I requested a price list of water activities when planning my stay in March 2009. I did some snorkelling only and the water was really clear on all days, except for one location where it was quite cloudy, possibly due to plankton? Snorkelling was amazing. I can just imagine how much better diving would be! Please update this thread with recent prices and your diving experiences after your stay. :)


Single Dive 65
5 - 9 Dives per dive 60
10 or more Dives per dive 55

"(W)UNDER” DIVE BOAT FEE:
Per dive 20

EQUIPMENT RENTAL – per dive
ALL (BCD, Reg.set, Computer & Wetsuit) 20
One item (BCD/Reg.set/Computer/Wetsuit) 8
Night Dive supplement 10
Torch (including back-up) 10
Nitrox fill (12 liter cylinder) 6
Digital Camera with CD burn 65
SeadooRental 80
Rebreather 60


BEGINNER COURSES (Including all equipment and certification*)
Discover Scuba Diving (or Scuba Review) 170
Open Water Diver (PADI)* 750
Scuba Diver (PADI)* 500
Referral/Upgrade (PADI)* 480

ADVANCED COURSES: (Including tanks & weights and certification)
Adventure Diver 350
Advanced Open Water 500
Rescue Diver 660
Emergency First Response 230
Divemaster 1100
NITROX COURSE 360

Rebreather Course 850
DPV Specialty course (with Seadoo 2 dives) 350
Digital Underwater Photography Specialty 420
Shark Specialty 300
Manta Ray Awareness Specialty 300

Private guide (per dive) 200

All course rates above are for min. 2 participants.
All prices are in US$ and subject to 10% service charge. Please note boat fees are not included in dives, packages or course prices. Dive prices include only10L tank and weights.Private courses and private boat rental are available upon request. Please ask for details.

This price list is valid from December 1st, 2007. All prices are in US$ and are subject to change without prior notice by DOWN UNDER.

Thanks phaleesy I emailed the hotel and got latest price list which seems in line, cant see any changes. For fully equipped boat dive looking at around $110-115 with service.

I will post back we are booked 12-17th June. Looking forward to it!!!

I've posted details of what they sent me below, this would be useful for anyone else looking at the diving facilities. Note at the bottom link to a dedicated web site for the DownUnder center

You don't have to book any dives before you arrive at the island. Just visit
us and we'll arrange the diving.

We normally do three boat dives a day, in the morning at 8:30 and in the
afternoon at 2:30. All our dives are guided by one of our dive instructors.
The boat ride to most dive sites varies from 5 to 30 minutes and some of the
top spots are:

- Maalhos Thila -- excellent soft (among the best in the Maldives) and hard
corals, abundant fish life
- Donkalo Thila -- excellent soft and hard corals, abundant fish life, many
manta rays in the manta ray season*
- Himendhoo Thila -- good soft and hard corals, abundant fish life, many
manta rays in the manta ray season*
- Manta point -- sightings of up to - I kid you not - 50 manta rays in the
manta ray season*
- Maaya Thila -- abundant fish life, sharks (white tip and grey reef),
schooling barracuda
- Fish Head -- abundant fish life, eagle rays, white tip and grey reef
sharks and a very large and friendly napoleon wrasse
- Bathalaa Thila -- healthy reef, resident school of batfish and bannerfish,
sharks as well.
- Ship wrecks (fesdu wreck, halaveli wreck)

*: the manta ray season runs from December to March

Our house reef is a very interesting one and offers good coral life and rare
fish species like frogfish, ribbon eel, ghost pipe fish, rare gobies,
nudibranches as well as bigger stuff like turtles, stingrays and sharks.

Other options are:

- A 2 tank boat dive in the morning -- you'll be leaving at 08.30, make a
dive, have a minimum of 1 hour surface interval followed by a second dive.
You'll be back at around 12.30 and still have the afternoon to do something
else.
- our regular dive boat has a toilet, shower, refrigerators, espresso
machine, tea, fruit plates, living area etc. and any food or beverages from
the resort can be requested.
- Night dives, any night, just let us know
- Private charter Escape -- dive world-famous hammerhead shark point or any
other top spot in our atoll aboard our stunning luxury two cabin sailing
yacht Escape.
- House reef dives (also independent house reef dives for experienced
divers)
- Diving courses -- for both beginner and advanced divers
- Camera rental -- we'll burn your memories on a CD
- Underwater photography and
- Rebreather diving and rebreather courses
- Nitrox diving and nitrox courses
- Marine biologist -- we have a resident marine biologist who will be happy
to accompany you on any of your dives or snorkeling tours.

I have attached our DOWN UNDER price list.
One dives is US$ 65 if you have all your own equipment. If you make 5 dives
or more during your stay then one dive would only be US$ 60.
You can rent the full dive gear set for US$ 20 extra per dive. Most of our
dives are per boat which is an extra US$ 20 per dive.
Please let me know if you would have any other enquiries.

If you have not already done so please visit our website at
www.downunderandwave.com

Can anyone comment on cost of breakfast at this resort?

I am looking at rates of $760 with breakfast and $684 without. So is $76 enough of a difference for two? (I am thinking probably better to go with breakfast but would be good if someone who's been could comment)

The breakfast is worth the amount, but it really depends if you want to take advantage of it.. A lot of times, you may just want to stay in your villa and not go to breakfast.. If you religiously have breakfast every morning and don't mind leaving the comforts of the villa, then definitely worthwhile to get breakfast...

Having said that, I noticed a lot of packages and promotions running at the moment with breakfast included, that is cheaper than just the regular BAR rate. perhaps you should take a look at that...

I had a similar question regarding a difference of $100 for breakfast on a corporate rate versus the bed and breakfast rate (but $1000 vs. 900 for my dates).

I assume no free breakfast for platinum is offered?

Also, I am planning on staying somewhere else for the first few days. Is there any benefit to staying at the Sheraton before regarding the transfer - i.e., does the sheraton/W relationship allow for a more coordinated transfer (even if I assume that you still have to go back to the airport to pick up the seaplane).

Thanks!

Thanks for the advice... unfortunately am only gold so even if there were free bfast for plat I wouldn't be able to take care of it.

We tend to be religious bfast eaters at home but given we plan to dive a lot maybe we will go without bfast package. The dives start at 8:30am and they have food on board the boats so maybe will go with coffee to wake up and then eat after 1st dive!

its worth every penny and then some
 

we ate a full brunch every day allowing us to eat a light lunch in the afternoon by the pool...saving significantly on lunch expenses. Staying at a number of these all you can dream of breakfasts at some of the starwood upper end properties, this one is the hands down best. we had a dedicated table every morning that we were sat at (they asked our preference on morning 1) and we were then asked to select unique mugs that were used each morning when they brought us our coffee. the service at breakfast like everything else about the property is absolute top notch.

How would people rate the W against the other top hotels in the Maldives? I've never been, but heard the One and Only, Shangri La and 1 of the Four Seasons are all nice. Does the W compare to them?

Stayed at the W for a week and it is just absolutely amazing. The treatment we received for our honeymoon was just a blast!!! I would stay there again, if I could afford it!

From reviews and discussions on Tripadvisor it appears W compares very favourably with other top end resorts but the whole W philosophy is somewhat polarizing. For the Madlives largely European clientele I think the whole "Well, Hello" bs is somewhat gauling. So the resort itself is very good from what I understand but then you see a lot of love it/hate it feedback

We stayed recently at Alila Villas which was out of this world and one of the top rated on Tripadvisor... one of the dive-masters said his brother worked at W and they though both places were pretty equally in terms of facilities, staff-ratios, expectations from staff etc

Even though I'm a Starwood fanboy, I've now booked the FS Landaa in 2 back to back years. From all of the review, it seems the W rooms are too close together and you dont get that sense of island privacy. The Landaa (which has unbelievable service IMHO) has a sense of seclusion and privacy that cant be matched.

I went last year and there were days that we didnt see another person on the beach. This year, we're going back with our 6 month old son, so I'm sure the honeymooners would be well advised to steer clear :p

I talked to another American at MLE about his stay at the W after we were returning to SIN from the FS LG. He was pleased but not blown away. I was talking about the FS like it was the greatest place I've ever stayed at. Made the SR in Singapore seem like the 4 Points EWR.

Wash your mouth!
Please dont deprecate the 4 Points EWR by comparing it to the SR Singapore!:p:p

We stayed at the W for 9 nights this Feb and had a great time. However the food was definitely the weakest point for me, not awful but just not that great, for example the smoked salmon served at breakfast had no flavour, worst I have ever tasded. Loved the service, beach, facilities, we were lucky with our Beach villa and had an excellent beach in front of us but if I had been in some of the other villas I would not have been happy. We have stayed at Mirihi which is 4* and while the rooms were not as flashy they were every bit as luxurious and better maintained, plus the food was better by a large margin, it also has an excellent reef, gym etc., take a look at the reviews on TA. To be honest would go back to either in a heartbeat.

Points for Cash at the W
 

Does anybody know whether you can use starpoints against the bill at the W Maldives and if so, what the conversion rate is?
Thanks

Starpoints for cash? Is there such a thing? :confused: There are instant rewards for specific items for some properties, but starpoints for cash?:confused: