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The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is one of the most aspirational Hilton properties in the world. This reputation is deserved! The Conrad Maldives is a wonderful luxury resort.
They opened in 1997 and have provided excellence since then. I had a brilliant stay with my family. They got everything right!
The villa was newly refurbished with private plunge pool. The food was spectacular. The service was excellent. We were made to feel special as a Hilton Gold.
The Conrad Maldives Resort is large and located on 2 private islands. This is a comprehensive review with lots of photos and short videos. Each photo can be clicked to open the full slideshow.
I also explain how I booked my stay. I got a 76% discount compared to the retail price. One of my best deals ever.
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I booked 5 nights using 380,000 Hilton Honors points. Hilton Honors give away a 5th night free on redemption bookings. So I paid for 4 nights at 95,000 points each. The 5th night was free.
I purchased 380,000 Hilton Points directly from Hilton. The points cost $1,900 to buy. You can buy Hilton Points on this webpage.
The cash rate for five nights was $7,840. By purchasing Hilton Points, I was able to get a 76% discount for the villa. This is one of the best deals I’ve ever booked.
The Maldives are located in the Indian Ocean, south of Sri Lanka. Holidays to the Maldives, are on many people’s bucket list – and for good reason. There are something like 200 luxury resorts here.
Each resort is usually located on a private island, which brings a wonderful level of luxury. The Indian ocean is calm, and the water is crystal clear. A private island brings a level of isolation and calm that is difficult to replicate anywhere else.
The downside to the Maldives is the expense. When you visit, expect to get hosed at every step. The flights are expensive, the transfers to islands cost extra, and the food costs on each island are extortionate. But hey, who said paradise was free?!
The journey starts at the Conrad Maldives Lounge at Male Seaplane terminal. The lounge is bright and spacious and has a small breakfast spread. The breakfast buffet consisted of fruit, bread, pastries, cold cuts and cereals. I did not get to eat anything, as I was too busy taking photos and videos!
The staff were able to check me in there and then, without us having to waste time at the hotel. There is small outside balcony, which has a brilliant view of the seaplanes outside.
I had about 30 minutes in the lounge. This is the same time that you will have – which is a a pity, as I would have liked to stay longer.
I took a 1 minute video walkthrough of the lounge. See if you can spot Soulful Travel Daughter wandering through the lounge!
To get to the resort, you must fly via seaplane from Male airport. A sea plane transfer is always a terrific experience, and this one is no exception. The take off from the water, and the tiny aircraft are a unique experience! As you fly, you can see the crystal clear Maldivian waters and the 5* resorts below. I am from a humble background, so I do not take these moments for granted!
It took about 25 minutes from the Male to the hotel. We had a stop off at the Lux hotel on the way. When you get to Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, you land at the seaplane terminal on the bridge between the 2 islands.
I took a really cool video of the seaplane take-off, check it out below.
The resort is made up of 2 islands - the main island and an adults-only island. To cross between the 2 islands, you have a bridge and a boat service. You can either walk over the bridge or use the buggy service. The main island has the following:
The main island caters for families, and the accomodation is mainly beach villas.
The adults only island is smaller and is populated with overwater villas. It contains a spa, quiet zone bar, adult infinity pool, Vilu restaurant and a shop.
The adults-only island has a different feeling to the main island. You don’t see many people, as all of the occupants are in the water villas. It feels calmer and more relaxed compared to the main island. I was informed by the staff that the villas on the adults-only island are more luxurious. The view from the adults only island is also better than the view from the main island.
I was upgraded from a beach villa to a deluxe beach villa, on account of my Hilton Gold Status. The main difference is that the deluxe villa has a small private pool. The villa has been recently refurbished and is spectacular! It features the following:
I was greeted with red wine, chocolates and fruit. I assume that this was down to my Hilton Gold Status. Thank you Conrad Maldives Rangali Island!
I uploaded a video walk through of the villa on Instagram. I definitely recommend you view it, as it shows just how beautiful the villa is.
I did not stay in a water villa, but I was able to walk by and get a few shots from the outside. There are a few water villas on the main island, and lots on the adults only island. You can view the photos in the slideshow above.
The below Youtube video has a tour of an overwater villa.
One novelty at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is the underwater villa. It cost $15mm to build and $50k/night to stay at. The villa is located over 2 levels, with the lower level being underwater. The villa can be accessed via a private pathway from the main island. The staff informed me that the villa was fully booked at all time – but I don’t know if I believe them!
Below is a short promotional video from the hotel.
As a Gold Hilton Honors member, the treatment was truly fantastic:
This is truly a fantastic package. Breakfast at the Atoll market costs $50 per person.
I stayed at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island for 5 days with my wife and daughter. So I would value the above benefits at about $1,000.
You have 2 choices for breakfast as a Hilton Gold, Atoll Market or Vilu Restaurant. I chose to eat at the Atoll market for each of the 5 days at the resort. The breakfast at the Atoll market is a vast buffet, whereas the Vilu Restaurant had some items from a menu and a small buffet. I had intended to eat one day at the Vilu restaurant (for review purposes), but was told repeatedly that there was no point as the breakfast at the Atoll Market was better. Vilu restaurant is located on the adults-only island and is there to provide a ‘local option’ to the people staying there.
The breakfast at the Atoll market is spectacular! The full price is $50 per person, although it is complimentary for Hilton Golds. The variety and quality are amongst the best I have had at a hotel. There were 7 separate counters with worldwide cuisine:
There are a few touches that made the breakfast extra special. The variety of fresh fruit included exotic fruit like mangosteen, mango and lychees. The presence of a sushi counter was clearly unique. The offering of red meat like beef was also unusual. The quality of the food was very good – over the 5 days I tried:
Nearly every dish was very good. The fresh fruit was spectacular – lychees, mangosteen and mango are probably my 3 favourite fruits! The only disappointment came from the coffee, which was pretty average.
I took lots of photos in the above slideshow!
We ate at the Rangali Bar most days, as it was near the kids club and the main pool. The food there was pricey (around $30 for the cheapest mains) but good quality. One non-advertised benefit at the Rangali bar is that they didn’t charge for kids meals. We had a number of meals over 5 days – and most of those meals were solid:
Immediately following afternoon tea is happy hour at the Quiet Zone Bar, where drinks are flowing for 1 hour.
Happy hour is complimentary for Hilton Golds and Diamonds. The Quiet zone bar is located on the adults-only island – a 10 minute walk from the Vilu restaurant.
The view from the bar was spectacular, as you look at the main island!
The main pool at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is not large, but it is beautiful and charming. It is located in the main area, next to:
I spent 2 days by the main pool and 2 days in our private pool. I enjoyed both very much. The main advantage of being in the main pool, is that you have access to all of the activities.
The following activities are complimentary:
I did try snorkelling a couple of times but the house reef is pretty terrible. I did not see any fishes, and nobody I spoke to saw any fishes! The snorkelling at the Holiday Inn Maldives is much better!
I took a couple of video walkthroughs of the main area. The 1st video was in early afternoon, and the 2nd video was at 6am and includes a seaplane taking off!
The adult infinity pool is located near the quiet zone bar on the adult island. It was never busy during the 5 days that I was there. The pool is very pretty when you are up at the top, but the area did not feel as inviting as the main pool.
I got up at 5.30am to take a video walk through of the adult pool, so please view it and ensure that I did not get up for nothing!
I stayed with my wife and my daughter, and I was super impressed with the kid friendliness of the resort:
In particular, the kids club was really good. They are able to look after kids from age 3 upwards. They have a range of activities including t-shirt painting, coffee painting, athletics events etc. My daughter enjoyed her time there and had more fun there than she had with us! The staff were excellent too – the club reminded me of my daughter’s nursery in London!
My stay at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island was one of the best family holidays I’ve had. The villa was beautiful. The Hilton Gold benefits were impressive. The island is amazing. And the food was very good!
I’ve also stayed at the Holiday Inn Maldives. It’s one of the best value resorts in the Maldives. You can get a villa for under $200/night. The resort also has terrific activities for kids. However, in some areas, the resort fell short.
One of the best experiences in the sky has to be Etihad First on the A380. You don’t fly in a seat. You get an apartment with separate chair and bed. The food was terrific and the crew were brilliant. Flying will never be the same again!
I few British Airways Club Suites to Los Angeles. Review here. The flight was mighty impressive! The Club Suite has a flat bed and a door for privacy. They also give a large amenity kit from The White Company.
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