Everything you can imagine about the Maldives is true. Endless sun, islands of crystal clear water, and expensive hotels. A live 5* picturesque paradise postcard. In this post, I’ll review my stay at The St. Regis Maldives.
Cost
Mr. O and I had the pleasure of this luxurious stay on our honeymoon August 2018. We took advantage of a great out of pocket offer while it was still under the Starwood Hotel. We booked a ridiculous, normally unattainable luxury vacation valued at almost $46,000 for a grand total of $2,138. This price included 3 nights in a over-water bungalow and round-trip seaplane transportation for (2).
It’s difficult to get upgraded to their over-water bungalow for free. You can pay an upgrade fee in advance or use more award points.
Saving Tips:
If you pay for your stay in points, you'll avoid the massive service fees and taxes. ~$900 savings
Also if you use award nights for 4 nights, the 5th night is free.
Arrival
Once you arrive at Male airport, you’ll be greeted by a St. Regis attendant. They collected our luggage and asked for our passports to complete the hotel check-in. A few minutes later, the attendant informed us that our Bentley was waiting to drive us to the St. Regis Lounge. At this moment I realized I made the right decision in picking this hotel. Not to mention, the driver dropped that this was the only Bentley on the island.
The St. Regis lounge was a short drive away and offered light refreshments and drinks. We waited in the lounge for about 30 minutes for our seaplane departure.
Seaplane
The seaplane was a cool experience. I was extremely nervous because I didn't know what to expect. It also wasn't comforting when I saw the pilot flying barefoot. Just a little too relaxed for my comfort. Once you take off from water, you’ll fly just below the clouds to have a great view of the other hotels on their respective atolls. Whoever was the mastermind of this was a true visionary.
Hotel
Once the seaplane landed in front of the St. Regis, we were greeted by our personal butler. I honestly can’t remember our butler’s name. He was just okay and didn’t offer any personalized services that I heard offered from other hotel guests.
We’ll call the butler Mr. B in this article. Mr. B drove us around the property to explain and show us the hotel facilities on the way to our villa.
Beach Villa
We were upgraded to the Beach Villa with Mr. O’s Titanium status. We decided to stay a few nights in this room and then change to the overwater bungalow later in the stay. What I loved most about the Beach Villa was the privacy and the lush gardens walking to the beach. I really felt like I was surrounded by a sexy jungle. I never saw anyone on the beach. It was great to just fall asleep after reading a book with just the sound of the waves and breeze. If you decide to stay in the beach or garden villa, they are slightly bigger and have an outdoor shower double shower. You don't have this in the overwater bungalow.
The one great perk of the butler that I used and not Mr. O, was packing and unpacking of my items. Once it was time to move to our overwater bungalow, I took full advantage.
Overwater Villa
As you enter this villa, you instantly notice the plunge pool overlooking the crystal clear ocean. It is so inviting and won't take you long to jump in. The villa has a separate living room, the bedroom host a king-size bed with a pillow bar of your choosing, and a to die for walk-in wardrobe and an over-sized bathroom. There was even a view of the crystal clear water from the bathtub.
Dining
The St. Regis has multiple restaurants and bars. With status, you can chose complimentary breakfast as a welcome amenity to save you $55 per person. Our savings technique is to eat a hearty breakfast as late as possible. We would share a delicious pepperoni pizza for lunch, and have a nice fancy dinner later in the evening. After dinner one night, our butler had candles, rose petals, and a bubble bath waiting for us. It was super romantic and unexpected. There was even a channel on the TV with a fireplace app and jazz music playing. It was our honeymoon after-all.
Activities
Each villa comes with (2) bikes to explore the property at your leisure. Thankfully there were sand tires on the bikes to make pedaling easier. All non motorized sports are free. This includes snorkeling, paddle boarding, yoga and kayaks. There are other motorized sports to choose from at a charge. We decided not to splurge on the spa services. We received massages in the Emirates first class lounge for free. We did take advantage of the activities room. This included many different games.
Promotional Offer
The St. Regis Maldives is offering both complimentary breakfast and dinner on award stays in May 2020. May is the rainy season, so you’ll definitely experience some rain. On the other hand, if you’re willing to roll the dice, it’s certainly possible that you’ll see some sunshine during your stay and you would stand to potentially save a good chunk of change.
Overall
Our stay was the most memorable of all the hotels. It’s similar to our stay at The Conrad Koh Samui except you have a butler at your disposal. If you can swing the points and the sea plane fee, it’s a great value for what you get. From your arrival to airport drop off, you’ll feel like a celebrity.
Are you thinking of visiting The St. Regis Maldives? What excites you the most about this hotel? I’d love to hear in the comments section.
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