Author Topic: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start  (Read 38426 times)

Offline CZ60

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 428
  • Total likes: 38
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #100 on: February 10, 2017, 12:08:29 PM »
incredible! two questions, how was the Sabbath lunch brought to you regarding carrying on shabbos? what are the nets at the end of the deck?

.

Q1: Depending on who you follow and whatnot.... Probably belongs in the "shailos" thread. We had enough of a hechsher discussion in the Maldives MT  ::)

Q2: 4 pretty comfortable Hammocks

Offline davidmal

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Dec 2013
  • Posts: 7874
  • Total likes: 604
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 239
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #101 on: February 10, 2017, 12:55:33 PM »
So go ahead and add more things to your statement. Totally fine, but don't act like that was there before.

Also based on his videos did the snorkeling outside your OWB have much better snorkeling in regards to the fish specifically?
No need for that.... as a Mod you can just go back and change it....
-DMC
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it ~Ferris Bueller"

Offline davidmal

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Dec 2013
  • Posts: 7874
  • Total likes: 604
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 239
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #102 on: February 10, 2017, 12:56:29 PM »
Nice Job on the wiki!
-DMC
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it ~Ferris Bueller"

Offline CZ60

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 428
  • Total likes: 38
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #103 on: February 10, 2017, 01:14:41 PM »
Nice Job on the wiki!
Thanks!! I got the idea all by myself...::)

Online mochjas

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Oct 2015
  • Posts: 9699
  • Total likes: 1069
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 123
    • View Profile
  • Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium Elite, AA EX PLAT, Jetblue Mosaic, Qatar Gold, United Silver
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #104 on: February 10, 2017, 01:15:23 PM »
Thanks!! I got the idea all by myself...::)
you need to add a part for the JJ AJK argument

Offline davidmal

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Dec 2013
  • Posts: 7874
  • Total likes: 604
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 239
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #105 on: February 10, 2017, 01:56:39 PM »
you need to add a part for the JJ AJK argument
Hahaha
-DMC
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it ~Ferris Bueller"

Offline CZ60

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 428
  • Total likes: 38
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #106 on: February 19, 2017, 07:17:41 PM »
Maldives Day 5:
On our last full day we decided to wake up early and go sunrise snorkeling. Naseeb woke us up right before sunrise and brought us our tea and coffee. After getting ready we went in the water and I immediately got stung by something. I called Naseeb and he took me to the doctor to get my hand checked out. The doctor wasn’t sure what stung me (we weren’t near the reef and we didn’t see anything in the water near us when I got stung so I couldn’t figure it out either) but the doctor gave me a lotion to put on it and the burning/ itching was gone within a few minutes. We spend the rest of the morning relaxing in our pool then went to the beach later on. After lunch, Naseeb gave us a tour of the Decanter wine cellar, which is amazing (and even more amazing that they don’t have even one kosher wine!!) and the Caroline Astor Estate, Beach villas, and Family villas. Getting to see all the different villas was such a treat, it really helped us appreciate the architecture and planning of the resort.

Sunrise







Caroline Astor Estate bedroom




Caroline Astor View




Beach Villa




Family Villa




Family Villa View




Family Villa 2nd Floor Bathroom


 


We had booked massages for our last day before the 23 hour journey back to NY so we headed to the Iridium spa after our tours. The spa is even more incredible than the pictures. The views are spectacular and everything is immaculate. At the spa, we were also given our choice of cold or hot tea when we got there and also after our treatments. We chose iced ginger tea when we arrived and liked it so much that we had it again after. We had a bamboo rhythm massage, which uses smooth hot bamboo. The massage was very relaxing and professional. They tried to convince us to use the Blue Hole but it wasn’t included and we would have had to pay $60 pp + tax + service charge and while it does look relaxing we couldn’t justify paying for the experience.

(I apologize, we don’t have any pics from the spa. The hotels instagram has plenty if you want to see it.)

After the massages Naseeb picked us up and dropped us off at our villa so we can get changed for dinner. He waited a few minutes for us then took us back to the Whale Bar for our last sunset there. We spent about an hour there then went to Orientale (the Asian restaurant) for dinner just to check out the scene. There were more people at this restaurant than we’ve seen during our whole stay. It seemed like most of the guests were Asian and stayed in their rooms except to go to Orientale because we only ever saw an average of 5-10 people anywhere else in the resort.

Orientale’s location is right off the beach on the spa side of the island and while it was windier, we enjoyed sitting outside facing the water. The Pom meals took a bit longer to come this time since they were heating them up in Alba and bringing them over but they arrived hot and perfect as usual.

We then went to our room, relaxed outside a bit before calling it a night.

Maldives Departure:
Our flight the next morning was scheduled for 9:15AM which meant that we had to leave the resort on the first seaplane out at 6:30. We got our wake-up call with coffee and tea delivered at 6 and were ready to go 30 min later. We got to the main island at around 7:30AM after taking off a few minutes later than scheduled. No worries as they had already received word that our flight was delayed until 10. Turns out it was delayed until 11 (google now knew when our flight schedule and sent me flight alerts. Creepy, yet cool). Dw and I were secretly hoping that it would get delayed again so that when we landed in DXB, we would stay another night there and come back the next day. We weren’t so fortunate as we landed at around 2:15 with our connecting flight leaving at 3. We did have to go through security again but not passport control. We just made it (we weren’t running through the airport - on purpose), though it seemed like they were waiting for all the NY bound people on our MLE-DXB flight. The 14+hr journey home was … long. Other people on my flight were given the option a few days prior to upgrade to J for $1,000, which I would have done in a heartbeat, but since I booked through the UR Portal, I had a “special fare” ticket and that option wasn’t available for me. The only option I had was to pay $3,200 to upgrade. No thanks.

Our luggage didn’t make it through to NY because of the short stopover but they delivered it the next night (very late- 10:30PM). We could have got Chase (Reserve) to cover us for delayed baggage but we were so hungry (EK Kosher food was terrible way back) and exhausted that we didn’t even think to go out and buy $100pp worth of “essentials” to get reimbursed. We went straight to subs, ate a cow’s worth of meat and tried to adjust back to reality.

We still smile ear to ear when we think about this trip. It truly was an unbelievable trip, only made possible by everyone here on DDF (NOT FT!! :P) and my boss. I’m already looking forward to my next trip - Bora Bora - in June!

Thank you to DW for writing most of this and choosing what pictures/videos should go in the TR.

And thanks everyone for reading!

Offline shulem92

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Feb 2015
  • Posts: 2955
  • Total likes: 122
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: Lakewood
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #107 on: February 19, 2017, 07:23:21 PM »
Great TR! Thanx for finishing it! ;)

Offline tageed-lee

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 1578
  • Total likes: 129
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 73
    • View Profile
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #108 on: February 19, 2017, 07:48:25 PM »
Thanks for finishing the TR! Amazing!!

This picture is absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!



Offline Luvtotravel

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Dec 2012
  • Posts: 3014
  • Total likes: 131
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
    • View Profile
  • Location: Ny
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #109 on: February 19, 2017, 11:33:39 PM »
beautiful wrapup!! and youll be part of the super exclusive club to be qualified to compare MLE to BOB
Don't wait for the perfect moment; take the moment and make it perfect.

Offline CZ60

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 428
  • Total likes: 38
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #110 on: February 20, 2017, 09:07:56 AM »
Great TR! Thanx for finishing it! ;)

Thanks for finishing the TR! Amazing!!


Thanks! I know it was an underwhelming finish but we literally sat on our behinds the entire last day save for the spa so there really wasn't much to report  ::)

This picture is absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!

Even better in person. No camera can capture the scene perfectly.


Offline CZ60

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 428
  • Total likes: 38
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #111 on: February 20, 2017, 09:08:59 AM »
beautiful wrapup!! and youll be part of the super exclusive club to be qualified to compare MLE to BOB

Hehe sooper exclusive

Offline Denverite

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: May 2015
  • Posts: 2006
  • Total likes: 181
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: Denver
Just saw this and great TR!

Offline CZ60

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 428
  • Total likes: 38
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Just saw this and great TR!
Thanks!!

Offline CZ60

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 428
  • Total likes: 38
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Just got back from my Bora trip this morning and the verdict is in. Even though we stayed in the St Regis in Maldives and Le Moana in Bora (I'd go back if someone can show me how to get Thalasso on points!) , dw and I both think Bora > Maldives. Full TR and explanation for why to come in a separate thread.

For those too addicted to shower class suites, you're missing out bigtime. :)

Offline johnshek

  • Dansdeals Gold Elite
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jan 2017
  • Posts: 129
  • Total likes: 9
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Just got back from my Bora trip this morning and the verdict is in. Even though we stayed in the St Regis in Maldives and Le Moana in Bora (I'd go back if someone can show me how to get Thalasso on points!) , dw and I both think Bora > Maldives. Full TR and explanation for why to come in a separate thread.

For those too addicted to shower class suites, you're missing out bigtime. :)
What way to tease it

Offline damaxer91

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jul 2008
  • Posts: 3182
  • Total likes: 64
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
, dw and I both think Bora > Maldives. Full TR and explanation for why to come in a separate thread.

For those too addicted to shower class suites, you're missing out bigtime. :)

Pretty sure everyone here who has been to both concurs

Verdict is in...

Offline ar

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: May 2014
  • Posts: 518
  • Total likes: 20
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
    • View Profile
Just got back from my Bora trip this morning and the verdict is in. Even though we stayed in the St Regis in Maldives and Le Moana in Bora (I'd go back if someone can show me how to get Thalasso on points!) , dw and I both think Bora > Maldives. Full TR and explanation for why to come in a separate thread.

For those too addicted to shower class suites, you're missing out bigtime. :)

Wow. Really want to see your TR and why you like Bora better

Offline Wizmanison

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Dec 2016
  • Posts: 409
  • Total likes: 77
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: Los Angeles
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #118 on: December 01, 2017, 11:48:04 AM »


This was our breakfast every day from hermolis incl hot eggs (right corner) and fresh OJ from Hotel

How does one go about arranging this?

Offline Denverite

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: May 2015
  • Posts: 2006
  • Total likes: 181
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: Denver
Re: The first DDFer to go to St. Regis Maldives, with a little Dubai to start
« Reply #119 on: December 03, 2017, 11:08:54 AM »
Just got back from my Bora trip this morning and the verdict is in. Even though we stayed in the St Regis in Maldives and Le Moana in Bora (I'd go back if someone can show me how to get Thalasso on points!) , dw and I both think Bora > Maldives. Full TR and explanation for why to come in a separate thread.

For those too addicted to shower class suites, you're missing out bigtime. :)

Did you pay to upgrade to an OWV and how much?