I think the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island deserves a good shaming for what they’ve done the past couple of days.
People go to the Maldives thanks to just how many islands there are. The best resorts are on their own private islands, and with some hotels having only dozens of rooms, you may be on an island with just one or two hundred guests, at most. This creates seclusion and relaxation you can’t find in many other places.
Well, there are reports that for the past couple of days the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island has essentially been hosting a cruise ship. They’ve done this at the expense of their guests, without warning them in advance.
“MS The World” is the world’s largest privately owned residential yacht, so it’s basically full of people who either constantly cruise around the world, or who have a suite onboard and only use it sometimes. It has a crew of approximately 280, and on average apparently has 150-200 passengers onboard.
The ship sails around the world, and for the past couple of days it has been docked just off the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, and they’ve been bringing guests to the hotel.
The Conrad is apparently already at 100% capacity for Valentine’s Day, and during the day an average of 80-100 guests are apparently being brought from the cruise ship to the island.
As FlyerTalk stormbandit describes it:
People stripping down to their underwear to go swimming (and it didn’t stay on very well or at all in one case)
The beach looked like a New York sidewalk with people all day long, no peace and quiet.
People window peeking into the beach villas and taking pictures of what they saw there. I have no idea if they saw people, but I ran into one guy on my path and told him to GFO.
Snorklers standing on the reef, walking on the reef, breaking off pieces of coral to play catch with.
Trash left all over the beaches.
There wasn’t a seat to be had at the pool, Rangali Bar or the Quiet Zone, which wasn’t quiet.
What a flipping disaster. My wife and I decided we are never coming back.
I imagine the hotel is being well paid by the cruise ship for this. However, it’s sad that they’re so willing to sacrifice the guest experience for short term gain like this.
Apparently this isn’t the first year that the cruise ship has docked at the Conrad, as it sure seems to me like they’re one of the few resorts in the Maldives that’s willing to do this.
So while chances are that you won’t deal with this if you stay here, it is something to be aware of…
(Tip of the hat @Sinter27)
Hey there, Rog.
6 billion Chinese, eh? May I ask what planet you live on? I didn't know that mainland Chinese had emigrated to any other planets although they seem to have overrun ours. Or is it that you are 5y.o and haven't started learning math yet.
"Do the math before you think you can comment on ALL Chinese tourists.", LMFAO!
Regardless, seems you do live on another planet since you think that...
Hey there, Rog.
6 billion Chinese, eh? May I ask what planet you live on? I didn't know that mainland Chinese had emigrated to any other planets although they seem to have overrun ours. Or is it that you are 5y.o and haven't started learning math yet.
"Do the math before you think you can comment on ALL Chinese tourists.", LMFAO!
Regardless, seems you do live on another planet since you think that you need 100% of a group to behave in a certain way to make a generalization about them. Look up the word 'generalization', you naive moron.
I am a Chinese mainlander. Almost all Chinese residents are currently under travel restrictions, i.e. there would be not so many Chinese residents who would travel to Maldive at this moment. Besides, most of the Chinese tourists nowadays are behaving well because we are rich enough to learn how to behave in a good manner, much better than some arrogant white trash.
I don't know who has raised the concern that all rude occasions are...
I am a Chinese mainlander. Almost all Chinese residents are currently under travel restrictions, i.e. there would be not so many Chinese residents who would travel to Maldive at this moment. Besides, most of the Chinese tourists nowadays are behaving well because we are rich enough to learn how to behave in a good manner, much better than some arrogant white trash.
I don't know who has raised the concern that all rude occasions are attributed to Chinese tourists. I don't think that is fair bro.
Very shocked that this website tolerates racism to such a horrifying extent. I will say this once and move on with my life:
Unless you can somehow prove ALL Chinese tourists behave in the way you describe, stop making racist generalizations. There are more than 6 billion Chinese people, how many have you met? Do the math before you think you can comment on ALL Chinese tourists.
Instead, I suggest use phrases like...
Very shocked that this website tolerates racism to such a horrifying extent. I will say this once and move on with my life:
Unless you can somehow prove ALL Chinese tourists behave in the way you describe, stop making racist generalizations. There are more than 6 billion Chinese people, how many have you met? Do the math before you think you can comment on ALL Chinese tourists.
Instead, I suggest use phrases like "many/some Chinese tourists"/ "almost all the Chinese tourists that I HAVE SEEN" when you describe your PERSONAL LIMITED OBSERVATIONS.
Also, to the Vietnamese/Chinese person, saying that you are Vietnamese/Chinese before you start your racist rant doesn't make you look any less racist.
First let me say I am Chinese/Vietnamese. Mainland Chinese tourist are the Fucking worst. They have no manners and would literally take a piss on the damn sidewalk ( yes I have seen it all). They make me ashamed but the stereotype is 100% correct. Fuck these cunts as they also talk extremely loud and take 5000 pics of stuff.
TripRep, I asked on their FB page what special events they had for Valentines Day a week or so before we came. Received no response. Seems they did have special events planned but that didn’t include guests.
Surprised there's no mention of this on their Facebook page?
Surely the resort know about these concerns?
I am currently at the resort and was here on that Valentines day massacre by the World cruise ship passengers and pervs taking pics of teenage girls and peeping into private secluded villas. Flying drones invading privacy. Maybe there is a reason some of them sail around the world and call a ship home while evading law enforcement.
I tried to go to the Quite zone (how ironic this day) but too packed for...
I am currently at the resort and was here on that Valentines day massacre by the World cruise ship passengers and pervs taking pics of teenage girls and peeping into private secluded villas. Flying drones invading privacy. Maybe there is a reason some of them sail around the world and call a ship home while evading law enforcement.
I tried to go to the Quite zone (how ironic this day) but too packed for a seat and to get any service. I witnessed the housewives of the World taking over the the plunge pool with champagne glasses in hand late afternoon/early evening in Rangali bar which was too packed as well and understaffed to get a pre-dinner drink.
I've had many visits to this resort and thought it worth the enormous spend for the exclusiveness but hotel management is too greedy and risked the success they have had to allow this horde in.
Too all these people making comments that aren't familiar with the resort I'd say that at the minimum the $600 per person seaplane ride (with taxes) to get here should assure you some degree of exclusivity.
@Tracy
Hi there, Mr/Ms Uninformed Hypocrite. I didn't say they were the only bad tourists, duh. Second, you should read some news on the subject, including news by their government telling them how to act, then come live here (mainland China) like I have been for the last 15yrs. You will see them spit, piss and defecate on the street like they sometimes do when they travel overseas. Then maybe, just maybe, u'll accept...
@Tracy
Hi there, Mr/Ms Uninformed Hypocrite. I didn't say they were the only bad tourists, duh. Second, you should read some news on the subject, including news by their government telling them how to act, then come live here (mainland China) like I have been for the last 15yrs. You will see them spit, piss and defecate on the street like they sometimes do when they travel overseas. Then maybe, just maybe, u'll accept reality and STFU. Oh yeah, and you might wanna review your hypocritical attitude as pointed out by Ivan N. LMFAO!
FEI, I have found out that these cruise ship 'invasions' have been happening on a regular basis at the Conrad so it's nothing to do with the new management.
Second, this part of the reply from the resort, "Some of the cruise ship guests were given restricted access to the resort in order to dine at some of our restaurants and visit our spa." is complete BS. One example; they had access to the main pool after 6PM closing time and were TOLD to use it by staff while paying guests were told to get out. Real nice.
Thirdly, they had a drone which they were flying and invading people's privacy with, without permission. Security had to be called to make them stop. This happened with them walking up private villa pathways with GoPros on more than one occasion. Again, security was called but by that time they had gone once their movie-making had been interrupted.
Basically there were many who took it as a visit to an uninhabited island and were behaving accordingly. Sad indeed.
Sounds horrendous.
Totally unacceptable.
Be interested to see how the Hilton group respond to a disastrous failure by the new management. This reflects very poorly on the excellent Conrad brand.
After two excellent stays (see my reviews) I will not be returning unless I was certain that this could never happen again.
If it happened to me on a cash stay I would persue a full refund by whatever means possible.
@David. Met Akinori several times but never saw Stefano or heard anything about him while we were there, so thanks for the correction.
@DSK
Akinori Ito is the Hotel Manager. Stefano Ruzza is the General Manager.
@ Mr X
As someone who is here with my daughter I am actually appalled by your story and the resort’s attempt to cover it up. Thank you for sharing it. The existence of a predatory paedophile on the island is something which Conrad should have dealt with in the firmest terms possible and then updated all guests on the island about. Anything else is wildly irresponsible.
@Daniel M
Already the staff are telling blatant lies externally as well.
Restricted access to dining and spa is a completely unfactual statement. It is insulting to those that were there, knew better and were deeply impacted.
I am astounded by the boldness of this resort’s actions.
I wrote to the hotel as a future guest to convey my dismay about the incident, and they responded as follows:
Dear Mr. X,
Thank you for your email and concerns regarding the one day visit of MS The World.
Please note the resident cruise liner was docked outside the lagoon of the resort on 14th February 2019. Some of the cruise ship guests were given restricted access to the resort in order to dine...
I wrote to the hotel as a future guest to convey my dismay about the incident, and they responded as follows:
Dear Mr. X,
Thank you for your email and concerns regarding the one day visit of MS The World.
Please note the resident cruise liner was docked outside the lagoon of the resort on 14th February 2019. Some of the cruise ship guests were given restricted access to the resort in order to dine at some of our restaurants and visit our spa. They arrived at 10:00am and departed shortly after dinner service at 10:00pm.
There are no plans to have any cruise liners visit Conrad Maldives in the near future.
The privacy of our guests is of the utmost importance to us and our management team have already reached out to the guest who has shared concerns regarding the cruise liner’s visit yesterday.
In light of the above information, we do hope you will reconsider to stay with us.
With kind regards,
X
I am writing to share a true story, offered in facts only, about the endangerment of a teenage girl at Conrad Rangali, due to the actions of a visitor from The World and the absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable inaction of Conrad Rangali management and staff that could have easily prevented this incident and/or made even a paltry attempt to apologize for/rectify same.
The below is long but warranted and I encourage anyone that has visited...
I am writing to share a true story, offered in facts only, about the endangerment of a teenage girl at Conrad Rangali, due to the actions of a visitor from The World and the absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable inaction of Conrad Rangali management and staff that could have easily prevented this incident and/or made even a paltry attempt to apologize for/rectify same.
The below is long but warranted and I encourage anyone that has visited this property or is considering a reservation (or indeed any Conrad/Hilton branded property not owned by Hilton) to deeply consider the below, and to challenge Hilton to help rectify the conditions that created a hostile environment, the horrific event itself and the absurdly inadequate follow through and follow up.
Brief Background
My wife and I have just completed a third itinerary on Conrad Rangali Island (2015/2017/2019). Many details and opinions have been shared over the past few days in the significant wake left by the visiting “The World” ship and its visitors. So far, none of the stories have provided the very worst of the experiences hotel guests were subjected to. Below I make an effort to give a strictly factual account of an extraordinarily negative experience my wife and I, but more directly impacted another family of hotel guests, were subjected to by a specific visitor from “The World”.
I have waited to share this report until my wife and I, along with the other family negatively impacted by this series of events, have left the island. Why? In order to afford the hotel management every possible opportunity to explain, apologize for and rectify the situation they created. Additionally, my wife and I strived to salvage a minimum level of service and intimacy while still at the resort prior to our departure and felt the hotel staff, management and the General Manager Stefano Ruzza could retaliate or intimidate us if we shared this story publicly prior to leaving.
I can sadly say that all of the above efforts and good faith on our parts led to zero reaction from the hotel beyond an offer a “safe travels home today” from General Manager Stefano Ruzza. In fact, when all of our upgraded room costs didn’t appear on the final folio/bill I wondered if finally some token of apology was being offered in a financial sense, only for my host Katarina to “fix” the mistake after I inquired and she added the charges back to the costs of the stay. And she admitted she knew well of our interactions with the visitors and management. I am at a total loss...
Facts
1. Once the visitors of The World arrived and began competing (yes competing) for resort amenities, two separate resort Conrad Rangali managers informed me on more than two separate occasions that visitors of The World were not permitted to enter private areas (read: resident rooms) or to use the pool facilities. Both of these “rules” were brazenly ignored by visitors from The World without consequence of any kind. The former has been well documented.
2. Managers were informed on multiple occasions that both of the above restrictions were continuing to be violated. Repeated calls to management to intervene were ignored for several hours.
3. Growing impatient, the General Manager Stefano Ruzza was contacted via phone by me personally after I failed to “get through” to his staff. Later Stefano Ruzza visited in-person the Quiet Zone Pool to allay concern to me individually, and he warranted/made promises to fix the situation. Unfortunately no change whatsoever was effected.
4. Within one hour of Stefano Ruzza’s visit to the Quiet Zone Pool, a 40-50 year old male visitor of The World was caught by two hotel guests photographing the teenage daughter of the aforementioned family, as she was sunbathing face down next to her parents in the Quiet Zone in a bikini. This man was already present at he Quiet Zone Pool when Stefano Ruzza came to the that location to comfort hotel guests, namely me.
5. The parents of that teenage girl were informed of the incident by the witnessing hotel guests immediately and the parents elected to confront the man immediately and called hotel security.
6. The visitor did not deny taking the photographs, explaining that he “takes lots of pictures but I deleted the one of the girl.”
7. When the visitor was asked if he had taken photos of other guests he remained completely silent, and tried to intimidate the hotel guests by glaring back at them.
8. He refused to leave the Quiet Zone Pool when asked to do so by hotel guests.
9. The situation quickly escalated to verbal altercation with the visitor and several hotel guests. After several minutes he reluctantly left the Quiet Zone with his significant other.
10. The visitor and his significant other “exited” by heading from the Quiet Zone Pool in the direction of Vilu, and then turning into the foliage near sunbathing furniture on the beachfront.
11. Hotel security arrived approximately twelve minutes after they were called, and well after the offending visitor left the scene.
12. Security conducted interviews of guests and “encouraged” us that they found no photo of the visitor’s phone once he was located, and that he voluntarily left the resort so “everything was fine now”.
13. A third passenger of The World visit the resort who witnessed the events mentioned above brought her mobile device to the security guards, the family and the hotel guest witnesses, helping to positively identify the man and his significant other and reported that “this kind of thing has been a real problem on the ship even with [their] own teenage daughter.”
14. No apology was offered by the hotel security or management. Instead they asked for guest names and room numbers without even informing them what they intended to do with that information. To clarify, prior to any form of communication the question was “what is your name and room number.” No inquiry was made to emotional or physical well being whatsoever.
15. When The World’s own security guard was later confronted at reception on the behavior of his clients he laughed disdainfully in the face of hotel guests without repercussion from hotel management or staff.
16. No explanation of the conditions put upon hotel guests by the hotel’s ownership/operating flag management was afforded to guests in advance, during, or after the events of Valentine’s Day. In other words, this entire event was a complete and unwelcome surprise to anyone not wearing a resort name badge.
17. On the morning of February 15th, General Manager Stefano Ruzza approached both the family and the witnessing guests together at breakfast at Atoll and asked “How are you doing today?” After curt replies the immediate the second question he offered was “Are you ready to go home now?” No further questions were offered. He clearly was ready to assuage himself of the presence of his own guests. The family impacted was on their TWELFTH trip to the resort.
18. No further interaction from hotel management was offered.
Consideration
1. A teenage girl was put in harm’s way. Her safety was marginalized both before during and after the events described above due to inaction from the management company and owner. In truth, any hotel guest could have been as equally impacted. But one of the most at-risk was targeted
2. The hotel staff and specifically the General Manager did NOTHING to allay the concerns of the hotel guests, did NOTHING to remove The World visitors from areas they were not permitted to enter (according to his own delivery of rules to hotel guests when he visited the Quiet Zone Pool), and NOTHING to rectify the situation with either the girl, her family or the guests nearby
3. February, and Valentine’s Day in particular, are PEAK holidays for the resort
4. With full occupancy, or even total vacancy, there is no financial incentive that warrants putting hotel guests, especially their children, at risk to predatory activity or invasion of privacy in any manner whatsoever
5. The level of conversation on Flyer Talk, One Mile At A Time and other online forums is extremely under-representative of hotel guest disgust with the situation. Many hotel guests witnessed the events and discussed them openly at tea and happy hour. Guests were literally in shock and remained so on the following day. The mood of the resort last night and this morning was abysmal and a significant departure from previous days.
Some Personal Thoughts
The hotel and now the Hilton brand must explain why they failed to protect their guests, to adequately prepare for a well-known event that would strain the property, staff, resources/amenities and the paying guests, and worst of all why they deem it acceptable to expose their clients to predatory activity with no adequate discussion/warning/preparation prior to, during, or in the aftermath.
Many at the resort and online are discussing the idea of not returning to Conrad Rangali, whereas I am considering dropping the Hilton brand altogether. I have never seen a more disgusting lapse in judgement, professionalism or human decency in more than 15 years of professional and personal travel/business.
I implore all of you to ask yourself serious questions, and to ask them of the hotel and the Hilton flag as well.
This is not a story about the inconveniencing of guests at a routine resort. This is not a story about race, income equality, self righteousness or privilege. This is a story about safety and reputation, which were each obliterated in a number of hours. This was an affront on the safety of people who have invested years of time, money and thoughtful care toward planning and paying for a lifetime dream trip - ruined - and many on the most sacred day they might share with their significant others.
Conclusion
If any of you think I am embellishing or being dishonest, if any of you question why this post is authored by an anonymous identity, know that the Hilton brand, ownership and/or the resort can easily contact me. How? They have had and still have my information as I identified myself to several managers, the GM and to security before, during and after the incidents by name and room number. I spoke personally to the General Manager Stefano Ruzza. They know who I am. As it has been, the proverbial ball is in their playing court. I stand by everything I have stated above and it should have been noted formally by their security personnel. If not, what does that imply?
The above episode is indeed an ominous omen of things to come at this resort. Assuming this is a Conrad flag but not a Hilton-owned resort, my supposition is the hotel will lose its flag shortly, and it should. What happens with staff will be an afterthought. I am sad to think we might not be going back. I am very glad I had the opportunity to stay at the resort in its prime, when Lyle was manager and before the recent sale of the property.
I am not asking the resort, the ownership and Hilton to do the “right” thing, the definition of which being highly subjective.
I am asking them to do _any_ thing.
This is my first and last post. I need to move on.
What's outrageous? The whole thing is a tourist trap for Americans. Muslims there have the last laugh!
[email protected]. ??? Conrad Maldives has a new GM? You sure he was the GM? Where did Stefano go?
I'm surprised by all the people that say that rich people cannot be classless. Not naming any current political figures, but self-indulgent and narcissistic rich people would be exactly the kind of people that would wreck havoc on an exclusive resort without caring about the property or its guests. Have you ever seen rich people party? Google Paris Hilton, Nichole Richie, and Kim Kardashian back in the early 2000's - back then they were rich...
I'm surprised by all the people that say that rich people cannot be classless. Not naming any current political figures, but self-indulgent and narcissistic rich people would be exactly the kind of people that would wreck havoc on an exclusive resort without caring about the property or its guests. Have you ever seen rich people party? Google Paris Hilton, Nichole Richie, and Kim Kardashian back in the early 2000's - back then they were rich people just known for partying and debauchery before landing their own shows and brands. Not every rich person is sitting around drinking tea and eating crumpets.
An important point to know about MS The World is that it not as exclusive as it sounds. Owners of units can rent them out, and do, and the company that owns the ship also rents out units (might be everything has to be done through them, not sure of the mechanics). So it's not exclusively occupied by a bunch of people who paid $5 million, plus annual costs, for their apartment at sea. It's...
An important point to know about MS The World is that it not as exclusive as it sounds. Owners of units can rent them out, and do, and the company that owns the ship also rents out units (might be everything has to be done through them, not sure of the mechanics). So it's not exclusively occupied by a bunch of people who paid $5 million, plus annual costs, for their apartment at sea. It's expensive, but that is no guarantee you won't have drunken louts running around, especially when they're off the ship and have a chance to let their hair down. It wouldn't take all that many people to spoil the atmosphere there, especially when it's a bunch of people on a day trip off their cruise ship when they've been on their best behavior not to get the unit owner in trouble.
We just got back and fortunately missed MS The World by about a week. We had a wonderful five nights at the Conrad Maldives and fall into the category of this is a really big deal. The resort was already at 100% capacity due to the Chinese New Year, and we would have been seriously upset by the incident. We met the General Manager several times (he is from Japan), and he seems like a...
We just got back and fortunately missed MS The World by about a week. We had a wonderful five nights at the Conrad Maldives and fall into the category of this is a really big deal. The resort was already at 100% capacity due to the Chinese New Year, and we would have been seriously upset by the incident. We met the General Manager several times (he is from Japan), and he seems like a nice guy and genuinely was looking for feedback. We weren't looking for him--he was doing outreach at various event. I don't have his business card but judging from the business cards of others, I think it is first name-dot-last name at conradhotels.com. If anyone is thinking of going and wants to e-mail him to confirm that no ships will offload passengers during his or her stay, I'm guessing the GM's e-mail address is [email protected]. If someone has his business card and this e-mail address is incorrect, feel free to correct me.
Put us in the category of this is NOT sloppy journalism but a real concern for anyone coming from thousands of miles away and taking a sea plane to get to this resort. Hopefully this was an experiment that won't be repeated.
@chris speak for urself, many people go to the maldives every year....
I think the Chinese should be banned. They are responsible for all of this. And the Mexicans.
Well, I can confirm the World visited the Conrad for one day.
I know a little about this as I just disembarked the World in Male on the 11th and spent the last 4 days at the Park Hyatt.
I also suspect this WAY overblown. Despite the ship's size, here were about 100 passengers onboard. They are very well behaved (in general much better than the people at the Hyatt, not that that...
Well, I can confirm the World visited the Conrad for one day.
I know a little about this as I just disembarked the World in Male on the 11th and spent the last 4 days at the Park Hyatt.
I also suspect this WAY overblown. Despite the ship's size, here were about 100 passengers onboard. They are very well behaved (in general much better than the people at the Hyatt, not that that was a problem). We made a stop with a similar day last week at Silhouette Island in the Seychelles. They made a deal with the Hilton there. A limited number of World guests (30) could buy access the the resort and have lunch (but not use loungers, pool or towels).
Reports that people were swimming in their underwear or playing catch with corals is laughable (in fact the World just had 2 coral reef scientists onboard giving well-attended talks on coral reef ecology/issues). And as far as them peeking into suites... I really dont think anyone onboard would be impressed with anything at the Conrad.
Now, I am not saying you dont have a complaint (in fact, I mentioned to my wife that I was glad we were at the Hyatt and not the Conrad). But I am sure the World paid them a lot of cash (not points) for access. I would not be happy either, but I would not exxagerate the situation.
@ Roger
I don’t think this is sloppy journalism. As I have said I am at the resort and can vouch that this is true (and does not cover the full extent of the issues.) Others who are here have also posted to confirm this.
Twice in the last 7 years I have spent the day on a Maldives Isaland arriving from Cruise liner. The first on Crystal Symphony the second onGolden Princess . The island chosen by Crystal was infinitely better than the one used by Princess which had limited facilities. Neither time was there a problem with the Island residents or visitors . If you go to the Maldives , you go to swim with the millions of...
Twice in the last 7 years I have spent the day on a Maldives Isaland arriving from Cruise liner. The first on Crystal Symphony the second onGolden Princess . The island chosen by Crystal was infinitely better than the one used by Princess which had limited facilities. Neither time was there a problem with the Island residents or visitors . If you go to the Maldives , you go to swim with the millions of little fish in the shallow lagoons and laze on a pristine white sand beach, not sit around a man made pool with a concrete surround.
@Tracy calling someone racist while making several racist general implications and assumptions at the same time. Very classy and not hypocritical at all.
@Tracy: Well said. The only thing sadder than the existence of such discriminative person is the fact that people (including the owner of this blog) seem to be okay with it. I am so glad you said something about it.
Just talked with the manager. He insisted it was only one day for the boat people, but did say volunteer that he had received a lot of complaints. Said he would pass it up the line. He offered nothing and I didn’t ask for anything, thinking I’m better off avoiding acrimony here in paradise. Would be very interested if others more assertive perhaps did receive something. FWIW, we are here on points, and not big...
Just talked with the manager. He insisted it was only one day for the boat people, but did say volunteer that he had received a lot of complaints. Said he would pass it up the line. He offered nothing and I didn’t ask for anything, thinking I’m better off avoiding acrimony here in paradise. Would be very interested if others more assertive perhaps did receive something. FWIW, we are here on points, and not big spenders at resort, so we are just little fish not worth much attention, I suppose. ( a diamond only by the Aspire).
@Maldivesfreak: You are a Class A racist a@@hole. To make a sweeping generalization about Chinese tourists shows how ignorant you are. Have you seen Americans in Mexico? Australians in Bali? Russians anywhere in Europe? And FYI, the average Chinese tourist is definitely NOT rich by your First World Standards. They’re finally being allowed to go out and see the world and maybe they don’t behave by your lofty standards, but that’s the byproduct of an...
@Maldivesfreak: You are a Class A racist a@@hole. To make a sweeping generalization about Chinese tourists shows how ignorant you are. Have you seen Americans in Mexico? Australians in Bali? Russians anywhere in Europe? And FYI, the average Chinese tourist is definitely NOT rich by your First World Standards. They’re finally being allowed to go out and see the world and maybe they don’t behave by your lofty standards, but that’s the byproduct of an emerging middle class. Get over yourself, Jerk!
I understand that this is a casual travel blog, but this is quite sloppy journalism... Especially given the definitively accusative tone of the article...
I feel bad for all the hotel guests that had their dream vacations disrupted unexpectedly, but I also don't want to jump into any sort of conclusion.
But I would still hope to see 1) direct proof of the "outrageous" situation, and 2) response from the hotel side (or...
I understand that this is a casual travel blog, but this is quite sloppy journalism... Especially given the definitively accusative tone of the article...
I feel bad for all the hotel guests that had their dream vacations disrupted unexpectedly, but I also don't want to jump into any sort of conclusion.
But I would still hope to see 1) direct proof of the "outrageous" situation, and 2) response from the hotel side (or at least say "this blogger reached out to Hilton")
I went through the photos in the FT post, but I am confused because I don't see any crowdedness. There's a pic of 2 men on a beach, and there's another pic of 10~15 people walking on a dock. Is there a pic of a crowded beach, or any hotel public area?
I am shocked that you are shocked by the gangsters at Hilton? Hilton has been pond scum for a long time now so why is this suddenly news? You can't search for a Hyatt or Relais and Chateau........????? Shame on you lazy boy!
I sympathize with those who are not getting the vacation dreamed of and worked for. As hard as it can be, I recommend you adjust your attitude to make the best of it while planning to recover damages (points, credits, money) afterward. I appreciate the notice to avoid this Conrad - management sounds disreputable.
The World visits my home town (Monterey,CA) every couple of years. There are enough occupants to significantly disturb a Maldives resort...
I sympathize with those who are not getting the vacation dreamed of and worked for. As hard as it can be, I recommend you adjust your attitude to make the best of it while planning to recover damages (points, credits, money) afterward. I appreciate the notice to avoid this Conrad - management sounds disreputable.
The World visits my home town (Monterey,CA) every couple of years. There are enough occupants to significantly disturb a Maldives resort if most disembark. As for wealthy, I checked once and nice staterooms were only $2M. I realize that is real change in the heartland, but that is an average house in the Silicon Valley, so the purchase and ownership of a stateroom is not limited to the idle rich.
@anon
No stfu, some people might have spent a whole months salary or even more to be there. How would you like it if a vacation you spent a lot of money on is absolutely ruined and the privacy and seclusion you paid for is absent
Racism run amok on Ringali island! I guess the white hotel guests would prefer that the "brown people" just clean their rooms, serve them drinks, and cook their food. God forbid they should have to share their white sand beach or some shade by the pool with these undesirables. What's next? Build a wall around the whole resort?? #MakeRingaliGreatAgain
Show me pictures of the “trashed” beach, then we’ll talk.
wow such arrogance/racism here towards Chinese, ironically when me and my parents travel in Europe some people we met are complaining the loud americans instead
My husband just told me the transport boat had the World on it.
This hotel is extraordinary in the way they shamelessly extract every last cent out of guest. I stayed there recently so know full well their tenet. Being able to earn extra revenue without considering the impact on those who paid to stay there is just part of their version of customer service and at the end of the day, they need to pay for their new underwater suite that cost an absolute bomb!
My husband and I are at the Conrad Maldives now. First time ever. Have seen a transport boat loading lots of people, maybe about 50ish, and it didn’t make sense. Also saw the cruise ship on the 11th at Male when we arrived. Two days ago we were on the beach, couldn’t find a chair in the shade. The attendants informed me their guests were using all of them, I thought that was really strange,...
My husband and I are at the Conrad Maldives now. First time ever. Have seen a transport boat loading lots of people, maybe about 50ish, and it didn’t make sense. Also saw the cruise ship on the 11th at Male when we arrived. Two days ago we were on the beach, couldn’t find a chair in the shade. The attendants informed me their guests were using all of them, I thought that was really strange, since I wondered who the heck they thought I was, how could I be here if I weren’t a guest? Now I know! I was dressed in long pants, not swim suit, so maybe I looked like I had come from the boat. I had to push a bit for people to be willing to move a large two seater chair into the shade. I know definitely first world problems but it was uncomfortable.
Anybody with the name "Freak" in the title should not be considered a reliable source.
@MH
forgive us if we elected not to behave like the cruise visitors, documenting every inch of the property to the annoyance and interruption of the hotel guests
there will be a lot more detail forthcoming and you and other detractors from the story won’t have much ground to stand upon
@Royal - wow, really? That's a shame as it was one of the best all-inclusive resorts we've stayed. Mind you, we were there when it just opened a few months before. Oh well... better find another one.
I'm booked into the Le Meridian Isle of Pines New Caledonia end of March. I have a beach bungalow reserved. Cruise ships visit the island about twice per month. On the other side. I made sure I would not be there when they land.
If a cruise ship disgorged near my stay like described here I would throw a fit. I do not want to travel to the other side of the world for...
I'm booked into the Le Meridian Isle of Pines New Caledonia end of March. I have a beach bungalow reserved. Cruise ships visit the island about twice per month. On the other side. I made sure I would not be there when they land.
If a cruise ship disgorged near my stay like described here I would throw a fit. I do not want to travel to the other side of the world for a taste of Lauderdale. This POS is a cruise ship no matter the cruisers' membership in the .01 percent.
Screw the Maldives. Go further abroad. New Caledonia is further away and half the price. And it's French. BTW I'm paying for my stay with actual money. And yes, I know, Le Meridiian is a Marriott now.
Looked at the photos and the outrage is just that… they can see a small cruise ship.
Wow.
Nothing overrun, nothing damaged, nothing disturbed.
Talk about precious. Talk about a story about nothing.
For those of you who think this is not a big deal, you clearly have never saved for years to splurge on an exclusive vacation. And for those who think money buys class, guess again. This is not about the haves/have nots. It's about the Conrad Maldives honoring the exclusive experience their guests have paid for.
I'm at the Conrad Maldives right now and every single word of this story is true. Guests of the...
For those of you who think this is not a big deal, you clearly have never saved for years to splurge on an exclusive vacation. And for those who think money buys class, guess again. This is not about the haves/have nots. It's about the Conrad Maldives honoring the exclusive experience their guests have paid for.
I'm at the Conrad Maldives right now and every single word of this story is true. Guests of the resort who had a dinner reservation at 8 tried to get in at 7 but were told no, despite the fact that there were only 2 tables occupied at the time. WE SAW THIS HAPPEN. Those tables were being held for the cruise ship people coming in by tender.
I personally saw cruise ship passengers walking up the path to our beach villa with their cameras. I also personally saw the people standing on and breaking off the coral and told them to stop.
My husband and I paid dearly for this trip. Not only for 12 nights at the Conrad, but airfare and two days travel on either side to get here. Last time we had a fabulous time and saved for years to come back. If we had wanted a place where you have to claim your beach chair early in the morning and guard it all day, we would have gone to Mexico, not flown half way around the world to Rangali.
Enjoy your Ritz-Carlton cruise, Lucky!
Clarification: By Chinese tourists I mean mainland Chinese. Taiwanese, Hong Kongers and Singaporeans are civilized.
Anyway, seems HMS Horde is mostly full of Americans, older Americans that is. I suppose the ones that were giving Americans a bad name back in the old days are still around. This article gives a good idea of both groups: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/how-ugly-chinese-tourists-became-new-ugly-americans/314773/
I do think that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy on a private island. I would have a much different attitude if this pulled up to a public beach. Whether the boat guests were rowdy or not, the intrigue of the Maldives is seclusion and intimacy. Conrad would not be able to charge the same prices if they advertised twice as many people on the same sized island. I'm not sure that 'The World'...
I do think that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy on a private island. I would have a much different attitude if this pulled up to a public beach. Whether the boat guests were rowdy or not, the intrigue of the Maldives is seclusion and intimacy. Conrad would not be able to charge the same prices if they advertised twice as many people on the same sized island. I'm not sure that 'The World' guests/owners would be too thrilled if a deal was worked out with Conrad where 150 hotel guests were allowed to board the ship and use its facilities.
Wait till the cruise ship dumps its raw sewage while docked.. Day after day.
Retired millionaires who sail from luxury island to luxury island are gawking at a chain hotel, and apparently can't afford bathing suits?
Yeah ok.
@Casey .
You'd probably feel differently if you were one of the 80-100 people...
I just spent 8 nights at Park Hyatt Maldives. It was a once-in-a-decade trip, and even though I paid for the rooms with WOH points, it took tremendous resources to make the vacation happen (the flights, the food, the transfers, and the spend needed to get the points). So I would have completely lost my mind if the remote resort had suddenly been overrun.
And pics are up: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilton-hilton-honors/776992-conrad-maldives-rangali-island-mdv-post30779501.html#post30779501
God som of you people are so naive. Like panda said, "It’s laughable that people think being a ‘classless drunk’ is associated with having no money."
Just take a look at Chinese tourists. S**tloads of money but no class, no manners and think everything is theirs to do with and act as they see fit.
And don't forget that there are also 'guests' of the *cough* Residents *cough* aboard this vessel. You people...
God som of you people are so naive. Like panda said, "It’s laughable that people think being a ‘classless drunk’ is associated with having no money."
Just take a look at Chinese tourists. S**tloads of money but no class, no manners and think everything is theirs to do with and act as they see fit.
And don't forget that there are also 'guests' of the *cough* Residents *cough* aboard this vessel. You people need to get out of your mummy's basement and start paying attention to what's going on in the world.
This upset 80-100 people. I just lost 3 minutes. Moving on.
"Hilton figures the Conrad brand is not high-end enough to generate complaints they’d care about."
That qualifies as the trollingest troll comment I've ever read. :-)
@CJ You are proving my point about marketing setting unrealistic expectations. By your own words, Maldives is in the middle of nowhere, yet, looking at the map, Maldives is within 7-hour flight for about 3 billion people. The exclusivity assigned to the Maldives is prominent in the opposite part of the world, completely ignoring the fact that it is a somewhat average destination for a good chunk of Asia. No multi-day journeys, no years of...
@CJ You are proving my point about marketing setting unrealistic expectations. By your own words, Maldives is in the middle of nowhere, yet, looking at the map, Maldives is within 7-hour flight for about 3 billion people. The exclusivity assigned to the Maldives is prominent in the opposite part of the world, completely ignoring the fact that it is a somewhat average destination for a good chunk of Asia. No multi-day journeys, no years of penny-pinching. They just book a packaged vacation and bring in their kids too (as that exact Conrad is big on family offerings and kids-clubs).
This kind of ugly clashes of service expectations and company profit-seeking happens every day (or every minute) on Mexican Riviera, but there is no outcry - Mexico is not assumed "exclusive", only Maldives is. There are plenty of folks who had to save for years to afford average Mexican resort, and the only retort we have for them is: suck it up, be happy that you even made it there. But when talking about Maldives, well, only then we remember that customer should be king and that false promises are worthy of outrage. Because from "here" only the wealthy can get there and they are the ones requiring protection of their exclusivity illusion?
I absolutely agree that bait-and-switch approaches have no place in any service offering, but I'm challenging the assumption that this is disgusting only on the grounds of Maldives/Conrad/luxury/exclusive illusion.
Labeling MS the World as a cruise ship is total OMAAT clickbait.
You make it sound like the Pacifc Princess just rolled up, complete with Capt. Steubing.
I'm sure the Conrad allowed this because of the big spenders on board, and the big paycheck they got.
Pics now published over on FlyerTalk. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30779501-post3143.html
This makes no sense. You have to have a networth of multi millions to own a residence on MS the World. If anything its probably the people with free certs or redeeming points that are behaving badly in a resort like this.
The interesting thing is to buy a residence aboard the ship you need to have a net worth of $5M. The cheapest studio was $850k up to about $10m.
There is a newer ship that is coming online where the rooms start at $4M and go up to $30m.
Either way, it find it odd that this is a surprise and the guests at the hotel weren't made aware that the Residence would stop by. They plan these things out in advance.
@Marija honestly how dumb are you? Some people are so desperate to make a point on this page that they lose common sense. The defining trait of the Maldives is that it is in the middle of nowhere. You spend days just to arrive there, and many people spend years planning how to take time off and financially support a trip. None of these traits are shared by your example.
Interesting - we saw the cruise ship docked @ Male when we were departing on the 11th. I was confused and wondered where they would be staying ...
It’s laughable that people think being a ‘classless drunk’ is associated with having no money. Open. Your. Eyes.
So outrageous when the unwashed masses from an exclusive yacht are allowed to mingle with those who view themselves as superior. What’s next on this parade of horribles? Caravans of Central Americans? Maldives May need to build a wall.
Haha it's not the hotels fault it's the peoples fault who were being so disorderly, lol
Looking into Maldives trips later this year and definitely crossing Conrad off the list. If there's a 1% chance this happens again thats enough of a disincentive for me. They can ruin someone else's trip, it won't be mine.
Hopefully Conrad does right by their guests.
@Marija, I get where you are coming from, but if it ever happened to you, you would completely understand. The issue is that it is a bait and switch.
Yeah, it's bad of the Conrad to do that, but that FlyerTalk forum makes it sounds like Carnival Sunshine stopped by the Conrad for a few days. The people on "The World: Luxury Residences at Sea" are in the top 0.00001% of wealth in the world. They aren't classes people gawking at the "luxury" of what a measly Hilton property can offer.
Rhetorical question: why is this worthy of outrage, but it is completely normal to have in-hotel bar/lounge/restaurant open to the general public (anybody with a valet) or even having 20% of the hotel taken over by wedding?
Why is our expectation of exclusivity based on the price-point of the hotel in question? Or is it based on marketing points hotel is pushing (which is equivalent to expecting mandatory smiling when drinking Coke)? Or is it...
Rhetorical question: why is this worthy of outrage, but it is completely normal to have in-hotel bar/lounge/restaurant open to the general public (anybody with a valet) or even having 20% of the hotel taken over by wedding?
Why is our expectation of exclusivity based on the price-point of the hotel in question? Or is it based on marketing points hotel is pushing (which is equivalent to expecting mandatory smiling when drinking Coke)? Or is it based on the fact that is on the island in the middle of nowhere (reality check: it is still accessible by boat)? Where is "thou-shall-not-lay-in-my-lounger" entitlement coming from?
Do we know if any other properties doing this ?
This is the reason we don't go to Atlantis in the Bahamas anymore.
"People window peeking into the beach villas and taking pictures of what they saw there. I have no idea if they saw people, but I ran into one guy on my path and told him to GFO".
Yeah, I do not believe this along with the other rambling points.
Unless I see pics I tend to feel it was not as bad.... but who knows. Corporations are greedy!
Everyone there needs to ask for a refund.
This is ridiculous.
I’m with Debit on this one, the most interesting thing to me about this is the reading I’m about to do on “The World”, not the HHonors junkies who are complaining about their redemption of an outrageous amount of points in peak season...
Hyatt Ziva & Zillara Rose Hall is even worse. They sell day passes to Carnival.
@New Card
So sorry about your experience. Until when is the cruise ship there? Maybe you should ask for an upgrade or compensation.
If I were a guest, I'd demand a partial refund. If no success there, I'd dispute charge on CC for the days the resort was "altered" by the cruise ship. The resort has an established standard for business as usual. Cramming the resort with non-guests alters that.
@Henry LAX
A quick google gives proof, last port of call for the ship - Male...
https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/THE-WORLD-IMO-9219331-MMSI-311213000
@ Chase - you are wrong. I am here now. Many of the cruise ship day guests were classless morons - among them were some drunkenly and loudly making racist jokes at the pool. Others invaded personal beach villas armed with GoPros and selfie sticks. The resort has been like a cattle market for the last couple of days - no chance of a sun lounger by the pool. Absolutely disgusting.
Go read up, henry LAX, you troll. Numerous FTer's are there at the moment and checked in before this fiasco and they're all saying the same thing. There are pics but they haven't been posted yet.
Yeah, I'm with Chase. If this happened it was more likely a 50% increase in the number of users of the resort -- which might have caused some mild overcrowding. Sounds like someone got his or her knickers in a twist and / or is looking for compensation. The boat crowd is likely to be a considerably more exclusive demographic than the hotel guests.
Hrmmmmm, no. I'm calling out complete BS on this one. 'The World' is not a cruise ship. The residences onboard are privately owned and quite exclusive (VERY expensive not just to purchase, but monthly maintenance fees as well). Yes, there are some 'studio' cabins akin to to a cruise ship feel, but we're talking the likes of Regent or Silversea, not the floating STD otherwise known as Carnival. The guests/owners that sail aboard this ship...
Hrmmmmm, no. I'm calling out complete BS on this one. 'The World' is not a cruise ship. The residences onboard are privately owned and quite exclusive (VERY expensive not just to purchase, but monthly maintenance fees as well). Yes, there are some 'studio' cabins akin to to a cruise ship feel, but we're talking the likes of Regent or Silversea, not the floating STD otherwise known as Carnival. The guests/owners that sail aboard this ship are not classless drunks that stumble around on a beach trashing it. So I would take these 'complaints' with an extreme grain of salt, and more just the hotel guests being severely annoyed over a small group of 'intruders' to their exclusivity.
Annoying/Irritating, yes, outrageous, hardly.
@ Ben -- Wow! What Chris said.
why wasn't there a single photo proof of this event ? or did idiots and losers on flyertalk blindly believe some anonymous post again cuz that's a forum where users win trophies to see who trolls companies the hardest without any level of self introspection.
Wow. No, no, no.
Talk about false advertising for the Conrad providing luxury and remote intimacy of any kind. If I had been a guest, I’d have demanded full refund for the entire period where a cruise ship was docked and its passengers allowed to use the resort—and then some.
I’ll never recommend the Conrad Maldives, and this property, as well as the Hilton and Conrad brands overall, should be ashamed of themselves....
Wow. No, no, no.
Talk about false advertising for the Conrad providing luxury and remote intimacy of any kind. If I had been a guest, I’d have demanded full refund for the entire period where a cruise ship was docked and its passengers allowed to use the resort—and then some.
I’ll never recommend the Conrad Maldives, and this property, as well as the Hilton and Conrad brands overall, should be ashamed of themselves. What a blatant money grab and breach of all decency and reasonable luxury.
What a $hitshow. So glad I lucked out on my recent stay and avoided this crap. Wonder if this was the GM’s decision or corporate?
@Chris
And I know I won't ever choose the Conrad, based on this.
The poor guests have probably planned that trip for years....I’d hit the roof if I saw a cruise ship arrive with tons of passengers (assuming that they exceed the typical capacity of the resort)
Where is the sense of humor and 'adventure'?! In a beautiful and pristine place with very little entertainment like the Maldives, guests should just chill and join the party! ;-)
Thanks for the heads up - clearly this is a resort to avoid!! I am surprised they’d allow this given the reputational damage that is certain to ensue, but I suppose Hilton figures the Conrad brand is not high-end enough to generate complaints they’d care about.
The whole things sounds gross and the worst part is how trapped you would be in that resort - it’s not like you could just taxi up the road to a better hotel!
Maldives isn't typically a place people go to year after year, so for the couple hundred inconvenient guests (that probably never would have returned anyway), I'm betting it was quite lucrative business decision.
#firstworldproblems