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I should pre-empt this review by saying that this is the first time I’ve ever stayed in a private island ‘resort’. The closest I’d ever come in the past was having a private beach in Phuket, so this was a significant step up. Contrary to various suggestions, we did end up bringing our four-year-old along to what is a stereotypical honeymoon destination. More on that later.
I should also say that I purposely built in two ‘safety net stays’ before and after the 5-night St Regis booking. My original concern was having to contend with an outbound flight cancellation (this is BA we’re talking about) which would have seen the holiday cut short, and/or potential trouble with the seaplane operator which would have made us lose our inbound flight. I felt it’d be safer to have two one-night stays close to the airport on either end. While everything eventually went without a hitch, the two one-nighters ensured that we didn’t have to worry about getting a seaplane after an 11-hour flight and arrive at St Regis beat (and waste our first day), or have to catch the seaplane ridiculously early on our last day in order to get the flight back to the UK (and waste our fifth day). I would highly recommend building in this sort of cushion. It made all the difference.
With that in mind, here’s a review of the St Regis Maldives.
It’s fair to say that I’ve kept half an eye on this resort ever since it opened in 2016. It’s an aspirational property, and appeared to be on par with its namesake in Bora Bora which became one of SPG’s poster resorts a decade earlier. Bora Bora always felt ridiculously far away to get to from the UK, so when this popped up, it felt that it could be the more accessible way to the same concept of a private atoll, with overwater villas, beaches, lagoons, and of course… glorious weather. And it’s certainly all that and more.
All things considered, it’s all the butlers and staff who make St Regis exceptional. It’s quite impressive that from the moment we landed, we had their airport team come and get us, deal with all our luggage, check in for the seaplane for us and basically get us to the waiting lounge where all we had to do is relax (and eat and drink). For the first time in my life I didn’t have to worry about looking at the departure screens, wonder whether we should be making our way to the gates, whether our flight was delayed etc. Their team would give us regular updates on what is the only part of the St Regis operation that they do not control directly: Seaplane schedules. The lounge is perfectly appointed, and with a children’s area, inside a brand new building. Once the flight was ready, we were basically whisked through the doors and into the jetty in no time. They even gave us earplugs.
Upon arrival, and with coconut water in hand, we were introduced to our dedicated butler on the island. It takes a certain sort of character to master the concept of being ever present, but without being intrusive. For me, the real revelation was the ability to communicate via Whatsapp, with a response coming within a few minutes. Need a buggy? Text. Want a restaurant reservation? Text. Want to book a water sports centre activity? Text. Organise a private dinner? Text. Press some shirts? You get the idea. Having a one-person contact for everything was a revelation. Oh, and this is the sort of place where checking in is actually done in the villa – no queuing at reception, or anything like that.
Speaking of villa… there was no way we’d go to the Maldives and NOT stay at an overwater villa. And boy did it live up to expectations! Having looked at the room layouts before we got there, I can say that even the standard overwater villa is much larger than anticipated. Beautiful floor-to-ceiling sea-side patio doors, lead to your own external pool, deck with sunloungers, netted hammocks overlooking the water, and your own lower platform to jump straight into the lagoon or the ocean side (depending on which way your villa is facing). The room comes with complimentary straw hats, tote, flipflops, so don’t bother bringing any of that stuff. Do bring sunscreen though! Oh, and bicycles are given to you from the first day to do as you please.
We had a lagoon-side villa, which was facing into part of the island and part into the ocean. I know sunset-facing villas go for a premium at St Regis, but having seen them in person, I felt happier having a view that involved looking across the water towards a lush green island with pristine alabaster white sand (as opposed to just facing… water). Snorkelling gear can be rented for free and kept in your room for the duration of your stay. You can just jump in the water in front of your villa, swim to shore, or go take a kayak from the water centre and float around.
Me and my wife took the kayak out one afternoon, having dropped our son off to the children’s centre where professional childminders keep the young ones busy with all sorts of activities. You usually get kayaking slots for an hour or so, but half way through, I got a text from our butler saying that we can keep it as long as we wanted, and that she’d already checked in on our son – who she then took on for a prolonged buggy ride after the children’s activities were over. This is above and beyond stuff.
One day we were given a good couple’s massage offer in the spa (supposedly in recognition of bonvoy status), which admittedly cost much less than what was found on the regular spa treatments catalogue. Our butler picked all three of us up, stopped at the children’s centre first to drop off our son for some cupcake decorating, and then drove us off to the spa. When the massage overran, she had already collected him and kept him entertained. If you’re a parent who’s had trust issues with childcare in foreign countries, this is the place to start breaking that barrier down. Anyway, our son came home with a bag of stuffed toys, mementos like his coconut boat that he painted himself, and hasn’t stopped talking about the good time he had at the children’s centre.
We did a few excursions. Sunset fishing was excellent (you can get your catch cooked the next day for you), and so was parasailing (never had a seaplane fly next to me when I was in the air before). There are several types of snorkelling trips that you can take in nearby reefs which are filled with abundant marine life. It was the first time I swam next to reef sharks and close to stingrays – and I also found Nemo, many times.
I would have loved to do a private picknick on a sandbank but it was too expensive. But everything that you have to pay for is too expensive in this place. This is the home of $25 pizzas, and $30 cocktails, with an extra 26% in taxes added on top. If you’re Platinum or above, the free breakfast will save you literally hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars. If you’re keen to try different dining options every night, you’d best go for the offer where you commit to spend $300 every day in food, in exchange for $350 of value. Tempting as the offer were, we ended up spending our money in excursions and experiences, instead of food. Breakfast was enough to tie us over till sundown when we ended up having just snacks from the platters that were replenished in our room every day. We were also around for the manager’s sunset beach reception on the Thursday, with free flowing drinks and food. We never went hungry…
Special occasions are certainly recognised at the St Regis. Our room was decorated for my 40th birthday, with two cakes, champagne, and with a special bubble bath drawn. There was a generous welcome amenity (in terms of food and booze) and we were given treats on our last day too. We enjoyed being at the sunset bar during the ceremonial sabrage of the champagne. We were also lucky enough to be offered some for free during our sole evening meal.
I found myself thinking that during all my times taking the bicycle out for rides, the island did not feel busy at all. You just didn’t happen to see more than a couple of people here or there at any time. It was only at breakfast that the true number of guests was evident, which would corroborate the hotel’s claim that it was at capacity. It’s impressive that the place can be ‘full’ yet it still feels like your own secluded island hideaway.
I found that one of the most relaxing things to do – besides lounging on our own private deck – was to cycle around the island at various times. I took the bicycle to the jetty and watched a spectacular sunrise at 6.30am, then came back to the beach at 10pm to witness one of the most astounding living things I’ve ever seen – luminous marine plankton. It was literally an ocean of stars being washed on the beach, and you could just… pick them up.
I was glad I didn’t opt for a garden villa, which is the base room at St Regis. They might as well be called jungle villas, as they are in the middle of the island, with no actual view. Beach villas looked nice, as they are both surrounded by vegetation and face the sea. I got a peek of the knickerbocker beach villa, which went for something like over a million Bonvoy points at the time of my booking, and actually felt it was not worth it (!) as it was located next to the supply boat jetty and spa. Overwater villas and suites is where the game is at. If I ever returned, I’d be happy with another overwater villa, or maybe this time.. an overwater suite! Or a two bedroom overwater villa…or.. the John Jacob Astor 3 bedroom estate (look it up!)
Not having to catch an international flight back on the day of our departure meant that we could ask for – and get – a late checkout so we can have another full day on the island before the seaplane took us back. A lot of staff came to see us off, which was a touching gesture. Upon arrival back at the capital, the airport butlers dealt with everything once again to get us to our next hotel.
I’ll leave it there. I’ve left out parts that can be easily found on Tripadvisor and Flyertalk, but happy to answer questions if there are any for what was a trip of a lifetime for me.
Many thanks for the detailed review, much appreciated.
I also have a 4yr old and collected enough points for Maldives and it is in my bucket list. For some reason I have been waiting till my kid hits 7 or 8.
How was it with a 4 year old in a 11 hr flight? Was it Club? Was your cushion hotel in Male?
Really interesting review, thanks for posting. Sounds like you had a great time.
Thanks for the review some good tips. Do you mind me asking but did you pay on points 5 for 4 on points if so how many? Would love to give it a try.
Thank you everyone
How was it with a 4 year old in a 11 hr flight? Was it Club? Was your cushion hotel in Male?
In a sentence, both flights were excellent. MLE is served by brand new (spotless!) 777-300ERs, which feature the latest seat design across all classes (including First) and, possibly more importantly, the latest crystal clear IFE. We were in downright Economy for various reasons, but what was the deciding factor was the fact that I paid £450 in taxes and just over 100k using an Amex 241, and this is… for three people! For a route where cash fares are averaging £900 per person (again, in economy), this was a steal. I briefly considered upgrading, as some premium seats did open up a few months ago, but when I called to inquire I was quoted a ridiculous amount of taxes and felt that nothing was ever going to beat RFS pricing on such a route.
We had great service in economy. You get decent recline, cushions, blankets and even eye masks on demand, accompanied by two hot meals and multiple drinks services throughout the flight. Meal quality was very good (to the point that I thought that this is what they serve in Club, just on a fancier plate) and the crew was excellent.
As you probably know, every kid is different when it comes to flights. We are lucky that our son is a very chilled out traveller. He sits and plays with his toys, watches Trolls, Minions and Spidey on repeat and dozes off when he wants to. He probably slept for about 6 hours on the 11-hour red-eye outbound (as did I!) but not so much on the inbound which saw us land back in the UK just before 6pm. We were home by 8pm which is his bedtime, so this was all perfectly timed. I should say that I did consider flying with Qatar there and back, but their flights have awfully-timed Doha connections. One lands at midnight, with the onward flight at 2am. Not good for a 4-year-old, that’s for sure.
On the inbound, I actually splashed out £19 and bought Wifi access for the whole flight. It was very spotty over the Indian ocean (as was expected) but I dare say that I did a good day’s work on my laptop. I remember feeling tired about half and hour before landing.
Top marks all around.
Our cushion hotels were the Sheraton Full Moon (which is a 15-minute speedboat ride away from the airport entrance and you can get whenever for free) and the Jen by Shangri-La, which is indeed in Male and a 15-minute drive from the airport. Both offer a free airport pick-up and drop-off service.
Thanks for the review some good tips. Do you mind me asking but did you pay on points 5 for 4 on points if so how many? Would love to give it a try.
We did pay on points as cash rates are outside my budget by a significant margin. Five nights on an overwater villa were going for a fixed 450k points this time last year. Base rooms (garden villas) were fixed at 400k, so the extra 50k is the points upgrade on the redemption rate.
With dynamic pricing having now kicked in, you’ll see some variations, however, there was a time that I checked and saw that the redemption price had actually gone down to 433k for the same room category and dates. I didn’t cancel and rebook and I just didn’t want to risk it. And I’m not exactly short of points either.
Thanks George, much appreciated.
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