My Review: Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
As I mentioned in my other blog post about getting to the Maldives, this was a HUGE bucket list destination for my husband and I. We made the flights work by using American Airlines miles for a Qatar flight, used Hilton points for the first half of our stay and used the Hilton Friends & Family portal for the second half of our stay. This post will be all things Conrad from the rooms to the service to the excursions we took (and tried to take but were cancelled due to weather). If you’re traveling there soon, I hope this helps and hope you have the BEST vacation ever!
Rooms
We initially booked the basic overwater villa for the first five nights of the trip using Hilton reward points. As we got closer to confirm our stay, they told us they were still working on the renovations of those villas on the Adults-Only part of the island and upgraded us, complimentary, to a Grand Water Villa with pool. The pool is an infinity pool right at the edge of the sundeck so you can see the fish and sharks swim by while you relax in the sun! We stayed in 417 which is down almost at the very end of the pathway of overwater bungalows. There was a ladder going from the sundeck down into the ocean for easy access and with the way this villa was positioned plus having a wall on one side of our deck, we actually had a lot of privacy!
The second half of our trip was spent in a Deluxe Beach Villa with pool. We originally booked the basic beach villa at the Hilton Friends and Family rate and were offered an upgrade at $210/night plus taxes and fees, which we ended up doing so we’d have our own pool right on the beach. These also have an outdoor shower (don’t worry, there is PLENTY of privacy) that we used just for giggles a couple times instead of the indoor one! The pool is surrounded by plenty of plants and trees so your neighbors can’t see over the wall and those passing by on the beach can’t see in to your villa either. There are other room options to fit all budgets and group sizes, which you can read about here.
All rooms have reusable glass bottles that have drinkable water in them. Ours had 4 bottles and we went through them like no one’s business. They replace them during the turn-down service in the evening as well as when they come in and clean in the morning.
Pro tip: take your own reusable water bottle, make room in the mini fridge for the glass bottles so the water stays cold and ask for a bucket of ice!
Service
The service here was unlike any resort I’ve ever been to – TOP NOTCH. From before we even arrived they were in communication with us via email to make sure our upgrades were taken care of and to assure us that everything was taken care of with our seaplane transfer upon arrival.
From the time we left customs and security with our bags at the airport, a staff members was there ready to help. They took us to the lounge at the seaplane terminal, got us checked in to the hotel and let us know when the plane was ready to take us to the Conrad.
Once we arrived at the Conrad, Isaam was introduced as our Guest Representative and we added him on WhatsApp so we could get in touch with him throughout our stay. He helped us make dinner reservations, book (and reschedule) our excursions and was very prompt to respond when we texted him with questions or requests! He helped us transfer rooms, made sure we scheduled a return COVID test and had our results printed for us upon check out. From start to finish, he was the best and definitely helped to make our experience great!
All of the restaurant staff was very welcoming and friendly. We talked to some about the staff island at the resort where they live, what they did during the lockdown from the pandemic and they were always making sure we were satisfied with our meal.
Pro tip: bring some cash and leave a tip for the cleaners that come twice a day – we left one when we checked out of both rooms with a little note!
Excursions
Hear me when I say: do NOT wait until the end of your trip schedule excursions!!!! The reason I say this is because the weather there is unpredictable. Did we go in the middle of monsoon season? Yes. Did it only rain 2/11 days we were there? Yes. Book your excursions early enough in your trip so that you can reschedule them if they are cancelled due to weather or not having enough people booked with you.
Our first whale shark excursion on Thursday was cancelled because no one else signed up with us and they have to have a minimum of 4 people signed up in order to go so we rescheduled for Friday. As we were getting ready to board the boat, the sky opened up and it poured all. day. long. Saturday we were supposed to go swim with the turtles but the marine biologist found us at breakfast and told us it was cancelled because of the wind and the waves not being safe for us to go out. Our last chance was Sunday to do the whale sharks before we headed home on Monday and PRAISE THE LORD we were able to go!
The water was a little rough at the beginning on the far side of the reef – we’re talking HUGE waves in a pretty small boat so your girl sat as far back in the boat as possible and prayed I didn’t get seasick. We finally got a call that another boat found a whale shark so our captain whipped the boat around and we made it to a different reef that was so much more calm. I didn’t jump in the first time so my stomach could settle after all the waves we’d just hit but everyone else jumped in and as soon as they came back and were talking about how cool it was, I knew I was jumping in the next time – and it was SO worth it. Swimming with sharks sounds terrifying but whale sharks are really gentle giants.
The resort has non-motorized water sports like kayaks, paddle boards and more that are complimentary for guests to use. They do have motorized options at an additional cost which you can find here. They have multiple scuba excursions including a night dive as well as the whale shark talk and tour and the turtle safari that we weren’t able to do. Here is the list for all the diving options and the prices as well.
Pro tip: you can check out snorkel gear free of charge as long as you return it before you leave!
Restaurants
Let me preface this by saying we are pretty picky eaters and stuck to a few restaurants while we were there. They do have more restaurants that offer a set menu so you pay a set price per person and eat off the menu they provide. You can check out the list of restaurants and their menus here!
Rangali Bar
This was by far the restaurant we ate at the most – also where their in-villa dining service menu comes from. Reservations are not required since they have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating on the beach. They have food ranging from pasta, pizza, sandwiches and more. We always got a bottle of water which was like $12 so we factored that in to all our meals and never ordered alcohol, just because the drinks were upwards of $20+. They are open every day for lunch and dinner and offer a movie night a couple times as week as well as live music! Over the course of our stay we tried the flat bread pizza, pasta with Bolognese and carbonara sauces and the wagyu beef burger with fries. We got dessert once day after a light lunch and it was the summer romanoff ice cream – to die for.
UFFA By Jereme Leung
If you like Chinese food, you should check this spot out! They aren’t open every day so check with your Guest Representative and see when they can make reservations for you. This location is also where breakfast is everyday as well as the Hilton Honors Happy Hour from 4-5pm. They gave us complimentary rolls before our food came out and we ordered the stir-fry beef tenderloin with garlic sauce and the wok-friend chicken with cashews as well as the poached pear with ice cream for dessert. They were both pretty good but nothing out of this world. We only ate at this spot once for dinner during our stay.
Sunset Grill
Hands down the best view while eating dinner is at Sunset Grill, especially if your reservation is at 7pm. We had a beautiful sunset one night that was absolutely breathtaking. You can also see fish and sharks swim under you while you eat – we got to see a spotted eagle ray as well! Keep in mind this location isn’t open every day either so make reservations to be sure you try it before you leave! We tried their pork chop, sirloin and ribeye when we ate there as well as the baked pineapple in spices for dessert one night (save room for this!!!).
Mandhoo Spa Restaurant
To be quite honest, we almost didn’t eat here after reading that it was an “organic restaurant offering holistic dining experiences” but it was so good that we went back a second time. Don’t judge a book by its cover, people!!! Both of our villas were a very short walk here which was convenient and again, it’s not open every day so make reservations shortly after you arrive (open for lunch and dinner)! We tried their sage marinated chicken breast with pumpkin and shallot risotto (literally mouthwatering) and the grass fed beef tenderloin with potato mousseline. We had a pretty decent sunset once night and sat inside the second time because the wind was so bad.
ITHAA Undersea Restaurant
This is one of the restaurants with a set menu for lunch and dinner (but only open a couple days a week) BUT they do offer an experience where you can pay $85 for champagne and canapes to be able to go in and experience it! We got champagne and went downstairs to watch the fish and sharks swim around us while we were literally submerged under water. If you aren’t crazy about the price or menu for lunch or dinner but still want to see the Maldives’ first underwater restaurant, I recommend going this route!
Thank you for hanging in there and reading all of that! This truly was an amazing experience that I’ll forever remember. Shoutout to my husband for being the points and miles guru that he is and making this trip so much more affordable for us!