I've been to the Conrad and Cocoa Island, and while I definitely liked Cocoa Island more, I thought the Conrad was still very good. In particular, you can get incredible value there by redeeming Hilton points for the base room then upgrading with cash, and also when accounting for the benefits offered to Hilton Golds/Diamonds (and even more for honeymooners).

Is the Conrad in the same conversation as luxury properties in the Maldives such as FS, O&O, etc? No way, but I'm a bit surprised that others have such negative impressions of it.