Maldives Master Thread

[AJK]

(P.S. Anyone who pulls this "FTFY" condescending cr@p should at least have the decency to highlight the change.)

[AJK]

Am I crazy to not go because I'm worried about seeing other DD/DDF people there or on a scuba/snorkel tour with me? Am I the only one that doesn't want to see anyone frum when I go to the Maldives?

This among other reasons stated like sun and privacy issues.

None of those reasons will keep me from going.

[BarryLincoln]

None of those reasons will keep me from going.

Agree with Mr. AJK on this one.  While the resorts aren't huge, you're generally not living on-top of your neighbor and you could go days without seeing people if that's your thing...

[CZ60]

Am I crazy to not go because I'm worried about seeing other DD/DDF people there or on a scuba/snorkel tour with me? Am I the only one that doesn't want to see anyone frum when I go to the Maldives?

This among other reasons stated like sun and privacy issues.

Shouldn't stop you. You could go without seeing anyone if you wanted to. We barely saw a soul the whole day, forget about other Jews

[benjie1305]

 

[ual902]

Am I crazy to not go because I'm worried about seeing other DD/DDF people there or on a scuba/snorkel tour with me? Am I the only one that doesn't want to see anyone frum when I go to the Maldives?

This among other reasons stated like sun and privacy issues.

I was never in the Maldives but based on the trip reports you don't have to meet a soul if you choose. Just go and  if your booked the SR chances are you will never have a second chance.

[CZ60]

if your booked the SR chances are you will never have a second chance.

+10000

[chuchem]

We were there 2 days with the CZ60 and didnt see him the whole day until evening at the whale bar
Even if you have another 2-3 jews there, like we did, it will not disturb at all...

[ual902]

Anyone will be at the SR feb 16th till the 23rd?.

Please inbox me.

[Yuey]

My wife and I just had the most spectacular time at the St. Regis. We are currently sitting in the St. Regis Great Room, which is their lounge by the Seaplane take off area at MLE. I hope to write a full TR shortly, but in meantime just wanted to give a recap and answer some questions some people had on the forum.

[Yuey]

Arrival

The arrival process was amazing. The resort is as remote as you can get. A stunning paradise island. There were at least a dozen people from the hotel waiting to greet us as our sea plane landed and waiving as we landed. We sat in a beautiful outdoor sitting area with cocktails waiting for us. Our private butler then took us around in golf cart giving us a private tour of the island. We were treated like royalty as the butlers wouldn't let us lift a finger. The butler will even unpack our suitcases.

[Yuey]

The OWV and Privacy

The room is much much more than we could have ever imagined. The pictures online don't give it justice. The view from every where is fantastic. The deck is huge, there are 2 lounge chairs, a couch, 4 big over water hammocks that cover the length of the deck and has its own pool.

We were totally secluded and 100% private. Other than our butler bringing us our food we didn't see a soul the entire first day of our stay. We stayed in room 538 on the sunset side. You can't see anyone from any part of the room. However, if one of the few hotel guests happen to be snorkeling or paddle boarding they can technically see into you deck from a distance. My wife and I personally didn't mind, however, as Denverite noted it's all about your personally preference. If you do mind I would recommend staying in north side as you have total privacy since AFAIK there is no snorkeling or water sports at all in that area. The decks are also designed to have sunlight through the day. We stayed on the sunset side, yet had complete sunlight after 10:30 AM.

[Yuey]

Activities

Dan asked earlier about the activities and pricing. On of the amazing things about the resort is that there are so many complimentary things they offer. Here some of the things that we did that were completely free:

Paddle Boarding  - simply tell your butler when you want to paddle board and he'll make it happen. Keep in mind it's a relatively small resort with a lot of things to do so you're pretty much guaranteed to get a time you'd like.

Snorkeling - when you land they take your shoe size and size you for gear. They deliver the gear to room and it's yours for the duration of your stay. I say octopus, stunning tropical fish, reef and  even glow in the dark fish (google it) literally right off of my OWV.

Kayaking - same as paddle boarding just ask your butler.

Yoga class - every morning they have complementary sunrise yoga by the spa. It's amazing to be on a deck and actually hear the ocean.

Meditation class - they have sunset meditation on the beach. Since it's a small resort it was a private class just my wife and I.

Workout classes - they offer complementary workout classes everyday. We went to a really cool TRX class.

Tennis - this was really over the top for me in terms of service. There is one court on the island which is really secluded. We made a 7:00 PM reservation after in cooled off. When we got to the court prepared for us was an entire ice chest of water, ice towels regular towels, 4 rackets and 2 cages of balls. Mind you this is a private court just for the 2 of us.

There is also a library and the Socialite which is a super chilled place with pool tables, board games and any Video games intended for teenagers.

[Yuey]

Meals and Butler Service

The butler service takes things to a new level.  The butler is on call 24/7. He unpacked our suitcases. Drove us around on a golf cart and prepared our daily schedules. Just to make sure that we were comfortable with our meal schedule he set up a meeting with the head chef and went through each meal with us.

We brought Chop a Nosh meals from Gourmet Glatt. We also brought two 12 packs of soda to avoid paying the $8/can resort fee. We emailed them ahead of time and they cleared the room's mini bar. They were also willing to provide a microwave, but we realized that it would be completely unnecessary with the butler being so responsive. The head chef was so accommodating as well. He offered to set aside new cutlery and plates during our stay and arraign to bring them to any restaurant we would like for our meals. We chose instead to have the kosher meals delivered to our rooms as our deck has  spectacular views. One night we at our meals at the whale bar, again the chef offered us brand new cutlery, but we didn't think it was necessary. The most amazing part is that they didn't charge us anything for the meal service.

[CZ60]

Make a TR with pics?

[Yaalili]

Air France starting 2x weekly MLE flights.

[CZ60]

Air France starting 2x weekly MLE flights.

How many points for OW in all classes? Only from CDG I'm assuming? What days each way?

[BarryLincoln]

Great report so far, look forward to seeing some pictures. 

Tennis - this was really over the top for me in terms of service. There is one court on the island which is really secluded. We made a 7:00 PM reservation after in cooled off. When we got to the court prepared for us was an entire ice chest of water, ice towels regular towels, 4 rackets and 2 cages of balls. Mind you this is a private court just for the 2 of us.

Did your butler chase after the tennis balls for you?

[KidOOO]

What hotel?

It's called Sun Aqua Vilu Reef it's actually not far from the St Regis but obviously a lot cheaper.

This was their best room (aside from one huge grand suite room) and booking 2 months out on Orbitz combined with a 15% coupon brought the price down too $600/night with all taxes and fees (excluding the transfers) which I was glad to pay for such a room. It's an OWB suite with a living room, bedroom, huge bathroom, deck, and a relatively large pool

[mmgfarb]

It's called Sun Aqua Vilu Reef it's actually not far from the St Regis but obviously a lot cheaper.

This was their best room (aside from one huge grand suite room) and booking 2 months out on Orbitz combined with a 15% coupon brought the price down too $600/night with all taxes and fees (excluding the transfers) which I was glad to pay for such a room. It's an OWB suite with a living room, bedroom, huge bathroom, deck, and a relatively large pool

I'd be interested in reading a full TR if you can manage it. I think it would be nice to read about something that is not the St. Regis or the PH.