[ARCHIVE 2018 to 2019] Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi {MDV}
#1516
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 644
Not sure what's so confusing. Original quoted price was $378 + taxes roundtrip for each person and we ended up being charged only $189 + taxes total per person. There are 2 of us and so I said $189 + taxes (2)
#1517
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 179
Can anyone pls report on the snorkeling? How is the marine life, assuming all coral is dead due to construction.
#1518
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador, Radisson Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 3,622
#1519
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: El Gouna , Hurghada (HRG)
Programs: BAEC:Silver ,IHG:Spire Amb ,QR:Silver,HH:Diamond
Posts: 374
I've thought of another Question that I don't think has been asked (or mentioned ) . What is the depth of the villa pools ? do they have a shallow and deeper end ?
Regards
David
Regards
David
#1520
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 67
in case anyone is wondering how to transfer between the conrad and waldorf:
Further to your inquiry, we would like to inform you that we can arrange a private seaplane transfer from Waldorf to Conrad. The travel time will take for approximately 25 minutes, the rate of the private seaplane transfer is approximately USD 8,125 per way subject to 10% service charge and 12% goods and taxes.
Further to your inquiry, we would like to inform you that we can arrange a private seaplane transfer from Waldorf to Conrad. The travel time will take for approximately 25 minutes, the rate of the private seaplane transfer is approximately USD 8,125 per way subject to 10% service charge and 12% goods and taxes.
#1521
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 644
I believe the reef villa pool depth is around 3 - 3.5 ft all across without a shallow and deeper end.
#1523
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador, Radisson Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 3,622
A lot of snorkeling just seems to be doing a dead man’s float while looking down through your mask and breathing through a snorkel, which it turns out I can do. And most of the time around here you’re either in water that’s less than five feet deep or you’re within a ten meter swim of water that’s shallow enough to stand in. And it turns out I can swim perfectly fine when I don’t have to worry about turning my head to breathe.
Anyway, a couple of staff members told me that the best snorkeling is outside the wedding chapel and Yasmin and around the “first bridge” that connects to the 500 villas. I would agree with that. There are breakwater rocks just outside Yasmeen and the highest concentration of fish I’ve seen is right around the far tip of those rocks and then along those rocks down to the bridge and then past the bridge to the breakwater rocks outside Tasting Table, where there are also some fish in and around the rocks.
Also, my understanding is that these islands the resort sits on are substantially man made. Outside the odd numbered 600 beach villas, there’s shallow water where you can wade out about 20 meters on sand, then 20 more on a rocky ocean floor, before you reach a point where the ocean floor kind of artificially drops off into an abyss along a steep underwater downhill slope. One moment the water is 4 and a half feet deep, but take one more step and it’s twenty feet deep. I’ll call this the “abyss line.”
There tend to be a lot of fish along this abyss line which is located about 40 meters off the odd numbered 600s beach villas. Outside 623-627 is pretty good for fish (again, I don’t know good snorkeling from bad) including the breakwater rocks right outside 627.
From outside Yasmeen, if you swim straight out 15 meters or so from the tip of the breakwater rocks to the abyss line there are a lot of fish there and all along the abyss line to villas 501-505. The line is really only about 15 meters or so out from the decks of the reef villas. It’s kind of hit or miss along this line outside the higher numbered 500s and the 300s all the way to the third bridge just before Le Long, where there’s a staircase from the bridge to the water so you can put in or take out there. I do recall that just off 511, perpendicular with the start of the second bridge, there were a lot of fish, and I think off 307 also.
Anyway, in short, there seems to be some snorkeling potential along the abyss line 15-40 meters outside any of the odd numbered 300, 500, or 600 villas. If I had to choose one spot, especially for novices and non-swimmers who want to be in shallow water, I’d say around the tip of the breakwater rocks outside Yasmin, which is like 15 meters short of the abyss line there where there are also fish.
There is some coral all along the way, but you’ll see more rocks than coral. And again, I don’t know what good snorkeling or bad snorkeling is, I’m just saying an hour or so in the water in these areas and you’ll see many many hundreds to thousands of colorful small and medium sized fish, including the striped black and green fish, the spotted leopard looking fish, those saucer-sized blue fish with the yellow trim, etc.
I haven’t seen any sharks or sea turtles or killer whales or mermaids though.
#1524
Join Date: Feb 2009
Programs: HH Diamond, BAEC
Posts: 1,341
No mermaids???!!! That’s really disappointing With the WA prices, I’d expect to see a mermaid or two!
#1525
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,328
I snorkeled yesterday and today. It was my first time snorkeling. I feel like I’ve been missing out. I think I’ve avoided it because I’m not a strong swimming and if you put me in a pool I struggle to go more than about twenty meters before I start flailing about, because I’ve never really mastered the “turn your head and breathe” part of swimming.
A lot of snorkeling just seems to be doing a dead man’s float while looking down through your mask and breathing through a snorkel, which it turns out I can do. And most of the time around here you’re either in water that’s less than five feet deep or you’re within a ten meter swim of water that’s shallow enough to stand in. And it turns out I can swim perfectly fine when I don’t have to worry about turning my head to breathe.
Anyway, a couple of staff members told me that the best snorkeling is outside the wedding chapel and Yasmin and around the “first bridge” that connects to the 500 villas. I would agree with that. There are breakwater rocks just outside Yasmeen and the highest concentration of fish I’ve seen is right around the far tip of those rocks and then along those rocks down to the bridge and then past the bridge to the breakwater rocks outside Tasting Table, where there are also some fish in and around the rocks.
Also, my understanding is that these islands the resort sits on are substantially man made. Outside the odd numbered 600 beach villas, there’s shallow water where you can wade out about 20 meters on sand, then 20 more on a rocky ocean floor, before you reach a point where the ocean floor kind of artificially drops off into an abyss along a steep underwater downhill slope. One moment the water is 4 and a half feet deep, but take one more step and it’s twenty feet deep. I’ll call this the “abyss line.”
There tend to be a lot of fish along this abyss line which is located about 40 meters off the odd numbered 600s beach villas. Outside 623-627 is pretty good for fish (again, I don’t know good snorkeling from bad) including the breakwater rocks right outside 627.
From outside Yasmeen, if you swim straight out 15 meters or so from the tip of the breakwater rocks to the abyss line there are a lot of fish there and all along the abyss line to villas 501-505. The line is really only about 15 meters or so out from the decks of the reef villas. It’s kind of hit or miss along this line outside the higher numbered 500s and the 300s all the way to the third bridge just before Le Long, where there’s a staircase from the bridge to the water so you can put in or take out there. I do recall that just off 511, perpendicular with the start of the second bridge, there were a lot of fish, and I think off 307 also.
Anyway, in short, there seems to be some snorkeling potential along the abyss line 15-40 meters outside any of the odd numbered 300, 500, or 600 villas. If I had to choose one spot, especially for novices and non-swimmers who want to be in shallow water, I’d say around the tip of the breakwater rocks outside Yasmin, which is like 15 meters short of the abyss line there where there are also fish.
There is some coral all along the way, but you’ll see more rocks than coral. And again, I don’t know what good snorkeling or bad snorkeling is, I’m just saying an hour or so in the water in these areas and you’ll see many many hundreds to thousands of colorful small and medium sized fish, including the striped black and green fish, the spotted leopard looking fish, those saucer-sized blue fish with the yellow trim, etc.
I haven’t seen any sharks or sea turtles or killer whales or mermaids though.
Your "abyss line" is more commonly known as a "drop off", and certainly will be where you're likely to see bigger fish and therefore, if they're around in the area, sharks.
#1526
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador, Radisson Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 3,622
Thanks. Is it common for the ocean floor to just drop off like that or is that indicative of the man made aspect of the resort?
#1527
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 158
Unless every person who got that half rate will have “problems with the yacht.”
#1528
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,485
Remember the start of finding nemo where they are playing at the drop off?
#1529
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,485
The drop would normally be from 1-3m depth to 15-20m depth, easily, in many cases.