Review: Park Hyatt Maldives Park Villa

The letter from the manager doesn't mention breakfast, but I assume you got free breakfast as a Diamond?

hmmm I wonder what activities happen on the bed, tub and benches at this resort. For those with OCD and remembering Lucky's comments of preferring twin beds, this must have been a horrifying experience. ops ...

Have never been to the Maledives, but will do it during the next 2-3years, as it's my gf's dream. Anyway, the overwater villas look quite close to each other and I heard that there often is a mosquito problem .can you confirm that? The beach villas look way more private to me.

Hi Ben,
I was wondering, when you stay in a secluded hotel, you cannot go to somewhere else, like downtown or a village. So you basically have to eat and drink at the hotel. How is the piece for food and drinks? Is it expensive? Are there any other alternatives?
Thanks and nice review as always!

@ Adriano -- In this case you're totally "captive" to the hotel, so you basically have to eat/drink there. I'll have more on prices and food quality in a future installment. 🙂

@ Philip -- They are fairly close to one another, though they're angled in such a way that they feel quite private. There are indeed bugs and mosquitos -- I wouldn't call it a "problem," necessarily, though.

@ Andy -- Indeed, that's included for all guests, except non-Diamonds on points stays.

Wow the resort looks fantastic.
I can't wait for the rest of your installments on this property Ben.

There are mosquitos on the island but not as much of a problem in the overwater villas.

Here are menus from the hotel to see pricing:
http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/05/07/park-hyatt-maldives-menus-variety-and-pricing/

Hey Ben, Enjoyed reading your review of the Hyatt Hadahaa as it brought back good memories of our stay there this last February. We did 3 nights in a park villa and 2 nights in on over the water villa. Enjoyed both accommodations but also felt the difference in cost was not worth paying in regards to the over the water unit. In fact we actually preferred being on the beach. After our stay we decided to book 10 nights for next year and plan to stay in a park villa. The Hadahaa is the most relaxing destination and experience we've discovered so far.

Great comparison review, and I look forward to reading the rest. Was always curious about the differences between the three.

They want you to pay $500 a night plus 30,000 hyatt points to get an over water villa!? It would leave a bad taste in my mouth and seems a bit greedy of them. A five night stay is gunna run $2500 so it kinda defeats the point of using points. I know the rooms run $1200 plus a night but still..... Yuck!

Can you hear the generators running from the common areas or from the cottages? Is there a background hum and can it ever be really silent?

I'm glad to see that there's an indoor shower also. If the water comes from the island locally, there must be enough rain to keep the fresh water table stable for wells and that means a lot of rainy days, at least during the monsoon. When is the monsoon, anyway?

You might be able to have a visit without bugs by coming long after the monsoon; most tropical places get nice and dry in the dry season and mosquitoes need standing water to hatch. Doesn't help much with biting gnats and other bugs, though.

It was worth the wait. How fabulous. I'm dripping with envy!

Sorry Ben, was there a direct view of the sea from the Park Villa? I note you say direct beach access and the room looks nice but it seems a long way to go for a room with no view....Agree with you on pointless plunge pools btw altho am a definite beach person.

Agreed - over the water, is over-rated - especially for the cash/points outlay.

That's a pretty awesome room for their "basic" one! Looking forward to the other installments!

You neglect to mention that Villa 31 is next to a jetty. When we stayed there in January that jetty was used for all arrivals, departures, various boating excursions, and for transport of provisions onto the island and garbage off the island. When used for these purposes Villas 31 and 32 afford no privacy whatsoever and should be avoided at all costs. They attempted to put us in Villa 32 and I rejected before setting foot in the villa.

@Lucky how about a review on American Entrepeur George Weinmann's Maldives startup Mega Airlines?
Not too many foreign airlines are managed by American. I know the ex-CEO of Cathay Pacific was American

@ Norman -- Interesting. Can't say I noticed any of that.

@ Leo -- Not really from the villa, but you could see it from the terrace.

@ Owen -- I didn't hear any generator noise, though I'm also a fairly firm sleeper, so it wouldn't have bothered me either way. The hotel actually desalinates all their own water for drinking, showering, cooking, etc.

@ PointsPinnacle -- In fairness, they're just charging you what the rate difference would be between room types. So the co-pay is just the difference on a paid stay between a Park Villa and a Park Water Villa, for example.

@ Bobby -- So happy to hear you loved it as well!

I agree, the upgrade costs were not worth it for my 4 nights on the island. The first night was in the basic and the final 3 nights they did a complimentary upgrade to the pool villa for my Diamond status. It was nice, but the pool was really not worth the significant additional cost, plus the amazing beach just beyond the pool is priceless. I did not care for the overwater bungalows and prefer the land villas far better.

As Diamond we didn't get upgrade at all during our 5-night stay, although, it was during high season between xmas and new year. We were offered OW villa for $500 per night but didn't bite.

We didn't not experience any mosquitoes at all during our stay. Our host mentioned that the island is sprayed twice a day to keep the mosquitoes away.

@Lucky - It looks like they have a new GM. The last GM, Julian Moore is gone? What's your impression of the GM and his management style?

Hey Lucky! Will be there in less than a month. Thanks for the reviews.

Are the upgrade costs you noted in advance or at time of check-in? Just curious since I've been quoted $465 + taxes/fees in advance for upgrade to the Water Villa, while you stated $405 + taxes/fees and that's the difference in price on Hyatt too. Feels like I'm being overcharged.

@ JimC -- That's supposed to be the price in advance, though it could be the rate difference has changed, or that it's busier when you're going. The upgrade fee should be whatever the difference in cost is between a Park Villa and Park Water Villa if paying cash.

@ Pegasus -- The new GM was awesome, and is a lifelong hotelier. He started at the Park Hyatt Mendoza, moved to the Grand Hyatt Dubai, and then to the Park Hyatt Shanghai. He has been at Hyatt all his career, so he "gets" the Hyatt philosophy, which is good news. While I heard good things about the previous GM, he wasn't originally a Hyatt guy, so if anything I'd expect positive changes.

Hi Lucky! Thanks for your quick response.

Just a quick update for you and other readers. I was quoted that price ($465) months ago when I first made my reservation so that's the price they quoted me during reconfirmation. I pointed out that the price difference is only $405 on Hyatt website now and they were very helpful and quick to reprice the upgrade.

I don't think it's malicious on Park Hyatt's part, just that they went with whatever they had put down on their form initially. So, possibly worthwhile to recheck prices at reconfirmation.

Looking forward to your Park Water Villa review, Lucky!

@Lucky, interesting that he's from PH Shanghai. The head chef is a young Australian of Indian descent who was at PH Shanghai. He brought over a whole crew of Chinese chefs from Shanghai. They can cook to order any Chinese specialties not on the menu upon request. I'm not surprised, there's a high percentage of Chinese guests at this property. During Chinese holidays, I'm told, the occupancy could be in the 80-90% mainland Chinese.

@ JimC -- Awesome, thanks for the update!

@Leo. great point RE: beach access without any beach view.. vast majority of Park Villas offer no beach view outside of a tiny blue sliver... I had a specific discussion with GM about what a cheap/easy fix this would be.. Simple landscape architect/tree-trimmer combo could create direct ocean views, retain privacy and raise the price point. Same for view from restaurant-- overgrown palms/palmettos/shrubs block the entire view of the main beach from outdoor dining at restaurant.

I am writing this from Villa 29. We spent two nights in Villa 33, preferred to be a little farther from the jetty and moved to 29. The beach here is deeper and has shade for the chaise lounges on the sand. Our neighbors moved to a water villa two nights ago and state it is noisier and feel less private. They are exposed and can be hotter also.
It is very quiet and I have not heard any generator noise.
The villas are beautiful in a clean, uncluttered way and it would be my first choice to stay in the park villa again. The setting in the trees is hard to beat.

How did you get there before 11am? Would really like to know. Our plane from Doha is scheduled to lane in Male at 9:15am or so, and I did not think there would be a plane ready to take you to Hadahaa right away.

Please advise of your experience re/ the times the planes come and take you to the resort. Just trying not to wait in Male for hours if it can be avoided. What is your estimate of resort arrival time with a 9:15am arrival in Male? Park Hyatt won't tell you and is vague about it, saying the airline doesn't finalize it's schedule until the day prior. it would be nice to have some idea if we are arriving at the resort at noon or have to wait until 2-3pm. We will be flying from Doha starting at 2am, so hanging out in Male for hours would not be preferred.

Insect fogging twice daily at the resort is something they don't tell you about. It's not subtle, either- clouds of insecticide fog roll past the windows in your villa and are pretty thick. Made one of my children feel nauseous and throat closed up. Clouds of insecticide then rolled into the small private pool attached to our villa.

Beautiful resort and attentive staff but dealing with thick clouds of insecticide twice daily was not fun.

I think people make the mistake of thinking of it as a somewhat “free” trip when they stay on points. Big mistake to think that.

Required boat and small plane transfer to the hotel is $1,020 for two people. Food costs per day are easily $350 per couple and that is without alcohol.

Almost every excursion costs between $400-$1,000 for two people- and that is per excursion.

That also does not include 22% tax and svc charge on everything, from dinners to expensive excursions. That $600 excursion you and your wife took? Yes, add an additional 22% tax and service charge onto your $600 excursion cost to equal over $800 for just one two hour excursion.

$777 USD per couple Champagne brunch, anyone? Yes, that is a number on their menu. Beautiful resort but please be aware.