100% agreed with all your points! Stayed the first week at the Ritz and the week after at Regis. Oh what a coincidence, I had Ernie as my butler as well! All in all, Ritz remains superior but I think Cheval Blanc Randheli is the ultimate best resort in the Maldives.
Thanks so much for making this video….I was looking for answers to exactly this question….Ritz vs St Regis. Only thing holding me back from pulling the trigger on the Ritz at the moment is the diving….clearly snorkeling at the St Regis is way better…I’ll need to investigate if that goes for scuba diving as well (where I’d take a boat to nearby dive sites)…..really though, thanks for the video….super helpful🙏
We stayed at the Ritz laster year in March. There's actually some reef on the sunset side, you'll need to swim a few minutes there. But yeah, that's the only place to do snorkeling at Ritz without going further away on a boat or jet ski.
I did. The spa visit was discussed in one of the previous St Regis videos I did. There might be some muted parts since TH-cam blocked some background music in those videos too
Amazing review! Overall, would you say the St Regis is cheaper than the Ritz? Im still deciding wich one to go for my anniversary next month. Ambassador elite member here. Thank you!
@@pedrovidalpacheco7360 we were offered an upgrade to a 2 bedroom overwater Bungalow at St Regis as Titanium and the buffet is incredible. Your status will go further there. The Ritz-Carlton buffet is not as good and you will pay for it. The service was more personalized at St Regis. The wow factor for me was bigger at Ritz-Carlton and for a longer stay I think there's more to do at Ritz-Carlton. I love the crystal clear water of the lagoons there and for that reason I alone I prefer the Ritz. You can also get to the Ritz much quicker. You can't go wrong with either property. If you like Jungle island vibe pick St Regis. If you want something that resembles a Cancun beach pick Ritz.
@@RoadWarriorRick we decided to go with the Ritz Carlton. We are flying Etihad First class Apartments on our way to Abu Dhabi and then Emirates First Class from Dubai to Male. Super excited about this trip. I'm also using 6 Suite Night Awards for the 2 bedroom overwater villa. Hopefully it will clear. Thank you for all the information provided!
@@pedrovidalpacheco7360 that sounds like an amazing trip. I forgot that you can now apply suite upgrades at Ritz. That wasn't the case when we went. Hope you have a great trip and upgrade 😀
Hi Rick! Thanks for doing the review. We are leaning towards Ritz for hour honeymoon in November 2025 for 7-10 days primarily due to it being a newer property and having more to do. Would you recommend any of the 2BR overwater villas in the main circle? Noticed there were two that may be worth looking into based on the map
@@matthewhampson2022 we stayed right next to one of the 2 bedrooms. If you can get the northern side of the loop, you will have unobstructed views of the ocean. I belive it was unit #329. The one on the southern side has some islands in their views nearby. Not as private. They are huge. I assume you are referring to the Ritz 2 bedroom villas
We are staying 5 nights at St Regis then going to the Ritz for 5 nights in March. We are really looking forward to it. Do you have any recs on sunrise vs sunset villas at St Regis and Ocean view vs Lagoon view villas at the Ritz? Thanks. Enjoy your videos
Sunrise allows you to use your deck a lot more in the afternoon and evening due to the lack of hot sun. The Sunset is nice if you want to snorkel from the villas. The Ritz villas are affected by the wind tremendously, and that changes depending on season. The wind was going our way in March, which was nice, and we had Ocean View
When we went, you couldn't use the upgrade SNCs at Ritz-Carltons and we didn't get upgraded. The availability to use them at Ritz-Carlton is very recent addition.
Yes. This was posted before my channel became monetized. TH-cam replaced a lot of the music I had back then with generic music or silence in portions I had music that would have prevented the video from being up on the channel even though I had paid for the rights
@@RoadWarriorRick I get that. But at 2k a night for some of these places. Seems they could afford to kick in a complimentary meal or buffet. Instead of hammering you at every point. What’s “included”
Este es un video donde mucho dejamos de verlo póquer nos abruman con máquinas que muchos nuca podremos comprar tienen un maquinazo para cortar un clavo
Rick- great series! Thanks. I do have an important question. We are going to the St Regis in January. Can you give me some tipping guidelines especially for the butler? I appreciate your assistance.
We tipped $200 at each resort at the end of the trip. 5 days at each. I know some people split the tip and tip at the beginning and towards the end. I have read people tip around $10-$50/day towards the butler. ST Regis gives you the option to tip anyone on the resort at the end of your stay. We tipped a few times after dinner but not always as most travelers are international and don't tip like Americans.
That is great. Do you tip the wait staff at each meal? Sorry for all the questions. I just want to be prepared. I have never been on a trip to a 5 star resort.
@@davefranklin6981 Service fee is included in all meals and it goes to the staff. We only tipped additionally on a few meals. One server in St Regis told us to cut our order in half because we ordered too much food. He was right and he saved us a lot of money so we tipped him.
Let me know if there's any specific questions about both resorts that I didn't cover!
what month did you go? and did you do 5 nights for each resort?
@jol2488 March and we did 5 nights at each resort. Check out the other videos in my account. I have about 4 more videos for each resort.
so after experiencing both resort, would you have stayed longer at the Ritz?
@@jol2488 5 nights was plenty. Maybe 7 nights at most.
Great video. Thanks for posting. I can't wait for our trip in a few months!
100% agreed with all your points! Stayed the first week at the Ritz and the week after at Regis. Oh what a coincidence, I had Ernie as my butler as well! All in all, Ritz remains superior but I think Cheval Blanc Randheli is the ultimate best resort in the Maldives.
Will have to add that one to my list. Thanks!
Thanks so much for making this video….I was looking for answers to exactly this question….Ritz vs St Regis.
Only thing holding me back from pulling the trigger on the Ritz at the moment is the diving….clearly snorkeling at the St Regis is way better…I’ll need to investigate if that goes for scuba diving as well (where I’d take a boat to nearby dive sites)…..really though, thanks for the video….super helpful🙏
Whichever you pick, I hope you have a great time!
Whichever you pick, I hope you have a great time!
@@RoadWarriorRick Thank you Rick….I watched all your related content and it was incredibly helpful 🙏
This is the video we all needed
We stayed at the Ritz laster year in March. There's actually some reef on the sunset side, you'll need to swim a few minutes there. But yeah, that's the only place to do snorkeling at Ritz without going further away on a boat or jet ski.
Oh that good to know!! Thanks for letting us know!!
Great video
Thanks for the video, did you try the spa at the Regis?
I did. The spa visit was discussed in one of the previous St Regis videos I did. There might be some muted parts since TH-cam blocked some background music in those videos too
Amazing review! Overall, would you say the St Regis is cheaper than the Ritz? Im still deciding wich one to go for my anniversary next month. Ambassador elite member here. Thank you!
@@pedrovidalpacheco7360 we were offered an upgrade to a 2 bedroom overwater Bungalow at St Regis as Titanium and the buffet is incredible. Your status will go further there. The Ritz-Carlton buffet is not as good and you will pay for it. The service was more personalized at St Regis. The wow factor for me was bigger at Ritz-Carlton and for a longer stay I think there's more to do at Ritz-Carlton. I love the crystal clear water of the lagoons there and for that reason I alone I prefer the Ritz. You can also get to the Ritz much quicker. You can't go wrong with either property. If you like Jungle island vibe pick St Regis. If you want something that resembles a Cancun beach pick Ritz.
@@RoadWarriorRick we decided to go with the Ritz Carlton. We are flying Etihad First class Apartments on our way to Abu Dhabi and then Emirates First Class from Dubai to Male. Super excited about this trip. I'm also using 6 Suite Night Awards for the 2 bedroom overwater villa. Hopefully it will clear. Thank you for all the information provided!
@@pedrovidalpacheco7360 that sounds like an amazing trip. I forgot that you can now apply suite upgrades at Ritz. That wasn't the case when we went. Hope you have a great trip and upgrade 😀
Hi Rick! Thanks for doing the review.
We are leaning towards Ritz for hour honeymoon in November 2025 for 7-10 days primarily due to it being a newer property and having more to do.
Would you recommend any of the 2BR overwater villas in the main circle? Noticed there were two that may be worth looking into based on the map
@@matthewhampson2022 we stayed right next to one of the 2 bedrooms. If you can get the northern side of the loop, you will have unobstructed views of the ocean. I belive it was unit #329. The one on the southern side has some islands in their views nearby. Not as private. They are huge. I assume you are referring to the Ritz 2 bedroom villas
We are staying 5 nights at St Regis then going to the Ritz for 5 nights in March. We are really looking forward to it. Do you have any recs on sunrise vs sunset villas at St Regis and Ocean view vs Lagoon view villas at the Ritz? Thanks. Enjoy your videos
Sunrise allows you to use your deck a lot more in the afternoon and evening due to the lack of hot sun. The Sunset is nice if you want to snorkel from the villas. The Ritz villas are affected by the wind tremendously, and that changes depending on season. The wind was going our way in March, which was nice, and we had Ocean View
Did you get any upgrade at Ritz as titanium ? I’m thinking to use my SNAs, looks like both offer 2 bedroom upgrade.
When we went, you couldn't use the upgrade SNCs at Ritz-Carltons and we didn't get upgraded. The availability to use them at Ritz-Carlton is very recent addition.
Your audio cuts out at 12:36
Yes. This was posted before my channel became monetized. TH-cam replaced a lot of the music I had back then with generic music or silence in portions I had music that would have prevented the video from being up on the channel even though I had paid for the rights
Rick- can you pay for each meal at St. Regis or is it all placed on the final bill? Thanks for ALL your help!
We were only presented option to pay on the final bill. I am sure they can charge separately if needed
What time of year did you go? What are the odds of getting the two bedroom suite upgrade as an ambassador elite?
We were there during busy season March 2023. Hard to tell on upgrade. We were offered upgrade as a Titanium due to overbooking on their end.
Is the Ritz boat able to pick you up from the St Regis directly?
No. Too far of a distance unless you do a private charter of it which is costly
400 dollars for dinner every night. ?
Yes. Everything has to brought to this tiny island. It's not cheap
@@RoadWarriorRick I get that. But at 2k a night for some of these places. Seems they could afford to kick in a complimentary meal or buffet. Instead of hammering you at every point.
What’s “included”
@@Philippinesbound42with Bonvoy Status of Platinum or higher you get a breakfast buffet for 2 that is pretty amazing. That's about it
Este es un video donde mucho dejamos de verlo póquer nos abruman con máquinas que muchos nuca podremos comprar tienen un maquinazo para cortar un clavo
Rick- great series! Thanks. I do have an important question. We are going to the St Regis in January. Can you give me some tipping guidelines especially for the butler? I appreciate your assistance.
We tipped $200 at each resort at the end of the trip. 5 days at each. I know some people split the tip and tip at the beginning and towards the end. I have read people tip around $10-$50/day towards the butler. ST Regis gives you the option to tip anyone on the resort at the end of your stay. We tipped a few times after dinner but not always as most travelers are international and don't tip like Americans.
That is great. Do you tip the wait staff at each meal? Sorry for all the questions. I just want to be prepared. I have never been on a trip to a 5 star resort.
@@davefranklin6981 Service fee is included in all meals and it goes to the staff. We only tipped additionally on a few meals. One server in St Regis told us to cut our order in half because we ordered too much food. He was right and he saved us a lot of money so we tipped him.
@@RoadWarriorRick I really appreciate your help and look forward to your future videos! Incredible content!
@@davefranklin6981 thanks!
Try soneva jani and joali being next !
Soneva Jani is on my radar!!
@@RoadWarriorRick stay at Chapter 2 at soneva Jani. Simply amazing.