An OMAAT reader (who asked to remain anonymous) shared a frustrating experience he has dealt with over the past couple of years, regarding a July 2023 stay at the gorgeous Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi. I’m not sure what exactly to make of this, but the hotel’s handling of this definitely doesn’t seem sufficient.
Baby discovers building defect at Maldives resort
In July 2023, a couple traveled to the Maldives with their baby son (who was 13 months old at the time). Upon arriving at the resort, the family was placed in a temporary villa, because their villa wasn’t ready yet.
There wasn’t a crib available in that villa, and the parents fell asleep, as they had just gotten off a long flight. However, a short while later, they woke up to the sound of their son screaming, only to discover that he had ingested pieces of broken wall tiles.
As the father describes, “it was an incredibly distressing experience to be woken up by his cries of pain caused by swallowing sharp objects.” The hotel staff placed the blame on the building, but failed to acknowledge their negligence in not properly inspecting the room before assigning it to guests.
Shortly after the incident, the family visited the on-property doctor, who wrote a report, which concluded the following:
[The baby] is stable with no detectable red flag signs, I advised observation for 24 hours and to gradually introduce food to him in the form of fluid then semi solid food then his regular diet. I counselled his parents on red flag symptoms such as vomiting, pain, incessant crying, and blood in mouth and to call for help immediately if any suspicious signs or red flags were seen. I also counselled them that should symptoms worsen or further concern is raised, we had planned a prompt referral to higher center for further assessment and management.
Later in the day, some tile fragments were found in the baby’s stool. The father claims that due to the type of material, identifying remaining pieces would require invasive surgery, which is not viable for a young child.
The hotel refused to offer compensation on the spot, and the resort manager told the family that they’d go through their insurance provider. However, they were reportedly assured that all costs, including the cost of the stay and incremental expenses at the resort, would be reimbursed.
For nearly two years, the claim wasn’t resolved. The family fulfilled all the requirements on their end, including submitting documentation and participating in several interviews with the loss adjuster. The family kept following up on a monthly basis, but the hotel just totally stopped responding to emails from the family earlier this year.
However, there’s now an update, as of recently. The current resort manager has finally responded, essentially saying they won’t do anything, and that a room change and some spa treatments are sufficient compensation:
I had been in contact with the insurance company and they had informed that they had followed up directly with you by Zoom and that the claim was closed.
Once a claim has been referred to the insurance company, being a third party and independent body, we rely on their outcome accordingly. In this respect, they concluded that that there was no injury sustained and that they would not cover any claim.
Reflecting on your stay with us in 2023, the team acknowledged the inconvenience caused by the loose tile, and we understand a gesture of goodwill was offered at the time by way of an upgrade along with spa treatments.
Note that there’s a different resort manager compared to two years ago, so the manager who made them a promise is no longer at the property. The father concludes with the following:
Given the seriousness of the incident and the initial reassurances from the hotel’s resort manager, in principle I feel compelled to hold the hotel accountable to what was promised. It’s increasingly clear that the hotel is reluctant to acknowledge responsibility for the injury to my son. It’s also difficult to understand how a claim could take two years to be declined on the grounds of no injury.
There are also inconsistencies in their response. For instance, the email states that I had a Zoom call with the insurer where they advised the claim had been rejected. In fact, the loss adjuster appointed by the insurer was satisfied with the claim at the time, and the discussion focused on the additional documentation required to finalise the process and the expected timeline for settlement.
My take on this unfortunate incident
First and foremost, I’m happy to hear that the baby (now toddler) seems to be doing fine, as that’s most important. As I view it, there are a couple of primary issues here:
- There’s the question of the extent to which the hotel is liable for the baby ingesting the wall tiles
- There’s the question of what appropriate compensation would be, especially with the promise that the resort manager reportedly made
To start with the first point, I’m not a legal expert (both when it comes to the law in the Maldives, and laws for international corporations with a managed property in a foreign country), but it definitely feels like the hotel should have some responsibility for the lack of properly inspecting a room.
I mean, we’re talking about an uber-luxury property here that retails for thousands per night, so it hardly seems unreasonable to expect that the room would be in a safe condition, with tiles not literally falling apart.
I guess to balance that, some people might put some blame on the parents, for leaving the baby crawling around the room while they were asleep. Personally, I’d be uncomfortable with a toddler crawling around a room while I’m asleep, but that’s just me, and I’m not here to judge other parents. For that matter, it seems this could’ve also happened while the parents were awake, and just didn’t have their eyes on the baby for a moment.
So, what’s the appropriate compensation for an incident like this? Personally, I don’t this should be some million dollar settlement. However, I think it’s also fair to expect something, since I think it’s safe to say that this ruined the family’s vacation.
I mean, I’d certainly be terrified if my baby ingested sharp tiles, and I’d struggle to enjoy the rest of my vacation. It’s especially concerning when this happens on a private island, where access to decent medical care might be challenging.
In all honesty, I think just offering a room upgrade and spa treatments is an insulting offer. I think what the original manager reportedly promised verbally — a comped stay — seems more fair. Ultimately the actual cost of that to the hotel is very little, and it would reflect the extent to which the stay was impacted by this incident.
It’s especially disappointing that the hotel essentially backtracked on that promise, seemingly due to a change in resort managers. It’s a good reminder to also get commitments in writing when you have communication following something like this, so that it’s not just one person’s word against another person’s word.
Bottom line
A family’s stay at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives certainly left a lot to be desired, after a baby ingested wall tiles shortly after arriving at the property, due to a construction defect in the villa. At the time, the resort manager reportedly promised to comp the stay over the incident, though two years later, the hotel has fully backtracked, and said it will do nothing other than the upgrade and spa treatments already provided.
What do you make of this incident, and what do you think the hotel’s liability should be?
