The Ritz Carlton Maldives is an incredibly luxurious resort that is great for adults and perfectly designed with kids in mind.  From the personalized service provided by all staff to the gorgeous kids club and the affordable kids meals, I could not have been happier bringing my children on the long journey from California.

The review of this hotel will be separated into several installments given the vast array of content.  This installment will provide an focus on the booking, transfer, and villa.  Future installments will look more closely at the resort, dining, and kids club.

View other posts in this series:

• Qatar Airways A350-900 Q-Suites
• Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
• Ritz Carlton, Part 1 – Arrival and Villa (this post)
• Ritz Carlton, Part 2 – Resort Facilities
• Ritz Carlton, Part 3 – Restaurants
• Ritz Carlton, Part 4 – Kids Club
• Singapore Airlines 737-8 Business Class
• Bonus: Video Review

Booking

Standard rooms at the Ritz Carlton can be booked using Marriott Bonvoy points (currently up to 130,000 points/night) or cash. Rates tend to be lower during monsoon season (June – September) and while you do risk having more rain interrupt your stay, we’ve found the weather on our trip to be plesant with a few quick spurts of rain.

If you want to stay here with two children, the Marriott’s booking engine suggests you will need a two-bedroom villa, costing much more than double the price of the standard room. However, the description of the standard room does say two adults and two children (under 12). To get around this, I would just book your desired itinerary with one child and then contact the hotel to add the second child.

Our booking for this trip was a bit out of the ordinary.  I was originally booked at the St. Regis in a two-bedroom overwater villa prior to the recent Marriott Bonvoy points devaluation.  For this reservation, I had the option of paying 540,000 Marriott points for five nights, or $1,000 plus 340,000 Marriott points.  Since I value Marriott points at more than 0.5 cents each, it made sense for me to book the latter.

I booked the hotel in July 2021 and in 2022, I started hearing rumors that the St. Regis would be closed for renovations. The hotel never reached out to me proactively.  I sent an email to the St. Regis asking about the status of the hotel and they confirmed they will be closed for the period of my stay.  I asked if I could be moved to the Ritz Carlton, but they countered with a room at the W Maldives.  I responded that the W Maldives was not an acceptable alternative as the W has no kids club, which was the driving reason why I had selected the St. Regis in the first place.  They acknowledged the concern and agreed to move me to the Ritz Carlton in a comparable two-bedroom overwater villa.  Additionally, the staff at the St. Regis confirmed they would cover the cost of breakfast (a benefit that normally applies at most Marriott hotels with Platinum elite status or higher but not at the Ritz Carlton).

The transition from working with the St. Regis team to the Ritz Carlton team was mostly smooth, with one brief hiccup where the number of points used jumped up in price due to the recent points devaluation. However, this was rectified by the St. Regis team. The Ritz Carlton team was in frequent contact to confirm any details or preferences prior to arrival and confirmed Char’s speedboat transfer to the resort is free since she was two years old for this trip. Adults are $678 each plus tax and children aged 3 to 11 are $339 plus tax for the transfer to the resort. In total, it cost $2,184.80 for the transfers.

Earning Marriott Points

If you’re looking to earn Marriott points quickly, you could look into picking up a Marriott credit card. Both Chase and American Express offer Marriott credit cards but right now the offer is a bit better on the American Express side. Since the offer from Chase is currently lackluster, I won’t go into further detail at the moment–it’s better to wait for an increasing offer from that bank.

Full disclosure: the links below are standard refer-a-friend links where I may earn some Marriott or American Express points for referring. There is no requirement to use the below referral links to apply but note your offer may differ when going directly to the card issuer.

American Express offers a small business Marriott credit card offering 125k Marriott points when you spend $5,000 in three months. While you may not have considered a small business credit card previously, note that it may be possible to acquire a small business credit card for things such as running yard sales and reselling items. Adding in the consideration you earn at least 2x for every dollar spent, you’ll have enough for one free night here.

Both Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards allow the ability to transfer points into Marriott. I wouldn’t normally suggest that since I find those points to be far more valuable when used towards flights, but could be helpful to top off an account or keep Marriott points from expiring.

If you were interested in acquiring a card earning American Express Membership Rewards points, one of the better offers right now is the American Express Gold card, earning 90k American Express Membership Rewards points for $4,000 spend in six months. After meeting the minimum spend, you would be well on your way to earning a free night here. While it’s not the method I would use, I could certainly see value since it can cost $1,500/night when paying with cash, and it is an excellent return anytime you can earn at least $1,000 on a sign up bonus.

Lastly, it is possible to buy Marriott points outright, but only consider it during a sale. The most recent sale added on a 45% bonus, costing you only 0.86 cents/point. That’s the equivalent of paying about $1,100 for a room when it costs 130k points. That’s not cheap but is potentially a discount off the normal cash rate for the room. This only makes sense to top off an account or if you were planning on paying cash in the first place.

Arrival to Resort

The airport staff instantly recognized and addressed us by name.  Traveling with two young children to the resort was likely a substantial hint to the Ritz Carlton representative.  He took our bags and escorted us on a short walk to the ship terminal where we waited briefly for the boat to arrive.

A 1-hour speedboat transferred us from Male to the Ritz Carlton.  Staff onboard the ship are aware that the journey can be rocky and offered bracelets to help fight motion sickness.  One major shortcoming of the speedboat was the smell of exhaust that filled the cabin, especially near the back. There isn’t much to do onboard but Wi-Fi is available to entertain yourself on your own devices.

The arrival jetty, where the speedboat disembarks, is located near in the center of the resort. When we arrived, we were greeted by staff who presented each of the kids a small backpack filled with goodies and encouraged us to visit the Kids Club. We were whisked away on a buggy for a tour around the island.

The Ritz Carlton is located in the Fari Islands.  It’s a man-made island that was thoughtfully designed.  Culinary dining is located in the center island, while activities (beach and kids club) and the overwater villas (and spa) are on separate islands at opposing ends. The three islands are connected by short bridgeways.

Our Aris Meeha (butler) Shaghaf had some other responsibilities initially but was able to join us mid-tour.  She drove us to our villa (#312), showed us the features of the room, and completed the check in procedures.

The Two Bedroom Water Pool Villa

I’m sure Shaghaf could see the look of astonishment when we first entered. The room is beautifully designed.  The entrance opens into a large living room with a stocked bar along the left and comfortable seating on the right.  A dining table that seats six people was useful for in-room dining and snacking.

All snacks and non-alcoholic beverages were complimentary and restocked daily. Not only do they restock the supply, but housekeeping made note of what was selected for consumption and doubled the amount of those items. Char’s favorite was the parmesan-flavored chips, and two bags were provided each day as soon as they realized they were a hot seller in our villa.

On the dining table, an assortment of goodies welcomed us to the resort. We had trouble finishing everything during our time here, but everything we tried was delicious. I believe the bottle of champagne is a welcome amenity for my Titanium Marriott status.

The best part of the villa are the floor-to-ceiling windows across the entire wall in all rooms of the villa.  The windows could be fully pushed into the wall to fully integrate the indoor and outdoor experience in the Maldives.

The hotel proactively provided the kids with a play tent with accompanying blanket and pillows, which offered additional in-room entertainment.

The master bedroom was similarly gorgeous.  A comfortable king bed is located perfectly for viewing the water.  Each side of the bed had a small night stand with multiple universal outlets and controls for the window shades.  There was also a large in-room bathtub with bath salts provided for a nice night in.

Located behind the master bedroom was a large walk-in closet with generous of storage for luggage, clothes, shoes, and accessories. A woven beach bag and set of his-and-hers hats were gifts from the resort. 

Along the opposite wall is the vanity, complete with two sinks and plenty of amenities to make our stay more comfortable. The full-sized Bamford products were gifts to take home with us.

There was a spacious indoor shower that could easily fit the whole family. There was an outdoor shower that we used to rinse off after swimming in the pool or ocean.

The kids bedroom had two beds with the same spectacular view.  These beds were advertised as a twin bed, but it felt wider than the twin beds but was not quite the size of a full bed

The kids bedroom had the same walk-in closet as the master bedroom.  This definitely takes the cake for most closet space I’ve ever had in a hotel room. Plus, they had cute kid-sized robes available. In addition to the jack-and-jill vanity in the kids bedroom, there was also a half bathroom with just a toilet and sink.

The outdoor deck was stunning.  A large pool ran the center of the deck.  The pool is unheated, which can make for a chilly dip when the sun is not warming it up.  There were large steps and seating along the entire 1-meter deep pool that allowed Char to stand and move around without needing to know how to swim.

On one side of the pool were two daybeds perfect for soaking in the sun.  On the other side, an outdoor table with bench, great for in-room dining.

A ladder off the deck leads down into the water, convenient for going into the water. However, note the current during our trip was a bit strong. Despite some swimming lessons, Alex wasn’t yet able to swim well here due to the current.

Based on reviews I’ve seen online, some guests may experience water creeping into the room during a downpour. Thankfully we did not experience that on our trip, despite some moments of heavy rain. I do recall seeing some overwater villas along the sunrise side with towels piled up by the entrance to the villa. So it’s possible there could be flooding by the villa entrance, depending on where the rain is coming from.

The villa was everything we hoped for, and then some. The architecture of the villa was aesthetically pleasing and the layout was perfectly designed for a family or group of friends. The kids loved they had their own bedroom (and the parents did too). I think it’s fair to say we couldn’t have been much happier with the design and functionality of the villa. Much of this is mirrored in the layout of the island itself, which I’ll get into next time.