Old Dec 28, 2019, 4:28 am
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Last edit by: ALGU
Intercontinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort

Address
Intercontinental Maldives Maamunagu Resort
Maamunagu Resort
Raa Atoll
Maldives
Tel + 960 6580500
Mail: [email protected]

Link to hotel:
https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/us/en/maamunagau-island/mlemm/hoteldetail

Location:
Google Maps

Flight to airport (MLE)
Seaplane Round Trip
USD 580++ now 700++ per adult
USD 290++ now 350++ per child (3 -12 years of age)
children up to the age of 2 are free (but no seat)
(Post)

Rewards points:
120.000 Points

(According to this post, the hotel opens up reward inventory 3 month prior to stay date)

List of Digestifs at pool (daily between 20:00 - 22:00)
List in Post #48

Reports
Ambassador
Report of an Ambassador (on reward stay) in December 2019


Other
Pre Opening thread

Resort Menus in Post #140 https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32883853-post140.html
Print Wikipost

InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort Master Thread

Old Aug 7, 2020, 11:52 am
  #76  
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Programs: Various memberships
Posts: 532
Managed to book 5 nights for next May (not the best season I know) on points.

Looking forward to it!
TheEngineer is offline  
Old Aug 7, 2020, 6:10 pm
  #77  
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 731
Originally Posted by Vanessa2020
Hi all,

My family was lucky to have a great time at this resort back in March 2020. Beautiful island resort. Service was top-notch. Breakfast/afternoon tea were excellent with variety of foods and tropical fruits.

In the past, I loved flying to Maldives on Emirates A380 First Class with showers in flight. Now, with the increased number of miles/points for Emirates First Class, I think Qatar Qsuites easily became my favorite business class for long haul flights, especially for a family of 4.

I booked air tickets from USA to Maldives about 2-3 months before departure date, and made speculative booking for 8 nights at InterContinental Maldives. Then I continued to monitor other countries on how they handle Covid-19 to make final decision for our trip's stopover destination. About 2 days before departure, my trip was finalized: 5 nights in Maldives and 3 nights in Singapore.

This was the 3rd time my family have been to Maldives and Singapore in the past 5 years, so no need to research where to stay/what to do, and the remaining bookings were made fast.

Thanks to "All Club" benefits for all guests staying at the resort, our final bill at checkout was very minimal (under $300 for family of 4 for the entire stay).

I have both Chase IHG Select and Premier, so I was trying to stay for 8 nights at first, but then had to reduce to 5 nights.

1 night = 100,000 points
4 nights = 300,000 points (4th night free, from Chase IHG Premier)
after stay: - 30,000 points (10% rebate, from Chase IHG Select)
------------------------------------------------------
Total for 4 nights = 270,000 points --> 67,500 points per night.


I was only a Spire Elite during my stay, so no big upgrade other than to Lagoon Villa (which they would upgrade you anyway since it's good for families with kids). Standard room is Overwater Villa, which is small and good for 2 guests. My family did a downgrade the last 2 nights just to have true overwater experience.

Room Tour of Lagoon Villa:
youtu.be/JdsZFEtvKAo

Dining Experience:
youtu.be/6o5yqmIxfH4

Kids Club:
youtu.be/kgPT-A1Qn40
Beautiful videos! How did you enjoy this atoll and property compared to the others you've visited? Did they have any nightly shows or daily activities, such as arts and crafts included? We noticed they have bikes which is a plus! Do you know if they have boat transfers between the Raa and Baa atoll? Any pluses or minuses you can think of versus other properties would be appreciated. Thank you!
spellbound2 is offline  
Old Aug 10, 2020, 10:09 am
  #78  
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 11
Originally Posted by spellbound2
Beautiful videos! How did you enjoy this atoll and property compared to the others you've visited? Did they have any nightly shows or daily activities, such as arts and crafts included? We noticed they have bikes which is a plus! Do you know if they have boat transfers between the Raa and Baa atoll? Any pluses or minuses you can think of versus other properties would be appreciated. Thank you!
I typed a long review with attachments and got a message "can't post links until you get 5 posts". Hit "go back" and lost all :-( I'll try again

Last edited by Vanessa2020; Aug 10, 2020 at 10:57 am
Vanessa2020 is offline  
Old Aug 10, 2020, 10:27 am
  #79  
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 11
There are so many resorts on each atoll and my family don't dive so I can't compare atolls.
My third time to Maldives was at IC, and the previous two were at Conrad. Both properties have beautiful grounds and excellent service.
A-la-carte breakfast at Conrad is better. Snorkeling at Conrad is better. Teatime at IC is better with more variety of food/drinks. Rooms at IC are newer (of course!!!). Bikes at IC look really nice with basket and guests' initials (Conrad didn't have bikes back then).
Hilton/Conrad standard rooms are big, and we can get excellent room upgrades with Gold/Diamond elite status, free breakfast for the entire family (at least for my family in the past 10+ yrs).
Since I travel with kids and from Texas (being spoiled with beautiful homes and big rooms), I tend to prefer Conrad. However, Conrad's rooms were getting old and dated, and that's why I tried IC.
I can only stay at one resort per Maldives visit , so I don't have any experience with boat transfers between atolls. I believe you will need to contact each resort for the details.

Last edited by Vanessa2020; Aug 10, 2020 at 11:03 am
Vanessa2020 is offline  
Old Aug 10, 2020, 10:36 am
  #80  
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 11
IC's resort recreations schedule during my stay:



Bikes:



Standard room (overwater villa) doesn't have wow factor, to me. That's why I prefer Lagoon Villa.





Football Fan likes this.

Last edited by Vanessa2020; Aug 10, 2020 at 11:05 am
Vanessa2020 is offline  
Old Aug 11, 2020, 12:18 am
  #81  
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 731
Thank you Vanessa!

I see what you mean about the IC Lagoon Villa being more impressive. We like a lot of space, too. We stayed in a deluxe villa a few times at Conrad so I know how you're comparing the two resorts so thanks for that. We may go again in January so I wanted to see if we should consider this in the short list. We went to Westin, Fairmont, and JW this year in Jan/Feb but it took a bit to arrange so we may stick to one atoll. The activities look fun and the bikes are always a hit! Thanks again!
spellbound2 is offline  
Old Aug 12, 2020, 1:06 am
  #82  
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 11
Spellbound2: You are welcome! I stayed in a Beach Villa + Retreat Overwater Villa on main island during my first stay at Conrad, and the second time they gave me free upgrade to the same Retreat Overwater Villa (now it's called Grand Water Villa).
Since you stayed at Conrad a few times, I guess you also loved the scenery on the small island where we went for Happy Hour (free drinks and snacks 5pm-6pm). At InterContinental, I didn't go to the evening digestifs (8pm-10pm) since I was too lazy :-)
Wow, 3 resorts in one vacation, that must be fun to plan and execute. May I ask if you were traveling with kids? If you did, which one of these 3 properties would you recommend?
I have Waldorf Astoria on the top of my list for now, others are JW Marriott, Six Senses, and hopefully Ritz Carlton will be a nice one.
Vanessa2020 is offline  
Old Aug 12, 2020, 1:35 am
  #83  
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 731
Smile

Originally Posted by Vanessa2020
Spellbound2: You are welcome! I stayed in a Beach Villa + Retreat Overwater Villa on main island during my first stay at Conrad, and the second time they gave me free upgrade to the same Retreat Overwater Villa (now it's called Grand Water Villa).
Since you stayed at Conrad a few times, I guess you also loved the scenery on the small island where we went for Happy Hour (free drinks and snacks 5pm-6pm). At InterContinental, I didn't go to the evening digestifs (8pm-10pm) since I was too lazy :-)
Wow, 3 resorts in one vacation, that must be fun to plan and execute. May I ask if you were traveling with kids? If you did, which one of these 3 properties would you recommend?
I have Waldorf Astoria on the top of my list for now, others are JW Marriott, Six Senses, and hopefully Ritz Carlton will be a nice one.
Yes, we liked the drinks and snacks at Vilu and the manager cocktail reception, too. We looked at the overwater villas but they looked a bit rundown? I don't know if we saw all the varieties and I think they're renovating or renovated them so they should fabulous now or soon!

We are a bit older than you so no kids but lots of romance- he he he but your kids look like a great group to travel with and up for adventure! For kids and adults, I would strongly say Fairmont has the best overall feel with great food and all the specialty buffets like Chinese New Year included with Lion Dance, bikes, crafts with necklace and bracelet making, painting coconuts, great reef for snorkeling, dolphin boat (we took the private one, Azimut), fire and light show at night, a great singer on certain nights, super friendly staff, etc. We've been twice and it was better the second time. You can easily combine JW with Fairmont as we took a boat between but for the trip from Westin to Fairmont we hired a private seaplane since we didn't want to fuss going all the way back to Male and coming all the way back north and losing a day. It cost about 50% more but we were all alone on the plane so it was like a private tour and definitely worth it for saving time. The Westin Kids Club was there but we didn't explore it since we didn't have kids with us. This is probably one of the best value resorts for the Maldives as prices aren't too high for food but there wasn't too much entertainment at night so it wasn't as interesting as the Fairmont.

We've been to Hyatt years ago but it's so far south we'd only do that again if we stayed south at other resorts. We've been to Baros and Milaidhoo and liked both of them but I'd probably not choose those as much with kids since we didn't see too many there but Baros is beautiful and very close to Male without feeling like you're close if you ever need a quick, beautiful spot to stay and the overwaters were beautiful.

Depending on what happens with all the health issues, we also are considering Waldorf so feel free to let me know things as you find out! We did a stopover in Dubai and stayed at Al Maha and had a really nice time there, too if you go that direction instead of through Singapore. We love Singapore and hope to go that way again soon since it is such a wonderful place to visit.

Happy Travels!!
spellbound2 is offline  
Old Aug 12, 2020, 11:26 am
  #84  
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 11
Yes the overwater villas looked pretty old/dated when I was there in 2018. Typically all overwater villas are easier to run down compared to the beach villas.

Thank you so much for the inputs about the other properties. You are living my dream of vacationing in Maldives every year Hope that my family can run into both of you someday somewhere in Maldives so we can hear stories of your travels.

I usually go to flyertalk and tripadvisor to learn about a resort that I have eyes on, so maybe you already know about Waldorf more than I do. I did Vietnam (specifically only Da Nang) - Maldives - Dubai in May/June 2018 . I know it's a bad season in Maldives, but I had no choice since my family can only go during summer for vacations of more than 2 weeks. At the end both my husband and I made a pact that we will never ever visit Maldives and Dubai in summer again

Our first time to Dubai/Singapore/Maldives was in March 2015, and the weather was so perfect.

Last edited by Vanessa2020; Aug 12, 2020 at 11:31 am
Vanessa2020 is offline  
Old Aug 16, 2020, 1:50 pm
  #85  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 276
I have to say the overwater villas look more of a Holiday Inn rather than an Intercontinental.
Is the Club experience any good?
TheShis is offline  
Old Aug 19, 2020, 8:09 am
  #86  
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 11
Originally Posted by TheShis
I have to say the overwater villas look more of a Holiday Inn rather than an Intercontinental.
Is the Club experience any good?
I wouldn't expect too much out of standard rooms for IC properties (if we are talking about space). Other than that, everything else is good.
Below is what they offered during my stay.

Vanessa2020 is offline  
Old Aug 20, 2020, 3:22 pm
  #87  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 276
Thanks.
I decided to go with the WA, which looks far more luxurious.
TheShis is offline  
Old Sep 4, 2020, 10:46 am
  #88  
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 829
Does Ambassador get any additional benefits?

Last edited by AndyKehn; Sep 4, 2020 at 10:58 am
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Old Sep 15, 2020, 11:54 pm
  #89  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 150
Booked four award nights (1 free with Chase IHG Premier card) in mid August '21 connected with four award nights at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives, can't wait and fingers crossed things will be slightly improved in a year!
silverm0623 is offline  
Old Sep 21, 2020, 1:15 pm
  #90  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 671
Hello everyone, we have an Overwater Villa booked on reward points for January 2021. Hopefully the trip still goes ahead. I have a question about upgrading: I have no status with IHG but can I email the resort and ask for pricing for (cash) upgrading my reward point reservation or is that not something they offer? Is there anywhere I can see a resort map and/or full descriptions of the various room categories? The official website does not seem very user friendly or comprehensive!

By the way, I cancelled our Conrad reservation for here as I didn't like the dated look of the Conrad water villas nor how close together they were. It seems the overwater villas here (even the lowest category ones) afford a high degree of privacy? Also, the Club benefits here (and more reasonable F&B pricing?) seems like it will help save some $$$. Hope we made the right decision!

Last edited by oceanscape; Sep 21, 2020 at 1:29 pm
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