Author Topic: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE  (Read 64027 times)

Offline EJB

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #280 on: March 24, 2016, 02:28:48 PM »
Now just imagine what he USED to burn.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say AA :)

Offline EJB

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #281 on: March 24, 2016, 02:29:44 PM »
+1Where the hell are you flying for 800k AA? Space?  :o

I'm assuming one of the ways is transatlantic. AJK - You bringing a babysitter with you as well?

Offline Zalc

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #282 on: March 24, 2016, 02:34:22 PM »
+1Where the hell are you flying for 800k AA? Space?  :o
Trans-pacific in 1st for 2+ppl?

Offline CS91

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #283 on: March 28, 2016, 12:35:33 PM »
Tuesday

The hotel offers complimentary sunrise and sunset yoga on the pool deck twice a week, so we woke up to do yoga Tuesday morning, but when we woke up, we were too lazy so we just went out on one of the jetties to watch the sunrise. I’ve personally never done yoga before and it doesn’t really seem like my thing, but I was open to trying it in MLE while watching the sunrise near the beach.

Some pictures of the sunrise:








After watching the sunrise, we went to breakfast. Tuesday was very similar to the other days that we were there, but I’ll type up a summary anyways. As I’m guessing you’re all realizing, there isn’t THAT much that you can do in MLE, which is why many people say that 5-6 days is the most you can spend there without getting a bit bored. Sure, the hotel offered many activities (Fishing, Dolphin Watching, Local Island Visit, Water Sports, Equator Trip, etc.) but most of them were really pricey and more than we wanted to spend. Either way, we felt that 6 nights was the perfect amount of time for us to be there, though we’re the type of people that really like relaxing on a beach so if you’re someone that likes to constantly be doing things, you’d probably get bored a bit quicker unless you’re doing a lot of activities.

Back to the daily summary, in the middle of breakfast, DW’s masseuse from the day before stopped by to see how DW’s sunburn was (another example of employees at PH MLE going above and beyond and really caring about their guests). Turns out though, DW actually wasn’t feeling that great (she thinks she had a minor form of sun poisoning), so after breakfast she went back to the villa to take it easy and I went to sit out at the beach/pool for a few hours.

I eventually went back to our villa to eat lunch with DW and then we spent the rest of the day at our private pool because there was some shade and DW didn’t want to be out in the sun.

At around 6pm, it was off to The Bar for happy hour and backgammon and then to the beach to watch our last sunset in paradise.



Once it was dark, we had dinner at The Dining Room again because there was another special event at The Island Grill. For our last dinner, we had Swedish Meatballs with sides of Popcorn Cauliflower and Grilled Portobello Mushrooms and Teriyaki Grilled Cutlets with sides of more Popcorn Cauliflower and Roasted Sweet Potatoes. DW wasn’t such a fan of the meatballs; she found them to be a bit too thick (like most catered meatballs) and while I heard what she was saying, I thought they were pretty good. The Teriyaki Cutlets were a disappointment though. They barely had any flavor, but at least the serving was generous (there were two big cutlets this time as opposed to the one in the order of Pesto Baby Chicken). The sides were all solid again, with the Portobello Mushrooms once again being the highlight.



As we were finishing up dinner, Ameez stopped by to give us our checkout itinerary. Our boat ride leaving the hotel was scheduled for 3:15pm (Island Time) and although checkout is normally at noon and the hotel was pretty full, he was able to arrange for us to have our room until our boat ride so that we could get the most out of our last day. After going over the schedule with Ameez, we walked back to our villa and watched a bit of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 that we found on TV (the channel selection is actually pretty solid) until my ear started killing me. I got worried that it was an ear infection because I was flying the next day, so I called the reception and asked if I could see the doctor. They told me that they’d send her to my villa and she arrived within 5 minutes of me hanging up. She checked it out and told me that it was a classic case of swimmer’s ear (probably caused by me not equalizing properly/often enough) and that I had nothing to worry about in terms of flying as long as I chewed gum or drank something for take off and landing. She also gave me drops and pills to help with the pain. I honestly have no idea what she gave me and the packaging wasn’t in English, and though I’d normally be hesitant to take something blindly, the pain was so bad that I just took it and hoped for the best. (Side point – the doctor visit and the meds were all free.) Anyways, I took my meds and we went to sleep. The pain woke me up a couple of times during the night but thankfully by the time the morning came around, it was feeling a lot better (and the Maldivian meds didn’t kill me) and I didn’t have any problems on the flights either.

Up next: our last (half) day at PH MLE and departure from the hotel.

Offline Denverite

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #284 on: March 28, 2016, 02:27:19 PM »
Loved the sunrise pics.  Thanks for taking the time to do this whole report!

Offline CS91

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #285 on: March 28, 2016, 02:28:25 PM »
Loved the sunrise pics.  Thanks for taking the time to do this whole report!
You're welcome! Getting you excited for your trip?  :)

Offline Denverite

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #286 on: March 28, 2016, 03:07:10 PM »
You're welcome! Getting you excited for your trip?  :)

I'm so excited!  I'm literally planning to B"H have sinus surgery (that I have been putting off for years) so that I can properly enjoy the snorkeling and water.  Although I think your swimmer's ear story convinced me that with my sinus and other issues I'll be happy enough with snorkeling and don't need to try scuba diving. ;)  I'm also trying to figure out the best thing for food and whether it is better to chance having the restaurant in Singapore pack and freeze food for me or try to get some Australian meals from the hotel that probably won't taste that good...but I'm fine with these kinds of problems!

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #287 on: March 28, 2016, 03:23:36 PM »
I'm glad the swimmers ear wasn't that bad, though sorry you had to experience it in the first place. Cool to know that the doctor and meds were free. Thanks for sharing!

Offline CS91

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #288 on: March 28, 2016, 05:45:45 PM »
I'm so excited!  I'm literally planning to B"H have sinus surgery (that I have been putting off for years) so that I can properly enjoy the snorkeling and water.  Although I think your swimmer's ear story convinced me that with my sinus and other issues I'll be happy enough with snorkeling and don't need to try scuba diving. ;)
#Dedication. Though if a doctor clears you to, I'd try to go scuba diving; it's incredible.

Cool to know that the doctor and meds were free.
Yup. When I called reception to ask if I can see the doctor, I asked them how much it would be because I was expecting it to cost (part of me thought it would actually be a fortune).

Side point - Am I the only one that when staying at an expensive hotel (for free, obviously), asks to make sure something is free or isn't expensive and feels funny doing so? I always feel weird because I feel like I'm the only guest asking (because the other guests are paying so much per night, they don't really care about a potential small extra charge).

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #289 on: March 28, 2016, 05:49:44 PM »
#Dedication. Though if a doctor clears you to, I'd try to go scuba diving; it's incredible.
Yup. When I called reception to ask if I can see the doctor, I asked them how much it would be because I was expecting it to cost (part of me thought it would actually be a fortune).

Side point - Am I the only one that when staying at an expensive hotel (for free, obviously), asks to make sure something is free or isn't expensive and feels funny doing so? I always feel weird because I feel like I'm the only guest asking (because the other guests are paying so much per night, they don't really care about a potential small extra charge).
For me it depends on the hotel and the request. Sometimes I feel weird, like if other people are around, and sometimes I don't. They know some people stay at their hotels with points, even if most don't.

Offline CS91

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #290 on: March 28, 2016, 05:52:02 PM »
For me it depends on the hotel and the request. Sometimes I feel weird, like if other people are around, and sometimes I don't. They know some people stay at their hotels with points, even if most don't.
I know that I shouldn't have a complex, but I do anyways. Either way, this should be my biggest problem when traveling (and a good problem to have). :)

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #291 on: March 28, 2016, 05:52:57 PM »
I know that I shouldn't have a complex, but I do anyways. Either way, this should be my biggest problem when traveling (and a good problem to have). :)
Lol, yup.

Offline Denverite

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #292 on: March 28, 2016, 07:56:10 PM »
I know that I shouldn't have a complex, but I do anyways. Either way, this should be my biggest problem when traveling (and a good problem to have). :)

I'm actually becoming convinced (although I could be wrong and maybe Dan or AJK or others have some inside knowledge) that places like the Conrad and possibly the Park Hyatt are getting the majority of their people from points so you shouldn't feel bad at all! 

That's why they have it all set up like clockwork with the whole upgrade system.  How can it be that they say often like half the people at the Conrad are HHonors Diamonds and that's why they can't offer free upgrades.  They book all the lowest beach villas on points, do their best to get you to upgrade and then book those lowest rooms again!  I think they get paid more per point if they have a certain percentage of occupancy (or even at a certain percentage they get reimbursed the whole cost of the room for the points).  I feel worse about having them go out of their way for the kosher food since from Flyertalk and other places it looks like most of the people even that are coming on points are spending more than the cost of the room in F&B and activities.

Offline CS91

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #293 on: March 28, 2016, 08:25:35 PM »
I'm actually becoming convinced (although I could be wrong and maybe Dan or AJK or others have some inside knowledge) that places like the Conrad and possibly the Park Hyatt are getting the majority of their people from points so you shouldn't feel bad at all! 

That's why they have it all set up like clockwork with the whole upgrade system.  How can it be that they say often like half the people at the Conrad are HHonors Diamonds and that's why they can't offer free upgrades.  They book all the lowest beach villas on points, do their best to get you to upgrade and then book those lowest rooms again!  I think they get paid more per point if they have a certain percentage of occupancy (or even at a certain percentage they get reimbursed the whole cost of the room for the points).  I feel worse about having them go out of their way for the kosher food since from Flyertalk and other places it looks like most of the people even that are coming on points are spending more than the cost of the room in F&B and activities.
Interesting, though I'd be surprised if it's actually a majority of people that are there on points. As for having status, it's very possible that many of the people travel a lot for business and have status that way.

As for spending a lot on food if you don't keep Kosher, I don't know if I agree. We met one other couple at the hotel that happened to be there on points and it seemed like they barely spent money at the hotel. They were Diamonds so they got free breakfast and ate a lot so that they didn't have to eat lunch and they said that they usually split a portion for dinner to save money. Bottom line is, if you're on a budget you're on a budget.

Offline GettingReady

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #294 on: March 28, 2016, 08:38:51 PM »
Great pictures! As far as flying, you might want to take an antihistamine before your flight if they're available. Another thing that helps are styrofoam cups over your ears when taking off and landing. Sounds stupid, I know but we did it with our one son that use to get sinus and ear infections and excruciating pain. Unlike most adults, kids don't mind looking silly.

Offline CS91

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #295 on: March 28, 2016, 08:40:04 PM »
Great pictures! As far as flying, you might want to take an antihistamine before your flight if they're available. Another thing that helps are styrofoam cups over your ears when taking off and landing. Sounds stupid, I know but we did it with our one son that use to get sinus and ear infections and excruciating pain. Unlike most adults, kids don't mind looking silly.
I've done the cups with some water over my ears in the past; works like a charm.

Offline Denverite

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #296 on: March 28, 2016, 08:50:20 PM »
I've done the cups with some water over my ears in the past; works like a charm.

What exactly do you do?  You have to put a little water in the cups? How does it stay in?  One time I had to travel for work when I was sick and I thought I was going to die from the pain in my ear and sinuses so I gotta learn this trick!

Offline CS91

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #297 on: March 28, 2016, 08:54:06 PM »
What exactly do you do?  You have to put a little water in the cups? How does it stay in?  One time I had to travel for work when I was sick and I thought I was going to die from the pain in my ear and sinuses so I gotta learn this trick!
Put a tiny bit of water in each cup and put the cups completely over your ears. Hears a picture taken from Google:


You don't use a lot of water so nothing will spill out. You'll just look like a clown ;D.

Offline Denverite

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #298 on: March 28, 2016, 09:05:32 PM »
Interesting, though I'd be surprised if it's actually a majority of people that are there on points. As for having status, it's very possible that many of the people travel a lot for business and have status that way.

As for spending a lot on food if you don't keep Kosher, I don't know if I agree. We met one other couple at the hotel that happened to be there on points and it seemed like they barely spent money at the hotel. They were Diamonds so they got free breakfast and ate a lot so that they didn't have to eat lunch and they said that they usually split a portion for dinner to save money. Bottom line is, if you're on a budget you're on a budget.

You're right that it may not be a majority of people redeeming points but for sure a significant percentage in these high-end non-business hotels.  The F&B and activities is also for sure a huge percentage of their income.  I run conferences for a living and business hotels make their money off of a combo of corporate meetings and social events and these kind of hotels make money off of weddings for their group business (although weddings don't seem to be a big thing in the Maldives, maybe because they are so remote and expensive) and since in the Maldives they don't really seem to have any group business they really need to extract more from their individual customers from their restaurants, spa and excursions.

Offline Denverite

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Re: CS91's Bucket List Trip to MLE
« Reply #299 on: March 28, 2016, 09:06:31 PM »
Put a tiny bit of water in each cup and put the cups completely over your ears. Hears a picture taken from Google:


You don't use a lot of water so nothing will spill out. You'll just look like a clown ;D.

Wow, thanks for that.  Can't believe I've never heard believe I've never heard of it before!