Our primary destination in the Maldives was the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, where we spent five nights. This is arguably the most luxurious points points hotel in the Maldives, and I was curious to check it out and see if it lived up to the hype. While the hotel has some quirks, I’m happy to…
Continue reading: Review: Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
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"...while a 90 minute massage costs $24090..."
I'd stick with the 60 minute massage. The price for the 90 minute seems crazy
We have stayed at the WA, in January 2021. And it was definitely a step up from the St Regis where we went in January 2019. But it was surpassed by the Ritz-Carlton where we went in January this year. The outdoor space at the WA reef villas is amazing, but on the sum of things, the RC comes out ahead all in all.
So unless the third resort you mention is the RC, you will need another trip to the Maldives soon.
Ben - which was the 3rd resort you stayed at in Maldives? Will there be a review?
I noticed several times that you referenced staying at three resorts in the Maldives, but in the introduction post only referenced Chenal and the Waldorf. Is there another Review on the way?
Ridiculous to say the cost of the boat transfers are appropriate, considering they're more expensive than flight transfers that are longer than the boat ride!
We stayed in the same villa a year ago for 6 nights on points too. Not sure if you and Ford are big snorkelers, but our favorite aspect of the WA was being able to snorkel of off the edge of the reef villa which had a huge reef drop off just 20 feet away from villa. We saw turtles and reef sharks just off the edge of our villa which was a mind blowing experience. Interested in your thoughts of snorkeling across the different resorts if you two did end up doing any snorkeling.
Otherwise agree with most of your thoughts covered in this review. We enjoyed Li Long since they had the Peking Duck which was as good as I've had in China. Also, would highly recommend the Steak Stando from The Ledge. It was so simple but so good that I had to grab it for lunch a few times.
Interestingly enough there was Sushi restaurant that was our least favorite where Zuma is being constructed so looks like they received similar feedback leading to the replacement. The location and views were amazing in that location with the windows open leading to a nice breeze over the water.
@ Jim Baround -- I'm not sure I said the costs are "appropriate," but rather I said "this is just how much stuff in the Maldives costs." To follow-up on that:
-- Trans Maldivian flights within the Maldives are pretty consistently full, so the cost of the flight is being split 15 ways; in the case of the yacht, you could be the only person on it, as was the case in one direction for us
-- Flight transfers are further, but not generally longer, as both take somewhere around 45 minutes; fuel burn per mile covered is lower on a plane than a boat
-- The Waldorf Astoria's yacht transfer pricing is comparable to the prices from other resorts in the area, like the Ritz-Carlton (except the Ritz's boat isn't as nice, and the Ritz doesn't have free-flowing champagne onboard)
@ Alec -- Happy to hear you had a great experience, that Li Long was better for you. Maybe if we loved duck we would have had a different experience.
@ ECR -- There is indeed! We only planned our third hotel stay after arriving, but let me go ahead and update the intro post to reflect the third hotel.
@ Jesper -- Good to hear you had such a positive experience. I must say, I'm a bit surprised, since I haven't heard great feedback about the hotel so far. I've heard many say the property is really windy, the boat transfer isn't as good as at the Waldorf, and that in general there are some missed opportunities. And then there's the issue of it being a Ritz-Carlton, and breakfast therefore not being included. Guess I'll have to add the hotel back to my list.
Wonderful and thorough review, which includes some aspects of the resort that I did not get to see or experience, and I will be sure to check out when I return there in about 7 months.
What made my stay there unique is that it was during the resort's inaugural year and, as luck would have it, my 5-night award stay included the property's 2020 New Year's eve festivities, which consisted of a huge "Chicago" (the musical)-themed bash with food, booze and stage performances galore, right on the beach!
The Waldorf Astoria Maldives doesn’t upgrade Diamond members for free (I’m curious how a certain OMAAT reader feels about that)
A certain OMAAT reader feels that anyone who would make a big fuss about not getting an upgrade when occupying a villa that is, for all practical purposes, a suite misses what the game is about and needs to have their head examined. Please check out my accommodations and some scenes from my year-end 2019 award stay at the link below (3-page PDF), and let me know if it would make any sense at all to fuss about not being upgraded. The thought never enter my head...Upgraded to what?
Cahn't wait to get back there!
I just don't get it.
-Zero chance of upgrades
-What good is the vicinity to Male, if it ruins the view / sense of isolation and on top of that you still have to pay $899 for the short boat ride?
-$300 per night for dinner without alcohol
-as per usual on the Maldives, not a lot of real activities
-not too much vegetation on this resort from the looks of it
Just goes against the entire reason I am collecting points/miles. What is the point of collecting points for years, just so you then have to pay ridiculously inflated prices for transfers, food and drinks with no other (external) option. I mean I understand that high end luxury properties usually don't sell cocktails for $5, but there is still a difference between $15-20 drinks and maybe $30-40 mains and $150 for a transfer vs the insanity that this is.
Windy is a factor of mother nature's whims while you are there. It is not like any of the resorts are particularly more or less sheltered by anything.
Yes, the transfer is one of the weak points about the Ritz. But it is two times 45 minutes of a stay, still better than the concept of the sea plane transfer. After having been to both sea plane and boat transfer resorts, the ease of the boat transfer definitely wins out.
But service and F&B I would rate higher at the Ritz. True many people are put off by the breakfast being at a charge, but in the bigger picture of how much you are actually going to spend on your "free" stay at resorts like the WA or the Ritz, it is not going to majorly rock the budget.
Property looks amazing as expected. In fact, all luxury properties in the Maldives look amazing. But still, there's not much appeal of the Maldives to me. It's such a hassle to get there, everything is so expensive including the transfers, only to be stuck on an island so that you can eat hotel food and relax by a pool? Sure that sounds nice for a few days but can't imagine I would find it worthwhile. I would much prefer to go to places like Thailand where you get amazing resorts at a fraction of the cost, great beaches, plus amazing local restaurants and experience the local culture as well. To each their own I guess.
Yeah same here. What kind of points redemption is this where I have to pay a few thousand $$$ anyways just for transfers and even just basic dinners without alcohol. And am I going to think back 20 years later "Remember when we were in the Maldives? And were lying around the beach? And then lying on our pool deck? And then lying on the beach again?" Where is the adventure? That's why I also MUCH prefer something like the Seychelles or Costa Rica.
We had Tiffany, too, and she was great!
Our entire experience was amazing. Only negative I can think of was Terra, which was a great experience nevertheless, but seemed gimmicky. Would go back and bring my entire family if I could. Careful when swimming in the ocean though… I did mess up a few times when snorkeling and accidentally climbed up other guests’ overwater villas (because they all just looked so similar).
Finishing up a stay here now. It’s been hit and miss. We just got a fairly cheap bottle of red as our diamond amenity welcome gift. Paid to upgrade the first half of our stay to a beach villa, and we were told we had to move at 10AM the day of our move to a reef villa. Felt a bit shafted with that, considering it wasn’t a free upgrade, and at minimum I feel we should have atleast had it until noon, which is the hotel’s published check out time.
Our personal host is okay. We loved Terra, but no heads up to get there early or anything like that. We’ve always gotten to know our host at the resorts we’ve stayed at, they’ve seem engaged and genuinely want to get to know you etc…. But our host just seemed a bit aloof. The individual also wasn’t a local.
On the service side. It’s been hit and miss. We’ve interacted with some really genuine staff members. But I’d say it’s 50/50. We had several occasions with 20+ minute waits for a buggy. We’d be gone atleast 2 hours for both breakfast and dinner and about half the time, housekeeping would be just starting to make the room up as we were just getting back.
These are just all the negatives. It’s been a good stay overall though. But at the same time, we weren’t exactly blown away.
We were here last year on points for 5 nights. They did upgrade us for 3 of those nights to the “grand” over water villa - not sure if it was because we are lifetime Diamond or it was Covid so was definitely a nice treat. Not sure if they closed the sushi restaurant as you didn’t mention it - but it was awesome
With great sushi and sake pairings. I agree with your comments - it was a spectacular stay but even on points, expensive. Our dinner at Terre was $1100 for starters! Definitely a must stay and we enjoyed every minute.
your review of the Waldorf pretty much sums up my experience at the Conrad Rangali Maldives. obviously the price points are different, but the overall experience sounds the same, with the Waldorf seeming to be just a little bit better. The big difference is that it's much much easier to book 5 to 7 nights on points for standard rooms than the Waldorf.
Waldorf's I've been at that (I'm pretty sure) didn't have a Peacock Alley: Grand Wailea, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills. Pedregal has one, but it's like an agave tasting or something.
Interested to hear you rank the Waldorf against the Park Hyatt and St Regis as theyre all aspirational points properties you've reviewed (albeit over many years). Do you think they're all in similar level of quality or is Waldorf a tier above?
Tip is at check in you could tell the butler that you prefer champagne over reds, and they would just switch that for you. I stayed last year, and while there is a couple of wervices hiccups (hard to not have over a week stay in an island), overall it was a great stay on points and certs.
@ John -- You're totally right, updated post to say "most" rather than "every." Thanks!
That is why individuals are different and have different preferences. I love all the beach destinations, been to Thailand, bali, palawan, bora bora and many more top beach destinations. But the maldives is always special to me. Maybe you guys should try it once before just say what the point 😉
I have been there for a week and is a big fan. You nay think what the point of paying 5k for food and drink and xfer when you already spends so much on points. But I thought about it as I paid 5k and points + certs to get a $20K stay. I have been all over, and the WA is by far the best resort I have stayed at without having to pay $1K+ per night.
@ ECR -- It had been over five years since I last visited the Maldives, so it can be hard to compare properties when that much time has lapsed. Let me take a stab at answering your question, though.
The Park Hyatt is a really special resort for the island it's on -- the island is gorgeous, and I love how you can walk around the perimeter of the island on a single beach, more or less. It's probably one of the most secluded points resorts in the Maldives.
That being said, at this point the property as such simply isn't competitive, in terms of the rooms and villas, the lack of dining outlet choices, etc.
The problem is that the standard or resorts in the Maldives keeps being raised, and it can be tough for the older properties (like the Park Hyatt) to keep up.
As far as the St. Regis goes, I think I need to return to that property, because I didn't visit for very long. I remember really enjoying the property, and I definitely think it's a step up over the Park Hyatt, and closer to being in the same league as the Waldorf Astoria. I'd love to hear from any OMAAT readers who more recently visited both.
@ Charlene -- Happy to hear you had a great stay! Yep, the sushi restaurant is closed, and is being replaced by Zuma.
@ peetyrd -- Sorry to hear about your mixed service experience. This is probably an area where having a good personal concierge helps. We'd message Tiffany personally when we wanted a buggy, and she always picked us up personally. We'd also let her know when we wanted housekeeping, and she was always prompt in arranging that.
And yeah, a 10AM check-out is strange, especially if you paid to upgrade.
@ Luis -- I totally hear you, and I think those points are all fair. For what it's worth, prior to this trip I last visited the Maldives over five years ago, and after having visited again, I think I'm good for at least another five years.
I think it's a magical place in terms of the views, but I also think there's a high diminishing marginal enjoyment, for many of the points you mention.
For your next trip, you should fly Ryanair and stay at a CenterParc, a campsite or an all inclusive in Benidorm
I had been to the Maldives once stayed at the Conrad while to Bora Bora, French Polynesia 4 times. One big reason I preferred Bora Bora over the Maldives is the ability to island/resort hop without paying the ridiculous sea plane or boat transfer each time. I stayed at the Le Bora Bora, Four Seasons, St. Regis, Intercontinental Thalasso and Conrad Bora Bora in one trip, it was awesome. I know Maldives is expensive but $800+ per person for such a short shared boat ride is robbery, you can charter a yacht at that price for a couple! Staying at one resort for more than 4 nights would be boring for me especially you are stuck at one island.
It just so happens that we visited both in April. We found the service at both to be exceptional, with the staff at St. Regis having a slight edge in a hard-to-quantify "approachable" category. We found more food choices and slightly lower food costs at St. Regis, despite its having fewer restaurants. But the Waldorf breakfast blows everything else way. Snorkeling at St. Regis was much better than at WA, and the natural island of Vommuli (versus man-made Ithaafushi) gives the St. Regis a lower temperature, more mature, more "jungle" feel than the WA. Each is an excellent property (especially if you can score your stays on points), and each has a different feel. It's not possible, in my opinion, to rate one empirically higher than the other. Your personal value system, in consideration of things like snorkeling, will come into play in ranking.
I do hope in one of your next trip reports you visit some more exotic/out there/unusual places again. Dubai, Maldives, Greece, Italy, France, Hawaii, Mexico all seem a bit like "US travel influencer 101". Not that those can't be beautiful and/or interesting places, but definitely mainstream of the mainstream on travel blogs I'd say.
For example of the more exotic places, I really enjoyed your Oman trip report because it was just something else. I also really enjoyed your Romania trip report quite a while back. Also your safari trip report some time ago. Basically less explored countries, for example in Africa, Asia or Central/South America. From my memory those sort of trip reports also offer good comedic value to the readers (Angola with TAAG ;)).
You joke but that could actually be both interesting and hilarious. Sort of in a "1st half of the vacation = as luxurios as it gets, 2nd half of the vacation = as cheap/value-for-money as it gets"
@Ben - Don't get me wrong. I would love to spend a few days at this hotel or any other resort in the Maldives but given the effort and money it takes to get there, it's pretty low on my list. I'm sure for many, it's a bucket list item to say they've been there and done that.
Great review once again. At 23% tax and $60 for a round of drinks, where does pricing go from the present day? Sheesh, maybe 30%+ tax and $90 for a round of drinks. One has to wonder. Especially seeing how their award pricing has went up dramatically. Yikes.
We were in Maldives late last year, and the price per meal was the biggest reason we went with the nicest all-inclusive we could find. I know this is a points site, so you nearly always redeem points at chain hotels, but Lily Beach was an absolutely spectacular experience if any of your readers are sticker shocked by the food costs. It's also on an atoll that has turtle, manta ray, and whale shark excursions.
Hi Lucky! I recently stayed at both and also ran into you + Ford at the St. Regis 5 years ago!
As far as base villas go, I vastly preferred the Waldorf! For me, the private pools are the most important feature of a Maldivian stay and the private pool at the Waldorf was enormous, and warm as it's exposed to the sun. (I found the temperature at the Overwater Villas the Waldorf to be much higher than at the base Reef Villas). At the St. Regis, the base overwater villa's pool is completely shaded and 100% unusable.
More recently, I stayed in the John Jacob Astor Estate 3 Bedroom Villa at the St. Regis. Even that pool, which is much more exposed, was quite cold.
The other main differentiator between the two are the islands themselves and their foliage. The St. Regis is beautifully and densely landscaped. It feels like a tropical jungle and truly transports you to a different world. The Waldorf on the other hand, could be anywhere and is vastly less captivating.
Other than these two factors, I mildly preferred the food at the Waldorf and found the public facilities and service (both excellent) to be largely comparable.
If I could return to either, it would be the Waldorf for the private pool and room, but the St Regis had much more "soul". All of that said, the stay at the John Jacob Astor Estate at the St. Regis Maldives is the best of my life.
I just spent a while at the Ritz as well (in addition to the St. Regis and the Waldorf). The Ritz and Waldorf are extremely similar as they both lack a soul, as the islands' foliage feel immature and the whole experience feels more like Miami than the Maldives.
That said, they are both exceptional resorts. I definitely preferred the Waldorf to the Ritz as the private pools are vastly warmer and nicer. The villas themselves are also much more comfortable. The rest of the resorts are by and large comparable. More thoughts are below.
The public pool at the Ritz is incredible and the dining is extremely affordable. All water is included and the minibar in the room is extremely well stocked and 100% free. The food itself is better and more diverse at the Waldorf.
The transfers to the Ritz are pretty bad - people were throwing up much of the trip. It was rather scary and uncomfortable as well. The Waldorf was actually really fun and smooth as we drank champagne and watched dolphins jump all around us.
Nonetheless, I absolutely loved the Ritz and Waldorf (and the St. Regis) but I definitely prefer the Waldorf to the Ritz.
Glad to see you found this resort to be amazing, honestly after your Cheval Blanc review I'd thought you say it paled in comparison. Surprised they "downgraded" in my view from Salvatore products to Aesop. Also guessing you got a bottle of champagne because it was your birthday since we got a bottle of white wine which we never drank. Shocked to see zuma is still under construction...it was well underway when we were there in September. I swear, during the 8 days we were there, I never saw the free flow champagne at breakfast...
Thanks so much for a great review. I'm very excited that my partner and I grabbed 5 standard points nights for this coming January. With the diamond benefits of the aspire card and the earning rate back, I don't see a better value in the Maldives nor in the hotel points world for luxury properties for someone without status other than opening a card. When the tired Grand Wailea is often solidly booked at $2000 a night and 120,000 points a night the value proposition goes up even more in my mind.
I would have two questions about the Maldivian private island hotels in general and I'd be happy if anyone could provide answers.
Firstly, as you are more or less imprisoned on your island, what about drinking water? I easily drink 3 to 4 liters a day in a hot climate. Would I need to rely on the small and probably exorbitanlty expensive Aqua Panna bottles in the minibar, or does the hotel provide unlimited bottled water included in the 2000+ USD room rate?
Secondly, where do staff live on these islands? Are they ferried to wokr every day, or are there staff quarters on each hotel island?
The hotel as such looks gorgeous but I find it hard to justify the prices, especially in the restaurant.
I would like to know how was the weather there? I'll be there in a week so wondering if the rain stopped you from biking or any other activities?
Did you try requesting for an upgrade or simply they just said there's no upgrade?
The photos are amazing. The breakfast bar went on forever. I'd be interested in seeing the part of Maldives we don't see as often. The part of the Maldives before you take the seaplane (or yacht in your case). What does the Maldives look like, besides the resorts and over water bungalows?
It’s too bad Accor doesn’t let you redeem points for ibis budget or hotel F1 stays because that could be an interesting points trip there. Maybe a red ibis in a town holding a youth team handball tournament would get close to that.
Speaking of Accor, if all the other major hotel programs are moving toward fixed redemption rates, Accor is starting to look better because they let you throw your points at any room you’re paying a qualified rate for instead of limiting award stays to a small percentage of total rooms.
The Capital island of Male is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. It certainly appears that way as you land. There's an airport on whats basically a seperate island, and a bridge connecting it to the main city. Google maps and street view will probably give you a good idea of what it looks like. If you're traveling to a resort in the Maldives, chances are you'll see the city as you fly/boat in and out, but the transfer process will pretty much isolate you from it.
1，If you ask your housekeeper or butler nicely the water will not be a problem but can't say they will give you unlimited bottled water.And the tap water is NOT a option.
2,Every resort(island)has a section hiddened in trees or bushes that's where emplyees live.It's not big nor luxurious but has eveything you need.I even saw a small soccer field in this kind of campus at one resort(but can't remember the name).
Ha, was just thinking that you could probably comment on this and then there you are in the replies.
I feel like Chinese food in Maldives is mostly used to soothe Chinese visitors’ stomach, so unless hotels really go for it, or you’re a Chinese looking for some hometown flavor, it’s generally a pass.
I've to to Conrad and PH in 2016, WA in 2020, and St Regis and Park Hyatt in 2021. While you'll be happy enough if you do decide to go (if your points are all in Marriott Currency), I wouldn't bother with the St. Regis if you have a choice in resorts. W.A has it topped in almost every aspect, in terms of luxury. Conrad I enjoyed as well, as it had a lot of variety in terms of food selection and activities. Plus, you can watch Mantas feed from the jetty at night.
Meanwhile the Park Hyatt is calm, intimate, and truly captures what it means to be in the Maldives. In 2016 we loved it, and with Nik now at the helm, in 2021 we were blown away. Obviously the hard product doesn't compare to W.A/St. Regis, and throwing in an extra long transfer doesn't help its cause, but it has a charm and magic to it that the other resorts can't match. I rank it above the others for that reason.
Malé was reported to be a haven of islamic fundamentalists a few years ago, wouldn't surprise me if it still was. A friend of mine was there twice for a half a day until their flights, and pretty much confirmed that as well as thought it just generally dirty and not nice to be in, in a very stark contrast to all the tourist islands.
I find it humiliations that employees are required to make some gesture whenever seeing a guest. A lot like soldiers saluting to an officer to acknowledge their inferiority.
If they do it 100% consistently then surely management monitors this and failure to perform the gesture has consequences.
Great review as always. I love that the transfer from Male is nearly $900pp, but on the water sports menu there is a 3.5 hour excursion to Male for $75! My budget brain wants to know if I could take my bags with and do that excursion on the last day!
You raise an interesting point about whether it makes sense to pay the cash rate to stay at the WA or use that money to stay at a nicer property like Cheval Blanc. I couldn't help imagine what if I paid $2K per night then maybe around $1K per day in expenses. $15K total across five nights.
If this stay was paid with the Hilton Aspire card during one of Hilton's quarterly 3x points promotion. That would equate to 54 points per $1. That stay alone will earn a whopping 810,000 Hilton points. Not that Hilton lifetime Diamond is anything to write home, but I believe this year every single point we earn counts towards to base points/lifetime status.
This may be more than enough to tip the scales for me to book a stay at the WA over other properties if I was going to pay the prevailing cash rate during a 3x promotion. Obviously the story will be different if its one of those lousy 2,500 points per stay promotion.
Cahn't make this stuff up!
Not that Hilton lifetime Diamond is anything to write home...
@Golfingboy - Are you a LF HH Diamond, and if so, for how long? The question is relevant because you sound clueless in not being aware that a huge benefit of the LF HH Diamond status that is worth writing home about is that it puts one at the top of the "waitlist" for Hilton's new and exciting Global Automated Upgrades (GAU), including to suites.
Haven't heard of Hilton Honors GAU? Well, they work like airline cabin upgrade waitlists, are prioritized in the order LF Diamond > Diamond > Gold, and begin clearing 3 days before day of stay. Just like airline cabin upgrades, when you clear the waitlist you get notified by email, complete with bells and confetti. See how a notification email looks like at this link:
That notification was for a suite upgrade. See now why the LF HH Diamond status is worth writing home about? Either that or... stick to golfing...
G'day!
I have been twice and at better resorts, the water is basically unlimited . They will start with 4-5 bottles a day and go up to as many as you need . They clean the room twice a day and seems they would always stock 4-5 full bottles , but if you are nice to them , not only they would leave 6-7 full bottles , but also you would get smaller size more classy bottles as extra courtesy. Big resorts desalinate their own water and providing it as not an issue.
2. Usually staff housing is hidden in the shrubs or in the big resorts , they have their staff island.
Hey! When did you book the 5 nights? How did you find standard room availability?
Very nice report here. Funny that nobody on this board ever mentions Kudadoo Resort when mentioning the best luxury resorts and best overall value in the Maldives. I have been to most of the luxury resorts and even if staying on points, I end up paying more for the F&B than paying for my stay at Kudadoo where EVERYTHING is included. Top shelf wines, cocktails, excursions and yes.....even the spa is included. I highly recommend it and I visit five start luxury resorts for a living.
You’ve been posting similar comments on Kudadoo under a similar name on the blog The Good The Bad The Luxurious. Pretty poor marketing from Kudadoo, really makes me want to avoid it.
What is the most social Maldives resort? Is it the W? I get the appeal of overwater villas, villas with pools, but I also enjoy a lively communal pool in a resort location. The fact that the main pools were basically empty at both this resort and the Cheval Blanc are negatives, in my view.
In terms of value/cost, is Maldives worth it, etc - I think these prices, in points and dollars, are start to get to the point where you have to compare the value to other destinations. Spending $300-$400 a night on hotel food seems suboptimal when you can maybe stay in another area with Michelin star restaurants and really remember the meals.
I guess find me a luxury hotel on a beach with beautiful scenery, with a lively social scene, and access to quality off hotel dining and attractions - Maldives may not be it, so what is it?
At 11k USD a night, I hardly think you would dave money here, vs staying at the WA with points.
Look at the all-inclusives. We stayed at 5 star Lily Beach and it was phenomenal. Just an amazing experience. Had as much water as we wanted every day.
Late to comments, but just a note: The "hand over heart" gesture is a Muslim greeting, "a respectful way to greet someone you've just met who isn't accustomed to your touch". It's extremely unlikely that the gesture itself is enforced by the property - and if somehow it actually were, you'd wonder why Hilton management would attempt to enforce such a thing at one WA but not others.
It is very clearly forced. If it weren't, you'd wonder why it was nearly 100% consistent across the property versus any other resort in the Maldives. I imagine this being a higher-tier brand than Conrad, that's why management at this hotel requires it, versus at the Conrad.
I've said it before, I'll say it 100 times, the service here was great, but it felt forced/unnatural. Versus somewhere like the Park Hyatt, where it felt genuine.
@Leo
Except, if you're paying 5k on food, drinks, transfers etc...then you pretty much are paying 1k per night (nearly). The prices are insane whichever way you cut it, hence the huge self justification that it really was a good deal by using points etc.
Center Parcs can be fantastic for short breaks both in the UK and Europe, especially for families and groups of friends.