Conrad Maldives

The Maldives portion of our most recent Epic journey was meant to quickly shake off the stresses of New York, and snap us directly into vacation mode. What a treat we had in store for us at the Conrad Maldives on Rangali Island.

Conrad Lounge while waiting for our prop plane to take us to Rangali island

Flying into Male, a Conrad host picked us up for the bus transport to their lounge, where we could await our plane for the short flight to Rangali Island. The lounge was a treat in itself- besides a fully stocked kitchen, there were showers, iPads, and a free massage. We waited about 45min for the next flight, then boarded the prop plane.

Our descent into Rangali Island’s Conrad

Upon landing, our island host gave us cold towels and a cocktail while giving us a rundown of the facilities. As soon as my feet touched the sand, the shoes stayed off for the next 5 days.

The first step from the plane onto the welcome pontoon.

Our first quiet minutes in the King Beach Villa, with outdoor soaking tub, open-air bathroom, and sandy path to the Ocean were wonderfully transformative.  We munched on the complimentary chocolates and fruit by the water, watching the fruit bats snack in the trees above, and following sand crabs transcribing tracks below.

View from the bathroom through the fountain atrium to the bedroom

Watching for nature’s interlopers became one of my favorite things to do. Fruit Bats, “changeable” lizards, Grey Herons, reef sharks, Sandpipers, and even an Octopus on the house reef became our travel companions, and I got a nasty sunburn watching the octopus watch me.

Fruit bat outside the villa

Our first evening at the Conrad Maldives, we strolled to the sandy Rangali bar for a few cocktails, planning our adventures for the next few days. We explored the islands options, then shared a bottle of champagne in the massive outdoor soaking tub before bed.

The adult-only “Quiet Zone”‘s infinity pool at night

The beach was consistently quiet- over the 5 days, we only saw one other couple. Every morning, we would wake at 6am, make some tea, and watch the animals wake with the sun. We are not morning people, so trust me when I say the sunrise view is worth it.

A private sunrise swim outside our villa

Breakfast at Vilu is slightly more formal than at the Atoll Market. The food is a combination of service and buffet, with fresh local fruits and nuts, pastries, and made-to-order breakfast items ( the crispy waffles with bananas and maple syrup were our favorites).

Our breakfast table at Vilu

Many guests pre-plot how to get the most bang for your buck here at the Conrad Maldives. Meals are very expensive here, so some pace their free meals throughout the day in order to sustain them until the one paid meal in the evening. Scared by the warnings of bloggers gone by, we packed protein bars to the interims and never ate them- so please feel free to break fast whenever you deem appropriate.

Under Sea restaurant “Ithaa”

Ithaa is one of those things you feel like you have to do while here, and then feel gypped afterwards. We visited for afternoon cocktails, which included two glasses of champagne and some canapes. The other guests that came after us stayed to take pictures, gulped their mocktails, and left within 15 minutes. Feeling we needed value, we stayed for a full 30min, but the space was hot, the canapes were tiny, and the drinks unenjoyable. I recommend that if you do feel like you must visit, do so for a meal- with $130 cocktails, I might as well have thrown my money into the sea instead of dining under it.

Afternoon tea at Mandhoo Restaurant

Afternoon tea, on the other hand, gets very crowded daily. The (free) assorted tea, sandwiches, and desserts were a lovely addition to our days, and slightly made up for the thievery of Ithaa. Plus, the view ain’t bad…..

There is no such thing as too many sunsets

Dinner that evening: back to Vilu for the $195 tasting menu with wine. This meal was very good, from the bread with roasted garlic, tomatoes and variety of oils and vinegars for the table, to the quartet of chocolate goodies for dessert.

Vilu Dinner degustation as of June 2013

The one hitch was the tenderloin- it was caked with black peppercorns, which both of us scraped off. We mentioned this to the waiter, who seemed to think that this was something to brush off as a matter of personal preference. In the words of my husband, “No one in their right mind would ever eat that much pepper.”

AngusTenderloin with Foie

No evening at the Conrad Maldives was complete without some time on the bridge between islands, watching the resident 7 foot Manta eat his dinner. Facilitated by lamplight, the Manta would systematically hunt for plankton, shrimp, and algae, and guests would “ooh and ahhh” as it gulped and gaped. We were allowed some amazing insight into these filter feeders, yet another instance where nature is truly mindboggling.

The manta ray’s nightly feeding under the bridge

Up bright and early the next morning, we popped over to Atoll Market for a quick brekkie before a day of diving. I personally prefer the buffet breakfast here over Vilu; An assortment of delicious cheeses, honey dripping straight from the comb, an international spread including more savory asian options, and your typical american offerings round out my perfect breakfast utopia.

Delicious Breakfast at Atoll Market

Mission for the day: find a whale shark. This has been a quest of mine for quite sometime, barely missing these beautifully massive creatures in Mexico, Thailand, and Mozambique. With an assurance of 90% chance of sightings for our $400 three-tank dives, we set off with fingers crossed. Long story short- we saw many turtles, leaf scorpionfish, black-tip sharks, moray eels, and a color-morphing octopus. No whale sharks.

Leaf Scorpionfish- venomous and beautiful

It was still a beautiful day of diving, but determined to see Whale Sharks before we left the island, we booked a Whale Shark Snorkeling trip for the following day (another cool $200 each). We spent the rest of the day at the beach, then to the free Hilton Gold members happy hour for  at Vilu, with high hopes for the next day’s excursion.

Heron walking past my beach chair

We ate at Mandhoo that evening, where they base the organic menus on the elements. The food was light and fresh, and the waiters here were consistently congenial.

Sage chicken breast on Pumpkin and shallot risotto

The next morning, another breakfast at Atoll Market, and another failed attempt to see whale sharks. By this point, I was truly upset about missing a sighting for the umpteenth time, but had to snap back to the reality that I was in one of the most beautiful places in the world. We did see flying fish, a massive manta, and some dolphins on the return to the Conrad Maldives, so not all was lost.

flying fish scattering with the waves

An evening fishing trip rounded out our last evening, where we dangled handheld reels into the water and hoped for the best. Neither of us managed to catch a single thing, but a small Taiwanese woman caught a batfish as big as her upper torso. We ate chips for dinner that evening.

the fishing boat’s flag flying over our final Maldivian sunset

With one final breakfast at the Buffet, one final shower en plein air, and one last wave to our slice of heaven, back on the prop plane we flew to Male, wishing for another stint in paradise. Next time, maybe on a company card….