Waldorf Astoria Maldives recently came online for bookings from July 1 (its official opening date). For many Hilton Honors members and especially those that collect points, this has been a hot topic on many blogs and forums. So much so that Waldorf Astoria has now stopped taking bookings for Standard Night Awards (120,000 points per night).
An insider source has told me that the majority of bookings up until the end of the year are all points redemptions with hardly any “paying customers”.
Due to the influx of redemptions at the property, management has decided to block out any award nights until further notice it seems.
I’ve tried searching for availability from July until next year but couldn’t see any Standard Reward rooms.
My thoughts on all this
The price per night at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives is so high it forms an excellent value proposition for those that know how to purchase Hilton Points. As I wrote in my previous post, I managed to book this resort for $2400 by purchasing Hilton points while the official cash rate for the same room at 5 nights clocked in at more than $14,000 ($US).
I think Waldorf Astoria Maldives will take some time to get the demand from paying customers since the island is predominantly man-made, the vegetation will take some time to really grow to the lush Maldivian standards guest would expect from a resort in this price range.
It will definitely be interesting to see what the resort is like when it opens in July and how the hotel reacts to all the points redemptions. I know other properties play similar games, blocking redemptions for standard rewards up until the last minute (looking at you Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam).
Only time will tell so congrats to those that got a booking on points!
