[False Alarm] Hilton Removes Gold/Diamond Breakfast Benefit at Two Maldives Resorts

Update: based on the comments, this was a false alarm.

In checking if there was paid breakfast, I referenced the FlyerTalk master thread and wiki which states “+ If you do NOT have Gold/Diamond status with Free breakfast AND you decide NOT to pay the $65++ for full buffet at Tasting Table, then you may or may not encounter a $35 charge for a single egg”

But commenters below state the language on these webpages are not new and have been in place since 2022 without any elite being denied breakfast and state that breakfast is free for everyone, meaning the FlyerTalk wiki I referenced may be outdated.

Further, we have confirmation from the Waldorf directly that breakfast remains free for Gold and Diamond members (but not for everyone as some comments below indicated).

So, apologies for the false alarm! Original post follows.

 If you do NOT have Gold/Diamond m
Heading to the Maldives with Gold or Diamond status? WIth a breakfast for two easily topping $75 a day, you’re happy to know that you won’t be paying since that’s a benefit of the Hilton Honors program, right?

It’s easy to have Hilton Gold or Diamond status, since all of the Hilton Honors credit cards (except the no fee one) include Gold or Diamond status.

Well, it appears that if you are staying at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi or the SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton, you’re no longer entitled to free breakfast.

How would you know this? Well, definitely not when booking the hotel! I went all the way through booking, logged in, and was never told about this.

The only way you would know is as follows:

Start at the Hilton member benefits page.

Scroll all the way to the bottom.

Click this link:

That brings you to this page.

Now, scroll all the way down.

Oh look! Special benefits for the Maldives. Go ahead and click THAT link. 

While the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island and Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa both still include breakfast, the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi and the SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton both omit breakfast.

For example:

Seems pretty clear to me – as hard as it was to actually find the benefits (or lack of benefits) until Facebook group member Tim R. sent me this.

I was set to honeymoon not once, but twice at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi and had to cancel both times due to COVID sticking around longer than we expected. It’s now incredibly hard to find award availability at.

Note that when you can find availability, it ranges from 120,000 – 150,000 points per night for a standard room, 5th night free – and you can absolutely use certificates from Hilton Honors credit cards (earned at $15,000 in annual spend on the Surpass and Business cards and earned annually at renewal for the Aspire).

At over $2,000 a night, it’s one of the best deals in the world using Hilton points or certs, but a 7 night stay just got about $500 more expensive if you like to have breakfast.

I have no idea when this page went up and if/when it became/will become effective.

Personally, I’m pretty disappointed in this move, as free breakfast at expensive resorts is the kind of treat that really reinforces the value of status – even when that is the only tangible benefit you are receiving.

Thoughts?

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