Review: Conrad Maldives Rangali Island – on Hilton points (Part 3)
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
This is part three of our reader’s review of the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island focusing on Hilton Honors member benefits and the restaurants and bars.
Part 1 of our Conrad Maldives Rangali Island review can be found here. Part 2 is here.
Hilton Honors Member Benefits – Gold and Diamond
Complimentary Breakfast (7-11am)
Breakfast is served in two locations. There’s a huge variety of Buffet choices at Atoll on Rangalifinolhu or a mixture of a more selected buffet and à la carte at Vilu at Rangali island.
Complimentary Afternoon Tea (4-5pm)
Comprises of sandwiches, cakes, scones, biscuits and a large selection of teas. This experience was previously complimentary just for repeat guests, but has now been extended to Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond members. It’s usually held at Mandhoo, but can sometimes move to Vilu depending on the prevailing weather and/or the number of Hilton Honors Elite members at the resort.
Complimentary Happy Hour at Vilu (5-6pm)
Located at Vilu Restaurant this was previously open to all guests on Rangali island Water Villas, but is now exclusively for Gold and Diamond members.
A plate of 4 light appetisers is also served to each guest just after they order their first drink.
From Vilu looking down the beach you can see the Quiet Zone and the bridge.
Managers reception at Quiet Zone
The invites for this event are left at your accommodation the day before. It is usually for Gold and Diamond members and special guests. It normally occurs on a Tuesday (approx 6:30pm onwards).
Recommendations
1/2 price Happy Hour – this is open to all guests and runs from 5-7pm at the Quiet Zone and Rangali Bar. We visited each on alternate evenings after Happy Hour at Vilu.
Quiet Zone is a short walk down the beach from Vilu.
The Rangali Bar is on the other side of the bridge on the main island, great for sunsets.
Our favourite cocktail was the coffee inspired Affogato, more like a desert than a drink.
Here’s a sunset with George the Heron from the Rangali Bar.
Here’s a couple of sunrise photos from Mandhoo restaurant on the Spa Retreat.
And here’s couple of the sunrise from the Infinity Pool at the Quiet Zone.
Breakfast – Whilst the buffet selection at Atoll is fantastic, we preferred eating à la carte at Vilu. As we enjoy an early morning snorkel first, we’d arrive at about 10:30am and take our time enjoying the lovely setting. I tried the excellent Oysters Rockefeller on my birthday with sparkling Rosé.
Dining out – As featured in my previous review, our favourites are still Sunset Grill and Mandhoo.
Steak and Lobster at Sunset Grill.
Seared Tuna at Mandhoo.
Entertainment
Maldivian themed night is normally on a Monday
and
Rewarding Hilton Honors loyalty
Given the appeal of such a special place and the enthusiasm I’ve demonstrated in my reviews, you might imagine the resort has its collection of regular repeat visitors.
For such loyal guests that meet a special set of criteria there are exclusive benefits such as the Sunset Cruise.
and
Point Redemptions at Conrad Rangali (and other insider info)
I learnt that Hilton Honors point redemptions currently account for approximately 1 in every 6 bookings at the resort.
I’ve read recent newspaper articles that highlight proposals for substantial foreign investment to develop many new resorts across the Maldives. There’s even rumours of plans to develop a Waldorf Astoria on a new large resort spanning three islands in the next few years. I also heard a guest speculate on the possibility of an existing hotel resort rebranding as a DoubleTree.
With this future projected level of increased competition, based on the conversations I had with Conrad staff, I feel the amount of Hilton Honors points required for a redemption in a King Beach Villa will remain at 95,000 points / night for some time yet.
I recommend staying for at least 5 nights but ideally longer to give yourself time to unwind.
Our previous stay was 10 nights on points, this time we stayed 12 nights using a Hilton Visa Certificate each and 760,000 Hilton Honors points.
Note the additional Extras – Resort charges are subject to ++ (“Plus, Plus”). There is a service charge and resort tax that equates to a non-trivial 23.2% extra above advertised prices.
How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)
There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card? It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status. We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points. You can apply here.
You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:
- American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)
and for small business owners:
- American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)
The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton points is 1:2.
(Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)
TripRep 
Sam 
Raks 
Boi 
jamie 
Amar 
Tilly71 
Ed 
Peter K 
Anna 
Genghis 
Alan 
@mkcol 
Comments (22)