Uniquely @ W Retreat, Maldives

Marine Animals

W Retreat has one of the best house reef. A pity that we don't have our underwater camera with us. But despite that, I was able to get some photos of the abundant marine life.

Can you spot how many crabs are there? There are three of them. Look carefully.

Pals, can you all identify what the marine animals are?

Spot the different kinds of crabs?

Look carefully at the photo below. Did you see the big pool of fishes? We see the huge school of fishes everyday, at the link bridge between the Ocean villas and the resort island. Actually it's quite scary if you are swimming or snorkelling in the beach area isn't it?  The marine biologist at the dive centre told us it's what they call Scad. I'm not sure if we get it correctly. Do leave me a comment if you know what these fishes are.

The resident crane where we see everyday at the beach area.

Sunset Views

Look at the moon, arising from the horizon as the sun is setting.

With the passing clouds, the sun seems hiding behind the horizon.

I love the silhouette of the ocean villas against the sunset.

Spotted On

Saw this outside one of the beach villas. It took me sometime to recognise that it's W that they are drawing. But isn't it wonderfully done? I guess it's supposed to mark 5 May at W Retreat Maldives.

The Last Day

Well, you can imagine how sad I am on our day of departure. The Hotel Manager - Laurens, together with his team, is once again present to send the guests off. This is the heart-warming wave from the window of our seaplane. How can we not return to the resort again?

This is my best holiday so far. The End. I'm am really sad.

Related Posts:

W - Whatever, Whenever!

The Villas @ W Retreat & Spa

Night Fishing & Sunset Cruise Excursions

Food @ W Retreat, Maldives

Away Spa & Other Facilities @ W Retreat, Maldives

Food @ W Retreat, Maldives

There are three restaurants in W Retreat. For our Half board meal plans, we are allowed to dine at Kitchen and Fire.

Kitchen
This is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We have our daily buffet breakfast here.

There's indoor and outdoor dining. You can even choose seats that allow you to dip your feet in the pool. Else, just choose the other outdoor seats or, when the weather get pretty warm, indoor seating might be a better choice.

Buffet breakfast was a nice spread. Honestly, after eating there for four days straight, we were getting a bit bored with the food. There wasn't any changes to the food variety everyday.

Other than the usual egg station, we can also order waffles, crepes, pancakes, egg benedict. These would be freshly-prepared by the chefs.

We made friends with this staff who's at the Fruits Station of the breakfast buffet every morning. He's at the Fire in the evening and was really courteous to us. After seeing us for two days, he told us that he will prepare something special for us, without us even requesting for a fruit platter. He added strawberries, that was actually not available. This really exceeds our service expectation.

We had dinner twice over at the Kitchen as well. Dinner is Ala-Carte and since we are on a half-board meal, we can order anything from the menu, from starter, to the dessert. As usual, drinks are not included in the meal plan. Drinks at W Retreat are on a pretty high side. A bottle of mineral water for us to share cost US$12++. Most Caucasians would order wine for dinner. Somehow, I do not understand why bottled water are available complimentary at the Sweet Treat Station, but yet, charged at a high price at the restaurants. So probably, ordering Wine was a better option.

Dinner was not bad. The staff highly recommended Tenderloin Steak and it turns out to be really yummy. Tuna steak was also good. But I should have requested for to be medium or medium raw. I ordered a medium well, which I think slightly over-cooked for Tuna.

On our last day, we met one of the staff, Didi, whom have served us the previous nights, over at Fire and chatted quite a bit. When I told him it's our final night, he quickly went to the kitchen and request the chefs to prepare a nice dessert for us. That was really sweet of him. That was really a WOW experience for us.

Fire

Fire opens only for dinner. It is a grill restaurant where we choose what we would like to eat, and they will have it grilled for us. It is a pretty romantic setting where tables are set up outdoors, facing the sea. So you can actually hear the clapping waves in the quiet night.

Picture this set up in the evening. Sorry, I can't get the right evening picture taken from the dark.

We ate at the Fire twice, one of the nights, being Korean Night. But it was far from being a Korean BBQ, which I kind of expected it to be. Honestly, food served during the usual BBQ (US$95) dinner and the Korean Night (US$120) was pretty much the same, although guests have to pay more to eat on Korean Night if guests are not on a meal plan. The only difference was the meat was marinated Korean style, eg. Spicy Pork Bulgogi.

I wouldn't rate that the food at W is fantastic. In some cases, for example the grilled fish was too spicy. The BBQ pork wasn't well done and tasted raw. We definitely can get better food in good restaurants in Singapore, probably at a lower price too. But well, it's Maldives. You pay for the location you are in. Fruits, meats, vegetables were mostly exported from overseas. Only seafood are local catch. We were told that there's an island where fruits and vegetables are grown. However, the price is pretty high. Well, of course, everywhere around us is water. The transport cost and the cost of harvesting would be expectantly, high.


Fish

We did not have the chance to try the food at Fish, but I would like to share the beautiful restaurant. This is a fine-dining restaurant which as a bar - Sip next to it. Similar to the Ocean Villas, the Fish is built on the sea.

Guests can start off with a cocktail before dinner, or have drinks after dinner.

The right hand side is actually the bar - Sip, and the left hand is the Fish restaurant.

The tables are all facing the ocean. A very romantic place where guests enjoy candlelight dinner. Someone who tried did tell us that food was not fantastic. Well, I guess the ambiance is what you pay for?



Continue On...

Away Spa & Other Facilities @ W Retreat, Maldives

Uniquely @ W Retreat, Maldives


Related Posts:

W - Whatever, Whenever!

The Villas @ W Retreat & Spa

Night Fishing & Sunset Cruise Excursions

The Villas - W Retreat & Spa

As my previous post, deciding on the resort to stay this trip wasn't easy. We did a lot of research, read reviews and watch YouTube videos before making the decision. We were WOW by many beautiful resorts in Maldives. But ultimately, W emerge as our choice.
We had wanted to stay 2 nights in Beach and Ocean Villa as we want to experience both the clapping waves of the sea, and the direct access into the ocean. However, circumstances did not allow it to happen. So we decided on the Ocean Villas. 

The Villas in W Retreat are modern, yet embracing the Maldivian style of thatched roof, tucked in a quiet secluded island. There are about 50 Ocean Villas (Ocean Oasis) and 28 two-storey Beach Villas (Beach Oasis).

Ocean Villas
The villa is spacious at 1,572sq ft (146 Sqm), with a outdoor deck area and a separate bath area.

We always peep through this glass section of the floor at the lounge area to see if there's any chance of fishes swimming by. We spotted a few, especially at night, there's always 2-3 orange-coloured fishes. Sometimes, the wave is strong and it's difficult to spot any movement below.

Someone we spoke to, told us that the white corals below or around the villas are actually dead corals. Some are re-growing, but it will take a years for it to. Nevertheless, we spotted beautiful fishes, rays and even a school of squid swimming outside the villas.

Did you manage to spot the fish below?

The bath area, with a bath tub, and separate shower and toilet. The water running on the rainforest shower is really strong and I like that feeling. We don't even experience such water pressure in Singapore!

From the lounge area, you can enjoy views of the deck area.

And of course, we all love the sun-deck area, especially with the round-shaped sofa and outdoor lounge area.

The photos speak for itself right? Do we need to say anything more?

Direct access to the sea via steps down from the sundeck.

I love the room amenities, which are all carefully chosen and though of. We can brew our own cup of coffee from the Nespresso, or mix our own cocktail in the villa.

Otherwise, we can choose our selection of wine from the wine cellar.

I love the Bliss Toiletries that are being used. In fact, I love the Lemon Sage so much that I am determined to return to the Sephora shop in Singapore to buy it. Hopefully they still sell the Bliss range of products despite the closure of Bliss Spa in Singapore last year.

The Bose System in the Villa is one thing that made me reluctant to leave the villa. I really love the sound system. Speakers are also fixed at the sun deck and you can chill out at the pool area with great music. So much so, that I bought the CD. Papa Snew *shakes head*.

The room is being made-up twice. The evening turn-down service is always completed with fresh towels, and the program sheet for the next day. Of course, if we need anything extra, we can always dial Whatever, Whenever.

Beach Villas
We requested to have a look at the Beach Villas as we did not have the opportunity to stay in one. The occupancy rate was full almost every night. On our last day, just before departure, the guy at the reception counter recalled our requests and show us the Villa.

The good thing about Beach Villas is the direct access to the beach. I would recommend that guests staying at the beach villas to request for villas between the Away Spa and Fish Restaurant. We were told that this is the part where the corals are remain untouched during the construction. The best place to snorkel around.

The room looks pretty similar to the Ocean Villas.

The shower and toilet is at the back instead. The bath tub have the outdoor feel though.

For the sundeck, it's private as trees are planted in front of villas, giving the guests sufficient privacy, yet, have a direct access to the beach. Similarly, there's a private pool with jacuzzi.

The mirror image of two villas side-by-side. There are interconnecting villas that can be joint as 2 bedroom villas.

The second level is what makes the difference. There's a patio area with a suspended sofa. Guests can also request for the BBQ to be setup for dinner.

Honestly, I think there's no much of a use of the second-level and I don't see many guests lazing at this area. You don't really get a direct view to the sea as it's block by tall trees. Although it's supposed to provide privacy, but somehow, I feel that the trees block the beautiful seaview.

Given a choice to only choose between Ocean or the Beach Villas, I will still stick to my decision of the Ocean Villas. Well, you are in Maldives, and the advantage of staying at water villas is the direct access to the ocean. But of course, the water villas are only suitable for adults.


Continue On...

Night Fishing and Sunset Cruise Excursions

Food @ W Retreat, Maldives

Away Spa & Other Facilities @ W Retreat, Maldives

Uniquely @ W Retreat, Maldives



Related Posts

W - Whatever, Whenever!

W - Whatever, Whenever!

W - Whatever, Whenever!

W - Wow!

These are such powerful punchlines, bringing us great expectation prior to our arrival.

Our second trip to the amazing place - Maldives. This time, choosing for the resort to stay was a big challenge for us. Papa Snew has a list of expectations on the selection of the resort. We all know that Maldives is no cheap destination. Trying to meet expectations, budget and timing it for a good weather was such a challenge.

Amidst hot favourite - Conrad Rangali,  we decided on W Retreat & Spa instead. We love the fact that the resort does not allow kids, and recommended for the young couples. Alright, I admit, we're not that young anymore, we are probably at our "quarter-life crisis", yearning for a great holiday in Island Paradise.

So, finally the trip is set for 4 Nights at the Wow! Resort.

2 May - 6 May 2012
W Retreat & Spa, Maldives

This time, the island is at North Ari Atoll, and the route is service by Maldivian Air Taxi. After we reach the airport, we were received by the W staff personnel, who helped us to re-checked-in our luggage for the seaplane at the airport terminal. Our hand luggage ie. haversack were also weighed, to ensure that it does the exceed the total weight the seaplane can carry.

We were transferred to the W lounge from the Male International Airport to the Seaplane Terminal, which is the beginning of Wow experience.

The lounge has an outdoor and indoor area. Because of the hot weather, most guests would choose to relax indoor. But guests can also admire the seaplanes departing and landing when sitting outdoor.

There are plenty of refreshments, from orange juice, apples, sandwiches, muffins. We just need to help ourselves to it. WIFI is also provided complimentary.

This time, we waited less than an hour for the Seaplane. I guess the weather was good, hence, no delay.

This is how the seaplane looks like. Takes about 10-12 pax.

From the window of the Seaplane, we can see Male town.

We also spotted this beautiful resort. I wonder what this resort is.

One of the amazing sights, are these neatly aligned group of islands. Or are these groups of Atolls?

We arrived at W Retreat & Spa less than the scheduled 25minutes.

I feel the WOW factor immediately! Looking out at our seaplanes windows, this is what we saw. Staff members, including the Hotel Manager and his welcome team were waving to receive us.

We were warmly welcome, given cold towels, and a welcome drink.

DJ was also spinning the W music when we were seated at the Welcome area.

The welcome area with the signature W is the "must have" camera spot for guests. I simply love the way it's being designed. Simple, yet classy.

Look at the evening sunset view, with W facing the Ocean villas. This is my favourite camera spot actually.

Buggies was already lined up to bring us around the resort island. Simply love the W-Style Buggy. If your villa is located at the far end, or you are just simply lazy to walk, you can just dial - Whatever, Whenever and the buggy will be right at your door step.

Whatever, Whenever is the Concierge or Guest Services that takes care of  the guests needs, 24/7. Dinner reservations, activities or any problems we have with the villa, we just dial Whatever, Whenever. Response to our requests were always prompt, with the longest we have to wait was 15minutes.

Look at the carpets, they change every morning, afternoon and evening. Not once did I see a misplaced greeting on the carpet. This is truly a five-star resort.

The other touch in the resort that touches our heart is the Sweet Treats Station. They are located throughout the resort and are replenished constantly. You can get soft drinks, ice-cream, chilled water, towels, wet wipes, and even moisturising lotion at these stations, complimentary of the resort.
Papa Snew would always stop at the station to check out if there's any new additions of ice-cream. He expected Magnum as posted in some trip reviews, but instead, found Nestle Kit Kat. He was a little disappointed though, as he loved Magnum.

Continue On...

The Villas - W Retreat & Spa


Night Fishing and Sunset Cruise Excursions

Food @ W Retreat, Maldives

Away Spa & Other Facilities @ W Retreat, Maldives

Uniquely @ W Retreat, Maldives