Just completed my stay at JW this week. Prior to staying at the JW Marriott this week, I stayed at Westin last year. As such, doing a comparison on my experiences, given that JW commands a higher price point and hence, higher expectations. Below review will be based on facts and personal experiences.
Pre-Arrival procedure (areas for improvement):
For both stays, I stayed overnight at Hotel Jen before taking the morning seaplane to the resort.
Westin: Westin arranged for an earlier morning flight, called Hotel Jen to ensure that they had our seaplane details and even informed us and the hotel the counter we had to go to etc. When we arrived at the male airport from the overnight hotel, a representative was already waiting for us. Seamless pre-departure experience.
JW: Despite us telling JW team our flight details one week ahead, no contact from JW on our seaplane flight details and pre-arrival details. When we arrived at airport, no one was waiting for us, no instructions whatsoever and when hotel driver tried to ask, we were told to go to the counter for W Maldives. Later on, the JW rep finally appeared and JW blamed it on hotel Jen for not informing them that they had dropped us at the airport. In our perspective as guests, this is lack of planning from JW. Even if hotel Jen failed to inform JW when we left the hotel, JW was the one who arranged for us to be picked up from hotel at 10am, so surely they could have at least gave us a number to contact or tell us where to meet instead of solely depending on the hotel. The Jw staff at the male airport appeared inexperienced also just kept telling us there was no counter and she was busy checking in guests. Quite unacceptable for a 5* luxury resort to not have counter or assign more staff given the peak season.
Breakfast:
JW: Large selection of buffet but disorganised. On the second day of our stay, it rained heavily at the resort and as a result, we (together with other guests) arrived at the resort buffet dining restaurant at 950am. Tables were not cleared and had to be cleared quickly. We were then informed by the restaurant staff that we had ‘10 minutes’ left to get our food. This was told to several tables so everyone rushed into the buffet area like a marketplace. One waiter even dropped a plate which shattered into many pieces on the ground. Overheard guests telling restaurant staff that they had family members who were on their way to breakfast. In the end the executive chef came out to check on the guests and we gave our feedback. Not exactly something we would expect to see at such an expensive resort. Never encountered any of such issues in Westin, even though they offered more customised options for breakfast instead of JW.
Charge for water - at all restaurants:
Another policy I found unacceptable and profiteering. None of the restaurants provided complimentary water (still water) nor warm / hot water. You had to pay for drinks, and they only serve still Evian or sparkling water. This is despite the fact they serve unlimited bottles of water to your villa everyday. Even when requested for the normal standard villa water, was told this was not an option. Basically they wanted you to spend. We feedback this and was given 1 bottle of complimentary water every meal as the resort did not want us to bring our own water from the villa. While we appreciate the gesture of 1 free bottle per meal, we do not agree with the manager’s rationale that they did not want us to bring our water from the villa as there were people on half board etc. To us, this explanation is strange as guests on half board etc had also paid for their room which includes still water, and if they wanted to bring it with them it was purely their prerogative regardless of their meal plans. It appeared clear to us that the resort simply wanted to earn from drinks if you were not on all-inclusive package (we were on full board).
Check out procedure:
Our flights for both stays in Westin and JW were late night flights.
Westin: Arranged a holding villa for us, moved our luggage over for us, allowed us to use it till our seaplane departure at 430pm (we only needed to arrive at the seaplane pick up point at 4pm)
JW: Informed us that they had granted us late check out at 2pm, when our flight was 3.15pm (later delayed to 3.40pm). No proper holding area, and the resort library is used for this purposes, but was poorly equipped (eg. Only two stalls in the female toilet). We personally witnessed when after a group had left, there was no toilet paper left in the toilet etc. We feedback that it was not reasonable to expect guests to be waiting over an hour in a location that was not made for that purpose and requested for later check out so that we can rest in the comfort of our room. The manager Bhagga finally agreed after much discussion but the tone was as if she was doing us a huge favour (quote: ‘We already said yes to many of your requests’). We emphasised that we had only raised valid feedback points as per above and in this scenario, guests who pay over 2000usd a night should not be made to wait over an hour in a location that was ill equipped as a holding area (no water etc). Our only guess is that they want guests to go to the holding area early so that they can turnover the room for next guest or so that they can ensure that they have all the guests ready way ahead of time (for resort’s benefit and not for guests’ comfort).
Butler service:
JW: During our stay, we were assisted by Gasim and Malla, mostly Malla. Despite being a trainee butler, Malla was on the ball and very attentive to our needs. However, when we were out snorkeling at the beach and needed a quick buggy ride back, we were told by multiple staff that they would have to contact our butler to buggy us back. One staff even told us that he was needed at arrival etc etc but for a good 15 minutes there was no seaplane arrival. Only after when another more senior staff saw that we were waiting, cold and getting unhappy did he ask a colleague to send us back. Totally inflexible policy. It was quite inflexible as our butlers might be occupied and it was a short buggy ride back. Gasim attended to us on the last day but he was clearly very busy and once we were at the holding area for the plane we did not see much of him again (unlike the other butlers for other guests).
Westin: Butler was not so dedicated as compared to JW and they function more of administrative but could get all the important stuff sorted out (no need for specific butler to send us back to villa etc).
Overall? Would rate JW 3 stars. At a higher price point, JW has good hard product, food was of good quality, but clearly from the way we interacted with some of the resort staff, the training was not as evident. For instance, after every course of meal, they would come and ask if food was ok but if we gave feedback they were not able to respond. From the breakfast fiasco, the panicky states of the restaurant staff clearly shows they are not equipped for various scenarios. While we appreciate the resort trying to make our stay comfortable and memorable, these are expected for a resort of this price point. For Westin, at lower price point, less end to end service but they made sure the experience was good for moments that matter.
