Alila Kothaifaru Maldives Opening May 2022

As a Hyatt loyalist, I've been keeping a close eye on the new Alila Maldives, as I'm hoping to check it out in the near future. The hotel was supposed to open in 2020, but has been delayed. We now have more information about what we can expect from the hotel.

The basics of the Alila Maldives

The new Alila Kothaifaru is expected to have 80 villas, 36 of which will be over water. The hotel will be located in the north of Male, in the Raa atoll, and will be accessible with a seaplane flight. Many of the recent openings have been accessible by speedboat from Male, and therefore aren't as picturesque.

The company behind the hotel has pictures of the property that look like real ones, and the resort looks more or less complete. It comes down to training staff and putting the finishing touches on the property. Hyatt's website still shows an opening date of early 2022, but the hotel should start accepting reservations soon.

There are some pictures of the property.

Alila Maldives points & cash rates

Gertjaars was in touch with the Hyatt Concierge and shared some information about the property.

• The hotel is targeting an opening date of May 1, 2022
• Cash rates will start at $950 per night for a standard beach villa, and at $1,450 per night for an overwater villa; it’s expected that there will initially be a third night free offer on paid stays
• Rooms are expected to be ~2,100 square feet, though I’d imagine that includes outdoor space
• The hotel will be a Category 7 World of Hyatt property, meaning that a free night redemption will cost 25,000, 30,000, or 35,000 World of Hyatt points per night (depending on whether it’s off-peak, standard, or peak)
• Seaplane transfers will cost $600 roundtrip per person

This is exciting for World of Hyatt members

Many World of Hyatt members will be excited about this property. If you're a Globalist member, you'll love redeeming points with the World of Hyatt. Hyatt has great perks at Alila properties.

One negative is that the hotel won't accept suite upgrade awards, as is the case at the Park Hyatt Maldives. If you want an overwater villa, you will have to pay a higher rate than a beach villa. That is disappointing, but not surprising.

Alila brand coming full circle in the Maldives

The Alila brand will return to the Maldives with the upcoming Alila 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

Alila is essentially Hyatt's luxury nature-focused brand. It is roughly on par with Park Hyatt, though there is some variation in quality.

The pictures we see so far of the new Alila look similar to the Park Hyatt.

The Alila Kothaifaru is expected to open in May 2022, so hopefully the hotel will start accepting reservations soon. The hotel should be a Category 7 World of Hyatt property, meaning that a free night redemption will cost 25,000-35,000 points per night.

Would anyone stay at the Alila Kothaifaru?