Best of the Maldives: Proposal Coaching – Conrad Rangali Maldives

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Conrad Rangali underwater wedding proposal

Happy Valentines Day. The epicentre of romance in the annual calendar. As such, one of the most popular days for people to propose. And with the Maldives being the geographical epicentre of romance, when the two combine expect big things. Like Conrad Maldives Rangali Island’s “Marry Me” packages…

“Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is launching a ‘MarryMe’ package for those planning to pop the question on Valentine’s Day. Priced at US$150, the package includes a bottle of celebratory champagne and assistance from the resort in planning the proposal. As part of the offer, couples dining in Ithaa undersea restaurant on February 14 can use the services of the dive centre for a memorable underwater proposal, complete with a diver swimming outside the windows of the restaurant to help ask the question.”

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Best of Maldives: Staff Profiles – Mirihi

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Mirihi staff

May Day! May Day! Not a call for help (unless you need service from a helpful staffer), but a call to celebrate workers and the contributions they make to our lives and society. Most resorts often go to special measures to support and a highlight the distinctive quality of their staff who are essential to making a guest’s stay the most relaxing and trouble-free. Lori and I always enjoy meeting new folks from the resort and hearing their accounts of living in paradise. In many cases, this internationally renowned destination draws people from all over the world to work here.

I especially enjoyed the Mirihi email newsletter they send out to guests which features a staff profile. A recent edition included intros to Naaz (Front office Agent), Raoof (Front office Agent), Jalil (Front office Agent), Sara (Boutique Hostess), Aulam (Gardener), and Mahir (Gardener). They are all assembled in the group photo together.

On the occasion of labor day, I’ve added yet another category tag to the site – “Maldivian Staff”.

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Best of the Maldives: Horticultural Service – One & Only Reethi Rah

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palm tree moving

 

Orthogonal, inverted or just in the way, One and Only Reethi Rah will make adjustments to ensure that your view of the sunset is just perfect. They will even change the landscape. Reethi actually moved a palm tree for a guest who found it obstructing his view. The resort regularly move trees on island as they actively cultivate the lush flora so they had the means to do it.

At first blush, it seems quite decadent (well, at second and third blush too), but I can empathise. One of my pet peeves is when dining areas are obstructed by foliage especially when they are relatively close to the water. I am as big a fan of nature as the next person, but if I am sitting close enough to the ocean to hear its mini-Maldivian waves tickling the shoreline, I would like to be able glance over my fish curry to have an admiring glance at it. And I can never figure out why such resorts don’t clear the foliage to enhance the diners’ views. But Reethi will enhance just about anything in any way to get it just right.

(picture above not from Reethi though)

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Best of the Maldives: Bike Return Service – One & Only Reethi Rah

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One and Only Reethi Rah bicycle homing service Purple Passport

For a considerably bigger treat brought to you from anywhere on the island, One & Only Reethi Rah provides a bike “homing service”. You’ve ridden your personal bike somewhere and then wandered off for a stroll down the beach. Or you’ve ridden it to the bar and had one cocktail too many to consider operating any sort of vehicle much less an unsteady one. Or you are in a rush for something and grab a buggy. Well, Reethi staff return left bike back to your villa when they find them around the island.

Reethi phone home.

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Best of the Maldives: Custom Mini-Bar – LUX Maldives

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LUX Maldives customer mini bar

When you knock at the door of the LUX Maldives mini-bar today, you don’t have to be content with stale candy corn, apple or a rock. You can customise your mini-bar with your own personal snack-dictions. For example, one couple asked for chilled cucumber for their mini-bar (to put on their eyes).

Treat trick!

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Best of the Maldives: Refresher Service – Kurumba

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Kurumba refresher service

 

 

What does a professional tennis player coming off the court have in common with a guest arriving at a resort? They both can’t wait to get a refreshing towel and satisfying beverage.

The cold scented towels handed out on arrival is one of our favourite parts of visiting the Maldives. One dividend to our island hopping touring is that we get one of these fragrant face refreshers every day.

But on Kurumba, you can have it with every tide. Twice a day a staff member takes around scented, cool towels to guests on the beach. Also, you can request them at the restaurants and bars.

A most refreshing holiday!

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Best of the Maldives: Nature Guide Book – Gangehi

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Gangehi guide 2

One of the first things that I do when I arrive at a hotel room is to gather all of the marketing literature sprinkled liberally around the room and move it to some out of the way place. Lots of glossy material with pictures of palm trees and pina coladas that are not that interesting to me.

But Gangehi has created a booklet that was so good I brought it home. It is a guide to the plants and animals found on the resort. Fish guides are quite popular in the gift shops, but this is more land focused. The tropical life on the land has its own intriguing variety, colour and distinction. It’s great to have such a handy guide. You can buy natural guide books, but most cover the entire Indian Ocean and therefore are quite heavy (taking up precious luggage weight). Also, they tend to be so comprehensive it is often hard to find the particular creature you are seeking. Gangehi’s guide is limited to those critters found on the island itself so it is quite concise.

Beach reading!

Gangehi guide

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Best of Maldives: Airport Terminal – Shangri-La Villingili

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Shangri-La Villingili Gan airport terminal

One of the best ways to see the otherworldly images of the Maldives is by taking a seaplane transfer to your resort. In the beginning, such transfers were cumbersome affairs where you sat in a sweaty, open-air hangar. But now, most of the 5-stars have developed their own swanky lounges at Male airport for seaplane transfers with cappuccino, tropical juices and other amenities. Shangri-La Villingili have gone one step further building an entire dedicated terminal…

“’The terminal, at Gan International Airport in Addu Atoll, is a five-minute speedboat ride to the resort and is for the exclusive arrival and departure of the resort’s guests. A private lounge offers one-stop immigration, custom and baggage screening services. ‘With Gan airport, we have found the ideal partner to provide guests arriving by private jet a unique experience, unmatched convenience and privacy,’ said Rene D. Egle, the resort’s general manager. Guests taking advantage of the new private jet terminal also can try the resort’s ‘Private Jet Experience,’ which features a stay in a 10,000-square-foot presidential villa with a butler and daily massage. Those who fly by private jet can now land five minutes from paradise. Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa is the first five-star resort in the Maldives to open its own private executive airport terminal.”

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