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Possible routings to MLE and costs:

JFK-AUH-MLE (EY) -- 45/67.5/90 AA
JFK-DOH-MLE (QR) -- 45/67.5/90 AA
JFK-FRA-SIN-MLE (SQ) -- East Coast: (Including 15% off booking online) 46,750/91,375/116,875; West Coast: 89,250/144,500/229,500
JFK-DXB-MLE (EK) -- 42.5/82.5/150 AS
JFK-IST-MLE (TK) -- 42.5/70/90 UA (United routing allows a stopover in TLV)
JFK-VIE-MLE (OS) -- 42.5/80 UA
JFK-LGW-MLE (BA) -- 45/90/135 BA
JFK-ICN-CMB-MLE (KE) -- 60/107.5/137.5 KE
JFK-HKG-MLE (CX) -- 57.5/85/112.5 AA
JFK-HKG-MLE (CX) -- 50/70 AS
TLV-IST-MLE (TK)-- 20/35 UA
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It's pretty simple, y'all. No pork, no porn, and no alcohol. Those are the rules. -AJK
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Blah blah blah. -AJK
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Park Hyatt MLE + Diamond Suite Upgrade gets you nothing as all are considered suites. -AJK



Conrad Upgrades:

Upgrade from King Beach Villa to King Water Villa US$ 200 + 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night.
Upgrade from King Beach Villa to King Deluxe Beach Villa US$ 210+ 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night.
Upgrade from King Beach Villa to King Superior Water  Villa US$ 250 + 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night.
Upgrade from King Beach Villa to King Retreat Water Villa US$ 400 + 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night.
Upgrade from King Beach Villa to King Deluxe Water Villa US$ 480 + 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night.
Upgrade from King Beach Villa to Family Water Villa US$ 720 + 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night. ( 2 bedrooms)

Airport transfer fee: $560 including tax

PH Upgrades:

Upgrade from Park Villa to Park Pool Villa $USD 252.56++ per villa per night
Upgrade from Park Villa to Park Water Villa $USD 405++ per villa per night ( Villa Number 38-44)
Upgrade from Park Villa to Park Water Sunset Villa $USD 610++ per villa per night ( Villa number 45-51)

Airport transfer fee: $520 RT per person

SR:
Airport transfer fee: $745 RT per person

Author Topic: Maldives Master Thread  (Read 1330688 times)

Offline damaxer91

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #60 on: July 09, 2012, 06:24:48 PM »
So if I stopped over, I could head over to St. Regis for $90 + 4.8k.

Now I just need to check if it's okay with my job...

Make sure to visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque if you are there. One of the most beautiful buildings you'll ever see

Offline Drago

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #61 on: July 09, 2012, 06:26:13 PM »
Make sure to visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque if you are there. One of the most beautiful buildings you'll ever see
Wear a hat the entire time? Or a kafiya?

Offline damaxer91

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #62 on: July 09, 2012, 06:28:40 PM »
I'd wear a hat but a Yarmulke would probably be fine.

It was built as a tourist attraction as much as a mosque and they are used to all types.

The guided tours are fascinating. Was tipped off by another DDF'er and it was he highlight of my trip.

Offline AsherO

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #63 on: July 10, 2012, 01:20:28 AM »
I'd wear a hat but a Yarmulke would probably be fine.

Like!
DDF FFB (Forum From Birth)

Offline brytch

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #64 on: July 10, 2012, 07:41:24 AM »
I believe you need a visa for Qatar no?!

If I had 7 hour stop I would spend it in their lounge.. if I get a daybed that would be perfect.. I had a 6 hour and had no trouble (with baby..) I arrived 6:30pm and left 1am...

Offline brytch

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #65 on: July 10, 2012, 07:42:16 AM »
NOTE: I'M POSTING THIS QUICKLY WHILE TRAVELING FOR THE BENEFIT OF ANYONE TRAVELING THEIR SOON.. I'LL ADD SOME PICS AND MAYBE SOME NOTES LATER..

Seeing some people are planning on visiting the Waldorf I thought I would write a quick trip report.. hope it helps a little..

I went with wife and 1 year old baby, left the others at home... We went from Montreal Via Doha on Qatar Airways 777-300ER business class. I had separate reservation for me and wife, and for some reason they only had one kosher meal (could be my fault).. the meal was a fresh meal by a Montreal caterer and was quite decent.. enough for the two of us. The stewardess never heated up a kosher meal before so I had to give her directions.. Was one of the best flights I've ever flown on. Definitely best business class, service is superb, and because they is no first on that route, they treat you like first...  Much better than cathay business (cathay first is still better). Most flight attendants are asian...

We had a 6 hour stop in Doha, no problems there. They have a huge premium terminal there, with little kids play area, playstation area, nice lounge chairs, I even got some sleep there.. The service in the lounge is also great.. workers coming around to play with our daughter, offering drinks etc.. Was pretty much empty when I was there.

Our next flight was a 4-1/2 hour one, and was pretty pleasant. business class seats on the short hall are similar to what US based airlines have to offer in first..  We landed at 7:30am in Ibrahim Nasir airport (that's when my wife finally realized we're in Muslim territory...) in the arrival hall we were mistaken for muslims and got a few Asalam Aleikum's as well as a worker who told me he's "also" muslim... They respect religious people there. All customs agents were women dressed in muslim clothes.. they questioned when we were leaving and asked to see our tickets.. but otherwise went pretty smoothly.. we were worried about customs after all we have heard, but had no trouble at all, they didn't ask anything or open any suitcases.. WE had plenty of coldcuts grape juice, and other food items.

After we existed customs there was an agent from the hotel waiting for us.. he grabbed our luggage, we picked up a local sim card, and went to check in for the seaplane ride.. the checkin is located right there, and they allow 20kg checked, 5kg hand, but a pulley is considered checked.. after that we were taken to the Waldorf lounge which is located by the seaplane airport.. it's a joint Waldorf Conrad lounge and very nice.. when you enter, they give you a cold towel (much needed with the heat and humidity) and also a cold drink. In the lounge they offer complimentary back and shoulder massage, free wifi, free drinks and breakfast.. when the manager noticed I wasn't eating he walked over and said I shouldn't worry, all the food is halal...  I should mention, the lounge also has a kids playing area with balls. The Hilton lounge is located on the same floor just otherside of the building... their lounge seems more rundown.

I waited about 2 hours until I was told our plane is ready for boarding.. the Waldorf seaplane is the nicest in the Maldives. It's the only luxury seaplane, I was told the Waldorf pays $1 million a year to brand it as a WA plane and to have less seats (all planes have about 14-16 I believe, and the waldorf has only 10 and they're all leather and nice..)

I recommend walking first to the plane, so you can sit right next to the open cockpit, it's pretty interesting seeing the pilots flying the seaplanes barefoot.. the plane ride is about 75 minutes long, but it's a beautiful ride, it's amazing to see all the islands below.. some new resorts being built etc.. take lots of pictures and videos.. the plane gets hot, so take some cold water from the lounge (they don't serve anything on this flight..)

Upon landing at the WA we pulled up to the dock and you can see lots of hotel employees as well as the director of operations (like the GM) waiting to greet us. As soon as we got off the plane we were welcomed by our first names (could be because we were corresponding with them prior to our visit, not sure) given towels (and drinks?) and introduced to our villa host, Mihad. He showed us to his buggy and drove us to our room. He informed us that we have been upgraded from Water Villa to Ocean Villa and that we got the most private villa all the way at the end of the dock facing sunset side (just as we requested).. he showed us around our room, and we arranged with him what time we wanted dinner and at which restaurant (prior to arrival we ordered some kosher meals through the hotel, they brought them from Australia, the price was $40 per meal.. not a great deal but was great for  a few nights to have something warm..)

We also booked the snorkeling trip for the next day (costs $75 pp) and we arranged a babysitter to take care of our baby. Most of the day we just rested.. took it easy. The trip there is very long, and because of time difference you have to take into account you'll be quite jetlagged by the time you get there. The room is great, nice little (cold) pool on the deck, some sort of hammock overlooking the water, a nice swing and chair tables.. they also have a mini bar which we emptied and filled with our coldcuts and some drinks we brought with us.

The reason we booked snorkeling is because we were told they don't have much housereef, and we wanted some nice fish.. we went twice, once on their free snorkeling trip once the paid one. Difference is the paid one visits two sites and they offer free juice and fruit at the end total 3 hrs. The complimentary one is 1.5 hours and only visits one site.  on the paid trip we had us + 2 more, on the free one we had about 10 people. I mentioned I wanted to see turtles and they took us to a special location to spot them, but waters were too choppy so we had to go to a different location. Both snorkeling spots are near abandoned islands about 15-30 minutes away from the waldorf.

The resort has two pools, the amazon located near the ocean villas, which is nestles between lush greenery and has a nice bar, and the infiniti pool near the water villas and next to the salt water bar. Both were empty most of the time I was there. took our baby swimming she loved it.. one day it was pouring but swimming was a lot of fun anyway.

They have a dive and sports center. I rented a Jetski for 30 minutes for $100, nothing like jetskiing in the indian ocean...  The resort is super private and throughout our stay we barely saw people. To go anywhere we would just call our villa host and within 5-7 minutes we had a buggy waiting for us.

Friday I got them to heat up 3-4 of the kosher meals they ordered for us, and they delivered them to our room at candle lighting time, so we had warm meals shabbos night, which is a first for me in traveling.

On my last day there, I decided to check out some of the snorkeling in the resort. It was suggested that we check out the area at the end of the arrival jetty (dock) and to my surprise the place was swarming with fish.. no real nice coral but tons of fish..

Overall we had a great time. I was there Tuesday - Sunday. I had a late flight out sunday night, so originally booked a seaplane to the resort and domestic transfer (boat and flight) back to Male as it left later 7pm.  I heard they sometimes upgrade people to the seaplane so I asked my villa host to look into it for me and he informed me I was upgraded for a 4pm departure.. I Was very happy as traveling with a baby is much easier on the seaplane. I had a long wait in male on the way out so I decided to pay $80 pp to use their lounge on departure (standard rate) and was definitely worth it.. better than renting a hotel room, as you can sleep there on comfy couches, they have free internet drinks, and halal food.

We flew back Singapore business MLE-SIN-ICN then united biz to SFO connecting to Canada..

The singapore flight had lie flat beds on their a330 but overall I Was disappointed with service. Was definitely asian, but I prefer Cathay or Qatar to be quite honest.

Offline brytch

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #66 on: July 10, 2012, 08:43:42 AM »
Waldorf/Conrad lounge at the Seaplane airport. Upon arrival lounge access is free, when leaving from the resort, costs $80 pp. worth it on long stops..
« Last Edit: July 10, 2012, 08:48:34 AM by brytch »

Offline brytch

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #67 on: July 10, 2012, 08:43:57 AM »
Seaplane flight: the most luxurious of the seaplanes. The Waldorf is the only resort which custom designed the interior of the seaplane, making it quite a big nicer then all the others. Because the Waldorf is located furthest north in the Maldvies each flight costs $7000 to operate.. they normally run at a loss. That's why if you book a domestic+boat transfer back which is cheaper (rt 450 instead of 750) you have the chance of being upgraded to the seaplane if there is room, so they can at least try to offset some of the cost...

The advantage of being so far north is that you don't see any passing planes, as there are no resorts further north.

VIEW FROM THE SKY: 2nd picture is the Waldorf on approach, 3rd is the view of many small islands.. throughout the flight you see ons of these..

I've got many more pics of the plane (including how the pilots fly barefoot..) but I think I'll keep the rest of the posts for resort pics and maybe can add some misc pics later in the thread..

Will post the rest later.. enjoy
« Last Edit: July 10, 2012, 09:02:30 AM by brytch »

Offline brytch

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #68 on: July 10, 2012, 08:44:09 AM »
ARRIVING AT THE RESORT

SEAPLANE DOCK
# 3 Driving through the island "jungle"
# 4 being dropped off outside our room
« Last Edit: July 10, 2012, 10:37:19 AM by brytch »

Offline brytch

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #69 on: July 10, 2012, 08:44:30 AM »
Our Villa - very nice rooms.. very modern, all blinds and shades are controlled by remote..

Bathroom has Jacuzzi bath, separate shower on top of the water, it's open air, toilette also open air, glass floor in living room, deck with pool, hammock swing and the best view in the world.. (also ladder leading into water)


#1 at dusk or dawn don't remember
#2
#3
#4 Living room
« Last Edit: July 10, 2012, 10:45:26 AM by brytch »

Offline brytch

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #70 on: July 10, 2012, 08:44:53 AM »
pics 5

Offline Drago

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #71 on: July 10, 2012, 08:46:54 AM »
Great post!
Makes me dream...

EDIT: I don't see any pix in your recent posts

Offline brytch

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #72 on: July 10, 2012, 08:52:24 AM »
I was trying to set placers here in the forum to add pictures later, but they become uneditable after an hour or a little more, so I'll just add more pics later further down the thread
« Last Edit: July 10, 2012, 10:46:52 AM by brytch »

Offline moish

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #73 on: July 10, 2012, 09:27:27 AM »
Was tipped off by another DDF'er and it was he highlight of my trip.
theres actually another ddf'er crazy enough to explore auh?

Offline brytch

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #74 on: July 10, 2012, 11:19:14 AM »
The Deck of our Ocean Villa - Water villas I hear are very similar just missing the hammock and perhaps the swing (although they might have it..)

Water villas are more crowded together..

Ocean villas even numbers are sunset side ours was 214 last on the row.. more private..

Offline PlatinumGuy

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #75 on: July 10, 2012, 11:33:54 AM »
Time to head over to the shidduch thread...
״וזה כלל גדול: שישנא אדם כל דבר שקר. וכל מה שיוסיף שנאה לדרכי השקר – יוסיף אהבה לתורה.״ - אורחות צדיקים

Offline Dan

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #76 on: July 10, 2012, 11:39:53 AM »
Awesome TR!

Was it worth buying the Aussie food or would you just bring all your own food next time and heat it up yourself?
How old is your daughter?  No safety concerns in an OWB?
How cold was the pool on the OWB? Too cold to swim in?  Is a pool really that essential in an OWB?
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline Drago

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #77 on: July 10, 2012, 11:53:43 AM »
theres actually another ddf'er crazy enough to explore auh?
Why 'crazy'? It's a big international destination.

Offline chuchem

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #78 on: July 10, 2012, 12:01:40 PM »
Nice tr

I do think the rooms in Halaveli are more private and nicer... AJK what do you think

@Dan  40 Dollars for a good meal for supper, served in a restaurant is for sure worth it. You shlep around the world, go to a nice resort, but want to be cheap on the few meals you have there... I think thats saving at the wrong place


Offline damaxer91

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #79 on: July 10, 2012, 12:02:09 PM »
Why 'crazy'? It's a big international destination.

He's kidding. He "Knows" someone else who did it too