ScubaRoo

Thanks for the menus.

Anyone care to take a current photo of the Happy hour menu? I won't bother asking for the afternoon Tea menu :-(

Here's mine from my Trip in 2017 (from 1 of my two reviews, click on my signature)

Splotly

Its really mean to post pictures of that view for those of us who�ve only just left it behind.... really really mean!

vnfilm1

Thanks for sharing the menu

By any chance, does anyone has the quiet bar menu with price including. If so, can you please share.

ScubaRoo

Your mission ^^^^ should you choose to accept it MaldivesFreak ;-)

ScubaRoo

Lol.

Scroll away, I forgot just how gorgeous the colours and light were, 3 years on pretty pleased I bothered with the photos and the detailed article.

https://triprep.wordpress.com/conrad...ves-revisited/

wav3rider

My wife and I will be back for our 2nd visit in March. We requested 421 again as we stayed in that room the first time. Is that a pool retreat now or a regular former retreat now?

We are disappointed to see all the issues and changes but still excited to return. We had a such a great time our first trip and have wanted to come back again.

MaldivesFreak

The villa numbers (both GWV & DBV (for patio setup)) and their categories is on my list of info to compile.

mrflintstone

Three weeks to go before our 10 night stay begins.

Coming from Australia, I would need to have exchange some USD in case I want to tip for exceptional service as I would assume all other costs can be charged to the credit card.

How much USD cash do you reckon I should bring?

About to make some restaurant reservations. How much is the Maldivian Night per person assuming that it's currently running?

And a stupid question, with all those Diamond benefits, e.g. 20% off lunch, happy hour etc, is it fixed up on checkout, or you have to mention it at the time (need to whip out the digital card on the phone?)?

Lastly, in checking my email correspondence with the reservations coordinator back in June 2019, the diamond benefits mentioned in the email do not include the afternoon tea.

Abidjan

Removed

MaldivesFreak

Tips aren't necessary because you're already paying a 10% service charge but you can give as much as you feel comfortable with if you do want to tip. There are a few posts way back about amounts. Some folks who like to give tips give $5 or $10 a time, some even $50 (those damn millionaires! @Splotly being one of 'em - been there 14 times for christ's sake!) And regarding tipping, this morning I thought of a good idea for my room boy Mohammed who is just awesome. We had a cake baked and delivered to the room 2 days ago and so, without letting him onto what I was planning, when he was still outside the villa I asked him if he liked sweet food. He said yes and also said he didn't like spicy food (which I thought strange for a local, having a sweet tooth). It was just the answer I was hoping for and so I cut a slice of cake and put it together with a carton of cold milk from the fridge and brought him over to the table and said we'd like him to try it after he had finished doing the room. You can do something out of the box which will often make them even happier than receiving five or ten bucks.

Maldivian Night is indeed still on and is $165++.

Edit: Can confirm the discounts for lunch are calculated at the restaurants (and so are the Happy Hour discounts). They should be aware of who you are and if you're entitled to them but just mention it to them anyway and check it has been applied to the bill just to be on the safe side.

mrflintstone

Great gesture. Though I won't have a cake coming.

Have checked my schedules and looks like I'll be booking Ithaa lunch, Mandoo lunch (to see fish feeding), Sunset Grill, and Cheese & Tapas. And if Vila and Mandhoo are full at dinner, we'll just do in room dining.

MaldivesFreak

OK, so here are some data points that I've gathered over the last couple of days.

Honeymooner Benefits (minimum 4 nights, marriage certificate less than 1yr old):
1. Afternoon Tea or Shisha for two, once during the stay
2. One 3-course dinner at Mandhoo (back there now since it has re-opened)
Note: There is a 'Congratulations Dinner' which is held at Sunset Grill which is a paid dinner with a separate menu. This is not to be confused with the 'Honeymoon Dinner' mentioned above
3. $100 credit (incl taxes) per couple to spend on selected excursions (run by the resort and not run by the Dive Centre or Water Sports Centre) or spa treatments during the stay
Note: minimum 6 nights required for this benefit

F&B:
1. All restaurants are open every day over Festive Season and until and including 7th Jan. I presume this is now / has been a yearly policy. From the 8th Jan they will revert to their usual opening days, i.e; Mandhoo closed on Mondays, Ufaa closed on Wednesdays etc
2. Vilu, as we all know, was closed 2 days a week. It was only closed one day a week while Mandhoo was closed late last year when they were doing renovations there and at the RWVs. It will revert back to being closed 2 days a week (Wednesdays & Saturdays) from Jan 8
3. The evening menu at Rangali Bar is still available for this month. It will be modified sometime shortly after that
4. Unfortunately the no food after 6PM policy is still being adhered to at The Quiet Zone
5. There is no more honeycomb, imported yoghurt, raisins and pinenuts at the breakfast buffet at Atoll Market. The sushi is also smaller AFAICR and the danishes are smaller too
There are, however, some positive changes, among them are;
* multiple and alternating kinds of scrambled eggs - one day one choice, the next day, two choices; plain and special, and so on
Edit: There is Indian Akuri, Salmon & Spinach and Truffle Mushroom & Herbs. Tried them all and all are excellent.
* banana danishes (don't think they had these on any of our previous visits but could be wrong)
* and the equipment has been upgraded, mainly the warmers which are much larger, much better looking and much better quality
There are probably other differences and alternative dishes as well but it will take me a while to find them.

I will say that these look to be obvious cost-cutting measures like the removal of bubbly at breakfast (not that we care about bubbly as we don't drink). It's fine to add flavours to things like scrambled eggs and different fruit to danishes (basically costs nothing) but the removal of the honeycomb and 6 or 7 flavours of the large tubs of imported yoghurt for example are definite negatives. They have replaced this imported yoghurt with in-house yoghurt in tiny (what look to be) 50 or 75ml glass bottles of only 2 flavours per day (besides plain / low fat). For us, living in China, we were really looking forward to the imported yoghurt selection as we can't get decent yoghurt there. On the flipside, Nazeer and the team at Atoll Market have been great in making up for this.
Now, being unbiased means I have to point out the positives with this - being that making portions smaller is smart as it reduces waste. I can't imagine how much food is wasted every day here and only a few people actually leave the table having consumed everything on their plates. It's shocking. So, if you want more you can just go and grab another. And using glass bottles is so much more environmentally friendly.

Business Centre:
1. Still has 2 PCs but now they are Apples
Notes:
* Inactivity timeout on these is ridiculously short - 2 1/2 minutes! Be careful as if you go to the bathroom downstairs, answer the phone or turn around to talk to someone you will be logged out and lose all your work / text if typing. I've spoken to them and they said that they've already extended this timeout (really?) and they will look into extending it. I have been talking with Naeem on three separate occasions while typing this and nearly got logged out each time.....
* Connectivity is shockingly bad on these two machines (often takes 1 or 2 minutes to load Hilton pages can you believe it and sometimes the Captcha images fail to load altogether) and some software is out of date - so out of date, for example, that you're forced to use the old / basic version of Yahoo Mail because the Safari browser is so damn old it's incompatible. They basically don't care and don't even keep the printer filled up with ink
2. Still have 2 kinds of cookies, water, tea and coffee. Sometimes there are chocolates instead of a second type of cookie
3. There is now a photography company operating from the back part of the business centre called 'Only Photo Maldives'. Run by Chinese and presumably there to cater to the mainland Chinese market who come on honeymoon. Update: The guy in there speaks literally NO English so forget about that if you can't speak Mandarin, LOL

HHonors Gold / Diamond benefits:
1. Happy Hour at Vilu from 16:30 till 17:30
2. Personalised bath amenity - Refinery For Men
3. Comp WiFi
4. Late checkout subject to availability
5. Comp 2 bottles of water (which is not really a benefit as there are 2 bottles in every room regardless)
6. Comp bottle of wine / sparkling wine and choices in room on arrival (strangely not listed on my card that I got listing the benefits)
7. An extra 15 minutes to a spa booking which is applicable to 60-minute or longer treatments at either spa. Choices are either a 15-min foot or scalp massage. Valid for 2 guests and for the duration of the stay

Other miscellaneous tidbits include the clothes shop next to reception on the main island. This has been taken over by the resort and has a lot more selection than before. It's also been renovated and looks much nicer and now apparently only carries branded products. There are also environmentally friendly sunscreen lotions there ($55+ for 200ml, ouch!)

That's about it for now. Off to the gym to do some HIIT to counter the huge increase in daily calories. Will try to take photos as requested above. If anyone has any other questions let me know. Still got another month here.....muhahaha!

MaldivesFreak

You're always welcome to have some of ours. We almost never finish them. PM me your room number when you arrive.

Sounds good. Make sure to book Mandhoo and Vilu a good few days in advance as you really don't want to miss out on them for evening dining. I've just booked there for tonight. Drooling already..... You hear that, @Splotly?!

alanslegal

Just go bugger off will ya?


Someone mentioned a few posts above yours about the "WA being souless" and I kind of agree. Mandhoo and Vilu are just two restaurants that reflect what The Maldives is about; being able to dine over water, feeling the tropical breeze gently flowing through the dining areas. You really don't get that feeling at the WA, the closest over the water experience would be Tasting Table and those 4 outdoor tables at Li Long. This Conrad also has Sunset Grill which is overwater, and Koko Grill - under the stars near the beach, then speciality dinners on the beach which gives it much more character than the WA imo. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the dining options at the Conrad the last time we were there *and how we promised to go back to enjoy the dining options we missed out, I am drawn by the amazing hard product at the WA. Decisions decisions for us.

Btw, have an amazing month ahead MF :P

MaldivesFreak

These are exactly the comments, verbatim, that I've heard from at least 2 other Rangali repeaters in the few days I've been here so far, with one guy just getting back from there and who, having stayed at Rangali 8 times and is well travelled, also saying the dining (and quality of the Italian dishes), is incomparable.

And thanks, we will continue to enjoy ourselves immensely!!