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This is a complete review of the Conrad Maldives from our magical 2 weeks stay. I’ve been lucky enough to have collected so many Hilton Honors points to have been able to try many of Hilton property’s best resorts and even having done Bali, Seychelles, Koh Samui, and others, I still come back to the Conrad Maldives being the best resort in the world.
Inside this Conrad Maldives review, this’ll act as your hub to find out more information about the resort and the breakdowns I’ve done of the hotel including the seaplane transfer, the food, how to save money, diving, the differences between the villas, whale sharks, and so much more. Keep reading for more information!
The 10 Minute Review
For a hotel of this class and reputation, you definitely come in with a different set of expectations that you normally wouldn’t for any old Hilton, Sheraton or Hyatt. For me especially, the bar was set high with the likes of the Conrad Bali, Conrad Tokyo, Conrad Koh Samui and the St. Regis Princeville way back. Despite all the hype, I was truly impressed with everything the Conrad Maldives had to offer guests from top to bottom. Here’s what makes this property so amazing
- The complete package
- Close to 3:1 staff to guest ratio
- From buffet to the restaurants, all the food is amazing. The prices aren’t cheap but all the food was up to the standards of a 5* restaurant
- Amazing staff and bend over backwards service. Everyone always said “hello”, “good afternoon” or “good evening” and would do their best to fulfil any requests you have.
- The two suites we stayed at were superb and probably the nicest of all hotels I’ve ever stayed at (that says a lot)
- Tons of options for things to do even if it means just ready a book by the beach. 2 islands that have 2 different vibes to them
- The property is simply beautiful. Not even sure how else to describe it
- Attention to detail
- From the raking of the sand to the cold towels+fresh fruit+”sir may I clean your sunglasses” by the pool, they certainly surprised even me during my stay
- Getting asked if I wanted my sunglasses cleaned was definitely the highlight of it all
- Diving & snorkelling
- For a place like the Maldives, diving is one of the top 3 reasons why you come
- The manta rays are a reason alone you’d want to dive here
- Such an abundance of fish and coral here and variety of dive sites here
- Whale sharks. Enough said
- Not sure any other resort can tout a house reef like that. Never thought we’d snorkel 4 times on the resort but we did
- Relaxing
- You’re coming here to literally not do much at all and wow is this the place to do it
- White sand beach covers the entire resort. You can literally walk barefoot all day if you wanted to
- Both pools are amazing and offer infinity views
- The beaches are private, you never have to fight for beach chairs and the water is pristine
- Weather is beautiful and consistent (okay I can’t really guarantee that but it was for us)
- Spas are epic though we never got a chance to try
- Private
- The one thing that surprised us during the entire stay was that even though the resort was at 92% capacity when we first got there, we barely saw a soul in sight
- From room privacy to just not seeing that many people on the beach, it truly feels like your own little paradise
- You can be baller if you want or not
- The super elite can go wild here easily from the BBQs by the beach or underwater dining but you can just as easily keep the expenses controlled and affordable
- Proof is in the pudding
- We spoke to several guests while we were there and what surprised us the most was that a good number of them were repeat guests. One guy said this was his 5th stay and had stays 6 and 7 lined up for 2015 and 2016.
- We played devil’s advocate and asked, if you had to choose only one Conrad property, which would it be. The inevitable answer after considering properties like Bora Bora, Moorea, Seychelles, Koh Samui etc., the Maldives came back as #1 and not because the other properties weren’t as beautiful or amazing in their own right but because, and I quote, “the best overall package”.
With the Conrad Maldives, it is one of those things that will blow your mind how luxury can be taken to the next level. And now having gone through a stay there, I’m now trying to figure out how I can make my way back there some day.
Top 3 Magical Moments
- Whale shark snorkelling
- Manta rays (whether it be on the bridge or diving at manta point)
- Water villa experience
Detailed Review
- Arrival and seaplane transfer
- What to do to keep you unbusy
- Amazing food
- Diving with SubAqua
- Snorkelling the house reef
- Whale shark snorkelling excursion
- King beach villa review
- King water villa review
- Costs and cost saving tips
- Touring the Capital City of Malé
Videos
- A day in the life (38:37)
- How to rinse your feet like a local (2:20)
Photo Essay
Photos to whet your appetite
Check the rates
Thinking about staying here for an upcoming vacation? Take a look at the current prices and cost for points by heading to the hotel page.
Additional Resources
For more information, I have compiled a big list of sites I used when I was researching the Conrad Maldives.
FlyerTalk – The Conrad Maldives thread is probably the longest one of the entire forum. As it stands now it’s 512 pages long. The top of the forum page also has a useful wiki which summarizes information on the resort. Through Flyertalk I found a bunch of other super useful blogs and reviews that I bookmarked:
- pineapple_09’s first TA review: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserRe…d.html#REVIEWS
- pineapple_09’s second TA review: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserRe…d.html#REVIEWS
- Milesquest’s Blog Posts: http://boardingarea.com/milesquest/2…lights-part-1/
- mckrackle’s TA review: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserRe…ml#UR135890185
- timmy83’s trip report on FT: Honeymoon in paradise: Maldives and Singapore (WN Y, CZ J, MH J, DL F)
- stupidzbu’s trip report on FT: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto…l#post21876910
- tht’s trip report on FT: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto…l#post21891535
- sfoactuary’s trip report on FT: Honeymooning in Australia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Dubai (UA/EK/BA F, SQ J)
- The Selfish Years blog on their trip to the Maldives
Tong U says
Will,
Very comprehensive review of the resort you have here – many thanks.
We will be heading to the resort in April, and will be arriving late in the evening.
The resort now offers late evening transfers from Male airport -> resort via a domestic flight followed by a speedboat transfer. Same price as the seaplane.
We can then do a way with a night at Male, but the downside is we will miss the seaplane transfer during the day.
So we are still thinking about it.
Do you think the seaplane flight was worthy ?
Also, which side of the plane should we be sitting on in the plane for better views ?
Think you sat on the right side, or was the left better in your opinion ?
Thanks.
Will Tang says
Hi Tong! Thanks for leaving a note. If logistically it makes more sense to do the late evening transfers, I might stick to that. That being said, the seaplane is a nice ride although very loud. I would say the right side is better on arrival approach but to be honest it’s really the view from the sky that you’re getting and also you do get to see a few other islands along the way since the plane isn’t that fast. But I would trade that away for convenience if the logistics of your flights make more sense. -Will
Tong UL says
Many thanks Will for the advice.
Incidentally, is there a tipping policy in the resort and in Male in general ?
Or the staff at the resort do not expect a tip as the rates already include a service charge ?
Cheers.
Will Tang says
In regards to tipping, there’s no formal policy here but we did try to leave a 10-15% tip where we could especially earlier on for the staff that we saw time and time again. There’s no service charge included with the rate.
Kaziopeia says
Hi. Has anyone been to the Maldives and/or Conrad end of November (Thanksgiving week)? I am thinking of going this year but am reading conflicting things about the monsoon rains. Any experiences/thoughts? Thanks very much
Cathy says
Wow I love how you review hotels and the wealth of information you share! Sounds like an amazing place, I hope to visit one day!
roarloud.net
Will Tang says
It absolutely was! Hopefully you’ll get a chance to stay there in the future.
Safras Ahamed says
I have been to Conrad & I work in Maldives travel industry.. This is an awesome review and can use for case study ;-). .. I think you missed one here it is done experience in underwater restaurant.
Will Tang says
Thanks for dropping a comment Safras! Glad you enjoyed the article and awesome that you’re actually involve in the Maldives travel industry.
Globalmouse says
Oh my goodness, this sounds…and looks AMAZING!! I want to pack my suitcase here and now and get there!