A fantastic stay 3 years in the making (and an additional year to review)

The following is an excerpt from my full review at http://joeprotravel.com/days-thirteen-through-sixteen-part-1-park-hyatt-maldives-hadahaa-review/

Visit the above for 360 degree views (amateur version :-p), some videos of the rooms and grounds, and many more photos.

Ultimately this had been our dream for several years.  What's not to love about a tropical paradise secluded from the rest of the world and catering to your every need? We and I were happy with every aspect of our treatment, the service, and the food during our stay.

Even with 4 free nights, the bill was not cheap between transfer fees, upgrades, food and excursions.  But we don't regret the splurges in the least.

Getting to the resort consisted of a plane ride from the main island to Kooddoo and then a boat over to the resort.  It wasn't cheap at $520 per person, but such is the cost of visiting the Maldives, and you'll find similar fees for transfers to other resorts there as well.  More detail about our transfer can be found on my previous post: Dubai to Park Hyatt Maldives Transfer Summary.

Our boat-hands helped us off the vessel we had taken in and handed us off to our personal host, Ahmeez. He introduced himself as the boat-hands loaded a buggy with our luggage. Then we were off down the jetty and across the sandy trail to our room. As we rode, Ahmeez explained to us that normally check-in would be processed at the resort Dhoni, but due to the time and the inclement weather, he would process it at our room.  He pointed out the wooden structure he was referring to as we went by: a building in the form of an upside-down boat.

We had booked a Park Villa for our first two nights, and were pleased to find we had been upgraded and assigned room 27, a Park Pool Villa.  This may have been as a general courtesy or because of my status as a Diamond member.  Either way, it represented a value of another $300, given that the cost difference between a Park Villa and Park Pool Villa is ~$150 per night.

Ahmeez led us into the room and handed us the  key. We then started the check-in process, which consisted of a general explanation of the island, locations of the restaurants, spa, and dive center, and verification of payment method. Ahmeez also showed us how to navigate the hotel provided iPad, which included menus, excursions, and other helpful information. He gave us the room layout, including where the minibar, water, light switches and outlets were.

He then demonstrated how to move the giant sliding panels that functioned as the room's curtains. We then reviewed our itinerary for our stay, talked safety procedures, and he left his cell number with us for whatever we needed.

Kim inquired about completing her intro dive the following morning prior to our first excursion.  He informed us that he would attempt to schedule it with the Dive shop.  Kim also queried whether the intro dive would transfer over to the Conrad Maldives, as it is Maldivian law even for certified divers to complete such a dive prior to any further diving. Ahmeez had never fielded that question and told us he would check with the dive shop on that as well.

Before he left, we requested that he replace the sparkling water with tap, he handed us our keys (actual keys!), and then he was off.

As noted above, we spent our first two nights in a Park Pool Villa, you can read more about that at my website (link listed above). After repacking on the second morning, we loaded up the buggy and took the trip to our water villa.  This villa cost us a $405++ per night upgrade fee.  But when in the Maldives, it'd be practically sacrilege not to try it.

Turns out we received another upgrade: to Park Sunset Water Villa #47.  The Sunset Water Villas are towards the end of the jetty and have a slightly less obstructed view, but I consider this a lesser upgrade than the one we received from the Park Villa to the Park Pool Villa, even if the cost differential is about the same.  Just a few years ago all the Water Villas were within the same category.  In my opinion, the only real upgrade among the Water Villas is to villa #51, which is at the end of the Jetty and has more privacy.  Nonetheless, the villa was terrific.

The room was practically the same size as our Pool Villa.  The most blatant difference was the layout and the view. Like the Pool Villa, this room featured a lounger and a chair with an ottoman.  The counter-area was situated at the back of the room behind the bed, while the TV was mounted directly in front of the bed.  Also like the Pool Villa, sliding panels closed the room off to the sun in front of all the sliding glass doors.

Around from the entrance was the bathroom, where a soaking tub sat in the perfect position to soak some sun.  As opposed to the wooden panels though, blackout curtains came down from the roof to shade the room from the sliding glass doors.

Along the back wall was a single super-sized cabinet-style closet, as opposed to the two smaller closets in the Pool Villa.  The bathroom sat closer to the bedroom, and the shower lay next to that.  Both the shower and toilet were in an airy-type room with a skylight to protect from the rain.

Outside the room, the day bed offered a place to lounge and enjoy the view and sun.  A ladder behind a gated fence made for easy snorkeling access.

The snorkeling around the room was terrific.  We saw a variety of fish, including a school of parrot-fish, and enjoyed the beauty of the reef.  I did find that an afternoon snorkel like the one we took upon arriving to the room offered a higher-tide, and thus more clearance between my stomach and the coral.  A second snorkeling attempt the following morning led to a close-call, my stomach nearly scraping the top of the reef.

Some people have noted that the temperature in the Water villas can become a tad uncomfortable, and that the A/C doesn't keep up as well as the Park or Pool Villas.  Ultimately we felt that the room could get a bit warm during the day, but nothing overbearing.  In the evening, the temperature was perfect.