Tilly71

Are you not allowed to visit Ithaa just to take a look in the day?

MaldivesFreak

Nope. If that were possible, they'd have to hire someone just to show everyone around, every man and his dog would be doing it and they'd lose revenue.

mnredfox

Ithaa cocktails are $75 min pp with some food from 11-12pm IIRC.

saaveraward

"some food" is an overstatement. You're paying for face time with the fishies. Anything food and beverage related is just a throw in.

MaldivesFreak

I think the correct term would be 'mouse-sized snack'.

And it's hard to believe that the price has gone up $20++ from 18 months ago. Let's say there are 3 couples that do the cocktail + mouse-sized snack with the fishies each day. That works out at $13,500 per month. Wow. I imagine that would take care of quite a few gardeners' salaries.....

Jermyn

Yeah, agreed. Rangali island generally had better sand in my experience (and a more pleasant atmosphere overall). I'll give the full rundown of this in my island comparison segment

Thanks for the words of encouragement. This TR has been my Moby Dick for over a year. I look forward to seeing your TR as and when it emerges.

In the meantime here are some teaser pics from my next segment:









It honestly never crossed my mind to visit Ithaa when I was at Rangali. Seeing the dirty glass tube from above as we were diving in the lagoon was more than enough. (we helped to clear some debris off the top for the sake of that evening's diners)

There are a lot of questionable value propositions at this resort and this is by far the worst in my opinion. PT Barnum had a very apposite saying which comes to mind...

MaldivesFreak

More like if it emerges. I really want to do it as it has some really useful stuff in there for you guys (stuff that nobody has put into a TR before AFAIK) but just can't set aside the time ATM.

lhrhappy

I think most people have a Facebook checklist full of questionable value propositions. Watch where people take selfies. They rarely do it in front of the artwork or landscapes that move them to tears. Instead, they do it in front of the most famous pieces, the most famous landscapes. When one stops seeking the approval of others, he has no reason to visit the world's Ithaas.

MaldivesFreak

That's a bit rough. Not everyone is an attention seeker or suffers from narcissism (although it is spreading like wildfire). It's the world's only proper underwater restaurant, is a completely unique experience for those who have never snorkelled or been underwater and where the items on the menu can't be had anywhere else. Your comment would apply to only a very small group of people who visit.

ChocolateFactory

I helped my uncle book a nice trip to the Maldives on QR/UL for December, but he still needs a hotel.
The Conrad would be an option, but he'd need to buy points.
I have Diamond status, but I guess they wouldn't honor that with him staying instead. He could easily get Gold status by applying for a credit card, though.

However, he currently doesn't have any Hilton points, so he would have to buy points. The big question is if it would be worth it.
For seven nights, it would cost him about 2,500 €.

He got a half-board offer for The Residence Maldives (used to be a LHW property, I think) for 3,900 €.

Or he could stay at the Robinson Club with full board for 2,500 € in their lowest category rooms.
(Probably a bad comparison, but that's what he mentioned as he's stayed at Robinson properties in Europe before.)

He could easily afford the expensive hotels, too, but he's reluctant to do so.
He doesn't want to be stuck at the Conrad and then either pay a couple hundred dollars extra per day for some food and activities, or not be able to really enjoy his vacation because he'd feels the activities aren't worth the excessive charges.

So... How much should you budget for some food and activities at the conrad?
If you have to buy the points, is it still a good deal?
Or would you rather book something else?

Reading that the sand isn't very soft and the reef is dead doesn't sound very good...

Thanks!

lhrhappy

I just don't agree, and I usually agree with everything you post!

First off, if you're going to the Maldives and not snorkeling, then how exactly are you spending your time?

A 7-10 course tasting menu elsewhere, even in a 3-Michelin star restaurant, would cost half as much as it does at Ithaa. (And it would most likely be "service compris", not inflated by yet another 25% on the bill.) Indeed, only a few years ago, the food at Ithaa cost half as much as it does now.

Cocktail hour started at $20++ and is now $80++. It's a simple cash grab. It's a decision to extract as much money as possible from people who need the selfie. It's well in excess of hotel price inflation, resort price inflation, or even Maldives price inflation. And that's off-putting.

It won't stop me from going, but I probably won't visit Ithaa.

Cynicor

I agree with MF. I have scuba dived around the world in some of the worlds best reefs. I'm from AU and work regularly from the cities along the Barrier Reef.

I didn't take or post a single photo from the restaurant but it's an experience like any other- you do it and some people enjoy it, some won't, some don't think it's worth the money.

i've have amazing dinners in some great restaurants and I still think it was worth the money. I actually went on each stay, by myself, because I find the novelty of it quite fun. It might be too much money to some people, but if you can afford it and enjoy it, then why not? I don't drink coffee and considering a morning coffee now costs about 5USD where I live, I save the money that way

lhrhappy

I guess Cynicor is...



...less cynical than I.

Cynicor

LOL, yes, in some areas. Dunno, my main complaint is it's really hot at lunch! So I did dinner, occasionally my book between courses and had a nice meal while watching the fish. Next trip I'll save the $ on an OWV type upgrade though, I really prefer the land rooms, so horses for courses!

MaldivesFreak

That's an interesting perspective you have. Well, for starters, the second time we went to Ithaa we took our 12y.o.....but first we got her excited by taking her for a ride above the water in the glass-bottomed boat, then under the water for lunch in Ithaa, then we taught her to swim in the water. She was a little afraid of the sea, so by doing what we did, it made her far less afraid and really encouraged her to learn how to swim! Not to mention for a kid it can be the coolest thing in the world to eat in an underwater restaurant! So it's not as black and white as you say. Whether we did lunch, dinner or the cocktails is irrelevant as it served its purpose. And no, we didn't take any selfies on either visit because none of the three of us are into that.
As for my girlfriend and I, after 6 visits and spending a month and a half in the Maldives and the coral being in its current state, snorkelling has been put very low on the list of things to do. With all the numerous activities like tennis, all the water sports and excursions and spa treatments for my girlfriend and whatnot, there's never enough time to do even half of what we want to do on a 7-night / 8-day stay. By god, even on our upcoming 30 (or 35) night stay we will still be pushed to do all of learn how to sail, cooking classes, yoga classes for her, making a nice short film of the resort and so on and so on. Oh, and not to mention just plain relaxing!
Forgive me for saying so but it seems that you're either crazy about snorkelling (nothing wrong with that) or you haven't spent much time in the Maldives such that you don't feel like spending time doing other things. A lot of people lie on the beach and spend the vast majority of the daylight hours reading. We could never ever do that but each to their own.

That wasn't my point. It's fusion cuisine, Maldivian and Western and those dishes are only available there, not anywhere else. As far as price is concerned, yes it costs a lot (lunch is still cheaper than sushi at Jiro's. ) but money is there to spend, is it not? I'm only able to live once so I think what the hell, if I like what's on the menu then I'll eat there. If I want to treat my other half to a romantic and special dinner then I won't hesitate and I'll take her to Ithaa or do a private beach dinner.

How long do you mean exactly by a few years? A few years ago, 4 years ago in fact, it was only $10 cheaper than it is now (not counting the government levied tax which has risen from 6% to 12%).

100% agree. And TBPH I think it's due to the influx of wealthy Chinese who are quite happy getting ripped off at Ithaa. And yes, very off-putting indeed. So much so that I would never ever give them the satisfaction of taking that amount of cash off me for so little in return.