sure what the rules are when they are combined, how exactly they are supposed to be credited or to which account. It probably didn't post because the 12 nights moved onto the folio did not match the account holder's info that they were moved onto.

But, if you have a copy of the folio, they give you an email address to email it to for them to instantly access it, they view it, and then credit it right then on the phone. That's twice how its worked for me when it hasn't posted and I had an email or paper copy of the folio.

If necessary they can open a ticket for the property to split up the folios again and submit/email them separately to you, for you to submit for credit to each account.

Yeah, if it's any earlier than 3 p.m., I'll be a little sad but will probably just move up the QR flight to spend more time at Al-Safwa instead of in MLE. Already done a day in Male, and MLE airport isn't great for >3 hours.

As for the W, so far we are impressed! It is strikingly similar to the PH in terms of feel, size (PH is fewer units but honestly it feels similar), layout, graciousness of all the staff, etc. Occupancy is high but it doesn't feel that way. Of course, the PH literally felt unoccupied when it was at 50%, so this isn't quite the same.

Breakfast quality is good but selection is more limited... definitely caters heavily to the (many) Chinese tourists. I was shocked that there was no tuna mashuni, roshi bread, etc., on offer, but the staff were more than willing to get me what I wanted from the back, including the delightful habanero-like Maldivian hot chilis (you must try them!).

Sushi at SIP was decent and reasonably priced ($44 pre-discount/fees for a 17-piece sampler). Buffets do seem way overpriced relative to PH, not sure we'll do one because we're not trying to eat much later in the day.

Trying parasailing today, spa later today, and hoping to do the whale shark snorkeling excursion if they can find another couple to go along (if you're here and reading, please sign up, we'll buy a bottle of champagne!)

Corporate addressed the missing nights & points shortly after I posted my rant. I'm actually impressed how promptly they addressed the issue.

The property never did respond back to me directly but I guess corporate got a hold of the folios from the property and fixed it all on the back end vs. the having the property try and address it themselves.

Thumbs up for bonvoy customer service!?! (I thought I'd never say it as a SPG loyalist) I'll post a review/write up this weekend.

The team handling missing stays is great. I've had to submit something like 4 of my last 6 stays because I only got part of the points I should have in each case and I have received an email apologising and saying it had been corrected within a couple of hours of submitting the online form every time. Pretty impressive. Now, if only the BRG team and Marriott's IT team could learn from that!

Further to my post, I have been quoted this by W Maldives if anyone is planning anything similar for me and the wife and Baby -


Arrival by Private Speed Boat from Conrad Maldives = USD 1232 inclusive of taxes per way

Departure by Shared Seaplane transfer = USD 252.50 per person ( USD 505.00 per couple )



Total = USD 1737.00 ( USD 1232.00 + 505.00


I have been quoted the following by the Conrad - One arrival transfer by seaplane cost is USD 295 per adult and USD 147.50 per child (295 + 295 + 147.50 = USD 737.50)

Departure transfer by speed boat to W Maldives cost is USD 985.60 for 2 adults and 1 child

737.50 + 985.60 = 1723.10

Total for the transfer USD 1723.10

I was initially meant to visit the W Maldives in 2 weeks but I postponed the booking to a later date (on the Marriott website) about 2 weeks ago because our plans changed. However, I just received an email from the W welcoming me on my stay and asking for our info. It's a bit weird that I'd still be in their system and is probably another flaw with the Marriott system.