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The Ritz Carlton Maldives opens and is a good points deal

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Marriott has been on a roll in the Maldives recently. We have covered the JW Marriott Maldives and the upcoming launch of Le Meridien. This is great value as a redemption for just 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night albeit that most of the initial availability went quickly.

Slightly under the radar, The Ritz Carlton Maldives has just opened. The website is here.

It is often difficult to differentiate Maldives resorts. The Ritz Carlton is described as being “set within an integrated development” – it isn’t clear what that means, although it also talks about “Access to Maldives’ Fari Marina with luxury shopping, dining and entertainment.”

Ritz Carlton Maldives opens

Apart from that, make what you can of this:

“The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands hotel takes a minimalist approach to luxury. Modern waterfront villas include private pools; simple ingredients are transformed by skilled chefs and mixologists; healing is guided by directional energy and nature is explored with respect and wonder. The resort’s three islands and overwater quay serve as a base for discovering all the archipelago has to offer.”

It is, unsurprisingly, a Category 8 redemption with Marriott Bonvoy. This means that you will need up to 100,000 points per night on a peak date. Off-peak dates will cost 75,000 points per night.

I have read that it is built on a dredged artificial island, so will presumably have no reef or snorkelling opportunities, but I can’t confirm that. I would compare the resort with the St Regis if you are looking to spend Bonvoy points.

Despite being Category 8, it is actually outstanding value based on the cash rates. For 11th-14th January 2022, for example, an Ocean Pool Villa is $3,026 per night or 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. At 3c (2.1p) per point, this is FOUR TIMES our ‘expected’ redemption value of 0.5p.

Marriott Bonvoy also has ‘5 for 4’, taking the cost of a five night stay on a peak date down to 80,000 points per night at peak times. This would get you 2.6p per point.

The only issue is that, despite the Ocean Villa being 150 sq m, the maximum occupancy is just two people and rollaway beds are specifically disallowed. Anyone with children will need a higher room category which is not part of the redemption pool.

Beware that, whilst the resort is close to Male, transfers are still extortionate. The 45-minute speedboat ride is charged at $730 return, whilst a 10-minute seaplane ride comes in at $1,100 return.

You can find out more about The Ritz Carlton Maldives on its website here.

If you need to top up your Marriott Bonvoy account to book, Marriott is currently offering a 30% bonus when you buy points via this link by 20th June.

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points sign-up bonus and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (32)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Karen Porter says:
    15 Jun15 June 05:52

    Thanks Rob, just bagged 2 tickets to lunch with Jimmy 😀.

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:
      15 Jun15 June 10:20

      I happened to be awake about 3:30am UK time and would have jumped at this but the article hadn’t been published. You win some you lose some, but is there a reason that the publishing of articles is staggered rather than simultaneous? Not a compliant, just curious.

      • Rob says:
        15 Jun15 June 10:37

        The email system can only send ‘on the hour’ and to avoid multiple emails going out at the same time (which would hugely increase the risk of them being seen as spam) they go at 4am, 5am and 6am.

        Arguably we could put all the articles up just before 4am, but we don’t.

        However, it is worth noting that the earlier they go up, the more likely that any excellent deals are taken by non-HFP readers. If everything goes up at 3am then any secret deal we’ve found will be all over the US blogs and probably dead before you’ve woken up. Time sensitive deals tend to go up as near to 6am as we dare risk it.

  • Nick says:
    15 Jun15 June 06:12

    Join a Hilton cricket event in Manchester – Now Sold Out

  • 1ATL says:
    15 Jun15 June 06:27

    The Fari Islands are an archipelago of artificial islands built on top of a virgin reef. The concept incorporates several resorts built on separate made islands including a Ritz-Carlton, a Patina and a Capella plus a separate staff island for all resorts called the hub. The Fari Archipelago extends some 10km in length and will share certain facilities that guests from all three resorts can enjoy.

  • MT says:
    15 Jun15 June 06:44

    I think it is worth mentioning that unlike the St. Regis the Riz Carlton Maldives will not give free breakfast to Platinum Elites and above which will come in no doubt about $150 per day for 2 people. That and the $900 speedboat transfer per person which is more than the St.Regis Seaplane transfer. So I would certainly think carefully before redeeming points here compared to the St. Regis as the value really doesnt seem that good by comparison.

    • Ian M says:
      15 Jun15 June 07:30

      and of course for anyone with Marriott Suite Night Awards, these can’t be used at any Ritz Carlton properties either.

      • meta says:
        15 Jun15 June 12:55

        They can’t be used at most Marriott properties in Maldives. I haven’t properly checked but for sure they can’t be used at St Regis and Le Meridien as they don’t participate. It’s not restricted to just Ritz-Carlton/Edition, any property can opt-out of the SNA system.

        • MT says:
          15 Jun15 June 13:43

          In the Maldives its actually more because the properties are all Suite / Villa and SNA’s have never been available to use on that type, even when it was SPG. Obviously a property can over ride this, last time I checked The Westin Maldives did allow this and also The Sheraton Maldives (think this maybe rooms anyway) but you couldn’t actually pay me to stay at that property again.

  • BuildBackBetter says:
    15 Jun15 June 07:01

    Can we set up alerts for Hilton experiences? I’d have loved to gift the cricket experience to my family, but unfortunately it’s sold out!

    • Babyg says:
      15 Jun15 June 08:51

      its not hard to check, the cricket has been there for at least 1 week maybe 2..it only sold out once posted here…

      • Rob says:
        15 Jun15 June 10:16

        If you could set up alerts it wouldn’t help you, because others would set up alerts and probably still beat you to it.

    • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
      15 Jun15 June 09:40

      You unfortunately just have to check every couple weeks (and hope that an auction you are following isn’t posted on HfP!)

  • IanM says:
    15 Jun15 June 08:23

    All the experiences in the Far East, is there no covid there?

  • Benilyn says:
    15 Jun15 June 08:23

    The only issue is that, despite the Ocean Villa being 150 sq m, the maximum occupancy is just two people and rollaway beds are specifically disallowed. Anyone with children will need a higher room category which is not part of the redemption pool.

    – what about baby cribs I wonder?

  • Prince Charles says:
    15 Jun15 June 08:37

    Cricket is like watching paint dry. It’s a no from me!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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