Welcome to FT.. Thanks for your great review...

Was wondering why was the snorkeling cancelled? few people signed up? Did they apologize? I really wouldn't be happy if that happened.. did you see any fish?

How was the weather?

Lastly which 3rd party sites are you referring to? just wanted to check outta curiosity..

Heading out in a couple days, any other tips? did you go on any of their trips?

thanks

I have never been sure if W-A Beach House would be the better choice than Conrad Rangali Island . As I will not go to Maldives before July 29th the decision is not longer mine to make .

Welcome to FlyerTalk, bumbknee2003.
Thanks for the review.

We're scheduled to visit the Waldorf Maldives soon. I wonder whether the staff will view the next few weeks as if they are 'short timers' in light of the Hilton divorce? Will service slide?

We're pondering asking to switch to the Conrad to be safe (12 nights in all). That'll be up to HHonors, I guess. Any thoughts, anyone?

I'm biased by being a big fan of the WM and not having been to the Conrad, but I'd still suggest sticking with the WM. I doubt that they'll look down their noses at you. I would hope and think that once you arrive, you'll be treated like any other guest. (You might want to reconfirm that you'll get whatever HH perks you're entitled to there.)

Also, whether to switch also could hinge on what kind of room you've booked. If you've booked the most basic room at the WM, for instance, you'll be in a very nice over-the-water villa. At the Conrad, you'll be in a beach villa, which IMHO doesn't compare as it's not over-the-water, is less private, I believe has adjoining walls with neighboring units, etc. Plus you'll have to be careful and do some research re which Conrad beach villa they put you in, as I've read some complaints about some locations being noisy. Plus the WM is a smaller, more intimate place.

The only caveat here is that if you're huge snorkeling fans then the Conrad is better. But unless that consideration drives your planning, I'd enjoy the WM while you still can as an HH member.

Currently at the WA leaving shortly.. had a nice stay, weather wasn't great though... had quite a bit of rain...

I'll write more later, just thought I would share, that many rumors are circulating among the staff here..

Some are saying they heard that the Soneva Gili will be rebranded as WA as soon as 2 months from now.. Others said the Beach House will be taken over by the Intercontinental.. these are all rumors as they have not been told what will happen.

What is for sure is that no one really knows what's going to happen. Lots of staff I spoke with would like to stay under the Hilton brand...

Either of those outcomes would be nice! At least that would keep this place open to some form of points and Soneva Gilli looks fabulous

Agreed that Soneva Gilli looks great, including as an all-OWB property with each unit bigger than the WM OWBs. But one thing the WM OWBs have that the SG ones don't is are those great infinity plunge pools on the decks.

Well, if in fact the SG does become the new Waldorf and if we ever get there, we'll just have to suffer.

A first world problem indeed

On the plus side, SG is in Male atoll, so accessible from MLE by speedboat, so quick transfer without the cost.

But I guess all just a rumor for now

Thanks, Thunderroad.

We're going to push for a switch to the Conrad. We'd rather not have a vacation consumed with swirling rumor and drama about what's next. And, we're pretty sure the Conrad is HHonors for the long haul!

We shall see.

If there are updates, I'll be sure to post them.

I certainly understand your reasoning. Have a great trip!

The good thing about Conard Maldives is, even if you use only points to pay for your stay, eventually after the stay you will get back like 2/3 of the points. I don't know how they did it, I guess even the cost of seaplane transfer was also counted for points. You can check out the Conrad Maldives thread, couple of members also reported that they got back a lot of points after the stay.

In case you aren't able to switch, don't feel bad.. The Waldorf is a great property, wonderful service...

I hope you didn't misunderstand me.. All the rumors etc.. are only because I showed interest and specifically asked people, no one on their own mentioned anything... I just asked everyone I saw what they thought etc...

After speaking to a Hilton employee on my flight today, I am happy I chose the Waldorf. Originally I was debating between that and the conrad, but based on what I was looking for the employee confirmed that the waldorf was best (most private, empty beaches, exclusive feel...) he is familiar with all 3 resorts and actually got off of our plane at the Hilton Iru Fushi (we made a stop)... I'm glad I didn't stay there, looked nothing like the Waldorf...

Over all I am very impressed with the Waldorf, they went out of their way to cater to all our needs..

The staff are really great!!

The employee I spoke with on the flight (who was working with human resources and seemed quite knowledgable) also mentioned the possibility of Intercontinental taking over the Waldorf. and he also heard about Soneva Gili..

I suspect if the soneva gets taken over by waldorf, it might be a lot harder to find award availability as they only have 56 villas or so and they are all overwater ones...

Thanks to all for the input.

HHonors finally responded to our request, by e-mail, saying it received no response from the Conrad.

I guess we're going to have to raise the issue locally (with the Maldives management, that is).

We'll send updates as we get them.

Again, thank you for the help.

We will be at this property from 7/5 to 7/13. Emailed them and they assured the change wouldn't have any effect on us (as it isn't until 7/29). Not going to try to change to Conrad - stayed at that one before and really looking foward to OW Bungalow with plunge pool.

Do you have any sense how full the resort might be at the point? I wonder if you you'll have paradise to yourself!

Either way, enjoy!