Review: Returning To The Park Hyatt Maldives

Dear Ben, why stay twice at the Park Hyatt Maldives, when there are so many other (and much better) luxury hotels around that are not that hard to get to ? When you return to the Maldives (and you should as it's the best beach destination on earth), consider a stay at one of the following, tremendously impressive resorts:
- Gili Lankanfushi
- Soneva Fushi (I can even get you an upgrade there)
- Maalifishi by COMO
- Anantara Kihavah Villas
- One&Only Reethi Rah
You should also have a look at Soneva Jani, which opens in October and will become the Maldives' most exclusive property in no time (I was able to visit the site a few month ago). There's also a St Regis property opening in autumn.

I love the Maldives and have been there 5-6 times already and going back this September (well, I live 4 hours away by plane so that make a difference. Next time it would be good to read about the new St Regis!

Hey, I was wondering if why you picked this hotel over the conrad?

I think Cheval Blanc beats out every property that's listed by Jan above.

Have sent many clients there. Most have been to one or more other Maldive properties but simply cannot compare to Cheval Blanc, which in its own category. (at the moment).

Four Seasons will be opening a private island that can accommodate up to 22 guests traveling together.

Lucky, random question, but is there any overhead space on that Maldivian flight?

@Ryan, yes there is. There is a picture in this post: https://onemileatatime.com/review-park-hyatt-boat-transfer-and-maldivian-dash-8-kooddoo-to-male/

So counting the cost of transfer ($500 per person), and your upgrade to water villa ($560 per night for five nights), and the gala dinner, we are still looking at about .... $4000 or more for just 5 nights? Add in the cost of hyatt points (conservatively $1000 worth of points, but likely much more than that).

Was it really a good deal to fly across the world to relax for a few days for $4000 of cold hard cash, plus whatever points value it was? For a one time experience, sure, but a repeat experience? The same money can be used for a newer experience, assuming one doesn't have infinite money. More importantly, a random search over new years eve 2016 for 5 nights got paid rates in the same $5000 range at various maldives overwater bungalows (I'm sure consolidator sites can bring the cost lower).

@Ken, if you re-read the post, they only upgraded for two nights.

@Guarav -- thanks very much, appreciate that heads-up.

Thanks for posting this. I'll be visiting PH Maldives in January and starting to get really excited. How is the house reef? There has been a lot of bleaching worldwide and I'd be disappointed to to arrive with dead coral when not expecting it.

Last NYE I stayed at the Conrad on points. I was very torn on my experiences (will never go over NYE again, the diving wasn't very good, and the Conrad is a little too club med feeling). I thought I wouldn't be going back to the Maldives (because of the hassle of getting there) but the AA devaluation happened and it changed my plans. I was eligible for the Hyatt signup bonus and things just fell together. After 5 nights at the Conrad I was read yo head home. Don't think I could have done longer (unless money was no issue).

Ben, my husband and I just made our second February/March trip to PHM....2 year span between our visits. Like you, we wouldn't go every year, but every 2-3 years, it's a fabulous, totally relaxing one week getaway. Unlike some posting here, I get the allure. While there are more luxurious, more flashy, and more pampering resorts in the Maldives, it's the laid-back, unpretentious vibe and the remote location of the resort that make it so appealing. As a Diamond, it's a great value on points or points and cash with $200 upgrade to Park Pool. In a few years, we'll go back a third time....

Ben,

Just wanted to say how much I appreciate these reviews. Especially this one, where you have been somewhere, visit again, give some highlights and changes.

I tend to go to alot of the same places over the years and sprinkle in new ones too so it's good to see a review like this.

Not sure i'd ever make the trek out to the Maldives though...

Hi Ben,

How did you get consecutive award nights? A lot of time they don't have award nights.

Best

My wife and I just got back from a Maldives and Bali trip for our anniversary. You summed up why this place is so special. We were told the resort was at around 70% capacity, but the only time we ever saw more than 10 people was at breakfast and dinner. We truly felt we were on our own private island most of the time.

We upgraded to the water villa 2 nights and are glad we did it for the experience, but if we went back I think we'd stay the entire time in a pool villa. You can't beat having the beautiful beach and your own pool within 50 feet of each other. This place really is special.

Ben,
Let's say I had about 600,000 Chase points, 250,000 SPG and 190,000 Membership rewards points.
What would you recommend as the best way to get there using these points.
Thanks

Have been to Maldives 3 times over the past 10 years. Its all about Cocoa Island by COMO! Maalfushi by COMO is pretty fantastic as well. The days go by super fast by the time you gym, eat, snorkel, swim and read!

@Andrew - We just returned from 8 days at PH Maldives in May. There has been some bleaching of the reef, but it was still pretty spectacular. We were there during a particularly rough stretch of weather, so we pretty much stuck to snorkeling in the more sheltered area between the main beach area and the Overwater Bungalows. I was impressed with how clear the water was even with the rough seas. I think you'll be VERY happy with the quality of the house reef.

We split our time between a Park Pool Villa (villa 21) and a Park Water Villa (villa 43). I will validate the comments about the Park Water Villa being hotter. The humidity seemed much more intense as well. They did bring us a fan, and it made a small difference, but the Water Villas do stay considerably warmer than the land based villas. We plan on returning to PH Maldives at some point in the future, and will opt to spend the entire time in a Park Pool Villa. Having your own plunge pool is pretty fantastic, and the outdoor shower area is unrivalled.

One other comment for anyone overnighting in Male. Due to international flight times, we spent our last evening in Hulhumale (connected to the airport island) at the Hotel Ocean Grand. It's a great little hotel (emphasis on little) for anyone needing an overnight before or after their transfers to/from their resort destination. The facilities were clean, modern and perfectly adequate, and the staff was fantastic. Pricing was reasonable as well. It was definitely a far better experience than Ben's overnight at the AI 🙂 It is a short cab ride away (a couple of bucks) from the ferry terminal which can get you over to Male in 15 minutes for another couple of bucks if you have time to kill and want to explore the city at all.

"though as far as I’m concerned the ocean is the sharks’ house". Very funny--I think I see one of them at the bottom of the picture of the white sand beach.

I said it last time you posted about the PH Maldives, and I'll say it again...

I have a really hard time paying over $1k for a TRANSFER to the hotel. Yikes. For me, that's enough to choose another "type" of beach resorts without that type of charge, Maldives or not.

I've been to the Maldives maybe 8 times now (lost count), and especially travelling with young kids, I'd like them to be able to see marine life without having to snorkel, or not have to go very far (think 5 meters) to snorkel. There are some resorts where you hardly see any fish. So far Angsana Ihuru/Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru have been fantastic in this aspect.

The aerial images of PHM look pretty impressive with corals just under the water villas (as opposed to just sand); I would love to hear if anyone have any comments on their reef and marine life around the jetties?

My wife and I are 64 and will be celebrating our 40 years of marriage and I would love to do something that would blow here away. We can go anywhere, but she is scared to go to Europe. We always travel first class and like to stay in nice places. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated Thank you Edward Nasser