When choosing between the Waldorf, Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and Park Hyatt Maldives, which is best? The Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi and Ritz-Carlton Maldives are both the best luxury hotels in terms of rooms, facilities, and service. The Waldorf’s large rooms and huge, sunny, warm, decked private pool are the best overall, but the Ritz-Carlton has slightly better facilities.
It’s worth noting that the prices for food and services at all four resorts are eyewatering, so it’s essential to get the best possible deal when you book. Our luxury travel concierge offers a brilliant deal at all these resorts. We can gift you priority room upgrades, hotel credit, free breakfast, and more. You also get your usual loyalty points when you book via our agency.
1. Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi is an incredibly luxurious hotel in the Maldives with two shared pools, which are rarely occupied. The large family pool has an impressive infinity-edge, is free-form with a sandy bottom, and is surrounded by greenery, which feels very relaxing. The adult pool is rectangular with little fountains at one end and round, shaded cabanas and loungers flanking either side and an infinity edge.
The main beach at the Waldorf is wide, with loungers and four-poster double-bed style cabanas. A nearby restaurant will bring you food and drink, and this beachside restaurant is ideal for lunch or a light bite. There are also plenty of water sports beyond snorkeling, including kayaks, paddle boats, and stand-up paddleboard.
The King Reef Villa is the standard room at the Waldorf and is a beautiful waterside villa on the beach. The decor is classy, and the bedroom and bathroom have hugely high beamed ceilings in an upside-down V. The bedroom is generously large with its own separate living area. The bathroom and bedrooms are huge, and the bathroom has a huge shower and toilet cubicle and a large stand-alone bath by the window. The toiletries are by Aesop.
Highlights outside are a large and private open-air shower and an overwater deck with your own private pool. This pool is large, warm, and sunny. Two loungers to one side dip their feet into the pool water, plus a further swing sofa hanging off wooden beams and a large hanging sunbathing/lazing double bed again hanging off wooden beams.
The footprint of this villa and its gardens covers 3,000 ft², a huge space that feels generous. We can’t think of any need to upgrade to an overwater villa, as the base villas at the Waldorf are really huge and have everything you need plus a load more.
One nice feature of the Waldorf is that you can snorkel right from your reef villa. These villas have a lovely reef just 20 feet away. Expect to see turtles and reef sharks just off the edge of your villa, which is a major advantage of staying at this resort. We have compared the Waldorf to the Conrad Maldives in case you are a Hilton fan and choosing between these two resorts.
Waldorf Or Conrad Maldives. Which Hilton Is Best?
The Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi and Conrad Maldives Rangali Island are part of the Hilton brand, so you can earn and burn Hilton Honors points at both resorts. We look at which is better below, but overall, the Waldorf wins for its glorious reef villas and more glamorous setting. If you are choosing between the best hotels in the Maldives, we have also compared the St. Regis Vs. Ritz-Carlton Maldives, which are similarly good and are worth considering.
2. The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands
The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands emphasizes minimalist elegance with an eco-friendly design, using organic materials to create a sophisticated yet understated aesthetic. The Ritz-Carlton’s overwater villas are circular in design and feel more modern than the rooms at St Regis and after the Waldorf are probably the best rooms across these four hotels.
This Ritz-Carlton is actually laid out over three islands linked by bridges and surrounded by a lagoon protected by a rock wall that ensures the water is calm. The pool is on the middle island, and the beach is opposite most of the villas, which gives two interesting and completely different experiences. The pool and beach have their own restaurants, providing a variety of dining locations with all sorts of food, including Italian, Chinese, Japanese, continental, and Maldivian.
The Ritz reef is not the best, but you can snorkel with tropical fish right from your villa in a sheltered environment. The underwater walls, which have been built around the Ritz-Carlton, make the water superbly calm, which is a huge advantage if you have children.
We have compared the Ritz-Carlton Vs. St. Regs Maldives in more detail below.
Ritz-Carlton Or St. Regis. Which Is The Best Marriott In The Maldives?
The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort and The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, are both epitomes of luxury in the Maldives, each with its unique offerings. They are both part of the Marriott brand, so you can earn and burn Marriott Bonvoy points at both resorts. The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort is on a private island in the Dhaalu Atoll, requiring a scenic 45-minute but expensive seaplane ride from Malé. The Ritz-Carlton Maldives is located in the North Malé Atoll, accessible by a shorter 10-minute speedboat ride from Malé International Airport. The St.
3. St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort is undoubtedly luxurious, but it is more traditional in design than the other three hotels featured in this comparison. It has marble floors in the beach rooms and feels elegant but lacks youth and fun in its decor.
The standard rooms here are on the beach, and the overwater villas have their own pool, which is shaded from the sun, making swimming in these pools less appealing.
The St. Regis has wonderful snorkeling with turtles and sharks, but the disadvantage here is that the reef at the St Regis is hard to get to. You must swim quite a distance from your bungalow to get to the edge of the reef, which has a 100-foot drop-off that can feel weird and uncomfortable for beginners and young snorkelers.
Although the St. Regis reef is good, the water can be fairly rough around the villas so you can’t always step out from your villa into the sea for a swim or a snorkel, the reef is an effort to get to.
The St. Regis has wonderful gardens, possibly the most jungly feel of all the resorts, and is definitely superior in greenery to the Waldorf.
St. Regis Maldives has some of the best chefs in the Maldives, so if you’re a foodie, it’s probably your best bet. However, for great rooms and a stylish setting, the Ritz-Carlton and the Waldorf have the edge.
We have compared St. Regis to the W Maldives in case you want to take a deeper dive into the Marriott hotel options in the Maldives:
Best Marriott: St Regis Vs. W Maldives
The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort and The W Maldives are part of the Marriott brand, so you can earn and burn Marriott Bonvoy points at both resorts. The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort is on a private island in the Dhaalu Atoll, requiring a scenic 45-minute but expensive seaplane ride from Malé. W Maldives is located on North Ari Atoll, a shorter seaplane ride from Mahe airport. The flight takes just 25 minutes. A cheaper arrival option is a domestic flight to Maamigili Airport, which takes about 20 minutes, followed by a speedboat transfer, which takes about 45 minutes.
4. Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
The Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa is one of the most secluded resorts in the Maldives, and you can walk all the way around the island on the sands, but the rooms, villas, and restaurants are not comparable to the Waldorf, or the Ritz-Carlton.
We love Park Hyatt’s minimalist design. We have appreciated this at the Park Hyatt Zurich and Park Hyatt Vienna. But their base rooms do not have private pools which is a disadvantage.
The pool area is particularly lovely at the Park Hyatt, which has sweeping views and gorgeous cabanas. The overwater villas are the ones to go for here, as you get unobstructed sunset views and can snorkel directly from your villa. For snorkeling, the Park Hyatt is a great choice. The snorkeling at the Park Hyatt is outstanding, with loads of black-tip and white-tip reef sharks, turtles, giant moray eels, and eagle rays.
There have been reports of mosquitos at the Park Hyatt. It’s worth taking mozzie spray if you are staying anywhere in the Maldives.
Pick the Park Hyatt for its brilliant snorkeling (probably the best of the four) and minimalist decor. Pick the St. Regis for its jungly setting and excellent food. Pick the Ritz-Carlton for its luxurious setting and great snorkeling in a sheltered setting. Pick the Waldorf for its incredible “standard” beach villas and great snorkeling right off the beach.
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