Does anyone know if drones are allowed at the W?

They aren't allowed on the main island. I guess you are allowed to use them on the nearby private island.

Headed there now. Anyone going to be around 2nd through 5th?

I'll be there 3 - 8 and definitely interested on any of 4-7. Plan to dive every day.

Be aware, Dec isn't whale shark season and while South Ari is one of the few places in the world where they are fully endemic, chances go down significantly. Check out https://maldiveswhalesharkresearch.org/our-app/ for live reports; the MWSRP is a very cool organization and Dhigurah is a great day trip as well (no idea if the W offers it, but other resorts in Ari do).

does anyone know if they’re still using the “makeshift” airport lounge in the maldivian terminal or if they’ve switched back to their older, nicer one?

ive seen pics and lately it seems like the seaplane flights r being operated by trans maldivan rather than maldivian which indicates that they might have switched back to the old lounge?

At the W now. Lounge is in the seaplane terminal. Clean and on-brand. Nothing fancy. Would not want to spend more time than necessary there, though.

thanks - do you know if they’re back to using trans maldivian (red seaplanes) or if they’re still using the maldivian ones (blue)?

Red/Trans.

Does anyone know the email address of W maldives??
all the other email adreess posted here doesnt work.

I still cant decide between W and St. Regis..
STR does look nicer/ more luxurious, but is definitely more expensive.

Hello. I posted something similar in the StR forum. I’m about to make my first trip to the Maldives this July for 3 nights. I am Bonvoy Platinum and will use points. I’m torn between the W Maldives and the StR. They are both 80K points per night, and I will use cash to upgrade to an overwater room. Interestingly, the W wants more to upgrade. The W wants $500 (including taxes/fees) for a Specular Lagoon Oasis. However, the StR wants $250 (including taxes) for OWV and $370 for an OWV Sunset.



I was initially concerned about the W owing to my experience with its spotty service in the US. But, after reading reviews of the W, I was convinced otherwise. Plus, supposedly, it has a more Maldivian feel (thatcher roofs, etc), a better Reef and more reasonable F&B. But, with the upgrade, the F&B difference is more than accounted for.

That is a higher upgrade price than has often been quoted for the W in the past, but it's possible they're busy the days you're planning to visit. At those rates personally I'd probably go for the St. Regis, but up to you. Keep in mind the St. Regis seaplane transfer is also a good deal more expensive.

I wonder if it is so far out that they just ask for as much as they can get and then lower the price once they know what demand looks like. Agreed the plane is more, but I’d have $750 of savings to play with.

Just returned from W Maldives and wanted to share few things.

Titanium provided for 20% F&B discount. I was told at check-in that Platinum & Titanium also received a 15% discount for spa services. Fast forward to check out and that was not the case. Apparently the discount ended with the launch of Bonvoy and some staff members were confused 8 months later. It got resolved but just something to be mindful of.

Booked this 5 night award (at the 60k/night rate) into a wonderful beach oasis and was upgraded to overwater lagoon view. Room was ready when we arrived at the island around 10am.

The resort's doctors were very helpful and kind. The clinic stocks antibiotics and many common medicines all of which were provided free of charge.

Our flight into MLE was about 30 minutes earlier than expected and my partner and I were the only arrivals at that time headed to the W. The W employee who greeted us was amazing! Rather than have to wait in the lounge for another 1.5 hours she got us set up on the next Seaplane departure 10 minutes later. It never felt rushed and somehow we still had time for a drink in the lounge. She stressed that it was not going to be a direct flight, that it involved a boat ride, and it would be a longer travel time, and that the decision was ours. We went with it and we're glad we did. After a short flight the plane landed at a remote floating dock in the middle of the ocean just as a speedboat from the W pulled up. It was just us, the captain and skipper and they appeared equally as excited about the adventure. Fuel efficient the journey was not, but no complaints here. We changed course and even stopped a few times to interact with dolphins along the way.

Sounds wonderful. I leave a week from Tuesday, get there a week from Friday, and am quite looking forward to it. I’m actually hoping I do NOT get upgraded to an OWV, I think I would prefer sand and beach access.