Author Topic: Maldives  (Read 3763 times)

Online cgr

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Aug 2017
  • Posts: 4377
  • Total likes: 1318
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
Maldives
« on: September 11, 2019, 05:27:27 PM »
I’m not that good at writing, so I’ll keep it to bulleted points with ratings and short notes where applicable.

Background: This trip was based around cheap flights from MLE to DXB to JFK that Dan posted. We travelled in late August 2017, and spent 4 days in Singapore, 5 days in Maldives, and 3 days in UAE.

Flights:
•   SIN to MLE non-stop with SilkAir
  • Award Booking: 18.5k KrisFlyer Miles +68 SGD per ticket
  • Originally there was no reward availability, but I was able to book a waitlist ticket on. About two weeks later, when availability had not yet opened up, I called Singapore and asked them if they were able to open up more availability. The answer was no of course, but they promised to have a supervisor look into it. A day later I received an email that availability had opened up. Looks like they are able to release inventory upon request.
•   MLE to DXB to JFK (3 day stopover in Dubai) with Emirates Air
  • $144.13 per ticket (Thank you, Dan!)

Hotel:
•   Constance Halaveli- 5/5
  • Being Maldives, this was obviously an out of this world experience. Seaplane transfers were included in our hotel package, but unfortunately just as we took off a storm rolled in. We were forced to land on a different island, and after several hours waiting for the seas to calm, were taken by boat to our resort’s island. We had an Overwater Villa, and the service was incredible. They kept our food that we needed for the next leg of our trip frozen in the general freezer with no issues.

Food:
•   We schlepped along plenty of dry packaged food as well as frozen POM Meals. In retrospect, we should have taken the all-inclusive package. Our chef, Siddique, was incredibly accommodating. He let us have free reign in the kitchen, and arranged new pots, dishes, and utensils just for us. He even arranged for us to have a look at his fish, so that we could point out which ones were kosher and which spices and condiments he could/couldn’t use in preparation. He baked us bread and prepared salads and other delectable dishes to our liking. For Shabbos, they gave us exclusive use of one of the ovens in the kitchen, so that we could keep our food warm without the staff interfering.

Activities:
•   Snorkeling/SCUBA Diving
•   Guided Tour of Male- 5/5
  • This was provided by our resort for free. This was an eye-opening tour, which allowed us to see a country steeped in poverty while the rest of the world takes advantage of their incredible natural beauty. Being that Shariah law is the law of the land there and most people are devout Muslims, it did not exactly give us a ‘safe’ feeling, but I would still recommend a tour.
•   Most resorts offer island excursions, but these are usually sold out by the time you check in, and need to be booked well in advance.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2019, 05:46:58 PM by cgr »

Offline iluv2travel

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2019
  • Posts: 1148
  • Total likes: 290
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: Maldives
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2019, 12:31:06 PM »
Wow, you did a great job writing up all these trip reports!

Am planning a trip to Maldives for Winter 2020 and trying to work out the kosher food.  Sounds like you had a great setup with your hotel, good for you!  Hope that we're able to have something similar as well.

Thanks for the great reports :).

Online cgr

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Aug 2017
  • Posts: 4377
  • Total likes: 1318
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
Re: Maldives
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2019, 02:07:58 PM »
Wow, you did a great job writing up all these trip reports!

Am planning a trip to Maldives for Winter 2020 and trying to work out the kosher food.  Sounds like you had a great setup with your hotel, good for you!  Hope that we're able to have something similar as well.

Thanks for the great reports :).

Thank you!
Enjoy your trip! I'm sure you'll love it.

We worked with a travel agent (dream@purelymaldives.co.uk). We started by giving them our budget and some basic amenities/activities we would appreciate. They then supplied us with a list of resorts that would fit our criteria. At that point, we emailed the ones that appealed to us, to see if they could accommodate our needs. I'd actually read about Constance Halaveli here on the forum, so I knew I was looking at a good thing when they agreed to supply us with whatever we needed to make it work.

Offline iluv2travel

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2019
  • Posts: 1148
  • Total likes: 290
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: Maldives
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2019, 03:32:17 PM »
Thank you!
Enjoy your trip! I'm sure you'll love it.

We worked with a travel agent (dream@purelymaldives.co.uk). We started by giving them our budget and some basic amenities/activities we would appreciate. They then supplied us with a list of resorts that would fit our criteria. At that point, we emailed the ones that appealed to us, to see if they could accommodate our needs. I'd actually read about Constance Halaveli here on the forum, so I knew I was looking at a good thing when they agreed to supply us with whatever we needed to make it work.

This sounds great, the only thing is that I am booking the hotel with Marriott points so I am bound to their resorts of which I am considering the STR or the new JW and leaning towards JW due to the ability to book directly into an OVW as a base room on points.

I hope we will be able to work with them so that we can sustain ourselves throughout our stay in order to properly enjoy such a trip  :D.