Synapseturquoise

Nice pic! Can't wait to be there as well on the 30th! Countdown to honeymoon!

Synapseturquoise

Was the plane shaky? I've never flown on a seaplane before.

MSPeconomist

Shouldn't the line have been "UNfortunately our resort was the first stop...."? This is FT even if the flight didn't earn anything for you.

wakesetter93

The plane wasn’t shaky at all, but everything is weather dependent. We met a family at the resort that had to overnight on another island and then take a boat over the next day because the weather was too bad for the plane to land.

Did you miss the part where they had to hand out earplugs? You think Satan’s chariot is bad, the legroom on a Twin Otter is abysmal!

SKT-DK

Add to that, the absence of airconditioning inside the tin can...
It is nevertheless a fun experience, but not for long durations!

popoemt

Was in the Maldives in December and the flight to the island we were staying at (St Regis) was in the middle of a big rain storm, it was unsettling to say the least, lots of drops in altitude, sliding left and right in the air, it was a bit hairy for about 20 minutes.

wakesetter93

Oh yes, I forgot about the air conditioning, or lack there of! I, foolishly, was wearing a pullover and jeans on the plane.
I didn’t think they would fly in storms. Were you on Trans Maldivian or Maldivian Airways?

RetiredATLATC

preach. I'm 6'3 260 and went for the front row for the fan (Maldives humidity is no joke) and smashed a knee on a corner of one of the "seats". They really cram people in them.

But then there's this

wakesetter93

The best part is when they have to land at what feels like a 45 degree angle and alarms start going off right before they hit the water

popoemt

Transmaldivian, it was fine on take off (a bit cloudy when we took off, we hit the storm about mid flight). The St Regis (I believe) is the furthest out they fly, flight was about an hour, poor lady in front of me had a death grip on the seat during the storm.


A bit overcast, but no rain on take off.

wakesetter93

That makes sense, if you’re already stuck out there the only option is to keep going.

Also, we’re enjoying beautiful Santorini but I’ll try and get the next part up in a day or so!

ryanbriar

It was on point. Our flight went out 2/6, which was awesome. There must have been some misconnects in Doha (we were about 90 minutes late from Heathrow) as the seat map was 5/6 yesterday.

Full dinner followed by a full breakfast. Not bad for a flight that takes less time from Boston to Dallas.

Suffice it to say, I had a few glasses of 2004 Krug.


There is also “direct” boarding to a private bus from Al Safwa. Kind of like La Premiere lite.

wakesetter93

Great to hear that! May need to find my way onto one of those birds in the future. Mrs. WS93 and I just pushed back in CDG. One last flight in the pointy end of an AF 777 until home!

I also wrote up 3 more parts of the TR on my ATH-CDG flight but didn’t have time to stop in the lounge to upload them.

wakesetter93

Arriving via seaplane from Male, we disembarked at the Westin seaplane dock where we were met by our concierge for our stay, Athyk. He took our bags and led us to a waiting golf cart for a brief ride to check-in. It was a short trip over to the outdoor check-in area where we were invited to sit and given some kind of local juice drink. I don’t remember what all is in it, but it was delicious. Check-in only took 10 minutes and we elected to use the free breakfast as our welcome amenity, I’m not sure why you would choose anything else here. After check-in, Athyk took us for a quick tour of the property before bringing us to our room.







As I mentioned in the introduction to this TR, the only requirements Mrs. WS93 gave me for our honeymoon was an overwater villa. Not wanting to fly halfway around the world and try and play upgrade roulette, we booked the standard overwater villa with hopes that we may get upgraded to one of the Overwater Pool Villas. I’m glad we didn’t play the upgrade game as the hotel was completely full due to the holidays.


Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort Overwater Villa Exterior


Upon entering our villa all I could say was wow. The entryway had a mini bar, with prices that were no doubt expensive, but rather on par with what the property would have charged from the bar, and fridge on one side and a coffeemaker and, surprisingly, a press to make fresh squeezed orange juice along with a bowl of oranges. There was also bottles of water which were constantly refreshed during our stay. The entryway opened onto the dining area and, behind it, was a wall of windows with sweeping views out over the Indian Ocean. On the table was a bottle of champagne and some sweets, a welcome gift for our honeymoon.


Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort Overwater Villa Mini Bar



Welcome Gift


To the right was the living area which featured a desk, TV stand and two couches, one of which seemed to be able to make a bed. One of the coolest features of this area was the cutout in the floor that allowed us to look straight down into the water. Though we didn’t see many interesting things through the floor, it was still a neat feature.


Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort Overwater Villa Living Area





To the left was the bedroom and beyond that, the bathroom. The bedroom and bathroom areas were separated by a sliding wooden wall that ran the width of the villa. Like the dining and living area, both the bedroom and bathroom had large glass windows and sliding doors which provided some great views.


Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort Overwater Villa Bedroom


The bathroom had a separate toilet room, walk in shower, stand alone tub and double vanities. The toiletries were ‘Heavenly by Westin’ branded and there were some additional bottles of water available on the vanity as well. Behind the bedroom was a hallway of sorts that served as the closet. There were two separate closets as well as a large bench. I assume that this could be used for dressing, but we just laid our suitcases on it.


Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort Overwater Villa Bathroom






Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort Overwater Villa Closet

Stepping outside, the view got even better. There was a massive, multi-level deck running the length of the villa. On the far left, against the privacy wall, was an outdoor shower and what our concierge joked was the ladder to the rooftop deck. Actually, it was a clothes drying rack. Near the shower was a stairway that led to a small, lower deck and the ladder down to the water. The other side of the deck included two lounge chairs and an umbrella as well as an outdoor dining table that we utilized often during our stay.


Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort Overwater Villa Deck

aj411

The water looks a bit choppy off the villa. Did you get a chance to swim or snorkel off your villa deck?