Last year, Hilton announced a new property in the Maldives with plans to open later this year in September. But it turns out Hilton couldn't even wait that long…
The Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa is now set to open for reservations as of July 1, 2022, becoming Hilton's fourth location in the pristine waters of the Maldives. And the resort is already accepting bookings whether you pay cash, use Hilton Honors points, or even employ a free night certificate from select Hilton Honors credit cards.
The renderings of this new property look great, but one thing about this property really stands out. Even after forking over tons of cash or points, most properties throughout the Maldives make you pay even more for an iconic overwater villa. At the Hilton Maldives Amingiri, overwater pool villas are base rooms.
That makes this an even better way to use either Hilton Honors points or free night certificates.
Read on for everything you need to know about the Hilton Maldives Amingiri.
Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa Overview
The new Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa has 109 villas. If the renderings are any indication, it should be a stunner.
Each of the rooms will be either beach front, or an overwater villa. Better yet, all rooms come equipped with their own private pool.
The resort has six restaurants and lounges, a main shared pool, a spa, salon, fitness center, a dive center, an art studio, a Kid's Club, and a rooftop lounge for teenagers. There will also be an all-day dining restaurant serving international cuisine, as well as an adults-only bar specializing in champagne and gin drinks.
The property itself is just a 20-minute boat ride from the Velana International Airport in Male (MLE). While being that close to the airport may detract from the feeling of seclusion many travelers are looking for in the Maldives, there's an upside: The unavoidable transfer costs to get from the airport to your resort are much cheaper.
Many Maldivian resorts charge $500 or more per person for roundtrip seaplane transfers. The Hilton Maldives Amingiri charges $300 per adult (13 and up) for roundtrip speedboat transfers, and less for younger children.
Best of all, the standard room types are overwater villas, with cash rates starting around $800 a night for Hilton Honors program members. Starting from opening day in July, there is tons of availability around these prices … and you should be able to find it through the end of the booking calendar.
Booking the Hilton Maldives Amingiri with Points & Free Night Certificates
Standard award rates at the Hilton start at 110,000 Hilton Honors points per night. Starting right from July 1, you shouldn't have a hard time finding a room at that rate all through the calendar.
And remember: That rate gets you an overwater villa.
But as long as you plan to book a stay of at least five nights and have some level of Hilton elite status, you can take advantage of Hilton's fifth-night free option. That means you would effectively use just 88,000 Hilton points per night! That's a great deal.
Earning Hilton's elite status isn't as difficult as it may sound:
- By holding the Hilton Honors American Express Card, you’ll have Hilton Honors Silver status.
- By holding the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, you’ll earn Hilton Honors Gold status.
- By holding the Platinum Card® from American Express, you will also have automatic Hilton Honors Gold status (you’ll also earn Marriott Bonvoy Gold status).
- By holding the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, you’ll earn Hilton’s top-tier Diamond status.
You'll also be able to use Hilton Honors free night award certificates.
Each year you hold the Hilton Aspire Card, you’ll get a free weekend night certificate that can be used for a standard room at almost any Hilton hotel in their entire portfolio – as long as there is standard room award availability.
But throughout the pandemic, Hilton and American Express have made these free weekend night certificates more valuable: Through Dec. 31, 2022, all free weekend night certificates can be used any night of the week – not just on weekends.
For the time being, that makes the free hotel night certificate on the Aspire card the most powerful free night certificate you’ll find. You can even earn an additional free night certificate by spending $60,000 or more on the card in a calendar year.
As long as you can find award nights bookable for 110,000 points per night, you should be able to call up Hilton and apply your free night certificate.
The information above for the Hilton Aspire Card has been collected independently by Thrifty Traveler. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom Line
The Hilton Maldives Amingiri is accepting reservations for stays starting in July 2022. The property is just a 20-minute boat ride from the Male airport and should be a fantastic way to use Hilton Honors points and free night certificates – especially if you take advantage of Hilton's fifth night free for elite members benefit.
Standard room award availability (which is a 1,600+ square foot overwater villa with a private pool) is wide open through the end of the calendar, so I wouldn't wait too long to book if you are thinking about it.
Man, wish they’d kept the standard room as an overwater. According to the concierge here (which checks out when I browse the calendar), all their points villas are beach villas. That makes it much less attractive for free night certificates than the Conrad, although the cheaper transfer cost is really a game changer.