Review: Park Hyatt Maldives Park Pool Villa

The plunge pool is a nice feature to have! But 250 $ might be expensive if you have an almost private beach right outside the villa? I don't know... I guess I would have a hard time deciding!

I think the $250 is worth it if you have a good chance of being upgraded to an overwater villa. What do you think the chances are that they'd have an open overwater villa? How much more were they per night?

From the pics and the reviews so far, the Conrad blows this place out of the water.

This is the kind of post where I think Lucky doesn't realize how much power he has in the travel industry. By basically saying the pool villa is not worth it, he is probably costing the hotel thousands of dollars in future revenue from other guests.

How deep is that pool? From the photos it looks like only a couple feet at most.

Tom - I would hope whether Lucky knows his power, or not, he would tell what he really thinks.

@Seth

Conrad vs Rangali is personal preference. I stayed at both last year; am returning to the Park Hyatt and not Conrad even though I'm a HHonors Diamond and only HP Playinum.

@lucky; nice series of reviews!

regarding close vs far from the action, is any villa more than a 7 minute walk to anywhere else? If I remember correctly, it's only a 15 minute walk around the island. What is most important is the condition of the beach right by your villa- I remember significant variations in how much beach there was.

As far as paying for upgrade - I wouldn't for pool, will definitely do so again for OWB (but not the highest category of OWB). We love to snorkel 2-3 times a day (we wear rash guards to protect from the sun).

Any suggestions for a place that beautiful and romantic that isn't so far away? I love that, and have never met a Park Hyatt I didn't like, but don't think I can go that far. Too old!!!

Neither this nor the Conrad blows anything out of the water, unless you prefer your only bathing options being outdoors. Peeping Toms aside, it rains in the Maldives.

@Carole

During my younger, beach-going days I loved the wonderfully remote and utterly romantic Hotel Hana Maui in Hawaii. It was so beautiful! And Maui's eastern shore is mercifully free of the tourist hordes. I believe the Hana Maui is now called the Transvaa, or something like that.

If Maui is too far for your liking, I have recently stayed at the tiny Secret Bay hotel in Dominica and absolutely loved it. It's also quite secluded, being smack in the midst of a rain forest. The sea & beach views from it's cliff top location are breathtaking! And the food was the best I ever had at a hotel or resort.

@Lucky -- How deep is the pool? It looks like it's only 3ft at most, but pictures of water could be deceiving.

Looks like a pretty disappointing view from the plunge pool. I understand the trees are there for privacy's sake, but I would expect you'd be able to look out right into the beach.

Pool bars notwithstanding, I don't know why anybody would choose to swim in chlorine when you have natural salt water a few metres over.

Did you have to ask for the upgrade or was it offered voluntarily?

"Some people value the privacy of one, while I’d much rather be out at one of the public pools."

That's not good.

The feeling that I am getting, after reading these reports, is that making the extraordinary trip to Male and the Park Hyatt there is really only worth it for an Over-Water Villa because the big and truly special feature is the water. There are plenty of hotels offering rooms like featured here, around the world in easier to get to locations, so that isn't it's USP.

I truly hope Lucky you did spend some time in the water or on the beach, even though you sunburn easily. When you talked about the seclusion of your pool, I wondered if you were about to give us a skinny dip story, but seems your relationship with your pool amounted to just scenery.

Hi Ben,

Thank you so much for your report! Excellent as always. I had recently heard that the PH Maldives was looking a little worse for wear. Can you let us know if this was your impression as well? Also, I hope to hear more soon about the food and how good the snorkeling/diving is if possible! 🙂 Lastly, given the transfers, when do you think the last check out time would be in order to make it back for a flight, and what time the ex-Male flight would have to leave in order to catch it?

@ blueline7 -- I thought the resort was in excellent condition. Can't say I noticed much wear and tear. Many flights leave Male at 8-10PM, in which case you can take a ~5PM boat from the resort. They're usually good about late check-out, pending availability.

@ R -- When I checked in they explained they didn't have any Park Pool Villas available, but asked if I wanted one when it became available. I said yes, and they took care of the rest.

@ Julian -- I didn't get in the pool, so maybe someone else can chime in? I'd estimate it was maybe 4' deep.

@ Carole -- Hmmm, you mean not far from the US, or where? Presumably the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Mexico all have nice places, though I don't find the hospitality to be nearly as good as in Bali or some of my other favorite beach destinations.

@ Beachfan -- Yeah that's a good point, it's a short walk regardless. That being said, when you leave your villa close to a dozen times a day, I guess one minute vs. seven minutes makes a bit of a difference.

@ Nick -- The $250 upgrade fee is to a Pool Villa, and not to a Water Villa (which is more like $500 to upgrade to).

Would you recommend certain villa # over others if we would like to have a good view of the ocean from the villa?

Yes, Caribbean, US or someplace like that. I also love Bali, and would go back in a heartbeat, but my husband thinks it's too far. And I think the Maldives is as far as it gets.

Nothing beats walking out the back of your villa and plunging right into the Indian Ocean. Water Villa baby! I have been to Maldives 3 times and the rooms at the Park Hyatt look "so-so", but I guess if you are redeeming points then no complaints. However if you are paying then I would stay elsewhere.

In other words, upgrading to the Park Pool Villa is very similar to upgrading from Biz to First on an AA 77W?