[BadOmens]

Guernsey Globetrotter wrote:

@BadOmens I have sympathy for you here, having followed the Hilton SLH changes on Maldivian resorts quite closely since the tie-up launch in 2024.

This article from October last year specifically mentions the Baros transfer issue in some detail – grist for your mill I hope!

https://awardwallet.com/hotels/baros-maldives-slh-review/

This is perfect. Thanks!

[BadOmens]

JDB wrote:

It’s not a Hilton issue. This is an independent hotel that happens to be bookable via Hilton. It appears they will provide you with the accommodation and any inclusions you booked, but not a known to be extra expensive extra. That’s all you have contracted.

I think your wrong here. It seems to fall squarely under no hidden mandatory fees in DMCCA Part 4 Chapter 1.

[BadOmens]

JDB wrote:

In any event, if you can afford two weeks in the Maldives, this is like ordinary people buying a pizza so shouldn’t engender quite such a fuss.

Honestly don’t see how that has to do with anything. If Hilton’s lamping on costs after the fact, then I’d have thought this forum might have found that of interest.

[BadOmens]

Firstly, of course I’ll bring this up with the hotel when the time comes. Probably at bill time, cuz I’m holding out hope I’ll get a diamond upgrade from OWB to OWB with pool (even though no one on tripadvisor got it). I will stress my point calmly and politely.

But some of your comments here feel like they fly in the face of UK consumer protection laws. I mean @Jdb is saying that any fee not mentioned explicitly can be altered by them on whim. But everything I’ve ever seen says it’s the reverse, they must explicitly tell you.

[BadOmens]

Ahh… this was the original post…. took longer to post probably due to extra security checks on outside links. Anyway, here’s the wayback

https://web.archive.org/web/20260206190400/https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/mlebmlx-baros-maldives/

[BadOmens]

The Savage Squirrel wrote:

BadOmens wrote:

Not sure why everyone is asking how I intended to go to the island. I obviously intended to use their boat transfer, Which had always been included. This is about them changing it to being a paid transfer after the fact.

@BadOmens, how do you actually know that bit in bold? Having something substantive (ideally documentary) that confirms this information is really the key to having a chance of resolving your issue in your favour.

Obviously this is quite difficult to prove. I know transfer fees are the norm… I mean, you should have seen my tears when I saw the transfer cost to the Waldorf one year. But most of the SLH hotels made the mistake of not including them, that’s how I got a free seaplane and half board in Milaidhoo last year. When I got back, I immediately went on to book this years trip. Milaidhoo had already changed their rules. So I looked at the others. I scoured the Baros site. It never mentioned it. Obviously that’s just my word. I checked the Wayback machine for Hiton’s Baros site to see if it recorded it. Unfortunately it has very few snapshots. But it does have one from earlier this Month, and although it does mention a fee, the prices are cheaper than the ones they’re now sending to me…. So at least it shows that what they’re sending me now doesn’t match what was said in the past.

I know that site never mentioned a fee last april.

second time posting this… I think it got rejected first time cuz it had a link to the wayback machine (the internet archive). You can look it up yourself to see the previous version

[BadOmens]

Can’t post screenshots here, but the original booking confirmation has this yellow block with text:

2nd guest stays free in Member’s room on Reward Stays. Additional guest fees may apply. Please contact property for more details on applicable charges.

No-shows or cancellations of Reward Stay reservations at SLH hotels outside of the timeframe set by a hotel’s individual cancellation policy will be subject to point deductions based on the cancellation or no-show fee set forth by the hotel or equal to one night’s room and tax at the hotel’s Best Available Rate for that date if no cancellation or no-show fee is specified.

But new redemption bookings include the above, but with the additional text

Mandatory shared Speedboat transfer at $232 per adult and $116 per child. From 1 Apr to 31 Oct 2026, the prices will be: $116 per adult and $58 per child. From 1 Nov 2026 to 10 Jan 2027: $232 per adult and $116 per child. From 11 Jan 2027 to 10 Jan 2028: $240 per adult and $120 per child.

[BadOmens]

Not sure why everyone is asking how I intended to go to the island. I obviously intended to use their boat transfer, Which had always been included. This is about them changing it to being a paid transfer after the fact.

[BadOmens]

Hi @NorthernLass. I just Checked my initial confirmation from last April and there’s no mention of a transfer fee. Also, I just made a test redemption booking for next January (then cancelled it). The new confirmation emails explicitly mention a transfer fee.

[BadOmens]

Got a bit of a first world issue here. Email this morning regarding an upcoming 15 night redemption stay in Baros Maldives saying there’s a mandatory $232pp boat transfer fee. Hilton’s site now mentions it too. But it deffo never mentioned it when I booked last April. What’s the recourse on this? The email came from SLH with a don’t reply to this. So who should I contact do ya reckon? Obviously it’s a drop in a bucket, but I don’t like them making redemptions even less valuable.

[BadOmens]

Rob Burgess wrote:

Do you elite rollover nights on a lower level of status? It’s one thing to be Gold, renew Gold and have 10 rollover nights on top. This is different from being Diamond, only earning enough to get Gold but overshooting that by 10.

Ok… Does this mean, I’d have only gotten rollover days if I’d managed to exceed the 2025 Diamond target…. so if I got 61, I’d have carried 1 day for this last time….. But when you fail to keep your existing diamond, then you just get what you achieved?

[BadOmens]

It’s kind of confusing. I’m sure an alert box briefly came up in the App yesterday to tell me that my current Diamond status expires on 1st April. But from that point on, I can’t find it anywhere. I just see a screen telling me my progress to Diamond Reserve. Did they just decide that anyone that hit 50 can keep it (probably not).

[BadOmens]

Yeah. It says it’s included in the price when you click to look at available rooms an a particular date.

[BadOmens]

Thankfully I’d already booked 15 nights. But I’d watched so many vids on the place that I was already thinking about 2027. Though I’ve been gathering snorkel reviews and cross referencing with D2. So might try something else.

Anyway, These changes to the redemption cost affect the calculation from the previous page by increasing it from £375 to about £450 for B&B per night. This still appears to be good compared to the prices I see on D2. I also see the Conrad’s gone up to 140k for a standard redemption.

[BadOmens]

Has anyone been to Baros yet. Interested to hear their thoughts.

[BadOmens]

I really like the Conrad. I’ve been there on redemptions in 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. I had been booked for this year, but switched to Milaidhoo when they got added to the portfolio in July last year… and that was a great move. Transfer and half-board for 130K points. Although the Titan Triggerfish were very aggressive during the first few days. One of the people staying got a big bite on his hand.

I’d be tempted to go back to Conrad next year. I’d still be diamond and would get to see what their afternoon tea would be like… but I’m not fussed on them moving the drinks to late evening at the Rangali bar instead of Vilu.

Always enjoyed this view with some Prosecco.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHFLk8rAJM8

So I think I’ll try Baros. Boat transfer is included… so no need to worry about weight, and can use that saving on food/drink at dinner time.

[BadOmens]

I’ll look into D2 and others for 2027. For now I’ll stick with the Baros redemption. since I earn points via work, it does save me quite a bit. Just a bit annoying that the OWV won’t have a plunge pool.

Emailed them to ask how much it would cost to move from B&B to HB. $260 a night, and that means you can only eat in one restaurant. I pointed out that this made to sense, as their menus are nowhere near this price even with all taxes, but they just repeated it.

[BadOmens]

BBbetter wrote:

The cash packages that include FV / AI and transfers can sometimes be good value compared to redemptions. Unless you prefer to cook pot noodles in your overwater villa. There are plenty of such posts on flyertalk where Americans redeem their points and crib about high F&B costs.

Any good cash package suggestions?

Though I’m still liking the Baros redemption. Transfer, breakfast and OWV for £375, just leaves Dinner + drinks.

[BadOmens]

I’ve usually just gone B&B with previous redemptions. If your just grabbing a Main and some drinks for dinner, then it usually comes to about $200 per day for food.

[BadOmens]

So for a basic calculation, lets make the following assumptions
1) You are paying for all the hilton points yourself, and don’t get any from a work or other holidays.
2) You only buy points when they are running 100% bonus
3) We ignore max amounts you can buy per person. We’ll assume your pool is large enough to buy what’s needed
4) You have status required to get “5th night free” for you redemptions. (book 5 for points cost of 4).
5) You book the standard redemption rate. This is far smaller than the premium cost you can pay for any room, but there’s limited availability. Once they’re gone… then it’s all premium, which is massively more.

a standard redemption at Baros is currently 120k points per night.
so 5 nights will actually cost 4 x 12k = 480k points (because of 5th night free)
points are usually 1$ per 100 points. When there’s a 100% bonus, then you get 200 instead.

480,000 / 200 = $2400 for 5 nights
If your Hilton Gold. Then this will include breakfast (hilton gold comes with many credit cards, or even their Currensea one).

So this will bring the nightly price down to £375 sterling. It’s very expensive, but not when compared to the price of this hotel via other means. It’s also cancellable up to about a month before. But always be sure to check before finalising any booking.

[BadOmens]

Since there’s a 100% sale on points at the minute, I’m Looking to book 10 nights somewhere next March. I initially thought about the Conrad again, but I’m just back from Milaidhoo and the savings from not paying the transfer fee and dinner have me considering my options. I know that deal isn’t available anymore… but I’m wanting to weigh my other options. If anyone’s been to Baros can you answer a few questions.

1) Is there prosecco at breakfast.
2) Is there snorkelling any good. The sea wall looks a bit odd, but reviews seem to say it’s great.
3) The deck on the basic overwater villa looks a bit cramp. How did it feel when there? how much was asked to get an upgrade to one with a pool.

I’ll miss happy hour, but the menu says draught pints of Carsberg are $15. So I’d be happy with that (assuming it lasts till next year)
https://www.baros.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Beverage-Selection-Sails-Bar-2024.pdf

Also tempted to book Huvafen Fushi… bit pissed it’s jumped up to 150k, but I was considering may 5 nights there as part of the trip. Anyone ever tried transferring between hotels directly… is it hard?