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I’m tentatively looking at a points redemption next October for 5 nights in Maldives at the Conrad Rangali.
HH Diamond so breakfast included.I compared a holiday package (2 adults) to include flights, sea plane transfers and 5 nights in Sunrise Water Villa on all-inclusive basis. I was getting quoted £9,150.
If I went down the point redemption route (480,000 for the 5 for 4 nights), I was getting quoted £1,100 for the return sea plane transfers, £4,420 for all-inclusive board basis (this includes the full board package + Rangali beverage package as quoted by the hotel).
And then flights from London £1,500.
So, this works out £7,020.So looks like 2k saving using the points.
However, the F&B is eye-wateringly expensive (£4,420 just for 5 nights!). I knew Maldives was expensive but that’s ridiculous. Should also add that Rangali beverage package still has exclusions (select cocktails etc.).
Any tips on where we can save on the F&B here (I understand you can’t take alcohol into Maldives from outside)Without having done much investigation into this my feeling was if you want all inclusive you’d be better off going somewhere else and paying cash- secret escapes/ luxury escapes often have some interesting looking deals
Otherwise it’s a case of not taking a package, stuffing yourself at breakfast and then PAYG keeping things reasonable. I’ve seen people doing extreme things like taking packaged food in but that doesn’t seem like much of a holiday to me!
I’d have a look at the menus and get a realistic idea of how much you’d be spending on F & B if you didn’t take the AI package. I read somewhere (maybe here!) that someone spent £500 per day on top of the free breakfast and they weren’t stinting – I’m guessing they quote an AI price based on the assumption that people will stuff themselves and drink as much as possible!
But as per SamG, a package somewhere else would probably give better value (and might include flights if you’re paying cash). My feeling is that a high-end HH points redemption is better value somewhere you have more choice about where you eat and drink.
Could you ask the hotel to price match the same package? You’ll probably get a chunk of points, plus the safety of dealing directly with hotel in case of problems.
Thanks guys
Another HH Diamond (and Gold) benefit is the complimentary cocktails/mocktails Happy Hour, so we could just opt for the full board package + non-alcoholic drinks package. This would work out at £3180, so over a grand less but still feels a lot.
Need to have a proper think with this one!
When we last went a late breakfast took us through to dinner and while not cheap, it was not horrendous. Our favorite place was actually the main bar because it was more relaxed and you are looking at about $30ish for a main dish. We would use the sunset cocktails which rolled into happy hour (2-4-1 when we were there) so all in all our food and beverage was nowhere near the cost of paying upfront that you are quoting even when we ate at a couple of the fancier restaurants.
The menus are online. Take a look and make a budget allowing a little extra for when the mood takes you. It is a holiday after all.
I think that’s the best way to go if you’re not planning to eat and drink to excess! How much was the transfer when you went?
Lots of AI packages in the Maldives seem to assume massive excess. Prices have shot up further post pandemic though. Last time we went we got 5* AI for £325/nt at what is now Nova. Next year we are paying over double that. A slightly better resort, but not massively so.
There are a lot of Chinese visitors to the Maldives and anyone who has visited Shanghai will know there are a lot of very wealthy Chinese people. I guess it’s like the premium you pay in the Caribbean in countries well-connected to the USA.
I read once that the Maldivian government is trying to raise as much revenue as possible before the islands are submerged due to rising sea levels and they have to relocate the population to some massive tract of land they have purchased in Australia!
Lots of AI packages in the Maldives seem to assume massive excess. Prices have shot up further post pandemic though. Last time we went we got 5* AI for £325/nt at what is now Nova. Next year we are paying over double that. A slightly better resort, but not massively so.
There are a lot of Chinese visitors to the Maldives and anyone who has visited Shanghai will know there are a lot of very wealthy Chinese people. I guess it’s like the premium you pay in the Caribbean in countries well-connected to the USA.
It’s not really “massive excess” it’s the terrible wastage that comes from AI packages that pushes the prices to bonkers levels. The price also relates to the huge costs and complications of importing the food, and almost all of it is imported, including most of the ‘local’ seafood. The imported meat and fish is also principally frozen and what happens thereafter is quite shocking given the nutty prices people pay.
In respect of AI, the Chinese are not usually great drinkers so that’s a saving, but they do like getting full value from the food. However, many aren’t so familiar with western food so they often take a bit of everything but eat only about a third.
It’s a truly bizarre holiday destination.
There are a lot of Chinese visitors to the Maldives and anyone who has visited Shanghai will know there are a lot of very wealthy Chinese people. I guess it’s like the premium you pay in the Caribbean in countries well-connected to the USA.
Are there a lot of Chinese visitors this year? Almost all tourist spots and airlines report less demand from China outbound tourism this year, not surprising given the economic insecurity there right now.
Lots of AI packages in the Maldives seem to assume massive excess. Prices have shot up further post pandemic though. Last time we went we got 5* AI for £325/nt at what is now Nova. Next year we are paying over double that. A slightly better resort, but not massively so.
It’s not really “massive excess” it’s the terrible wastage that comes from AI packages that pushes the prices to bonkers levels. The price also relates to the huge costs and complications of importing the food, and almost all of it is imported, including most of the ‘local’ seafood. The imported meat and fish is also principally frozen and what happens thereafter is quite shocking given the nutty prices people pay.
That’s not quite my point: if you tot up the restaurant bill based on what you would expect to eat and drink and then compare to the AI package, many resorts charge a very significant premium. I think they are preying on people’s fear of an unknown bill for all the import reasons you mention. I spotted on charging almost $200 pp uplift from FB to AI. Even at Maldives prices, that is an awful lot to drink every day.
There are a lot of Chinese visitors to the Maldives and anyone who has visited Shanghai will know there are a lot of very wealthy Chinese people. I guess it’s like the premium you pay in the Caribbean in countries well-connected to the USA.
Are there a lot of Chinese visitors this year? Almost all tourist spots and airlines report less demand from China outbound tourism this year, not surprising given the economic insecurity there right now.
I have no idea because I have not is year. My speculation was that an additional large pool of wealthy tourists has driven up prices.
As much as we love visiting, we suspect next year might be our last time as so many other places are better value.
For us AI wouldn’t be worth it.
Breakfast included with status anyway.
We’re not really hungry at lunchtime in the heat.
Happy hour (free) and then happy hour half price tides us over for booze with the odd drink during the day.
Evening meal is the biggest expense but overall we are better off without AI.
With AI you’d have to be eating and drinking heavily day after day, fine if you can do it and want to but it’s not for us.Thanks guys
Another HH Diamond (and Gold) benefit is the complimentary cocktails/mocktails Happy Hour, so we could just opt for the full board package + non-alcoholic drinks package. This would work out at £3180, so over a grand less but still feels a lot.
Need to have a proper think with this one!
Is there no happy hour for gold members?
Another HH Diamond (and Gold)
Yes, the quote you quoted states:
Another HH Diamond (and Gold) benefit
🙂
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