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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 and they come with generous sign-up bonuses. 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.

  • FlyUpTop says:

    We witnessed recently the Muraka being constructed whilst on our stay at Rangali Island. The hotel industry in the Maldives has got very competitive and this was a big deal for Conrad Rangali to be the first with an underwater suite.
    Our host wanted to be become responsible for the guests for the Muraka, can’t imagine why? ????

  • Anna says:

    Even if I had the money I don’t think I could sleep in there for worrying that a crack would appear and water start gushing in! On the other hand, it would make a great setting for the next Jurassic Park style disaster movie!

  • BP says:

    Off topic:
    Trying to use my Creation IHG Free Night at Kimpton Muse in NYC. Rewards nights are available. Customer services have confirmed Chase Free Nights are available too but not UK Credit Card Free Nights.

    Any idea how to open this up?

    • Rob says:

      Odd. Did not think that Kimpton was restricted, unless the wording has not been updated from the time before they bought Kimpton and someone is taking it literally.

      • BP says:

        The other Kimptons in NYC are available. Muse and the new CP HY36 aren’t for some reason.

        Customer Services are telling me:
        “I would like to inform you that our credit card free night do not have blackout dates, the availability for such rate types are limited and subject to prior bookings. Our system rules state that when a hotel’s occupancy reaches a certain limit, the hotel may refrain from making additional credit card free night reservations. Further, while all calendar dates are eligible for such rate type, rooms are limited, subject to prior sale and availability of allocated resources, and may be unavailable during high demand periods. Once those rooms are reserved, the hotel can no longer offer free night rooms even if they have other rooms available for a paying rate or Rewards Nights reservation. Thus, we highly encourage you to book in advance.”

        I’m challenging that as Chase nights are available, so why not UK free nights? Seems like an inventory issue to me. This hotel has no availability all year despite Chase and reward night availability.

        • Kathy says:

          That kind of sounds like all the free nights have been earmarked for Chase credit cards and none for the UK card by the hotel.

  • Chris says:

    O/T I’ve just downgraded my BAPP to the free card and was advised on the phone I may not be able to switch back to the BAPP in the future. Is this normal and just standard amex blurb or should I consider cancelling the card if I want to get the premium card in the future? Thanks

  • Vasco says:

    Off-topic: I’ve only been on the points and miles game for a few months, so when I started, the SPG/Marriott merger was already in motion. This held me back from getting the SPG Amex, as with the uncertainty about whether the mileage transfers would continue, I didn’t think I’d be able to build a large enough balance (especially since I never stay at either Marriott or SPG hotels) to get any worthwhile amount of miles if they were shut down.

    I’ve been thinking of getting the Amex Gold Companion credit card, for the MR bonus, and I’ve already have the BAPP, but now I’m wondering if there’s any change of the earning rate on the Amex SPG being grandfathered in, and maybe I should get that one instead? Any advice?

    • Rob says:

      In the US Amex is losing the personal card in the new scheme. It only has the small business and ‘premium / high fee personal’ contract. It is not clear how that impacts the UK. The Creation mastercard returns – fact. What is the point of an Amex which would have the same interchange fee?

    • mark2 says:

      my wife received today replacement Hilton cards today, which means very little of course.

    • JPa says:

      I forgot to add Rob’s favourite BMI card that lasted for years that Rob used for his tax bill……

  • AndyGWP says:

    OT – who wants to mention their billhop referral code for me to use? (also, remind me what benefits I would get from using it) 🙂

    • Lucinda says:

      Unfortunately the referral bonus scheme has finished 🙁

      • Peter K says:

        It closed on 31st March, though people were bandying codes around after this point for some reason.

        • AndyGWP says:

          Ah – well I’ve got a few weeks till I need to use it, so will wait around just in case something pops up 🙂 – thanks both

        • Scallder says:

          indeed it stated a finish date of 31st March, however I had a succesful sign up after this date which triggered the amount. Shame it’s closed now!

  • Ali says:

    OT flying AUH-LHR Economy Saturday BA Blue, what are chances of getting an op-up or availability of AUP ex-AUH? Tried to UUA to WT+ but message came up saying fare class not eligible for upgrade using avios

  • AAlsc says:

    Given the ongoing 787 blade issues, it seems bold to be scheduling an additional flight to SCL as I can’t imagine it will all be sorted by October.

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