Another update after 12 days here - two thirds of our stay:
After the first five days with lots of rain and strong wind, the weather has now greatly improved and we were able to enjoy some near-perfect days and beautiful sunsets.
I haven't turned a single page in the books I brought with me and haven't been snorkelling at all so far. This may sound odd to some, but this time, it feels right to really do nothing at all - other than getting up late, walking (or taking the boat) over to breakfast, laying at the pool, walking (or taking the boat again) over to afternoon tea, freshening up and going to (or sometimes even skipping) dinner.
We have met many interesting people here and have spent hours of talking to them. Our daughter has constantly found new friends to play with and the guys at the kids club have taken great care of the kids as always. ^
Some updates on my previous post and some new thoughts and info I found noteworthy:
Internet (update):
The speed has improved in the meantime, speedtest.net is reporting 4.7Mbit/s to a server in Male (that equals about 35MB/min), I can now work remotely on a server in Europe without being kicked out all the time and our daughter has been able to stream Netflix without any issues.
When moving around, both my wife and I are still losing the connection on our phones multiple times a day which requires us to re-initiate the connection on the Hilton login page again, though.
Buggies / dhoni service (update):
We only used buggies a few times and waiting times have improved now. I think it helps that the dhoni / ferry has been operating again since the weather has improved and the wind has eased off.
Afternoon tea + cocktail hour (update):
We have come to like the combined event, but would still prefer it to be held at Mandhoo. Mandhoo has always been our favourite restaurant location (not necessarily the favourite menu, in my case - I prefer the cuts of meat to be bigger
). Now you can arrive at 4:30PM, still get something from the afternoon tea buffet and at the same time order drinks from the "happy hour" menu.
Some firsts (for us):
Not a first, but a new record: 35 minutes between touchdown of our plane at MLE and our arrival at the Rangali Lounge at the seaplane terminal. Very fast and efficent processes this time, from immigration to baggage delivery, from "meet & greet" by Conrad staff to check-in at TMA and the drive over to the seaplane terminal.
The first time we had excess baggage with TMA: You are allowed 30kg per person (every item is weighed, checked luggage as well as hand luggage) and we had 103kg between the three of us.
I think the $5 (+12% tax) per kg of excess weight is a fair price. We paid $72.80 including tax for the extra 13kg.
The first time we are staying in a villa on Rangali Island: Pros of the DWV we are in: sunset views from bed, jacuzzi and bathtub, short walk over to Vilu for breakfast or afternoon tea / happy hour. ^ I think on a next visit, we would chose a RWV or FWV again because of their pros: more floorspace, daybed on the deck, showerhead with a hose (travelling with two girls with long hair...), glass floor underneath the vanity.
The first time we had breakfast at Vilu: We prefer this setting / location to the busy Atoll market and you can get most of the items from the kitchen (if you know that you can ask for them, the menu on the iPads is somewhat limited), but after a couple of days, we went back to Atoll market, which is easier for our daughter. Here she can pick and chose "a little bit of everything" without having to order full plates.
The first time we used laundry service: The prices are reasonable in comparison to other hotels / resorts worldwide, I would have expected higher prices here. Standard prices apply for "same day service" (pick up before 11AM, delivery by 9PM) or "next day service" (pick up after 11AM, delivery by 7PM next day). "Express service" (pick up between 8AM an 2PM, delivery within 4h hours) is 50% extra. Our laundry was picked up before 9AM yesterday and delivered around 8PM last night. See the complete list of prices in the pic below.
Some firsts scheduled for the remaining days:- Lobster and Champagne BBQ at the beach
- Visit Ithaa for drinks
- Lucky Dolphin Cruise
Villa pictures:
Thanks to management and other guests, I was able to take some pictures of:
- Sunset Water Villa
- Premier Water Villa
- Renovated Deluxe Beach Villa
I will post those pics later on once I find the time, together with some updates on the renovated DBVs.
The things I love about this place - click on a picture for a larger view:
Arriving at the pool at 10:30AM with zero sunbeds occupied:
These views:
Laundry price list:
