in4tar

I hear that beach at PH Maldives is different depending on the time of the year. For a visit in late March-early April - which land villa should you request (which number) if the beach is your main priority (second priority being privacy)?

peter42

We combined another hotel in the same atoll with the PH, which was just 30 minutes by speedboat, BUT it was very difficult to arrange this, as both hotels were not supportive at all. Adressed the issue with Pierre, who could not care less.

@Temperature, as long as your villa gets to 24/25 degrees, that is fine, much lower (compared to the outside) is bad for your repiratory system anyhow, as discussed earlier.

callmedtop

The problem we experienced in the WV is that it didn't get down to 25 UNLESS all the window covers were closed, making the room dreary and quite depressing. This is why I can't recommend the WV for all but the most devout snorkelers.

peter42

Thats true, my point was just, that 24/25 would be fine, if you reach it with shades open.

We only had the Park Villa (with flooding problems) and the Park Pool Villa.

Football Fan

It even changes within a week, so it's hard to say. Our beach looked totally different when we left from 6 days earlier, not kidding. The loungers were almost in the water at the end.

Just avoid villa 1. You will be fine.

tyvoodoo

I have a question for those that have been recently. Is there anything you didn't bring that you absolutely wish you had brought?

Outside of the obvious some that I thought of were uv protectant shirts for snorkeling. Also, is the snorkeling gear up to snuff, does it come with flippers?

canyonleo

Not that I forgot them, but some not commonly thought of items you'll want to include:

- Extension cord to 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 an outlet
- Small LED flashlight
- Ziplock bags or sealed containers to keep ants away from food/snacks
- Dry snacks if you'll make the big breakfast your only meal until dinner
- Extra batteries if you bring electronics (cameras, speakers, etc.)
- HDMI cable (or whatever type you need) to connect devices to TV
- Aloe and other lotions for keeping skin moist after sun
- Spare sunglasses (in case you break or scratch the one pair you brought)

ronbo83

We have always brought our own mask and snorkel since our snorkels have the auto close feature when water goes above the top of the opening. After getting used to this, it is hard to go back to the basic open top snorkel which is what they provide. The fins however are the same adjustable Cressi Palau fins that we use normally so we use theirs. Also fins are too hard and large to pack for that long of a journey. They provide all of this free of charge except for life jackets.

We always use UV shirts for snorkeling and I can say that I had much darker skin around my mask on my face after we left so that is how strong the sun is even with your head down in the water most of the time. Not sure if they have mask cleaners but we bring our own baby soap for cleaning the glass.

We had to buy a few items from the store on the island and while the prices are a little high, it seems reasonable given the location so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

sam_goh

More money and more time

Snorkeling gear was fine and with flippers.

nsmn4945

Something you might not think of, but something I'm very glad I brought, is a pool floatie. I brought the lounger type of floatie for the first visit and my girlfriend LOVED using it around the over water villa. The water is so calm and peaceful in that area, she absolutely loved it. Obviously, be cautious though as the sun in the maldives is quite strong. The second trip around, I brought TWO floaties, one for the gf and one for myself. We didn't stay in the OVW, but had the pool villa, and it was still just as fun floating around and reading a book. Enjoy your trip.

kokinos

Honestly when I first read this, probably on the day you wrote it, I thought you may be a bit looney. All I could imagine was all these better off folks floating on their cheap floaties around the PHM. A few days later the thought popped in my mind again and I pondered why the PHM doesn't offer float loungers themselves; probably a liability?

Fast forward to this past Thursday as I was driving to meet a client I passed a Canadian Tire (A store that sells pretty much everything besides food and clothes) and pull a u-turn back to it. Now I have two floatie loungers with backrests, drink holders and a small storage area. Then I had to order a water proof case for my kindle to complete the package.

Thanks for the recommendation! Feel free to think I'm a bit looney now too everyone

Anyone else heading here this month? Perhaps we can tie up since my floatie has that function as well, it's the fully loaded version

beachfan

Just returned from my second fabulous stay at PH Hadaahaa.

Both times in an OW villa.

We kept the temp 24-25 by only closing all the blinds between around noon and 3:30 pm. Earlier in the day, we only needed to close a couple on one side, and after, only needed to keep one closed until about 4:30. I would start the day at 22 because it would get nice and cool at night.

I was in OWV # 42 this time, thought it might be a let down after my OWV #50 the time before. But the only real difference was:

1) Orientation to the sun - the further out, the more you have northern exposure, the less time you need to close the shades
2)The swim out to the end of the jetty is against the current, that's where the best coral is.

FYI for those snorkelers in OWVs, the side west of the jetty has much better coral than east of the jetty, until you get to the end of the jetty.

in4tar

Floaties - definitely! I buy inexpensive, light floaties from Amazon and take them on all of my beach vacations. It's fun really. Fellow vacationers usually say "omg, I wish I thought of it!" Some even ask if they could borrow it.
Afterwards, I just leave the floaties there in case someone else wants to use them. Definitely will bring my floaties to PHM!

apsprincess

On our last day (the boat is leaving in a few hours). We stayed at OW villa #51. It was fantastic--- to those of you worried about temperature, it stayed very cool and we never had a heat problem- AC cranked out the ice cold air like it should. Stayed a pleasant 23C the entire time.

We had debated whether to just go with the other lowered numbered OW villas, and frankly, the privacy of 51 (the presidential villa still hasn't been built yet) was fantastic. No one can see into your villa as they walk towards mainland. Totally worth it. We were looking for a vacation as a retreat from our hectic daily lives and were very, very, happy with it. Great snorkeling: saw sharks (very cute), and beautiful fish.

Floaties-- there were 2! 1 very graceful white swan (not sure which villa it belonged to), and 1 regal pink flamingo presiding over Villa 42. (photo is of said flamingo. Saw it every single day, and had a serious case of floatie envy)

Very happy with our stay. Great service, great food. Even the mister (who got really cranky at the thought of 20+ hours of travel), admitted he did not regret it.

MikeFromTokyo

I would just add that it is best to take used batteries in particular, as well as any other non biodegradable trash whenever practical, back with you for proper disposal on mainland.

If people choose to bring snacks, it is also best to bear in mind the type of packaging used. Styrofoam and excessive amounts of plastics should be avoided.