lhrhappy

No. The flights and passenger lists are made by the seaplane company, not the resort. They're based on demand, weather, and passengers' onward connection flight times. Last year, our departing flight left at 8PM Male time. We were put on a sea plane at 4PM resort time.

They can't fly after sundown or when there's a storm. Otherwise, they'll fly based on demand.

We squared up at the front desk about an hour prior to departure and spent our remaining time at Rangali Bar. From what I hear, though, the hosts are pretty good about tracking down guests who need to be somewhere (like on a plane.)

MaldivesFreak

Getting on the earliest seaplane via request is easy and a reasonably sure bet. I wouldn't put any money on TMA paying any attention to anyone's request for being on the last seaplane out, though.

There's only a 29 minute difference in daylight from the shortest to the longest day so there's no change to the seaplane schedule.

30 minutes at the very minimum. And note that you will be required to have completed check-out formalities 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure.

They expect guests to stay either at reception (or Rangali Bar) or the seaplane platform (where there's an air-conditioned room). There's no change to this policy if TMA is running late, however if they are running quite late and you are wanting to take a walk and assure them you will be back well before departure they won't mind. In your case, since you will still have the room, you can most certainly ask your host to call you in the room 30 minutes before actual departure as long as you promise to stay in the room and answer the phone.

No difference, except if it maybe falls on Christmas Eve, New Years Eve etc, where most people will be arriving rather than departing.

Majuki

We found the combination of the food court seating area (air conditioned) and Priority Pass lounge landside - The 2 hour limit is strictly enforced. Seriously, the receptionist came by like a stopwatch and evicted multiple couples while Mrs. Majuki and I were there. We decided to leave before our time expired - were good places to camp out before our flight opened for check in. Even with a late afternoon departure from Rangali, we still had about 3 hours before our flight's check-in time. We weren't going to pay the extortionate rates to wait in the resort's lounge when it used to be a benefit, so we did the above two options.

We had originally considered the free Malé tour, but 1) we had spent the first night in Malé, went to the museum, and had walked around a bit before going to the resort, 2) the drop off back at the airport was unorganozed to say the least and reminded me of a cruise ship terminal at the end of a cruise, which didn't give us the greatest confidence of getting back to the airport at a comfortable time, and 3) the free tour was probably something where the guide expected a tip at the end of the tour. I'm not against gratuities, but expectations should be clear.

One caveat with the Leeli Lounge is that there are no showers, but the Priority Pass lounge does have them. (I think there may be an additional charge.)

Like the above post, we also noticed the dhoni service was sporadic and would wait at one side of the resort or another for a long time, especially at night. We ended up walking back to our villa a handful of times. If you're going to have to call for the dhoni, you might as well request the buggy service.

MaldivesFreak

You probably know this but just to let everyone here know, this was free for Diamonds for only about 6 months before they rescinded the benefit. I think a lot of folks reading this thread think this was a benefit that Conrad was giving to Diamonds for years and years.

lhrhappy

You counted only one caveat?

Majuki

I was actually unaware based on what I have read here the last few months. Regardless, it didn't seem worth the price of admission.

This is the same as the departure lounge for the seaplane, rightt?

One of many.

lhrhappy

Yep, same Conrad lounge for departures and arrivals. Apparently the food sucks. Haven't tried it myself.

The shared J lounge is just a jarring reminder that you're not in the developed world, IMO. If I could just get a bacon cheeseburger and a beer, I tell ya...

MaldivesFreak

Erm, I don't quite understand what you mean. The benefit for Diamonds was the free use of the Conrad Lounge on departure, not any other lounge.

Majuki

Hi MaldivesFreak,

I was asking if it was the same space as where you wait for the seaplane going to Rangali, which lhrhappy confirmed. It's a large space, but I didn't find there to be much to do there while waiting for the seaplane going to Rangali. At least at the airport you can walk around or take the ferry to Malé.

passionforhotels

Oh man, yes! But it's a great improvement on how it used to be - I remember when they were so proud to have "hot food" in the lounge; they'd brought in instant noodle pots!

For clarity: this is the airside lounge in the airport, not the Conrad lounge at the seaplane terminal.

Carl Christensen

goliath

To be sure, you could just put it on the room bill before you leave the resort.

monahos

I overheard a presentation being given in the rear part of the lounge some months ago to teenage local students on a field trip for their hospitality class (a surprisingly aware bunch, they certainly knew the importance of tourism for their economy), where it was said that another space suitable for a lounge had become available, but airport management had chosen to allocate it to duty free operators as they would bring in more revenue than another lounge.
The speaker was candid and fully acknowledged the lounge didn't compare to ones operated by airlines at their home bases.
As long as there is no competition, there will be little incentive for the incumbent to improve its product.
As for the developing world, the new shared lounge in Danang for one puts most US lounges to shame...


The standard procedure is to arrange for it before checking out from the hotel, as otherwise your luggage (which travels on a separate truck from the seaplane terminal) would not be tagged to go to the lounge but be taken directly to the departure terminal. IIRC luggage belonging to people using the Conrad lounge upon departure is handled by Conrad staff, not the seaplane company. I would not be comfortable with my luggage sitting in the terminal while I am at the lounge, as the TMA trucks pool luggage from various seaplanes, and it is a bit of a free for all when they are unloaded.
This also ensures that the lounge charge goes on the hotel bill for full points credit.

MaldivesFreak

Bang on.

lhrhappy

I don't think there's a thing wrong with the space, for what it is. The soft product is where this lounge fails.