goliath

I haven't done it myself, but wanted to do it later this year. I inquired about it at both resorts and spoke to somebody who has done it.

It turns out there is no way around getting back to Male, pay twice for the return transfer and lose some time in the process. The transfer to Hyatt involves a domestic flight from/to MLE (not by seaplane) to/from a local island and a speedboat ride to the resort.

We decided it was too much hassle in the middle of a vacation and that we would visit the Hyatt on its own one day.

If "visiting all Conrads and Park Hyatts" is on your bucket list, your priorities may be different than ours, though.

THECLIPPERS

Thanks for the input.

I'm also leaning on visiting the Park Hyatt on another trip sometime in the future unless I find an easy direct flight.

MaldivesFreak

Sorry my Beach Erosion post hasn't been updated in quite some time. Thanks goliath for posting those pics.
Mid 230s is a good option as it's still very close to the pathway through to the dropoff at the house reef and there's slightly less foot traffic that far up the island. You won't go wrong there.

AFAIK the latest policy is you get free 'tap water' (distilled sea water) only in Atoll Market, the buffet restaurant. You may want to double check that with the resort before or when you arrive because as of late F&B policies seem to be changing faster than you can say "A hazelnut chocolate fondant, please!".

MaldivesFreak

Those prices are definitely low season.


You might be able to transfer by speedboat but it will cost you literally thousands of dollars - I wouldn't be surprised if you were quoted 5 or 6K for the one way journey, that's if you could coax someone into doing it.

MaldivesFreak

I guess they have plenty of RWVs left but maybe just one or two DWVs. And boy, the SWVs are a steal at only $90++. I've never ever seen or heard of them being that low for high season. Are you sure it's not a typo and not $190 or $290?

SR12

Returned last night after 2 weeks in Rangali and can confirm this, too. Only note I would make: There is sort of a "step" in the middle of the beach, roughly halfway from the vegetation towards the water, where the beach drops off (goliaths 2nd picture kind of shows it, but imo it is more visible now. But def. a rather wide patch of beach around the house reef channel).

xkr0p

I copy and pasted the email so those are the exact numbers quoted. For $90, I am going for the SWV. I replied requesting the upgrade, lets see what they say

SingaporeJunkie

So I got the SWV upgrade offer for 80 per night plus tax (1st week of March). Having booked the initial water villa for 95k points per night (5th night free), and my diamond status giving me free breakfast + happy hour, I feel like this is one of the greatest redemptions in history.

hyperzulu

Nah. Someone got upgraded to the Sunset WV for free. Aspirations...

brodielayne

That's how I ended up in the Presidential suite at Conrad Bora Bora. Fingers crossed for my visit to Rangali later this year.

slodki

Does anyone know when the deluxe beach villas will be renovated by? Any pics / videos of what the upgraded ones look like? Thanks!

jtz

Hi all
I've read a lot of this thread and am hoping to stay in Rangali sometime this year.
Would love to know thoughts on length of stay. I know everyone has their own preference but for those that have been, how would it compare to IC Koh Samui 4 nights and 1 night Conrad Koh Samui, because I found that quite long.
I was thinking perhaps 3 nights?
And I'd love to know any thoughts on other differences between BV and WV, besides ones listed on their site?
Thanks

Abidjan

Three nights is way too short and I hope you have the capability to stay longer. It takes me 2 days to get settled/in-sync with the time zone. My stays are 10 nights and it it just the right amount of time. By day 8-9, I start getting the itch to leave. Course, the day I get home I'm ready to head back.

gnomey

based on my experience in this kind of beach/water-based vacation, it highly depends on what kind of traveler you are, and what activities you plan to pursue

if you are planning to dive/snorkel etc, then i think you probably need 4-5 days. a few reasons - weather may not be favorable to you on some days, you may not be able to see all the marine creatures you want in your first dive/snorkel and hence need to make subsequent attempts, you have other fun activities / day excursions you want to pursue besides dive/snorkel and each of these will take at least 1/2 day, and divers are not advisable to fly <18-24 hrs after their last dive. on top of all these, you may want some time off that you can roam on land to explore nook and cranny, take photos, or eat in a leisure manner without feeling rushed that you need to jump into the water again.

if you are planning to do nothing except reading / lounging / sun bathing, then you probably can stay as long (or as short) as you want until you are bored or run out of money. of course some would question what's the point of going all the way to maldives and do the same thing you could do back home or at a cheaper locale. all i can say is, diff strokes for diff people!

MaldivesFreak

Well, you're probably not gonna like this but I think anything less than say 2 or 3 weeks is too short. Not that I have done a trip there for that many nights.....not yet anyway.....but there are quite a few FT'ers who stay at this property for 2 weeks at a time, every time they visit.
To put it bluntly, it really sucks going to paradise and having to leave only a week after you arrive, or start thinking about leaving a few days after you arrive. I absolutely love the Maldives, especialy Rangali, and hate that nagging "Damn, we've only got another 4 days left!" thought that enters my head 3 days into a 7-night stay. And the next day it's "Damn, we've only got another 3 days left!" and it gets worse as we get closer to leaving. By the second to last day I am beginning to loathe the sound of seaplanes..... My 30 or 35-night stay at the end of this year will put that to rest, however. I am so looking forward to getting away from the rat race that is Mainland China and just relaxing for a month, solid. Having said that, 99% of the people here can't bear to stay in a place like the Maldives for more than 4 nights because they think it's too quiet, and too boring, ROFLOL. Each to his own I suppose but to be perfectly honest they don't know how to relax and enjoy peace and quiet, let alone enjoy the sun. Be aware that Rangali is just that - peace and quiet (for the most part)! As an interesting point, I once asked the Director of Rooms how long the ideal stay was (based on guests' opinions) and she said 2 weeks. You'll find that those people are all from the US, Europe etc, where people, generally speaking, have different standards and ideas of what it is to relax and what a relaxing stay entails. They do it in a different way and that's one of the reasons why they keep going back to Rangali.

As for CKS, I have stayed there once and 3 nights was enough. On the CKS thread you'll find that is the concensus. They (Koh Samui and the Maldives) are vastly different environments and resorts in a place like Koh Samui are vastly different properties compared to resorts in the Maldives and Rangali in particular, so you should most certainly take that into consideration. If I were to go to a resort like Jumeirah Dhevanafushi - a tiny place with only 2 restaurants - I wouldn't want to stay more than 3 or 4 nights. It would certainly be enough as far as F&B options went. Rangali is another cookie entirely and its size and dining options (largest F&B operation in the Maldives) make a 7-night stay seem far too short. Size will always dictate length of stay to a certain degree for those who like variety. There are more places to explore and more that are private - no-one, I don't care where you're from - doesn't want to have any privacy at all and at quite a few resorts, privacy Rangali style isn't that easy to come by.

My questions to you are: Have you ever been to the Maldives before? Do you like beach resorts? What's the longest you have stayed at one? Do you like a lot of privacy or are you turned on by crowds and crowded, noisy beaches? Do you like to explore a little and do the odd excursion? Do you like to snorkel or scuba dive? Are you a foodie or are you happy with a buffet every night? Last but not least: What's your budget for this holiday? If you answer all those I can hopefully give you a pretty good idea of how long to stay.