Hi FTers,

Planning a honeymoon trip (!), 5 nights of which will be spent in the Maldives.

Trying to decide between Velaa and Cheval Blanche - both look great... To those who have been both/either how were your experiences?

From general reading it seems that Velaa has the better house reef which sways the decision process somewhat.

Cheers!

My an industry friend in LA who to goes to MLE 4 or 5 times a year as a wholesaler for the resorts is very big on Velaa island. Good value and amazing F&B are his thoughts. He went on and on about the smoked salmon on the breakfast buffet!

I went to Cheval Blanc in February couple of observations - the villas are outstanding both in terms of space and quality of design / furnishings. Butler service is ok and I suspect will improve over time. Food is the best I have eaten on a tropical island but it all comes at a cost. You really have to be prepared (you might not need to but you need to be prepared to) budget for �1,000 per day on food and beverage with the odd spa treatment. To give you some examples - dinner in the Japanese Restaurant was $810 for 2 with drinks , bottle of water $14, large gin and tonic $45 and my personal favourite - a half bottle of gin in the mini-bar $235.

But taking everything into account would I go back - absolutely!

Let me know if you need any more information

Thanks for the response so far. Making a decision is not particularly easy.

Hi !
Seasoned Maldives vacationer : 11th trip there this year ; spent 10 nights at Cheval Blanc. Totally stunning, on all regards. Refer to Trip Advisor reviews, I dropped o long one there.
Steep prices, genuinely, although they may be taking them down, but still a long way to go. Totally fantastic food and service. The GM told ma theyt were about tto change their seaplane policy, and wave the compulsory Cheval Blanc seaplane transfer, welcoming ordinary seaplanes. Good saving. A typical finner at the Japanse/Spanish outlet was a $250 set menu, 1947 around $300. Other outlets set us back $120-160. All outwisde of drinks, which admittedly can take sky high. It should be noted however, that unlike any othe places in Maldives, price tags always include service charge.
Cheval Blanc was for us the most costly vacation we ever took, and we are not shy on this, never have been. Would we go back ? Could not wait to return, and we felt that it was worth any single of the many $$$ we spent.

Well I'm certainly jealous! Wish I could stay a few nights....

Interesting about the seaplane change to make it non-compulsory for an exclusive Cheval Blanc plane, as I understand it?