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A Night with Feli Nandi at Hard Rock Café, Sandton

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 Yesterday I attended Feli Nandi's show at Hard Rock Café in Sandton, Johannesburg — and what a night it was. The show was epic. Just when we thought the legacy of voices like Chiwosino Maraire was gone, Feli reminded us that the genre lives on.  https://x.com/NandiFeli?t=p7yxFWzqtvHM6HD13b-QPg&s=08 Feli Nandi is the real deal. The woman is good — her voice, her energy, her ever-smiling presence lit up the whole stage. She’s a true people’s person. The crowd fed off her vibe and she gave it right back. Flanked by friends and fellow artists like Joe Thomas (yes, the Joe Thomas of “I Wanna Know”), Makhadzi and others, she held her own and more. It’s worth it to attend her shows — you leave feeling uplifted. She performed to a fully packed café. Zimbabweans came out strong to support the gig. Some were dressed traditionally, proudly showing off culture. I remember one couple in matching colors — it was beautiful to see. Feli herself was dressed in white, glowing under the lig...
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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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