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Silent Goodbye a sad reality. (Mom passes on & leaves small Children)

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The quiet community of Ngodini, just outside Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, South Africa, woke up to heartbreaking news that left neighbours and relatives in disbelief. Twelve-year-old Ayanda had always been the responsible one. As the eldest of three children, she helped her mother care for her younger siblings, eight-year-old Sipho and four-year-old Amahle. Their mother, Nomsa, worked hard to provide for them, often reminding her children that no matter how difficult life became, they should always love and protect one another. One cold winter morning, the children woke up as usual. Ayanda prepared breakfast while waiting for their mother to get up for work. Minutes turned into an hour, but Nomsa never came out of her bedroom. Ayanda gently knocked on the door. "Mama?" she called softly. There was no answer. She knocked again, louder this time. "Mama, it's morning. You have to wake up." Still, there was only silence. Growing worried, Ayanda tried opening the door. H...
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Alila Villas Maldives Hopefully Opening Soon(ish)!

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Alila Villas Maldives Hopefully Opening Soon(ish)!

 BY BEN 17
HOTELS, HYATT

While we still don’t have a projected opening date, it looks like the new Alila Maldives may be closer to opening than we thought.

Alila Maldives looks like it’s nearing completion

At the beginning of 2020 we learned that Alila was planning on opening a property in the Maldives. Specifically, the Hyatt developments website began listing the Alila Villas Maldives, and at the time there was an expected opening date of October 2020.

While there had been no official updates on the timeline, unofficially we had been hearing that the hotel would open in 2022-2023, which sure represents a significant delay. I’m guessing that has something to do with coronavirus.

However, to me it’s sure looking like this hotel is closer to opening than we may have previously thought:

So while it’s anyone’s guess when the hotel will actually open, personally I’d be surprised if it doesn’t happen sooner rather than later. Below are some pictures of the property.

Alila Villas Maldives


Alila Villas Maldives


Alila Villas Maldives


Alila Villas Maldives

For context, the Alila Villas Maldives will have 80 villas, 36 of which will be overwater. The hotel will be located to the north of Male, and will be accessible with a 45 minute seaplane flight.

The Alila brand is coming full circle in the Maldives

What’s interesting about the upcoming Alila Villas Maldives is that it will represent a return of the Alila brand to the Maldives:

  • In 2009 the Alila Maldives Hadahaa opened (at the time the Alila brand had nothing to do with Hyatt)
  • In 2011 management for the property was turned over to Hyatt, and the former Alila became known as the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
  • Then in 2018 Hyatt acquired Two Roads Hospitality, which manages Alila properties
  • Now there will once again be an Alila property in the Maldives, except this time it will be managed by Hyatt

For those of you not familiar with Alila, it’s essentially Hyatt’s luxury nature-focused brand. I’d say it’s roughly on par with Park Hyatt, though like all hotel brands, there’s some variance in terms of quality.

Funny enough, the pictures we see so far of the new Alila in the Maldives look fairly similar to the Park Hyatt.

Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa (former Alila Maldives Hadahaa)

This is exciting for World of Hyatt members

While no details of pricing (in cash or points) has been announced yet, this is a property that many World of Hyatt members will likely be excited about. I would imagine that this will be a Category 7 World of Hyatt property, meaning that a free night redemption will cost 30,000 points.

There’s a lot to love about redeeming points with World of Hyatt vs. other hotel groups, especially if you’re a Globalist member. Hyatt is great about offering elite perks at Alila properties, so here’s to hoping that this is no exception.

It would also be nice if this property had standard suites that were eligible for suite upgrade awards, unlike the Park Hyatt Maldives, which is excluded from the program.

Bottom line

While there’s no announced opening date yet, it looks like the Alila Villas Maldives is nearing completion, and hopefully it opens in the not-too-distant future. I can’t wait to learn more details about this property, from the room types, to the amenities, to the pricing.

Would anyone consider staying at the Alila Villas Maldives?

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