Maldives is a magical place, and the hotel we stayed at, Conrad, did a fantastic job making us feel comfortable. The Maldives is one of the world’s premier beach destinations, and there isn’t any place like it. Crystal clear waters, abundant marine wildlife, and unparalleled hospitality, regardless of your chosen hotel. This particular Conrad is located on Rangali Island, an island that is part of the Alif Dhaal Atoll. The Maldives have 26 different atolls, some subdivided into two or three.

RangaliIslandMap — The atolls of The Maldives.

Getting There

The only way to get to Rangali Island is via a 45-minute seaplane flight on Trans Maldivian Airways from the capital city of Male. The distance between the two islands is about 59 miles or 95 km. Since my wife and I booked with Conrad, our experience started upon landing at Velana International Airport in Male. The Conrad staff guided us to an exclusive Conrad Lounge as we waited for our seaplane to arrive. It’s rare for a hotel to have a branded airport lounge; this was our first time experiencing one. The lounge was spacious, had a decent selection of food and drinks, and was clean and well-maintained. It also offered free Wi-Fi and couches that could be used as beds. It was much better than most airport lounges we’ve visited.

About 45 minutes later, our seaplane arrived, and it was time to take the much-anticipated flight to Rangali Island.

I apologize for taking this video vertically. The plane seats around 15 people and flies at about 5,000 feet. You get some fantastic views of the other atolls and islands on your way. It was a loud flight due to the propellers, but it was much smoother than I had anticipated. Once we arrived, we boarded a golf cart that took us to our villa. The staff gave us a tour of the villa and the amenities and explained their services to us in detail. We also found a complimentary bottle of sparkling grape juice and a fruit basket left for us. You can see the video of our villa below.

Retreat Water Villa (Overwater Villa)

*The* *stairs lead you straight into the water. I’d say the depth is around seven feet.*

MaldivesPath — *The path to the beach area*

HotTubRed2 — *The various colors of the jacuzzi at night.*

SunsetVilla — *Majestic sunsets are the norm in the Maldives.*

Conrad upgraded us from a water villa to a retreat water villa as a Hilton Gold member. The retreat water villa came with our own jacuzzi and had a more private feel since the neighboring villas were several hundred feet away. The villa itself was incredible. This property has won numerous awards, including the best luxury resort in the world. Each villa also included a private spa room with two massage tables. We didn’t use this service since we wanted to be outside and soak in the sun. Each villa also has stairs that take you right into the water. I would estimate the depth to be around seven feet at the villas, so if you don’t know how to swim, you might want to keep that in mind. It gets much shallower once you’re near the beach.

Dining

As Hilton Gold members, we were entitled to complimentary breakfast, free afternoon tea at Mandhoo Spa Restaurant, and complimentary cocktails/mocktails between 5-6pm. The breakfast had many options, and I had something different every day. The afternoon tea at Mandhoo was more like a lunch since they also had sandwiches. Purchasing meals at this property was quite pricey. I mean, it is a Conrad Hotel, after all. To minimize meal costs, we would have breakfast at the latest possible time, around 10:30 a.m., and then have the complimentary tea and lunch at Mandhoo Spa Restaurant at 4:30. Since this was pretty darn close to dinner time, we only utilized the Atoll Market for dinner once. Dinner can quickly run past $120 a person, so if that matters, it is something to beware of. Conrad Maldives is also home to the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant. Unfortunately, all the daytime slots were reserved during our visit there, and there was no point in making a reservation during the evening hours since you couldn’t see the marine wildlife.

Conradlunch — *Pastries, cookies, and tarts*

ConradLunch2 — *The roast beef sandwich and the fruit tart were delicious.*

LunchConrad — *You can help yourself to as many sandwiches as you want*

Other Areas of Conrad Maldives

This property actually has a total of three islands. Two of them (Rangali and Rangalifinolhu) are used for guests, and a third is used only for employees. To get from one island to another, we just called the front desk, and they sent a golf cart, which brought us from place to place. You can certainly walk the distance if you want to, but it would take 25-30 minutes. You will save a ton of time by using the gold cart below.

I didn’t measure the Wi-Fi speed in the villa, but it was pretty fast, and I had no issues with connectivity. They also have a fantastic business center within a lounge on the second floor if you need one. I only used it for a few minutes to print documents, but it had everything you needed. If you’re a Mac person, they had those as well. Great job, Conrad!

ConradBusiness — *Lounge on the second floor*

ConradBusiness2 — *Business center within the lounge*

People have often asked what we did after sunset. We made it a point to sleep by 8 p.m. every day. Sunset was at 6:20 p.m., so we woke up at sunrise, around 6 a.m., and made the most of our day. If you’re in a place like the Maldives, I’d strongly recommend waking up early and not sleeping in. Regarding activities, you can go on excursions such as swimming with whale sharks or scuba diving and jet skiing. If you’re used to paying a specific price for those activities, you will pay double and triple that here. Seeing the exorbitant costs, I just preferred to snorkel at the reef right off the island and swim in the waters right near my villa. If only they were allowed to book excursions with miles. This Conrad also has two infinity pools, one on each island, which all guests can use. I took full advantage of that as well.

ConradBeach — *The beach area at Rangali Island. Both islands have beaches*

InfinityPool2 — Infinity Pool Two. The Dhoni ferry in the background is another way to get from one island to another.

MaldivesBridge — *The seaplane platform which is also used to connect Rangali Island to Rangalifinolhu Island. It’s beautifully lit in the evening.*

When I made this reservation, I informed them that my wife’s birthday would be on the second day of our stay there. They remembered that housekeeping made a nice gesture when we entered our room after breakfast on the second day.

AyeshaBday — *They also surprised her with a delicious cake during dinner*

ConradVilla5 — *Nighttime was perfect for the jacuzzi*

Final Thoughts

To sum it all up, it is a fantastic resort with pristine beaches, excellent food, excellent service, super friendly and helpful staff, and an experience I hope to be a part of again. If you do decide to book at Conrad Rangali Island, having the AMEX Hilton Surpass card or the AMEX Platinum card and the Gold status that comes along with it will take you a long way. I estimated I got over $700 in value just by having the card.

Departure — *View of the Conrad Rangali Island from the seaplane*

Some of you have asked if you could take a speedboat rather than a seaplane to Rangali Island. From my understanding, the only way to get there is by seaplane. It’s way overpriced for what amounts to a 30-minute plane ride, and unfortunately, if you don’t have miles that can be redeemed for cash (Chase Ultimate Rewards or AMEX Membership points), there really is no way around it. Trans Maldivian Airways monopolizes this route, so it probably won’t change soon. If the seaplane cost is a turnoff, remember that plenty of excellent hotels only require a seaboat transfer from Male. That cost isn’t cheap, but it’ll save you about $500 for two people.

My wife and I got to experience this beautiful property courtesy of our AMEX free weekend night certificates. Unfortunately, the American Express Hilton Honors Ascend Card no longer has this benefit on the cardmember anniversary. You have to spend $15,000 in a given year to get the free night, and I don’t think it’s worth forgoing points with Chase or AMEX Platinum/Gold to pursue a free night with Hilton in most instances. Since my wife and I have the AMEX Hilton Honors Ascend Card, we combined our free nights into a weekend stay. The nightly rate for our room was $450, so we got $900 worth of value plus $50 credit toward dining for the annual fee we paid for both cards ($95 per card).

Check-In

Walking into the hotel, take the elevator to the third floor. There is no second floor; the third floor is where the check-in desk, lounge, restaurant, and lobby are located. Upon checking in, the receptionist verified our Hilton Gold status, courtesy of the AMEX card, and upgraded us to a room on the 9th floor. We could choose 1,000 Hilton points or a $50 dining credit as Hilton Gold members. We took the dining credit (I don’t recommend taking the points in this scenario). The receptionist was kind enough to give us a mini-tour of the hotel, Estuary restaurant, and some of the amenities this hotel offers.

ConradLobby — *The circular lamp changes color each hour.*

My first impression when walking in was that this hotel did not have many 90-degree angles. The architect made a concerted effort to make the interior as curvy as possible. The lobby was beautiful, and since the hotel was only 45 days old when we stayed, it still had that brand-new scent.

ConradClock — *Looking down from the 10th floor to the lobby below.*

Room

Our room was on the 9th floor, with a nice view of New York Street below. Keeping up with the theme, the room was curvy but spacious and very comfortable.

As an avid coffee drinker, I always appreciate it when a hotel provides a Keurig-type machine with pods. The coffee was complimentary, per usual, but the snacks were completely overpriced. If you need snacks, there is a CVS across the street where you can get the same offerings for 1/4 of the price.

The bathroom provided two sinks and a separate blurred door to the toilet so two people could use the bathroom simultaneously while still having some privacy.

The toiletries were Shanghai Tang, and the scent was very nice—not too overpowering but not too light either. The room also provided slippers, a safe, laundry bag, iron, and bathrobes.

Estuary and Estuary Bar

Estuary is the restaurant on the premises on the 3rd floor. We went there for breakfast on Saturday morning and ordered a custom-made omelet and buttermilk pancakes. Both were delicious, albeit smaller in portion than your typical brunch diner.

The Estuary Bar area was spacious, and seating was plentiful during the day. If an event is going on at the hotel, it’ll likely get packed in the evening and into the late night.

Third Floor Terrace and Rooftop Bar

Since the hotel was only 45 days old during our stay, the Rooftop Bar was not officially open to guests, so I could only take pictures from behind the glass door. The 3rd-floor terrace was open for use.

ConradBalconyView — *View from the Rooftop Bar*

ConradTerrace — *The Terrace on the 3rd-floor*

Fitness Center

The fitness center was one of the better ones I had seen at a hotel. Upon entering, guests are greeted with towels, earphones, and apples.

ConradGym2 — *There are multiple treadmills, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes*

ConradGym3 — *If you’re into lifting, they have that covered as well.*

Concluding Thoughts

Although I forgot to measure the internet speed, I had no speed or Wi-Fi connectivity issues. If you plan to park your car at the Conrad, parking in their garage is $36 a day. I used the ParkWhiz app and found a garage two blocks away, allowing me to park for $14. There is also metered parking on the street, but it has a three-hour time limit during business hours and is free overnight. One of the most appealing aspects of staying at Conrad DC is that the National Mall, White House, Capitol building, Smithsonian, and many other points of interest are only 10-15 minutes away by walking. I also want to acknowledge the receptionists on the 3rd floor who always gave us complimentary bottles of water whenever we walked by. The staff made an excellent stay that much better.

We look forward to coming back in the future.