TLDR: This is not comparable to other category 8 Marriott resorts - e.g. Ritz-Carlton Maldives. It’s decent, but the shortcomings are very noticeable, particularly if you’ve seen some of the best Marriott has to offer. Beautiful area, but simply not up to par with other locations. If you’ve never experienced a high-end island resort, you’ll probably love this place. If you have, you may be disappointed.
The good:
- Staff were very friendly and hospitable. Never an unpleasant interaction. Nazz at breakfast was amazing.
- The food was great overall, especially for lunch and dinner. Breakfast had some gems, but could’ve had more variety. Pantai Grill was incredible. So was L’Orangerie.
- The views are nice.
- Prices are reasonable for their spa, restaurants, laundry service etc., relative to other St. Regis properties.
The bad:
- At breakfast, there wasn’t much variety, even compared to a regular St. Regis Hotel (this place calls itself a resort).
Various pastry items were clearly stale and from the day or days prior. I understand not wanting to discard edible food, but the only times I’ve had stale breakfast pastries at a St. Regis was here and in KL, and I’ve stayed at many of their properties around the world.
- The rooms are showing very clear signs of age. I was in their Sunset Villa, of which there are only three. I believe there’s only one room category that’s more expensive, which is a much larger villa.
You’d expect these rooms in particular to be in the best condition, but some of the furniture was stained, other pieces were dilapidated, the floors were peeling, and the AC was not working properly on arrival. There was no vanity mirror here despite one being in the much cheaper standby room.
This property is in desperate need of a renovation if they want to attract cash-paying guests.
- The location is constantly in low tide, so there won’t be much swimming on the beach itself.
- Laundry service lost one of my socks. They claim it wasn’t included in the bag, which I packed meticulously. I placed each piece one by one into the bag and closed it before handing it off, I’m certain I sent everything. This is a small and inconsequential loss, but it’s the principle of the matter - it was a great way to irritate me.
- Check-in experience was weird and frustrating.
We arrived early (around 11am). We were initially told that checkout is at 12 and we’d have to wait till about then for the room to become available.
I wasn’t convinced because obviously it needed to be cleaned. We received the welcome drink and handed our passports and payment method over. Then we were left alone to wait.
We waited till 12:30 in the lobby before following up. Then we were told “Kindly be informed check-in is at 3”…OK, I’m aware, but it was implied that we’d have access to the room sooner. I don’t want to hear scripted lines, just solutions.
They again recommended that we get lunch, so we headed to their main L’Orangerie restaurant (which is great). Then we were offered a standby room, which was at least worth something. We waited there till 3 and followed up, only to wait another 25 minutes to be taken to the villa (it’s far and requires a buggy ride).
No one offered us a tour of the room, an explanation of the amenities and which switches control which fixtures, etc. At every other resort I’ve been to, a property and room tour is among the first things they do. Very odd.
- To reiterate, the ACs were not functional on arrival and it required us to realize something was wrong and a reset by their engineering team. Even after that, the bathroom AC wasn’t performing well but it seemed that there wasn’t anything else to be done, so I just accepted it.
- Despite it being peak season, for whatever reason, the property felt a little dead. I’m not sure if it’s because of the lack of events, the size, the demographic of the guests, or what…but it just felt empty at times.
- When you consider all of the drawbacks above, it really detracts from the “magic” that resorts of this caliber are supposed to offer. In many ways, it just felt like a basic hotel.