FlugE

Two weeks until our second stay and they have not yet reached out for the pre-arrival stuff. Is this normal or should we contact CR ourselves? On our first visit we were contacted 6 weeks prior to our arrival...

Abidjan

FlugE - I would reach out. I make a note to proactively email them before each stay not wanting to chance anything. No harm in doing so. Have a great stay.

MaldivesFreak

Rangalifinolhu Island (main island) - BVs / DBVs / BSes
Villa numbers start from the south / bottom and move north / up. As such, the numbers are highest at the northernmost tip of the island:

• On the western / sunset side they start from 100 and go up to 140
• On the eastern / sunrise side they start from 200 and go up to 239

Rangalifinolhu Island (main island) - RWVs / FWVs
The RWVs (called 'Spa Villas' on the 'Old Map' in the Wiki and situated off the nothern tip of the island) are also numbered from south to north. See this overhead, north-oriented view for the exact layout. The numbering system has even numbers on one side and odd numbers on the other with a couple of exceptions:

• On the western / sunset / left hand side they are all odd numbers, 403 through 419
• On the eastern / sunrise / right hand side they are all even numbers except for the first and last villas, 401 & 421. Exact numbering is as follows; 401, 402 and then continues in even numbers up to 420, then 421 at the very end*

* Note: 421 is practically in the middle at the end of the pier, has sunset views but is still classed as on the right hand side. See this view for a left & right hand side of the walkway comparison. It is regarded as the best villa in this group as it's right at the end and by far the most private


Rangali Island (smaller / water-villa island)
Villa numbering starts from the southernmost villa on the eastern / sunrise side (which is about 2/3 the way up the right hand side of the island) and go in an anticlockwise direction right around the tip and back down the western / sunset side with 2 exceptions (see Northern Tip below):

Rangali Island (smaller / water-villa island) - Sunrise Side

• WVs are numbered from 300 to 312

Rangali Island (smaller / water-villa island) - Sunset Side

• PWVs are numbered 313 & 314
• WVs are numbered from 315 to 330
• SWVs are numbered from 331 to 342
• DWVs are numbered from 343 to 348

Rangali Island (smaller / water-villa island) - Northern Tip

• SunWVs are numbered 349 & 350

Note: The anticlockwise numbering system does not include the SunWVs as they were built after the others. 349 is the southernmost / bottom and 350 is the northernmost / top. 350 is preferred as it has the best views and is the most private

Jermyn

Any recent experiences of the Wine Cellar Dinner?
It looks like the most recent accounts have been rather negative.
We are travelling with friends and I think they'll only want to do this OR the champagne and lobster dinner.

I had really been looking forward to the Wine Cellar but don't want to spend $350pp (and ask our friends to do the same) for a sub-par meal.

lhrhappy

We enjoyed both a few months ago.

If I were to choose only one, though, it would be the lobster and champagne on the beach. Unbeatable backdrop. Ruinart. Fresh seafood. Live music (albeit with genre choices all over the place.)

MaldivesFreak

+1. And it's not anywhere near as windy like it is at the DWV beach where they have the Fisherman's BBQ.


And sorry to those who have PM'd me recently. I have been away in Oz and only properly got back to the forums here in the last couple of days so will answer you guys soon.


@Jermyn
What's your plan this time round? How many nights and what villa categories have you chosen?

Jermyn

I'm definitely leaning more towards this choice.
It will be our last night as well, so would be nice to end it with a special meal on the beach. No diving on the last morning, so no need to concern myself with moderating my consumption of Ruinart

5 nights on points again (points mostly earned on our last visit!). This time I was able to get secure a WV on points and a further upgrade to SWV for 80++ per night. Seemed like a no brainer. I loved 421 last time but I'm happy to try something different this time around.

I'm looking forward to being within walking distance of Vilu and also trying out the snorkelling in a totally different part of the resort.

Weren't you planning to head to Rangali for 30 nights at some point?!

lhrhappy

Question for Jermyn and other frequent flyers:

On our last stay, we weren't awarded points according to what we spent at the resort. Instead, my Hilton account shows 100,000 base points for the stay, plus a 50% bonus on base points, a 50% diamond bonus, and a 1000-point diamond myway bonus. Is this normal?

goliath

Per HH T&C, 100k base points is the maximum you get awarded for one stay - even if you spend more than 10k $.

lhrhappy

I spent less than $10k, though. Should I expect them to revise this number downward?

metcon123

Thanks! I did not realize there was a cap. So safe to assume max you can earn is 200K (100K base, 50K on bonus, 50K on diamond)? Not cool if you're spending 2 weeks there and may exceed $10K in spend.

goliath

Depends on the promos running. I've taken home 300k+ from Rangali with double points and some Conrad promos. It should be possible to get more than 400k with the right promo(s).

I checked again, and the max I ever got was 331k (100k base points + Diamond / double dipping bonus 100k + Double points 100k + 15 x 2k Bonus per night at Conrad + 1k Myway Bonus).

_fly_

Returned to Rangali yesterday for our 2nd stay, after our honeymoon here last year, This time we took our (grown-up) daughter with us so there is 3 of us. Booked Beach Villa, got a complimentary upgrade to Deluxe Beach Villa (228) with a private pool and all. For the last two nights we're moving to Retreat Water Villa (upgrade price 200++ USD / nite). I'm a diamond and was told that our daughter can join us for the tea hour and happy hour for no extra charge. Went to manager's reception today also. Saw some octopus and a big-... shark snorkeling today. Even though I was pretty jaded before our trip this year after being here already last year must say it's been pretty darn awesome so far.

SingaporeJunkie

I had about $2,000 in eligible spend and I ended up banking well over 100k points. Thanks Hilton.

metcon123

That's awesome! How were you able to stack that many points? Mind sharing.