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)
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