Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 1
Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 2
Conrad Lounge in Mali and Seaplane to Rangali Island
Beach Villa at the Conrad Maldives
Euro swimsuits and Turtles
The main pool and snorkeling
Our luggage arrives, Vilu, and the Quiet Zone
The employee strike
The strike ends
Ithaa underwater restaurant, Water Villa, and sunset cruise

Due to the uncertainty from the employee strike, the majority of people had their reservations for dinner and excursions cancelled. Most rebooked for the following day after the strike. My wife decided to rebook them the second day in case the situation was not resolved. This meant that the day prior was overbooked, but when we went, we had the whole restaurant to ourselves!

The Ithaa Underwater Restaurant is available for a cocktail hour, lunch and dinner. We chose the cheapest of the three options, cocktail hour for $85 a person. Cocktail hour includes a drink and canapes. Dinner can cost $300 per person without any alcohol.

We showed up at our scheduled time and were asked to have a seat in the reception area. The host told us a little about the construction and some facts about the restaurant, and then went to prepare our drinks.

Our host came up after a while and asked for us to walk down the stairs with him to the restaurant.

We walked into the restaurant and noticed how comfortable the temperature was.

We sat down at our table and our host brought us our cocktails. Since we were the only ones in the entire place, we walked around and took a ton of pictures.

Here is the dinner menu (I think they recently changed the menu):

Our appetizers

The entire restaurant

Part of traveling to these exotic places is to create lasting and unique memories. Dining in a restaurant surrounded by fish certainly qualifies as a unique experience.

The view from outside

I would recommend going to the cocktail hour rather than the meals depending on your budget. I can now cross off my bucket list dining in an underwater restaurant.

Due to the inconvenience of the strike, we decided to call the front desk and see if there was a possibility to get a complimentary room upgrade. If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no. We were happy to learn that there was indeed some complimentary room upgrades available. They offered an Overwater Villa for our last two remaining nights or we could stay in our beach villa and then spend the last night in a superior water villa. It was a tough decision-two nights in a pretty good room(Overwater Villa) or one night in an amazing room. Even though it would be a little more inconvenient to move our stuff over and over, my wife asked if we could have the Overwater Villa for the first night and then the Superior Water Villa the next as it was only available one night. They said that would be just fine. We were able to experience the Beach Villa, Overwater Villa and the Superior Water Villa at the property.

The front desk said they would have someone come and move all of our stuff to our new room.

We went to the second island to get our room key.

The room is visually stunning. Remember, we were extremely pleased with our “regular” beach villa but could quickly see why people pay for the upgrade.

The bathroom includes a full size jetted tub.

There was also a mounted TV up on the wall with a DVD player and stereo system hooked up.

Outside there is a stairway leading down to the water along with several lounge chairs.

Here is a video I took of the room tour:

We headed out to our excursion, the sunset cruise. Normally the sunset cruise and the dolphin watching are two separate excursions. However, tonight, the boat used for the dolphin excursion was broken and therefore they combined both excursions into one.

As we arrived to go on the boat, it was just my wife and I and a couple from Germany. It appears everyone else had either cancelled or rescheduled for another day. We spoke to the couple from Germany who had been traveling all over the world and this was at least their third time to return to the Maldives. After the Maldives, they were going to Oman. Like us they had also been to Bora Bora-we all agreed we had seen probably seen the best beach destinations in the world.

We boarded a gigantic ship and took off. They had a foam pad with an attached pillow for each us on the deck. It was very relaxing as they brought out drinks for us and different appetizers. Three employees to the four excursion guests.

On dolphin cruises, there is never any guarantee of seeing anything, however our ship’s crew was magnificent in that we saw three different sets of dolphins.

The sun was slowly setting as we took some magnificent pictures of the sunset.

I would highly recommend this excursion for a relaxing, romantic, and unique experience.

Overall it was another fantastic, exciting day in paradise doing extraordinary excursions that one only has a chance to do every once in a while. How many people get to watch a Maldivian sunset in the Indian Ocean from sailboat with dolphins swimming

Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 1
Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 2
Conrad Lounge in Mali and Seaplane to Rangali Island
Beach Villa at the Conrad Maldives
Euro swimsuits and Turtles
The main pool and snorkeling
Our luggage arrives, Vilu, and the Quiet Zone
The employee strike
The strike ends
Ithaa underwater restaurant, Water Villa, and sunset cruise

At about 4 am in the morning, we were woken up by the sounds of cheering and shouting. We occasionally heard the employees playing soccer on a private field in the middle of the island surrounded by tall retainer walls, but it seemed odd to be playing a game so early in the morning. We both went back to sleep not thinking about it.

We were walking past the island host desks where guests book excursions and dinner reservations, and we stopped to confirm our days activities, the island host mentioned that Vilu was closed due to some technical problems.

We went back to Atoll Market for breakfast again and noticed that the entire staff was European or shall I say non-native. The majority of the restaurant staff and servers had been Maldivians. It stood out as unusual but maybe it was just the way the staff rotated their schedules. Except we noticed the servers seemed a little stressed and not accustomed to serving and the process at breakfast, etc.

At this point we started to sense that something was a little off…we eventually got word that the locals had apparently initiated an industrial strike on the property. Apparently the local Maldivian staff decided to strike on the property. There apparently was a dispute over wages or something and therefore the Maldivians who made up the bulk of the staff at the resort had gone on strike. We headed to the main pool to try and enjoy the day in spite of the obvious disruptions. The pool was a little more crowded since there were no other activities or services available.

All of the reservations that we had made for that day were cancelled – our sunset cruise, our Ithaa underwater restaurant reservation -everything.

Due to the strike – all the restaurants except for Atoll were closed. All housekeeping services were suspended. I couldn’t believe that this was possibly happening on our dream vacation. Speaking with some of the other guests, several were debating whether to just pack up and go home since we had no idea how long the strike would last.

With nothing left to do for the rest of the day, we hung out at the main pool for hours and hours and did a little snorkeling as well.

For dinner that night, we ate at Atoll since it was the only restaurant open. I could tell that the staff that was working that night were making every effort to make it a pleasant experience though this normal job responsibilities and didn’t know how things usually were done. We had an employee from the spa that was our waitress for the night. She apologized profusely for the inconvenience – and promised us that if we only wanted to eat at one section of the Atoll dinner buffet (i.e. Japanese, Italian) she was only going to charge us $35 (the normal charge for the full dinner buffet is $100). This seemed very generous and we were happy to take her up on her offer.

We finished our dinner and headed back to the room and wondering what the outcome of the strike would be.

Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 1
Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 2
Conrad Lounge in Mali and Seaplane to Rangali Island
Beach Villa at the Conrad Maldives
Euro swimsuits and Turtles
The main pool and snorkeling
Our luggage arrives, Vilu, and the Quiet Zone
The employee strike
The strike ends
Ithaa underwater restaurant, Water Villa, and sunset cruise

Our first full day in the Maldives – and our luggage was still nowhere to be found.

As Diamond’s we were given the choice of two benefits: a free cocktail hour each day at Vilu bar or free breakfast buffet each day. We chose the breakfast buffet.

You are given the choice of two restaurants to eat breakfast at each day: Vilu and Atoll Market. Atoll Market is a full buffet and Vilu is a made to order breakfast restaurant with a smaller buffet.

We chose to start with Atoll Market. As you approach the breakfast buffet, the food choices are endless. There is an asian food section, a bread section, an omelette station and best of all a fresh fruit juice station. You select the fruit you want (dragonfruit, pineapple,etc ) and then they create the juice right in front of you. It was pretty cool.

We returned to our room sufficiently stuffed and noticed that the housekeeping staff had been there to clean the room and had left a stuffed animal – a turtle. I was unaware that they gave stuffed animals at Conrads and this became one of our favorite activities – guessing which animal we would receive after housekeeping had been there. (Apparently most Conrads have small stuffed animals specific to the local region, and there are some out there with the goal to collect all the possible animals from all the different Conrad properties.)

We had hoped by this time that our luggage would have arrived but there was still no sign of it and no information from our island host as well. We therefore decided to visit the shops to shop for some swimsuits.

I quickly found out that I’m not as slender as I thought I was and advise others to always pack a swimsuit in your carry on luggage if you’re every going to be on a remote island in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

I must have tried on at least 30 swimsuits – and finally found one that was 3XL and very, very form fitting. Perhaps the American clothing companies have tricked us into thinking that we’re “only” 2XL! The 3XL cost an incredible $200 but the sales person did give me 20% off bringing it down to $160. My wife had similar luck – finally finding a swimsuit – and we walked out having dropped $350 on swimsuits – ouch! I rationalized the purchase with the fact that our luggage may never arrive and there was no way I could go any longer without swimming.

With our new expensive Euro swimsuits on we headed out the back way from our beach villa to the ocean and jumped in. The water temperature was perfect.

We headed over to the free tea time at the Mandhoo Spa Restaurant. We walked over there barefoot. The pier to get from the main island to the Restaurant was scalding hot. I would recommend taking shoes with you!

At the Mandhoo Spa Restaurant, they had a wide selection of little sandwiches, sparkling water, and as many variety of teas as you could imagine.

For dinner – we ate at the Rangali Bar. The Rangali Bar is right next to the main pool and is the most economical of all the restaurants on Rangali island. We spaghetti Bolognese and the steak and cheese sandwich. Rangali always serves a little basket of different breads with any food order.

Sufficiently full and worn out from the jetlag, we headed back to the room to crash.

Observations after the first day:
Women don’t bring heels, men don’t need dress shoes at all
Robes and flip flop style slippers are provided in the room, overwater bungalows have two different styles of robes (four per room)
Bring your own sunscreen – a small bottle costs $20 at the gift shop
there is a place for an HDMI cable from the DVD player to the TV – but for some reason the resort chose not to hook it up and instead used analog cables – if you want full High Def, bring your own HDMI cable
only bring flip flops and gym shoes – most of the time you’ll be walking around bare foot. We brought coral shoes as well but didn’t feel they were entirely necessary

Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 1
Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 2
Conrad Lounge in Mali and Seaplane to Rangali Island
Beach Villa at the Conrad Maldives
Euro swimsuits and Turtles
The main pool and snorkeling
Our luggage arrives, Vilu, and the Quiet Zone
The employee strike
The strike ends
Ithaa underwater restaurant, Water Villa, and sunset cruise

Our island host lead us to Beach Villa 106. The first thing I noticed was a wooden contraption to allow you to wash off your feet with a bucket of water.

As we entered the room, I was stunned at how truly beautiful the room was.

You first walk into the hallway that is partly covered and partly outside. Two huge sinks are outside side by side with mirrors facing the bedroom. There is a door that can open and close behind you to close off the shower / tub area.

All the amenities are laid out for you, mouthwash, toothpaste, toothbrush, and body lotion.

In the center, between the room and the bathroom is a water fountain. We never could find a switch or anything to activate it.

Some of my favorite things about this room are the attention to details. Take for instance the wooden ladder that acts as a towel rack – magnificent.

Next you come to the outdoor shower. There are high walls around the entire courtyard along with shrubbery – so you don’t have to worry about nosy neighbors grabbing a quick peek. Showering outside was one of the coolest things about the Conrad.

This is the stone path leading to the most massive bath tub I have ever seen.

The massive tub. All the little touches are here from candles all around, to a roof with a ceiling fan and mood lighting. I’m a pretty big guy and fit with plenty of room in it. If you’re looking for a honeymoon destination – it’s going to be pretty tough to top this.

Back towards the room, you can see the massive king bed

In one of the closets you have a safe, plenty of storage space, a place for your luggage, and lots of shelves. They also have umbrellas and rain jackets – so no need to take up valuable luggage space with these items.

A tip: it took a while to figure out – but since part of the room is outside and part inside, the only way the air conditioner will work is if you have both the bedroom door closed and the luggage storage area closed. When you close the luggage storage area door – look up at the ceiling in the luggage storage area and there’s a little red light on the ceiling. If it’s lit – it means you’ve closed the doors properly and the air conditioner will work. If it’s not – it won’t work.

The obligatory bathroom shot

There was non-alcoholic fruit beverage on ice waiting for us. For those you who imbibe, they will provide champagne.

The beach villas all have their own private entrance to the beach. This is a picture of the balcony leading out to the beach.

I also uploaded a video walk through tour of the beach villa so you can see every corner of the room.

When we first arrived, I was bummed that we wouldn’t be getting an upgrade, but after seeing the beach villa, the entry level room at the Conrad Maldives resort if you will – I was more than happy to redeem 50,000 Hilton Honors points a night. In fact, it made me angry that I squandered 50,000 Hilton Honors points per night at the Hilton Bahamas.

Our dream vacation had started off just right – with a fantastic room – though still no luggage.

Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 1
Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 2
Conrad Lounge in Mali and Seaplane to Rangali Island
Beach Villa at the Conrad Maldives
Euro swimsuits and Turtles
The main pool and snorkeling
Our luggage arrives, Vilu, and the Quiet Zone
The employee strike
The strike ends
Ithaa underwater restaurant, Water Villa, and sunset cruise

We woke up very early at the Trader’s Hotel, back into our travel clothes-no word on our luggage; and headed to grab some breakfast. They had a very nice buffet for about $25 a person.

After breakfast an employee walked us over to the dock and we took the hotel’s speedboat back to the airport, checked our hand luggage with the seaplane company (strict restrictions on weight and amount of luggage) then Conrad employees took over. We took a shuttle to the Conrad lounge overlooking the seaplanes. We arrived at about 8 am and walked in – the lounge is big, clean, modern, and comfortable. We also didn’t realize that there would be a full complimentary breakfast spread here – oops.

The spa employees from the Conrad offer 10-15 minute complimentary neck and shoulder massages. We relaxed for about 2 1/2 hour when they called us to go out to the seaplane. It was somewhat frustrating that they had us leave our Male hotel so early after 4 long flights, when our seaplane ended up not leaving for a couple hours, but the luxury of the lounge made up for it. We met fellow travelers and enjoyed the various seating options and food. They also had computers with complimentary internet access.

We walked the docks, to the seaplane. The seaplane was tiny. Along with our two water bottles, and Bulgari packaged cold cloth, they had given us a set of earplugs and we sure did need them. The pilot gave a pair of his headphones to the infant on our flight.

We climbed aboard the seaplane, there were 12 passengers on the flight, the captain who was in an open cockpit and the “steward” who sat at the back of the plane. The plane was pretty small and the “steward” asked me if I need a seatbelt extender. Ouch.

It was hot it was in the plane. There was no air conditioning except for a small fan up front which was turned on after takeoff, and the noise of the plane was incredible.

The view from the plane was amazing and I really got excited that I was finally going to Rangali Island after all these years of saving up points and planning.

The flight was 30 minutes. Upon hitting the water, the steward unexpectedly opened the door and hopped out barefoot onto the outside of the plane. As we l approached the landing dock there was a huge crowd of Conrad employees waiting for us. As we got off the plane, we were lead into the reception hall where we were introduced to our island host. They gave us a cold towel infused with peppermint.

Our island host was from Russia and was going to be our guide during our entire stay. Each guest was assigned an island host which I thought was an incredible gesture of customer service and hospitality. The island host was assigned based on the resort guests language needs.

She walked us down the bridge to the main waiting area and told us to sit down in some chairs as she went to get our registration documents. Someone shortly came by with some fresh fruit drinks. The entire registration area has a sand floor – no carpet, no wood, just sand. How unique is that?

She came back and had our room keys, along with a map and instructions about all of the restaurants and excursions. At this point – she hadn’t mentioned anything about the complimentary breakfast benefit as Diamond members and so I told her that we were Diamond members and would we receive free breakfast? She had a confused look on her face and told us wait a second as she went back to the front desk. She returned about five minutes and said that yes indeed as Diamond members we would receive complimentary breakfast at either Atoll or Vilu.

Side note – if Diamond is the highest tier in the Hilton Honors program – wouldn’t the island host be alerted perhaps by the General Manager or the Manager of Hospitality that her guests were Diamond members? Shouldn’t we have been welcomed as Diamond members thanking us for our loyalty? Our island host had only worked at the property for one month, my wife and I felt a more experienced island host would have been better and expected for Diamond members. At all other times we stayed at Hilton properties both in the United States and abroad we were welcomed, thanked for being loyal and always had a special expedited check in desk area. At this property, everyone had the same check in process and I believe the same welcome drink.

When we had booked our reservation eight months previous, we were given the option to pay for a room upgrade. We were also promised as Hilton Surpass America Express holders that we would receive a basic water villa. Here is the email we received:

1 – No taxes are applicable on the HH packages ).
2 – I can offer you an upgrade to a Water Villa free of charge or alternatively please see the below room descriptions with supplement charges.

Beach Villas (Entry Level Category)
1.) 35 villas, Up to 150 square meters, our spacious rooms are equipped with all the amenities you could possibly need for you and your family to enjoy all the comfort and style a vacation destination as unique as the Maldives has to offer. The villas are equipped with portable telephones, CD players, tea/ coffee makers, mini-bars, and their own private landscaped gardens filled with lush foliage native to the Maldives.
2.) Relax on your own private verandah or enjoy the convenience of direct beach access. Within seconds, you can plunge into the picturesque tranquil blue and turquoise waters the Maldives are famous for or just relax on the beach and get a great tan.
3.) The perfect feature for families: 11 connecting villas. This allows you to have the perfect amount of privacy with your significant other while still being in close contact with your children, friends, or other family members. – (Must be handled on arrival. Cannot be guaranteed prior to arrival on the island).
4.) In addition to the private landscaped garden, each villa also offers a thatched roof bathing pavilion and open air shower to allow for the perfect relaxing and/ or romantic bathing experience for you and your partner.

Deluxe Beach Villas (+220.00 + 10% Service Charge per night)
1.) 44 villas, Up to 300 square meters with private plunge pools in addition to the private landscaped gardens. Private plunge pools in each villa give you the luxurious convenience of jumping into fresh water just steps away from the comfort of your bed.
2.) Each villa also comes equipped with a courtyard with a fountain, in addition to the bathing pavilion, open-air shower, and all the amenities offered in the beach villas.

Water Villas ( Upgrade FOC for HH Diamond Credit Card holders, normally +175.00 + 10% Service Charge per night)
1.) 28 villas, 74 square meters in size allow the perfect amount of comfortable space as you relax and enjoy the views over the Indian Ocean.
2.) Each wooden villa offers a private sundeck equipped with sun loungers. This allows you to arrange a romantic evening under the stars above the gentle lapping of the water beneath you.
3.) Each villa also offers beautiful ocean view baths, creating a wonderful dream-like feeling of floating above the lagoon while relaxing in the bathtub.
4.) Steps leading from the private sundeck into the welcoming water below allows hassle-free swimming and snorkeling right in front of your villa.

Superior Water Villas (+325.00 + 10% Service Charge per night)
1.) 12 villas, 74 square meters. A private Jacuzzi on the deck and luxurious furnishings in addition to a flat screen TV with DVD player and surround sound makes this the perfect place to relax. Unwind in your private Jacuzzi while you gaze out over the ocean.

Spa Water Villas (+620.00 + 10% Service Charge per night)
1.) 21 villas, 150 square meters of spacious, uniquely arranged floor space and architecture.
2.) Enjoy some of our world-class spa treatments in the comforts of your villa with a separate treatment room equipped with two massage beds.

Deluxe Water Villas (+640.00 + 10% Service Charge per night)
1.) 6 villas, 115 square meters gives you more space than the Superior Water villas but with all the same amenities plus a few additional extras.
2.) Large bedrooms with many different lighting features and options, as well as a huge romantic four-poster bed.
3.) 42″ LCD TV with DVD player and iPod hookup with surround sound provide the ultimate in audio and video entertainment that you can enjoy both in your villa, or relaxing in the Jacuzzi on the verandah.

Premier Water Villas (+790.00 + 10% Service Charge per night)
1.) 2 villas, 119 square meters, very comfortable and spacious.
2.) 2 Jacuzzi bathtubs, one on the deck for total relaxation under the stars, and one corner Jacuzzi inside the villa with a built in TV screen to allow you to never miss a beat in the world of news, sports, and entertainment.
3.) The freestanding Pharo shower in each villa allows for a wonderful shower experience.

Sunset Water Villas (+3,925.00 + 10% Service Charge per night)
1.) 2 villas, 360 square meters, the most spacious and luxurious of all the villas.
2.) Two bedroom villas complete with a glass floored living room for you to enjoy all the undersea wonders the Indian Ocean has to offer from the comfort of your villa.
3.) If the undersea life isn’t enough entertainment for you, each villa is equipped with flat screens and satellite TV throughout, DVD and CD players, and state of the art touch-screen computers.
4.) There is a circular rotating bed in the master bedroom, as well as Philippe Starck fittings and a bedside telescope for some breathtaking stargazing at night.
5.) Vast sundeck with a beautiful private infinity pool equipped with a sophisticated color-changing lighting system. There is also a Jacuzzi on the deck as well as lots of space for entertaining friends and family.
6.) There are two spacious bathrooms, an indoor and outdoor shower and extra amenities throughout.
7.) The villa also comes with an in-villa kitchen and butler service 24 hours a day.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,
XXXXXXXXX

The reviews online implied that room upgrades for Diamond members had been inconsistent, but we decided roll the dice.

She informed us that we would be in the beach villa (the lowest room category). I mentioned to her that we had received an email confirmation stating that we would be in a water villa due to the American Express Surpass card. When she returned from speaking to her colleague, she was vague and said that we wouldn’t be in a water villa. I got the sense that she had no idea what the Surpass card was and I didn’t want to bother arguing about it. It’s our understanding from online reviews that the standard water villa isn’t a true upgrade anyways – more on that later.

Our island host led us to our beach villa, still no luggage.

I uploaded a picture of the underwater restaurant Ithaa at the Conrad Maldives in the Delta Skymiles American Express Dream and Redeem contest.

If you want, you can vote for my pictures at this link

Thanks!

Today is our last day in paradise, we have thoroughly enjoyed our vacation at the Conrad Maldives and would easily consider it #1 on the places that we’ve been.

I’m laying in my superior king water villa looking out the glass doors at the midnight blue waters rolling by.

We have a long, long way back home but I’m already thinking of our next trip.

I have two first class tickets on British Airways courtesy of the BA Visa card that have to be used by June of next year. We’ll be flying out of LAX – so what is the best use of these tickets?

I’ve never been so happy to see our bags show up – I honestly thought they were gone for the duration on the trip – I can finally resume jumping jacks and roundhouse kicks without fear of ripping!

Here’s a picture of the outdoor shower

And a picture of the outdoor bathtub

Still no sign of our luggage but I am sure enjoying my $160 swimsuit!

As I wrote about back in June, we will be going to the Hilton Condrad Maldives for an award stay next year. I’ve read a lot about the resort online – including stories about the unique underwater restaurant they have there.

To commemorate their fifth year anniversary, the Maldives is swapping out the restaurant for a honeymoon suite. You must book the suite fourteen days in advance by contacting the hotel directly.

While certainly a once in a lifetime experience, I can’t imagine how much they are going to charge for the privilege of staying there. Insert your Soprano – “sleeping with the fishes” joke here.

The bigger question is – is there a way to get the Diamond upgrade to the fish suite?