[ARCHIVE 2020] Conrad Maldives Rangali Island {MDV}
Dec 21, 2020, 1:25 pm
#1531
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: UK
Programs: BA GGL; Virgin Gold; HHonors Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 421
LHR, Splotly, and MaldivesFreak thanks so much for your advice! I just need to book one more night in the SWV but lo and behold I'm out of points! I'm still going to book the airplane tickets because the Qatar Qsuites are too good to pass up, then wait for some credit card and guest opinion points to clear or pay the last night in cash. I"ll be back soon to take you up on the meal plan offer MF. I also think it would be a good chance for the future wife to get scuba certified as whale shark diving has been a bucket list item for me and i'd love to share that with her.
Now, not to get to risque, but i've heard horror stories about women packing "personal items" in their luggage and what not. I don't think we'll have a problem there but it got me thinking about travel etiquette in muslim countries. I'd imagine euro style topless sunbathing is out of the question (again not a problem) but is there any "dress code" as far as bikinis go? What would fly in Brazil or Europe may not fly in Maldives...
Now, not to get to risque, but i've heard horror stories about women packing "personal items" in their luggage and what not. I don't think we'll have a problem there but it got me thinking about travel etiquette in muslim countries. I'd imagine euro style topless sunbathing is out of the question (again not a problem) but is there any "dress code" as far as bikinis go? What would fly in Brazil or Europe may not fly in Maldives...
Dec 21, 2020, 2:32 pm
#1532
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Back in Hell
Posts: 4,178
Yeah, half price on the second trip if you don't see any on the first.
Dec 24, 2020, 6:27 am
#1533
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA Gold, UA Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 342
anyone know how reward availability for xmas/NYE 2021 comes available usually? starting from 12/23/11 everything seems sold out, even on cash bookings, which seems impossible to me? apologies if this has been asked before, but was wondering if this behavior was expected or if award availability for the holiday period will be available at a later date
Dec 24, 2020, 8:22 am
#1534
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Back in Hell
Posts: 4,178
365 days out usually. Could well be booked out already.....
Dec 24, 2020, 9:21 am
#1535
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA Gold, UA Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 342
well today is 365 days out. i could understand award bookings being sold out, sure, since there aren't many rooms made available for redemptions, but the entire hotel is showing sold out, even for cash bookings. thats not quite possible in my opinion 365 days out and in this economy...
SAii lagoon is also fully "sold out" .... and that i dont believe is possible even in an alternate universe 😂
SAii lagoon is also fully "sold out" .... and that i dont believe is possible even in an alternate universe 😂
Last edited by MaldivesPostcards; Dec 24, 2020 at 9:34 am
Dec 24, 2020, 9:40 am
#1536
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: LGB
Posts: 1,206
well today is 365 days out. i could understand award bookings being sold out, sure, since there aren't many rooms made available for redemptions, but the entire hotel is showing sold out, even for cash bookings. thats not quite possible in my opinion 365 days out and in this economy...
If you need a specific date, the best thing you can do is search for it every day. But even if you do that, you might never find it. It would not surprise me if award availability is nonexistent during their highest demand times.
Dec 24, 2020, 11:08 am
#1537
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA Gold, UA Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 342
I can't speak for CMRI specifically, but most hotels do not load their availability on a daily basis. Airlines do that, but not hotels. Hotels open availability in blocks, commonly in months.
If you need a specific date, the best thing you can do is search for it every day. But even if you do that, you might never find it. It would not surprise me if award availability is nonexistent during their highest demand times.
If you need a specific date, the best thing you can do is search for it every day. But even if you do that, you might never find it. It would not surprise me if award availability is nonexistent during their highest demand times.
i have emailed the resort to see if they can provide some clarity.
Last edited by MaldivesPostcards; Dec 24, 2020 at 11:21 am
Dec 24, 2020, 1:10 pm
#1538
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: LGB
Posts: 1,206
right, and that is fair (was not complaining about that). what i was more perplexed about was the fact that you cant even book a room on a cash rate if you wanted to since the resort is "sold out". this tells me their reservation department still probably hasn't opened up any rooms for the festive season at all becasue how can it be that 365 days ahead of time all rooms have been booked...
i have emailed the resort to see if they can provide some clarity.
i have emailed the resort to see if they can provide some clarity.
Dec 25, 2020, 5:35 am
#1540
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 69
Weather is back to heaven here right now
- Ufaa now has buffet after the a la carte didn't work, in some remnant parts of atoll. Selection not as wide as before, but still great- Smaller island and atoll will be refurbed in 2021 to bring the hotel back up to top standards - currently all rooms operating and at pretty much full capacity until Jan
there were some glitches in early festive period but the hotel management have been on their own accord been fixing it piece by piece and can't complain now.
The BBQ event beach does feel smaller than last year.
GWVs are worth the upgrade if you can make it happen by paying to lock in (or get lucky when refurbs are happening)
- Ufaa now has buffet after the a la carte didn't work, in some remnant parts of atoll. Selection not as wide as before, but still great- Smaller island and atoll will be refurbed in 2021 to bring the hotel back up to top standards - currently all rooms operating and at pretty much full capacity until Jan
there were some glitches in early festive period but the hotel management have been on their own accord been fixing it piece by piece and can't complain now.
The BBQ event beach does feel smaller than last year.
GWVs are worth the upgrade if you can make it happen by paying to lock in (or get lucky when refurbs are happening)
Dec 25, 2020, 6:58 am
#1541
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 136
I will be arriving at CRMI in a few weeks and inquired about the construction. Was told they “do not have any definite plans for constructions or renovation for the moment.”
is this truly the case?
if so, I can probably kiss chances for upgrades goodbye, especially given the capacity levels currently. Can anyone else comment on this that is there at present?
is this truly the case?
if so, I can probably kiss chances for upgrades goodbye, especially given the capacity levels currently. Can anyone else comment on this that is there at present?
Dec 25, 2020, 7:12 am
#1542
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Back in Hell
Posts: 4,178
When you said "Ufaa now has buffet after the a la carte didn't work, in some remnant parts of atoll", did you mean that Ufaa now has buffet in some part of Atoll Market?
Since the resort is fully booked into Jan and they probably cannot get whoever is doing the renovations to give them a definite date on when they can start, they look to be keeping everything open until they can get those dates confirmed. The only way I see you getting a free upgrade to the GWVs is a) if you've already got one and they just haven't told you yet, or b) ocupancy is going to drop by a substantial amount after the Russians leave in late January and they will close Rangali Island like they did before.
I will be arriving at CRMI in a few weeks and inquired about the construction. Was told they “do not have any definite plans for constructions or renovation for the moment.”
is this truly the case?
if so, I can probably kiss chances for upgrades goodbye, especially given the capacity levels currently. Can anyone else comment on this that is there at present?
is this truly the case?
if so, I can probably kiss chances for upgrades goodbye, especially given the capacity levels currently. Can anyone else comment on this that is there at present?
Last edited by cblaisd; Dec 29, 2020 at 11:44 am Reason: merged poster's two consecutive posts
Dec 25, 2020, 8:50 am
#1543
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 69
Yep - spot on - it's decent and a step up from what was there a few days back, but not at the old atoll level of variety which was pretty damn impressive.
Dec 25, 2020, 12:15 pm
#1544
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: SFO
Posts: 93
Does anyone have any idea how long the renovations will take? I’m guessing it depends on the type of renovations multiplied by the amount of rooms along with the amount of workers. I had to redo a bathroom with 1 novice contractor and he took 2 weeks. Hopefully they have a 4-5 experienced persons per room and more so they can work on multiple rooms at a time.
It’s actually perfect for me since my 10 year anniversary is summer 2022 so I’m hoping they will be done before then. Then, I can unload my Hilton points and free room certificate for a memorable moment and hopefully the wife will be nice to me for the rest of my life. The plus side is I can experience the reinvigorated / modernized room.
(I’m recently registered and this is my 1st reply thread but been lurking for a while)
It’s actually perfect for me since my 10 year anniversary is summer 2022 so I’m hoping they will be done before then. Then, I can unload my Hilton points and free room certificate for a memorable moment and hopefully the wife will be nice to me for the rest of my life. The plus side is I can experience the reinvigorated / modernized room.
(I’m recently registered and this is my 1st reply thread but been lurking for a while)
Dec 25, 2020, 1:48 pm
#1545
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Back in Hell
Posts: 4,178
Probably 9 months to a year. By the summer of 2022 everything should be finished.