Originally Posted by
goliath
Spoilt or not, I will stand by my statement.
I meant they should
add another day at the resort (staying 6 nights at Rangali), not "wasting" the first of only 5 nights. Another night on points will cost you USD 475 all in if you buy the points at 0.5 cents. The hotel on Hulhumale will cost you as well, so only the difference will be what you invest for another night on Rangali.
They seem to be restricted to a week away from home, so they should spend the most of their time available in the "right" place.
Even if you check in at 1AM, you can still get a good 7 hours of sleep without having to "go to breakfast like a zombie".
The only positive about overnighting on Hulhumale I see is the seaplane flight at daytime instead of the domestic flight in the dark followed by the speedboat ride.
We stayed on Huluhumale before going to Rangali on our first trip, and I would not do it again.
I agree. Still don't see how getting to Rangali a day later 'gains' an extra day on the island. The two options as I understand it are:
-land late
-transfer to Rangali, arrive around 1am (about 4 hours after landing in the country)
-wake up at leisure and enjoy being on the island already. If you really can't make breakfast, then so what? Go for lunch/brunch or whatever. Or order room service.
or
-land late
-transfer to a hotel in Male, get in around 11pm
-wake up early for breakfast in Male because seaplane check in time is 7am
-arrive at Rangali mid-morning (around 12 - 14 hours after landing in the country): you've lost a morning of your holiday, had a few hours' sleep in an average hotel, had a boring breakfast but saved money.
It's worth considering getting to the island sooner, even if that means arriving at 1am and having only 6 hours' sleep that night, than staying overnight in Male (where they still only get around 6 hours' sleep) and lose much of the following morning in transfers when they could be enjoying the island already (or sleeping!). They save money by staying the first night in Male, but lose time on the island. Only they can do the cost/benefit analysis of that.