Conrad Maldives- any experiences or questions?

[drdpr]

May I ask, are the MLE-CONRAD connection flights genuinely OK for points accrual?

They have always included the cost of the flights into the equation. So no issues there on gaining HH points. What is going to be very interesting in the future is that Blackstone recently acquired and merged the 2 operating seaplane companies (monopoly play) obviously no ACCC in the Maldives. So what is to happen to seaplane transfer costs??? They are already expensive, going up each and every year. Given that fuel costs are the main operating expense and the price has stabilised over the last few years +/- 100USD, certainly can not make the excuse of $145 price hikes. Time will tell. I bet we all know which way this is going!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Blackstone recently acquired and merged the 2 operating seaplane companies (monopoly play) obviously no ACCC in the Maldives.

Do you know if we can book and pay for these flights early (1 year in advance) to try to hold current prices? I know it's normally done via Conrad, but I agree with you, rarely do we see a monopoly play pushing prices down!

 

[Cynicor]

Do you know if we can book and pay for these flights early (1 year in advance) to try to hold current prices? I know it's normally done via Conrad, but I agree with you, rarely do we see a monopoly play pushing prices down!

I can't see this happening. They don't even know what time the flights are happening until the day of...

 

[drdpr]

I did prepay mine last year in March for December. The rate is fixed for a period of time i guess and then that is it. I just asked what it would be, they quoted me $x and I sent the money. I am sure if the fuel price changed radically in this period they may have come back to me and asked for more. It didn't happen so not really sure. I guess you just ask if this is now fixed. In a packaged tour, you pay up front and the rate is fixed. However, I did this more so for the USD/AUD exchange rate which proved to be on the money call as I did this at 1.03+ rate and we are now in the 0.88 price point.

 

[JMFK]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

Status: Diamond
Property: Conrad Maldives
Nights: 5 nights
Rate: 380,000 points
Booked: King Beach Villa
Received: King Beach Villa
After landing at MLE, we were taken to the Conrad lounge at the airport and offered complementary 15 minutes head & shoulder massage, a great start to the holiday. 45 minutes later we boarded the seaplane who took us on a scenic flight above all the nice resorts and after 30 minutes we finally arrived at the Conrad.
This property is exempted from the free upgrade policy for diamonds, so I had to add US$380 per night for a King Water Villa upgrade for the last 2 nights.
The Beach Villa is very spacious, with a large outdoor bath & shower and a direct beach access.
The Water Villa is a bit smaller but still specious enough for a couple. It has an outdoor plunge pool.
The resort is spread on 2 Islands. The bigger one holds all the beach villas and some of the premium water villas. It also has a large coral reef, restaurants, bars and a pool. The small island holds only over water villas and also has restaurants, bars and an adults only "quiet zone" area with a nice over water pool. The 2 Islands are connected by a long bridge and there is a boat service which runs every 10 minutes and a buggy service on call.
Diamond benefits:
Daily breakfast with a choice of 2 restaurants: one is buffet in the main island and the other is a la carte on the second island.
Daily happy hour between 5-6pm.
In the room we got a bowl of fruits, a box of chocolates, 2 bottles of water, a bottle of Bordeaux wine and a stuffed Nemo
There was an interesting mix of guests in the resort: couples and families, Aussie, Europeans, Canadians, Chinese, Japanese. But there was one thing everyone had in common - a constant smile on their faces
This resort is on the expensive side but considering everything is imported, including the coconuts (!), the prices are reasonable, especially when compared to the quality on offer. The wine cellar is impressive and the cheese selection is the best I've seen in any hotel so far. All the seafood I ate was fresh and the meat was of the highest quality.
There are some very interesting dining options: The most famous one is Ithaa undersea restaurant (the first in the world). We had drinks there in the morning (yes, it's ok to drink champagne at 11am when you're on holiday ) and even managed to get a private tour in the evening (there are different fish swimming there at night). I recommend to go in the morning as visibility is better and the photos will be much nicer.
Another great experience is the wine cellar dinner. It's a very informative night hosted but the hotel's sommelier. He selects a variety if wines to match the special 5 course dinner. It was an intimate event for only 8 people (4 couples). We had very interesting discussions about wine and off course drank a lot of it
There are 2 spa options, one in each island. We did the couples massage in the over water spa with glass floor, It was amazing.
There are plenty of tours who will take you snorkelling, fishing, diving and plenty of water sports as well. I think we were a bit more active then most people there, who chose to stay at the resort and snorkel in the local reef, sit by the pool or just relax their villas.
In conclusion, if you have a taste for the finer things in life and enough HH points to spend, Conrad Maldives is one of the best options points can buy.

Sounds like a great holiday!

I have a stack of HH points I want to use, and this Conrad property is high on my list. I always hear how expensive it is, but what do you think your average daily cost was if you were enjoying yourself i.e. food, wine, activities?

 

[robd]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

Status: Diamond
Property: Conrad Maldives
Nights: 5 nights
Rate: 380,000 points
Booked: King Beach Villa
Received: King Beach Villa
After landing at MLE, we were taken to the Conrad lounge at the airport and offered complementary 15 minutes head & shoulder massage, a great start to the holiday. 45 minutes later we boarded the seaplane who took us on a scenic flight above all the nice resorts and after 30 minutes we finally arrived at the Conrad.
This property is exempted from the free upgrade policy for diamonds, so I had to add US$380 per night for a King Water Villa upgrade for the last 2 nights.
The Beach Villa is very spacious, with a large outdoor bath & shower and a direct beach access.
The Water Villa is a bit smaller but still specious enough for a couple. It has an outdoor plunge pool.
The resort is spread on 2 Islands. The bigger one holds all the beach villas and some of the premium water villas. It also has a large coral reef, restaurants, bars and a pool. The small island holds only over water villas and also has restaurants, bars and an adults only "quiet zone" area with a nice over water pool. The 2 Islands are connected by a long bridge and there is a boat service which runs every 10 minutes and a buggy service on call.
Diamond benefits:
Daily breakfast with a choice of 2 restaurants: one is buffet in the main island and the other is a la carte on the second island.
Daily happy hour between 5-6pm.
In the room we got a bowl of fruits, a box of chocolates, 2 bottles of water, a bottle of Bordeaux wine and a stuffed Nemo
There was an interesting mix of guests in the resort: couples and families, Aussie, Europeans, Canadians, Chinese, Japanese. But there was one thing everyone had in common - a constant smile on their faces
This resort is on the expensive side but considering everything is imported, including the coconuts (!), the prices are reasonable, especially when compared to the quality on offer. The wine cellar is impressive and the cheese selection is the best I've seen in any hotel so far. All the seafood I ate was fresh and the meat was of the highest quality.
There are some very interesting dining options: The most famous one is Ithaa undersea restaurant (the first in the world). We had drinks there in the morning (yes, it's ok to drink champagne at 11am when you're on holiday ) and even managed to get a private tour in the evening (there are different fish swimming there at night). I recommend to go in the morning as visibility is better and the photos will be much nicer.
Another great experience is the wine cellar dinner. It's a very informative night hosted but the hotel's sommelier. He selects a variety if wines to match the special 5 course dinner. It was an intimate event for only 8 people (4 couples). We had very interesting discussions about wine and off course drank a lot of it
There are 2 spa options, one in each island. We did the couples massage in the over water spa with glass floor, It was amazing.
There are plenty of tours who will take you snorkelling, fishing, diving and plenty of water sports as well. I think we were a bit more active then most people there, who chose to stay at the resort and snorkel in the local reef, sit by the pool or just relax their villas.
In conclusion, if you have a taste for the finer things in life and enough HH points to spend, Conrad Maldives is one of the best options points can buy.

Where are the photo's?

 

[boomy]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

Sounds like a great holiday!

I have a stack of HH points I want to use, and this Conrad property is high on my list. I always hear how expensive it is, but what do you think your average daily cost was if you were enjoying yourself i.e. food, wine, activities?

It is an expensive resort and I would probably not go there if I had to pay ~$1,000 per night for the room in addition to all the other costs so I really felt lucky to be able to use my HH points there.
It's very hard to estimate the average daily cost because everyone is different but I would say $500 will get you a good dinner plus one activity/massage for 2 people. To that amount you have to add any room upgrade costs and the seaplane cost of $1,000 for 2 pax.

 

[JMFK]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

It is an expensive resort and I would probably not go there if I had to pay ~$1,000 per night for the room in addition to all the other costs so I really felt lucky to be able to use my HH points there.
It's very hard to estimate the average daily cost because everyone is different but I would say $500 will get you a good dinner plus one activity/massage for 2 people. To that amount you have to add any room upgrade costs and the seaplane cost of $1,000 for 2 pax.

Ouch.

Was it worth it though?!?!

 

[Cynicor]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

Ouch.

Was it worth it though?!?!

Depends what you consider "worth it".
I went by myself for 5 nights in Dec and spent around $4k USD on top of the points. Seaplane ($500), dinners (~$700), diving (~$1000) and room upgrades (~$1500) were the bulk of my costs.

I had an amazing time and am looking to return late next year. But if you are a value-for-money type person you may stretch your dollar further by going elsewhere. The Maldives has the full package and is beautiful, but Fiji and Thailand have better diving. Comparable snorkelling can also be found at other places. Most major cities have better and cheaper food. Over water bungalows are now relatively common place etc.

 

[boomy]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

Ouch.

Was it worth it though?!?!

Yes it is
And the $500 daily cost for 2 people is probably the minimum. If you go to the special dinners on offer every night it can get much higher then that.

 

[Cynicor]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

Yes it is
And the $500 daily cost for 2 people is probably the minimum. If you go to the special dinners on offer every night it can get much higher then that.

Realistically and stingily, you can get away with much cheaper. The snorkelling off the house reef ir really decent, and the gear rental is free. If you have a late breakfast it will do for brekky and lunch, so you just need dinner. Room service is about the cheapest option on the island, oddly enough, and you can do that for about 50-100 a head. So I think you could have a good time from 100-200 a day, if you don't want to do any excursions or spa etc. In my 6 days I didn't even have time to get to the spa or do an excursion other than my 3 dives and whale shark tour!

Total minimum for 5 nights for 2 I reckon ~$1700.

 

[boomy]

How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

Realistically and stingily, you can get away with much cheaper. The snorkelling off the house reef ir really decent, and the gear rental is free. If you have a late breakfast it will do for brekky and lunch, so you just need dinner. Room service is about the cheapest option on the island, oddly enough, and you can do that for about 50-100 a head. So I think you could have a good time from 100-200 a day, if you don't want to do any excursions or spa etc. In my 6 days I didn't even have time to get to the spa or do an excursion other than my 3 dives and whale shark tour!

Total minimum for 5 nights for 2 I reckon ~$1700.

That's really pushing it, maybe without any activities and with not much food.
The cheapest meal we had was a 2 course dinner with 1 glass of wine each and that cost us $250.
We didn't do that much, 1 snorkelling tour, 1 whale shark tour, 1 couples massage, 1 special dinner (the rest were a la cart), a few coughtails by the pool (we never had lunch). That end up costing us ~$500 per day.

 

[boomy]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

Where are the photo's?

Here are some:

 

[robd]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

Stunning!!!!

 

[Cynicor]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

That's really pushing it, maybe without any activities and with not much food.
The cheapest meal we had was a 2 course dinner with 1 glass of wine each and that cost us $250.
We didn't do that much, 1 snorkelling tour, 1 whale shark tour, 1 couples massage, 1 special dinner (the rest were a la cart), a few coughtails by the pool (we never had lunch). That end up costing us ~$500 per day.

Absolutely agree, but a lot of people didn't seem to do the tours so it must be pretty common. If you check out the room service menu, dinner at home can be much cheaper than $250, esp if you don't drink.

To be honest, I think you did more than the average punter there, at least from what I saw of the various activities.

 

[markis10]

Sounds like the Maldives is a bit like Bora Bora, the view can be cheap (using points) but they hit you in the stomach!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

Total minimum for 5 nights for 2 I reckon ~$1700.

We didn't do that much, 1 snorkelling tour, 1 whale shark tour, 1 couples massage, 1 special dinner (the rest were a la cart), a few coughtails by the pool (we never had lunch). That end up costing us ~$500 per day.

So from the stingy end of (maybe) $170/day/person to an enjoyable $250/day/person? Boomy, was your estimate of $500 per day for 2 or each? We're roughly budgeting for about $500 each per day. I'd love it if it was half of that! We would want one meal in the underwater restaurant, a whale shark snorkel, (otherwise snorkelling off the beach would probably suit us more), the massage sounds great, possibly a deserted island dinner (I think I read that was available). We don't dive but my +1 tells me she'd like to do an introductory dive (would that be in a swimming pool?), but mostly just chill out and do what we do best......lounge about with a drink in hand!

(Love the photos)

 

[kpc]

I and +1 just came back (6 weeks ago) from Conrad Maldives...we spent 1 night in Male and 6 nights at CM...we used points for SQ business Syd-Sin -Mle return, and upgraded 2 nights (AUD550 / night) from the Beach Villa to Over Water Villa. Not counting the SQ pts or Hilton pts, with the airline surcharges, hotel in Male, seaplane transfers (USD500 each), meals, excursions and activities etc...the final bill came in at just under AUD$7000:shock:...if we didn't use points, it would have cost 25K!! Was it worth it? absolutely....one of the best trips of my life, albeit not a cheap place!

Happy to add to any Qs about the place


PS cheapest dinner we had at CM? USD40 for 2....we provided the caught fish (did a fishing excursion), and the charge was for cooking and providing the sides

 

[boomy]

Re: How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

To be honest, I think you did more than the average punter there, at least from what I saw of the various activities.

Agree I probably did more activities but I also spent relatively little on F&B. Keep in mind and most people who go there (mostly the ones who don't participate in many activities) are very keep on the special dinners on offer, that's why you have to book them at least one week ahead. An average cost of a special dinner is $250 per person not include alcohol!
That's why I said $500 per day is probably the minimum for a couple.

 

[boomy]

So from the stingy end of (maybe) $170/day/person to an enjoyable $250/day/person? Boomy, was your estimate of $500 per day for 2 or each? We're roughly budgeting for about $500 each per day. I'd love it if it was half of that! We would want one meal in the underwater restaurant, a whale shark snorkel, (otherwise snorkelling off the beach would probably suit us more), the massage sounds great, possibly a deserted island dinner (I think I read that was available). We don't dive but my +1 tells me she'd like to do an introductory dive (would that be in a swimming pool?), but mostly just chill out and do what we do best......lounge about with a drink in hand!

(Love the photos)

My estimate was $500 per day for 2 if you don't do or eat much. A snorkel tour is about ~$200 per person after taxes, whale shark tour is ~$250, 90 minutes couple massage ~$200 and special dinners start from ~$250 exclude alcohol. All prices are per person.