All You Need to Know Before Booking!
Our trip to the Maldives this winter was an absolute blast. Clear blue water that was warm and full of life, great food, and fun drinks. The weather was stellar, at times right on the edge of feeling a bit warm but with frequent ocean breezes cooling things off and keeping us comfortable. The Maldives are an atoll made up of thousands of individual islands, they have a one resort policy that ensures there is only one resort per island keeping the density low and the experience feel truly peaceful and private.
See our Youtube video about the trip here! https://youtu.be/KEr8XWey1hg?si=9SY4GBsqbYKvTKth
There are currently over 170 resort islands in the country to choose from. We stayed at the Le Méridien Maldives resort. We are Marriot loyalists due to the perks we earn with elite status. In order to maintain our status we have found that choosing a hotel chain and taking advantage of the perks that can be earned with frequent stays and earning credit card points for one brand is the best bang for our buck.
We chose Le Méridien for two reasons: The first is that they have a great points redemption on the over water villa rooms, they come in at about 60K per night and when booking five or more nights you get one night free bringing the nightly average for five nights to just 48K a night! This is an amazing edemption for a room running about $700 a night base pricing.
The other reason that we chose this hotel over the other great Marriot resorts in the Maldives is that they allow for adding dining packages onto your stay. Many of the other properties only offer this as part of booking with cash and include it in the cost of stay. The ability to add it on to a points stay made it a great add on value. Food and drinks in the Maldives are extremely expensive at the resorts as everything has to be brought in the country from elsewhere and then delivered via plane or boat. We saw induvial meal prices ranging from $40-80 USD per person with drinks of any kind besides water being $10-$20 each. The food packages offered are just breakfast, half board, full board, and all inclusive (there are another one or two variations of these packages for premium drinks and a Japanese steakhouse restaurant. They range from around $40-$280 per person per day). If you are elite status (Platinum or Titanium) with Marriot, they do honor the free breakfast perk and take the breakfast cost off the package you choose which is a great added value. We did a full board plus option that was basically all-inclusive without the “premium” drinks and limited dinners at the Japanese restaurant.
To get to the island, we flew into the island of Malé which is their capital and only international airport. From there, we were picked up by the resort once we were through customs and taken to their private lounge to await our seaplane transfer to the resort. The seaplane was a fun and unique experience that is only available at a few places in the world. Flying in, you get to see some of the other resorts and uninhabited islands and the beautiful water of the Indian Ocean from above. It’s a short 30-minute flight to the island.
Upon arrival we were greeted by the staff with welcome drinks and taken to check-in. This is where you can choose to add on a dining package if you are wanting to do so. Being a Platinum member we did receive an upgrade to our room to a Sunset Overwater Villa with a private plunge pool on the patio. All of the villas are spacious and comfy. The plunge pool was a great addition and we spent time in there in the mornings and afternoons just looking out at the ocean waching fish and stingrays swim by (one of the other guests had a turtle hanging out off their deck during the stay, unfortunately we did not but we saw many both snorkeling and diving). The island is set up lengthwise at about a mile from end to end. It’s a great way to stay active on your trip getting in some extra steps but if that’s not your idea of a vacation they do have golf carts for pick-up and drop-off that can be called for anytime you don’t feel like walking.
The resort has four total restaurant options. One is a buffet where breakfast is served every morning and a rotating dinner buffet is also available daily. The buffet is massive with items from all over the world, fresh juices and a coffee bar, its hard to leave hungry or not find something you love. There are two additional lunch and dinner restaurants that serve customizable three course meals. One is Spanish influenced and the other more of an American restaurant with salads, burgers, pizza and more. There is also the Japanese restaurant which offers sushi and traditional Japanese hot items. This is only open for dinner and is only available with the two highest food packages (or a la carte if you don’t choose a package). The food at all four restaurants was delicious and we enjoyed each for different reasons.
While there, we found plenty to do. There are two different pool areas both with bars on site. The beaches are fantastic with water access for the length of the island to lay, play or enter the water. There are kayaks and SUP boards that are free to use. All guests are also provided with a set of flippers, life jacket, goggles, and snorkel for their stay to explore the ocean and reefs around the island. They offer a multitude of water activities that can be added on at an additional charge including: guided snorkeling trips, scuba diving, jet skis, marlin fishing, trips out to see manta rays and more.
We did some diving while there which was great (you don’t need to be certified to go!), the water clarity was crystal clear, and our guide helped us to find us sea turtles, lion fish, eels, along with thousands of other fish, coral types and clams. We also got to see a few types of sting rays as well as both white and black finned sharks. Going out diving is a unique experience we would recommend and at this resort a great way to learn where the reefs around the island are. Later in the stay, we swam back out to them a few times to snorkel on our own after learning where they were and how to find the turtles, etc. The water and reefs are the largest attractions and biggest reason why you would visit the Maldives as they host some of the best diving and snorkeling options in the world.
The resort also features a fantastic gym with ocean views, as well as hosting a free daily instructor-led yoga session alternating sunrise or sunset from day to day on the beach. Personal training and private yoga classes can also be added onto your stay. There is no shortage of things to do that are included at no additional cost from snorkeling to yoga, paddling out onto the water to watch for marine life, and just relaxing by the pool, the beach or on your rooms deck to soak in the sun and beautiful island views while unwinding and rejuvenating.
While we were there, scuba diving was our only paid additional activity that we did and we felt we had plenty to do and greatly enjoyed our six days. Remember you are there to relax and enjoy so don’t be afraid to just have some time to relax and do nothing. We were lucky enough to be there for a special Christmas celebration they had for all the Marriot Bonvoy elite members at a cocktail hour event. They shared some of their local traditions with us, having the guests help with preparing dried fruits, nuts and spirits to soak for a couple of weeks that the kitchen staff would then use to make a spice cake at Christmas. It was a fun and unique experience to share in and a great way to meet some other travelers during our stay.
The checkout process was very similar to our arrival. They informed us of our departure flight time the night before. In the morning we left our bags in the room, ready to go, to be collected by hotel staff. After breakfast, we went to the office area to settle our bill and await our seaplane. The plane was running a bit behind for the day (we have found this to be a common occurrence in the rest of the world with timelines being a bit more flexible than we are used to in the US). But, it showed up with plenty of time to get everyone back to Malé in time for their flights. Our flight was not until a bit later in the day and the staff was kind enough to allow us to go back to the hotel lounge at the airport for a bit before taking us over to the international terminal closer to the time of our flight.
All of the staff both at the resort, and at the airport and lounge were welcoming and accommodating. We had a fantastic time and highly recommend anyone looking at a relaxing beach get away to consider Le Méridien for your trip. It is a wonderful point redemption as well as we have found they will often run specials for bookings such as an Overwater Villa including all inclusive food package for two for about $1,000 per night. While a very expensive hotel for most of us in this part of the world, to be able to take in the beauty of the Maldives in a luxury resort, it is a great value. We recommend also keeping an eye out for great deals on travel with points and airline miles. We managed to find a Virgin Atlantic flight with business availability with points and paid just a few hundred dollars each in taxes and fees for the flights on this trip.
Feel free to reach out to us if your looking for more information on how to point hack and get the most out of your travel and adventures. Wherever you decide to go and stay, make sure that you are enjoying and making the most of your trips and time exploring the world.
MC Exploring 