MaldivesFreak

Check out the weather data links in the wiki. I will tell you from personal experience that when we arrived in August a few years back it had rained for 9 days straight without a break - yes, that's 24/7, night and day for nine days. Fortunately for us we got 8 days of awesome weather. So you are rolling the dice but hey, rainfall in that month is very high so what do you expect.

captainamerica

Probably not worth risking it to go in August then. Thanks for the input!

gnomey

I agree. The color for the decor seems mismatched - like not in the same tone.

I mean, I am no interior designer lol but even I feel it is a bit off. I think greyish whitish tiles goes better with modern / contemporary theme like bleached wood, clean lines (more st regis vommuli style), but that's never been the decor of conrad maldives villas, which is more mahogany colored / wood rich / yellow / beige theme. i guess that's why it looks off.

Land-of-Miles

MaldivesFreak

Probably not, unless you were going for something like 14 nights. Enjoy the Seychelles!

G-CIVC

Would you say the same for a 6 night stay in mid/late September? Having similar concerns over the weather. TIA!

(This may begin a series of posts as I start planning about CMRI for which I am totally a newbie however veteran I may be in other forums. )

MaldivesFreak

You're probably asking the wrong person, LOL. I would go regardless of weather, civil unrest, viral outbreak or whatever. And to be honest I like the rain. It's fantastic for swimming in and no amount, even like what I described above, could ruin a holiday in the Maldives for me.

Anyway, if I were to give advice to someone I would probably say that if weather was high on your list of concerns, 6 nights in mid/late September would be sitting on the fence/touch-and-go for 'reasonable weather'/medium high risk.....you get the idea. You would expect, statistically speaking, to get quite a few hours of rainfall in that period but it would have to be pretty serious (like the example I gave above) to ruin the holiday for the average traveller. When I say 'ruin', it's obviously conditional. If you were from a region where rainfall is scarce then it would probably take quite a bit of it before it ruined the holiday whereas if you lived in the monsoon belt you'd probably feel otherwise. Each person is different and is in a different location and financial situation too. If this is a trip you're planning and you're going to spend a lot and not go back for 10 years then that's gotta weigh in on your choice. In my case we've been extremely lucky. In our 6 times (and in the 40+ days we've been there in total, half of that in the rainy season) it's only rained for maybe 90min in total.....so I couldn't care less if it rained for a week straight. You get the idea.

What's your situation? Have you been to a lot of tropical destinations and had excellent weather throughout? Are you planning to blow the savings on this trip and not plan on another visit for a considerable amount of time? Or do you often take expensive holidays to remote destinations and money isn't a problem?

onlysuites

If you are looking to go in August their cash rates are normally very good. Was around $300-400 last year which is much better then using points IMHO.

jphripjah

I just looked at August 24-29 and it's $427 sale rate for a beach villa. When you add the 23% tax and service charge it's $525 per night. That's pretty good. The you'd earn points on that spend as well. Of course, you have to prepay, no refunds.

I've booked those dates for 76,000 points per night with fifth night free, still cancelable for two more months, and in a water villa that otherwise would cost $680++ per night.

Anyway, I agree with your comment about good cash rates, but when considering the taxes and service charges and 5th night free option AND the water villa being the standard point redemption, I can't agree that paying cash is much better than using points here.

DIM

Appreciate your advices. Going to stay for the very first time in this property in Jan. 2019, booked a Water villa using points (standard rate which is which is sooo good IMHO).
Couple of questions.
- Is it still an option of paid upgrade to Superior water villa or Deluxe water villa when stay is on points?
- if yes - shoud I do it? Any significant difference between WV and SWV/DWN? Is it worth to pay more?
- do they still allow Diamonds to use their lounge in the airport on arrival/departure?
Many thanks )

jphripjah

Yes, they may email you soon or sometime before you trip and offer you the opportunity for a paid upgrade, I received such an email booking on points. Whether it's a good deal depends on what price they quote; it varies.

MaldivesFreak

Right. IINW, the lowest rate (when they had their flash sale) was $350+++ which is $443.20 for a couple per night. If you can get that you'd be smiling all the way!


Don't forget to add the $6 Green Tax per person per night; $538 all up.

It certainly is during low season.

MaldivesFreak

I would upgrade to a SWV if you value a sunset / unobstructed view, more privacy and slightly less noise from the neighbours. Check out my WV vs SWV comparison. The link to the post is in my sig. There are also quite a lot of posts talking about the DWVs but you'll have to search for them. IMO it's not worth it to pay the extra for a DWV, not unless you've got plenty of cash to spare.

It's no longer free for Diamonds. Everyone has to pay the $55++ for the package. (See my post a few pages back regarding this for more details)

joecool1885

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIM

Appreciate your advices. Going to stay for the very first time in this property in Jan. 2019, booked a Water villa using points (standard rate which is which is sooo good IMHO).

Couldn't give you a ton of detail on SWV. They are fairly close to DWV in location, the rooms are not spaced as far apart from each other as DWV.

Loved our DWV, but we were so busy we didn't get a ton of time to enjoy it. And bear in mind that this side of the island is not conducive to snorkeling... strong currents so it's not advised to begin with, but more importantly, it's mostly just sand on that side. The house reef is on the larger island close to the RWVs.

Days Seventeen through Twenty-One Part 1: Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Review ? JoePro Travel - includes pics, 360 panorama, and video of the DWV.

jiller

Hi all, I have spent the past couple of weeks pouring through all of the posts in this thread, and am hoping you can help with some questions I have that I am still unclear about. I'm looking at booking 5-6 nights on points at the Conrad Rangali in spring of 19. Nearly all of my points have been earned via work travel and I've been saving them for an amazing bucket list vacation! As a single woman, I don't want to wait on a honeymoon or anything to take said trip, so I'd love to come here with my 2 best girlfriends instead for an amazing girls getaway!

We are very close and would all stay in one room rather than have someone be odd man out in their own room. Currently checking on Hilton's site and entering 3 adults in one room, it still shows me the 95k standard award rate with no extra charges listed for the 3rd adult, so I'm assuming that will be honored. Anyone have experience with that? I'm looking to book the WV standard reward and do a paid upgrade to a SWV.

I know as Hilton gold, my benefits for free breakfast, happy hour, etc. are officially only for myself plus one guest. But if 2/3 of us in the room are Hilton Gold, would we all 3 be able to use the HH benefits for free breakfast? If not, what are the paid rates for breakfast, tea, or happy hour for the 3rd guest? If we need to pay for the 3rd person we will. I am less concerned about that, as I am the 3rd person being denied entirely. As with the room - I don't want anyone to feel left out!

Any guidance or advice is much appreciated!
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