lacoca

thanks for sharing this!! I think this time i will stick with WA only ...

mikewhyatt

Really just depends on how the resort is built and the size of the island it is built on. For example (from looking at google satellite images only) the drop off at the Conrad is much further away for some portions of the rooms vs closer for others but nowhere near as extreme as the WA. I imagine you would need to be a pretty good swimmer to enjoy snorkeling at the WA, the currents should be stronger around the drop off (please correct me if I am wrong). Life vest for me!

Wozza2404

Life vest for everyone.

Even for me who is a pretty strong open water swimmer, I'll still have a ankle strap with a 30m line and a lifejacket floating on the end. That way I can free dive down to have a look around; but should the worst happen and I stray into a rip, I've got a life jacket to reel in and put on.

htran88

anyone know the fishing rules for the area? planning on doing the sunset fishing trip anyways but wanted to know if i can walk out from the room and fish that drop off

alanslegal

Just a couple of points;

Someone asked about "shisha costs", it is $110++ and located at at the Nava Bar however it can be brought to your villa etc.

Happy hour 10pm-11:30pm at Nava Bar is only a Gold/Diamond benefit - so non Gold/Diamond guest pay full price. It is 50% drinks - selected cocktails (4 choices), selected beers, selected spirits, soft drinks etc. Should be enough to keep most happy.

And back to my crappy map edits;

I asked the ocean sports where the guided snorkelling day/night tour is and it is the blue line marked below, along the drop point.

Someone asked about Beach Villa preference, I have suggested a couple of preferences prior to this; but after a 6 days here and riding my bicycle around to/from villa and pools / restaurants etc I think I will ask for a BV south facing in the 600's first. Why? the greenery around 600s appear much more denser than than the 200's (which I was I originally liked). The south facing 600's have panoramic outlook and nothing in the distance. During the day you get the WA yacht come and go from time to time but you don't get any other boat traffic. At night, you look into the distance and there is very little lights from other islands / structures (that can be seen from some north / north east facing villas. If I can't get that, I would ask for a north east / lagoon facing BV in the 200s. I paddled into the lagoon earlier and sat there in front of the 200s and thought I would be OK with this view; there weren't many many people enjoying water sports but the location is close to the family pool (which has been mostly empty and highly enjoyable) and the gym/tennis courts. Plus I would think you would get a decent sunrise or sun visibility.

Now for Reef Villas, I think the 300s north facing would be my preference, the greenery is more dense than 400/500 islands, i felt it was more private (ie could not or harder to see some decks riding by) there are some decks on the 400s and 500s that are visible riding my bicycle past. plus it is more true north, and since i mentioned that there are some distant islands to the north/north east, the 300s I would think would be less impacted.

Anyway that's my final impression on BV/RV room types and why.




..

scwam

I'm out! Going to cancel my points reservation for next month Aug 10th to Aug 17th. If anyone is looking for those dates next month then hopefully the 2-bed beach villa should go back into the bucket once I cancel. I've got until around July 23rd to cancel. I'm going to cancel because I've got an Agoda booking about to charge my card in 3 hours for Faarufushi. Plus, I'm also looking at a good deal on Vakkaru and hopefully can make a final decision within 3 hours from now. After 6 months of nightly research on our first trip to the Maldives, my wife decided she didn't like the look of W.A. It just hasn't matured. I kind of regret it because I've never stayed at W.A. and now have diamond status. However, we've reviewed tons of videos via Youtube, Instagram, personal photos of people through Instagram, the chefs' creations, etc., and everything leaves us to believe we want a more Maldivian experience (if you can even get that from a 5* hotel). I'm not sure if I should book Vakkaru or just keep Faarufushi. In either case I'm down to the wire. Anyone who wants to take up the dates, pm me and we can plan a cancelation time. Although I'm sure it will take 24 hours to update in their system.

tom-schmitt

Just cancelled a 10 night award stay (King Beach Villa) from 21-31. Dec. 2019.came back to inventory immediately and is still available.
If someone is interested.

mikewhyatt

Oh my.... $110++ for one session of Shisha? For those of you who don't know in Egypt one "session"/bowl pack is about $1.50 USD, in the states it's usually $20USD, at upscale clubs the max I have ever paid is $60USD. The retail cost of a hookah is $250-300 for a TOP of the line hookah (which can be reused hundreds of times), the cost of the shisha tobacco is $1-2 per bowl pack and the charcoal cost is $1-2. I could stomach the wine prices, but holy crap for someone who enjoys smoking hookah daily, I will never be visiting the WA. They have not created some out of the world resort here, there are many comparable properties in the Maldives that have better offerings. The end for me.

jphripjah

iluvdoco

I think that's a good call. I plan on waiting at least 6 months before visiting. I think the vegetation will be much better after a year.

gnomey

wow, vakkaru appears to be within UNESCO biosphere. should hopefully see some nice marine creatures

no - for most resorts in Maldives, anyway. this is actually what the Maldivian atolls are famous for.
which is why it is a major geographical disadvantage for WA.
a recent TripAdvisor reviewer made this point as well.

if you have been to conrad (presumably?), you can actually walk very far out easily. even more so when it's low tide.

generally, it's quite easy to tell where the dropoff is from a drone pic, that would be the area where the water suddenly turns from turquoise to dark blue.
WA has lots of dark blue water all around it on its map.


excellent idea. will keep that in mind for future.
yeah, i always get a little nervous myself when going too far out, and near the drop off, and currents start being strong. even in life jacket.
which is why they always advise to buddy up when going snorkeling.

another advice i have for snorkeling would be the mask you use.
if you use the full face mask, make sure you buy a legit one - none of those china-made imitation crap.
people have suffocated and die from it before.

htran88

the problem is the design itself it does not allow you to circulate the air properly so excess CO2 gets built up in the mask. Same reason why traditional snorkels cannot be greater than 14" long.

stick to the traditional mask and snorkel. You'll be able to equalize a lot easier as well too

gnomey

yup. and you cannot free dive with it.

but some people cannot get used to biting mouthpiece and breathe without panicking.
so the ffm offers an alternative to them.

Traveler Dave

jphripjah