alanslegal

There are quite a few posts above that confirm upgrades do happen at this resort; we were as well. Our 7 nights were upgraded, 3 nights BV to a DBV, 1 night BV to DWV and 3 nights (paid upgrade) SWV to DWV.

It really depends on each guest I suppose. I pretty much asked questions/organised everything through my host via phone or in person. Sometimes we'd bump into each other when we were out and about, the times we didn't see him he would check on us via phone or sometimes he'd pop a note in our letter box. I felt that he advocated our wants/desires/requests very well to other departments; for example, we requested no alcohol for our Lobster & Champagne dinner, that was confirmed; the night before our move from the DBV to SWV, we asked for specific rooms on the ends of the pontoon, he said "don't worry, I will get you a really nice villa", and we ended up in the DWV.

gnomey

Thank you for sharing your experience! Agree that an island host who will advocate on your behalf is the best.

MaldivesFreak

After our second visit we stopped using / requested not to have the host. Not because he / she wasn't good, it was because I had spent a lot of time getting to know the resort beforehand and after the first visit there wasn't anything I didn't know about the place, procedures etc. We have made friends with one of the duty managers and she comes out to greet us at the seaplane jetty on our recent visits, but basically I have everything booked (via email to the reservations co-ordinator) before we arrive so there's really nothing for them to do anyway. If there's anything that needs attention I just call Magic and it gets dealt with. I figure that way whoever would normally be assigned to us can have a slightly less hectic day every day we're there.

lhrhappy

Anybody know of a travel insurance company that will cover the value of your Hilton points?

Anywhere else, it wouldn't be an issue, but the 15-day cancellation policy makes it a very real possibility that one would end up forfeiting $5-15k worth of Hilton points in the event of accident or illness.

alp67

I don't know any, but cancellation policy varies according to whatever (month or season, maybe MF knows better?) e.g. for Festive Season deadline will be Oct 31, Jan and Feb it'll be 21 days...

mb123

Hi, I wanted to book our next stay in April 2019, but the whole month isn‘t bookable yet. Neither with points nor with cash...Anyone knows what‘s the reason for this?
Availability ends on March 30 2019.

marcmsj

Wait a few more days and it should be bookable

rich1231

Does anyone know if there is an all inclusive option at the resort for points paid stays?

Travel agents have the option at the hotel.

bevoinva

Hey - just want to make sure I haven't missed something, but still no points showing up in my account from my stay 3 weeks ago. It was an award stay but we had charges for room upgrades and meals. I assume I should be getting points for all that but just wanted to confirm here before I send an email to the diamond desk.

lizakramer

You absolutely should get points for any room charges and F&B. Been twice on points and received points for all the additional charges. I'd email them - 3 weeks is a long time.

MaldivesFreak

Unfortunately I'm not at all familiar with cancellation policies as I would never cancel, surprise surprise. Even if I was hit by a bus I'd still go there albeit maybe in a wooden box.
But seriously, there was some talk about insurance a some tens of pages back. Can't remember every detail but it depends on the country you're in and what the insurance companies there will cover. I think there was some talk of insurance cover for incidents arising from the political instability there. I think @alanslegal was one of the FT'ers commenting and I think he mentioned that Australian insurers would cover more than others.


Can you give details of what the TA is offering and for how much if there is a separate price? There's only $100++ HB (see below) for stays booked through Hilton and AFAIK there's no all inclusive at Rangali and don't think there ever has been. Could it be that TAs just advertise this but it's the standard HB, i.e; dinner at Atoll Market (not including drinks) and $75 including taxes credit (also no drinks) at any other location?

lhrhappy

Insurance policies usually provide cover for repatriation of remains, but I'm afraid it wouldn't apply if you're dead before the journey starts.

MaldivesFreak

I didn't say I wanted insurance.

MaldivesFreak

Did anyone notice that Ithaa is closed on Tuesdays? According to ConradMaldives.com it is:

Does anyone know when this started?

flyingmusicianlax

Awesome thank you![/QUOTE]

Hey there, just wanted to report back that our host screwed up putting us on the Island Hopping Tour and, as we were the only ones that signed up for it, the tour was cancelled. So, sorry I can't give you more info.

They DID however give us an unscheduled Local Island Tour, and since it was just us, it was essentially a private tour. Awesome time visiting the island of Dhangethi, seeing old buildings made of coral, meeting local friends and sampling *extremely* spicy Maldivian peppers and dips. Capped off with tea. A note that it is not the Conrad, there is a fair amount of garbage in the water and, like the rest of the Maldives, is Muslim. So, dress appropriately (women can wear hair down, but no bare shoulders, shorts should go down to knees; same with men). People were super friendly when introduced and they are used to many western tourists coming through, including some backpackers that stay in the one or two guesthouses on the island. Highly recommended to get a glimpse of what life is really like in the Maldives.