FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - [ARCHIVE 2020] Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi {MDV}
Old Jan 5, 2020, 3:04 pm
  #2371  
persoid
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 109
Originally Posted by Bellerin
brandonpkt and persoid interested to hear your thoughts on option available to us. Looking at booking early 2021 on points (gold member) and could do 7 nights at WA or 9 nights at CRM...we are with two kids also - 7yrs and 9yrs. I read your comments of past couple of weeks (thanks very nuch for those!) and given that room refurb at CRM would be completed by then, would you go for the extra nights option and stick with CRM? Or 7 nights at WA enough? We are first time visitors to Maldives... Thanks and apologies for multiple posts, just joined and getting up to speed with the site!
In my view, your decision should come down to what you're after. If I had to give my opinion to someone, I would say:

If you're after a pure luxurious experience, definitely choose the WA. It is pure luxury hands down, and I obviously agree with @brandonkpt, and many others on this point. If you're after dining experiences and daily spending is not too much of an issue, again choose the WA. That's not to say the Conrad is not luxurious. Without wanting to offend anyone, I would like to offer my opinion that the reason this discussion of a significant drop in level of service at Conrad is happening now is because there's yet an added option available to the Hilton community of travelers. And that option is the WA. If the Conrad was still the "sole" top property in the Hilton portfolio, I'm sure folks would be more forgiving and planning to return to the Conrad, as they've done for years (80% of visitors at the Conrad are repeat guests). Again, that's my opinion.

Now, if you want to be dazzled by natural beauty, as did this entire community for years, and kept going back year after year, choose the Conrad. Believe me when I say that the water and its colors are more beautiful at the Conrad. But with the caveat that beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. If you enjoy snorkeling, again choose the Conrad.

My personal experience was that the level of service had not dropped at the Conrad. I may even say that it was even slightly better in 2019 than in 2018. Yes, they lost the tea hour, but I personally did not miss it. There was plenty of alcohol to go around, and a good time was had every afternoon during the happy hour.

With the Conrad, you'd still be choosing one of the best, if not the best Hilton property in the world (I've been to Conrad Bora Bora, Conrad Koh Samui and WA, and still think the views at the CM are unmatched).

Depending on how far you're traveling to get to the Maldives, you'll want to choose whether to stay 7 nights or 9 nights, but even if you were to pick the WA, I think 7 days should be sufficient to experience the Maldives. Your decision could also be based on how likely you are to return to the Maldives to either of the two properties. If you were to return, I'd start with the Conrad this time for 9 nights. You would not go wrong with any of the two choices in my opinion.

Those are my two cents. Good luck!
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