Inside The St. Regis Maldives' $21,000 (per Night) Overwater Villa
There's (almost) no way around it — a trip to the Maldives is going to cost you a pretty penny, even if you're redeeming points for your international flights and hotel.
But there's expensive, and then there's a-year-of-college-tuition expensive. The John Jacob Astor Estate at the uber-luxe St. Regis Maldives Vommuli clearly falls into that latter camp, with nightly rates that range from $21,000 to $26,000 and up, depending on when you visit.
For example, here's what you'll pay during low season:
And here's the prepaid high-season rate:
Now, I know what you're thinking... "I'll just redeem my Starpoints!" Sadly it can't be done. SPG50 discounts aren't available, either. So, considering a five-night stay wouldn't be unheard of, you can easily drop a cool $150,000 on your Maldives trip, once you factor in a $26,000+ nightly rate, flights, meals, activities, taxes and more.
Given the high price tag, it must be challenging for the hotel to fill this suite, right? Well, yeah, that does seem to be the case — with the exception of the grayed out dates below (over Christmas and New Year's), there only appear to be four other days on which the John Jacob Astor Estate is booked, all the way through November 2018.
Of course, that'll change as deep-pocketed St. Regis fans book high-roller trips to the Maldives on a whim, but for the most part, the king of overwater villas is available to book.
It also happened to be empty during my stay earlier this month, so, after a few days of asking my butler for a tour at every opportunity, I was finally escorted through the front door of this absolutely insane Maldivian estate. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect — there aren't many traveler photos to speak of, and the villa looks rather unassuming from the outside. But inside, and on the three decks out back, it's an entirely different story.
See for yourself in this 60-second Twitter tour:
I mean holy cow! Not only is the John Jacob Astor Estate enormous, it's as luxurious as you'd expect a $21,000+ Maldives hotel suite to be.
I managed to snap a few pictures as well. Here's (a small section of) the master bedroom:
Which, like the two guest rooms, includes its very own private massage room (!):
The master bedroom has two balconies as well — here's the view out front:
And the view from the back:
Here's a guest bedroom — each one is larger than a standard overwater villa, and this room includes two beds (it's the only overwater villa in this section of the property with two beds in a room):
There's also an enormous living room:
And an incredible "backyard":
One lesser-known fact about the estate is that it also offers sleeping quarters for staff — aides and security teams that guests bring along. They're anything but posh. For example, here's one of the staff guest rooms:
And here's the shared staff bathroom (notably it's still stocked with Remède amenities):
Now as much as I would have loved to explore the estate for just one night (or even a long afternoon), it's simply out of reach — for me and (pretty much) everyone I know. I feel so privileged to have gotten a chance to visit this property at all, thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime Starpoints redemption opportunity that popped up last August.
And my St. Regis Overwater Villa certainly wasn't shabby:
If I do somehow manage to book a stay at the John Jacob Astor Estate one day, I know exactly which airline I'll be flying to get there!
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Why We Chose It
The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex is a stacked card with a rewards rate that will help you earn bonus points on everyday and business-related purchases. You'll earn 15 elite night credits each calendar year, and receive automatic Gold elite status. Finally, the free night award certificate with a redemption level of 35,000 points or less can get you hundreds of dollars in potential value each year.Pros
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- Limited Time Offer: Earn 125,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 5/3/23.
- Receive a 7% discount off standard rates for reservations of standard guest rooms at hotels that participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program when you book directly. Terms and Conditions Apply.
- 6x Marriott Bonvoy Points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program.
- 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping.
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- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Awards can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.
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Rewards Rate
6X | 6x Marriott Bonvoy Points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program. |
4X | 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping. |
2X | 2x points on all other eligible purchases. |
Intro Offer
Limited Time Offer: Earn 125,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 5/3/23.Earn 125,000 points75,000 pointsAnnual Fee
$125Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO© Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.670-850Excellent/Good
Why We Chose It
The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex is a stacked card with a rewards rate that will help you earn bonus points on everyday and business-related purchases. You'll earn 15 elite night credits each calendar year, and receive automatic Gold elite status. Finally, the free night award certificate with a redemption level of 35,000 points or less can get you hundreds of dollars in potential value each year.Pros
- 6 points per dollar on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program
- 4 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and U.S. shipping
- 2 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases
- Earn a free-night award each card renewal month (up to 35,000 points)
- Receive 15 elite night credits to jump-start status
- Transfer Marriott points to 40+ airlines
Cons
- Airline points transfer ratios are poor
- Must spend $60,000 in a year for second free-night award
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 125,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 5/3/23.
- Receive a 7% discount off standard rates for reservations of standard guest rooms at hotels that participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program when you book directly. Terms and Conditions Apply.
- 6x Marriott Bonvoy Points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program.
- 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping.
- 2x points on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Awards can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- Enjoy Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status with your Card.
- Terms apply.