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New underwater guest room at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island

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About a year ago we published a 4-part review of the fantastic Conrad Maldives written by one of our regular commentors.

The resort was already quite impressive but has now invested a further $15 million to offer guests the opportunity to sleep underwater.

Conrad Maldives underwater room

From later this year guests will be able to book the underwater residence called Muraka (coral).  The Muraka will have two floors of which the lower one sits five metres below sea level featuring a 180-degree dome for panoramic views of the marine life.

conrad maldives underwater residence

The upper level will have a further two bedrooms, bathroom, gym, butler’s and private security quarters, a living room, kitchen and a deck facing the direction of the sunset. If you prefer sunrise, there is a further deck by the infinity pool facing the other direction.

You can find more information in this article by Hotel News Resource.

The Conrad Maldives site is here.


How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards

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:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points

(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.)

Comments (37)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Phil says:

    OT – Can anyone remind me the process for booking using a 241 and initially just booking the outward leg and then booking the return at T-355? Thanks

    • AAlsc says:

      Book outbound online. Then call up T-355 to add the return when the dates are released. BA may need to call you back to confirm taxes but that’s how I’ve done it twice (albeit not at T-355).

  • Adrian says:

    O/T Should I do a Marriott Platinum Challenge or Hilton Diamond?

    Rob/guys, following on from your post yesterday. Like a lot of guys on here I’m gold with the AmEx plat card for both Marriott and Hilton. As you have said from 2019 the Marriott status becomes useless.
    Marriott requires 9 stays and Hilton 8, Marriott doesn’t include reward stays on points, does Hilton? Can i book some reward stays and they will count towards the diamond requirements?

    My own circumstances, i have way more Hilton points than Marriott, I’d be staying in the USA in Sept (then the far east in Nov), so either chain will be easy to do the challenge (I’ve had permission from my wife, which is the really important part) and the coverage for both chains is good. I know the diamond benefits aren’t much over gold but i’d enjoy the guaranteed lounge access, i’d be interested in people’s thoughts, thank you

    • Pangolin says:

      Reward stays count for the Hilton Diamond challenge so it will be easier in that sense, especially if you have a ton of points to burn.

  • JPV says:

    OT: does the Amex annual cap on referral points run per card year or per calendar year?

  • ashic says:

    Was a bit late to see this, but managed to bag a 31st out, 7th return in Club World for the two of us, and daughter’s ticket coming in at £1,865.41. Unfortunately, first availability didn’t match our dates. Still, 1.796875p per avios in business isn’t too bad a deal (with the 2-4-1 voucher).

  • Nick Burch says:

    OT I’m in a Hilton Garden Inn tonight, in a “PROTOTYPE BRAND REFIT” room. General design is very nice, quite a lot of wood, fair bit of metal, quite a lot of yellow and green, but it all fits together nicely. Bathroom is very nice too, way better than most UK Hiltons have, and a big step up on the old HGI bathroom. Huge TV, nice sofa / chaise-longe thing.

    One big complaint – the desk has gone! 🙁

    • Lady London says:

      And which Hilton Garden Inn would that be, please?

      • Nick Burch says:

        Hilton Garden Inn Luton North. Only 2 rooms in the new style, and I believe they’re only being assigned to regulars and Diamonds. Rooms pre-assigned a week or so out, and you get a survey. Mine said nice room, shame about the missing desk…

  • CountryKerry says:

    OT: Has anybody seen or used the Founders Card? For $395 it seems one can acquire the equivalent of BA Silver and other benefits such as 10% off flights and Hilton Gold…

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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