vnfilm1

Someone post a picture about happy hour and I do not see the daily smocktail listed . I will ask to see if they still offer it.
I read your post about "I hired a private speedboat in 2013 to go visit a local island, and went twice the distance of the WA from Male, and only paid $75" . It seems a good idea to explore some local islands . By any chance do you still have the contact or website of the company you hire a private speedboat. If so, I hope you can share it and the location of local island you visited with hiring private speed boat ( if all possible)

So far, I have never visited any other local island besides Conrad and want to do some extra thing it the future trip. Thanks

rp88

I'm curious, what particularly is more impressive at the Conrad from a beauty standpoint? Do you mean the underwater aspect with the coral etc? Or do you mean the vegetation on the island itself? Or lastly do you mean the water view and the different shades of blue etc? Thanks!

persoid

Yes, all of the above, but I'll rank them in the order of their importance to me:

1. The Water View and the different shades of Blue (see pic at end of this post) are superior at the Conrad. The entire QZ from the adults pool all the way to Vilu is absolutely stunning in terms of the views it presents. Much the same can be said about the views on the house reef side of the main island (especially in the afternoon).

2. The house reef and underwater experience at the Conrad is much better, in my view. I don't know if the recent construction at the WA has much to do with the "not so rich" underwater experience at the WA.

3. The vegetation is much richer and nicer, and understandably, so at Conrad. It also feels more natural. This will change with time I think.

I also had this impression that the WA felt a little less lively (perhaps lifeless is a better word here), and artificial.

persoid

It's not something I would do again. Been there, done that and it wasn't spectacular, especially tacking on a 3-day trip at the end of our 2013 Conrad Stay.

My wife and I visited an island called Maafushi (not too far from WA, though a bit further southeast). There's a ferry that the locals take to go back and forth daily, offered then at $3/person for the 1.5 hour one way trip. We opted for a private speedboat for $75 (one way for the two of us), which you can hire at the ferry pier easily. It was definitely an experience and it felt like the island we visited had just come out of the middle ages, rushing to act on what seemed like incredible opportunities with tourism. Food was mediocre, as were the accommodations. I may be sounding like a snob, but that's not my intention. It could have been the fact that we visited this island right after the Conrad. The only good thing was a nice beach on the north end of the island.

Some time after our stay I came across a blog article about the island from the perspective of another traveler. It brought back memories. You can read about that below:
https://www.neverendingfootsteps.com...love-maafushi/

iluvdoco

The King Ocean Villas has no photos but appears to have the same square footage as the King Overwater Villa with Pool, so I assume they're the same room.

Carlos Adrian Cueto

Interesting catch. If they're indeed the same, then this happens to be the best CPP valuation, and can possibly "downgrade" to Reef Villa or maybe even Beach Villa (they're the same price) for half the stay. I guess I'll have to contact the hotel and see what they say.

vnfilm1

Thanks for sharing. I read about Maafushi island a while back and have a thought about stay here a few days in the beginning of CR trip. My DH loves the service and comfort at CR ( at least that's how we feel at that time ) and we decide to stay at CR entire time .

If we have a chance to visit Maafushi in the future, I will takes speed boat to get there . The local ferry is cheap and more enjoying time on the sea but long hour on the sea will make me feel nausea because of seasick symptom .

htran88

This is the weekly schedule they provided me when I asked about Whale Shark Snorkeling. Unfortunately they only offer it on Saturday and I won't be there on a Saturday. Asking them about alternatives now, will update when I find out.

slickalick

We have an upcoming stay in April and was wondering if any of you who have already stayed at the property - and perhaps are Vegan - have a view on the vegan options for breakfast as well as at the various restaurants?

We've looked at all the posted restaurant menus, but seem to be very limited vegetarian options and almost non-existent vegan options.

Wondering how the breakfast buffet caters to vegans - i.e. is there non-dairy milk like oat milk available?

Thank you.

tom-schmitt

Regarding vegan options, I recommend that you write an email to F+B.
I can confirm that they have soy, rice and almond milk at breakfast, also many fruits, muesli, salad,quinoa, vegetarian Indian/Maledivian Curries but not sure if they are vegan. They may contain butter.
Breakfast shouldn’t be a problem as a Vegan.

vnfilm1

Very beautiful picture. I can see the villa we stay (our first trip) in this photo.
I have thought about upgraded to stay on these villa again, but after reading all the problem about room renovated of retreat villa , I decide to be on the safe side to stay in my original over water villa and upgrade 4 night into Deluxe beach Villa at CR.

setho212

Is snorkeling and equipment complimentary? I was looking through the activity brochure on the hotel website and it lists two snorkeling programs called "Discover Snorkeling" and "House Reef Snorkeling" each of which have a cost. I was hoping to just borrow a mask and snorkel for free and make my way around the house reef for a bit each day. Do I need to pay for the programs listed in the brochure?

jphripjah

Yes, ask your host to have snorkel and mask and fins delivered to your villa.

Tomh65

has any one been on the whale shark trip? Is it worth 650++? Also are kids the same price (ages 6)? Is it seasonal?

mb123

Or do it like all the other „normal“ people:
Go to the Service Desk at the Diving Center, try on your mask and fins, which is useful, and take them with you